The Fall of Harmony

Chapters

Rude Awakening
The Tower of Light
Long Days Travelling
I'm Not Quite A Pony...
Unexpected Guests
The Closest Star
Imprisoned
The Sideways Hourglass
Through Evil Eyes
Great Sacrifices
Your Life Depends On It
The Jack of Hearts
New World Order
My Struggle
Lost And Found
Long Overdue
Rainbow's Day Off
Involuntary Movements
The Wisdom and Responsibilities of Epsilon
The Remorse and Honesty of Epsilon
The Guidance and Patronage of Epsilon
A Fatal Misunderstanding
In Which the Truth is Revealed
Through The Unforgiving Desert
Older than the Mountains

Rude Awakening

"Organizing those history books I see?" asked Twilight.

"Yep! In alphabetical order, just like you wanted!" answered Spike.

Spike was happily going about his morning duties in the library. It was a beautiful summer day, the air was crisp and dry. He couldn't wait to go outside and bask in the sun, maybe go eat lunch with Twilight as he usually did. As of now, there's nothing he wanted more than breakfast, though.

"I'll warm up some hay fries for the both of us while you finish up, okay Spike?" asked Twilight, seemingly reading his mind. He had come to really appreciate the relationship he and her shared, the unadulterated love of a family member. Even his not-so-secret love for Rarity could not trump the bind that held him and Twilight together. "Sounds great!" he replied. He had never spoken words more true.

Wake up.

They eventually sat down and began eating, Spike more ravenously than Twilight, who just levitated fries slowly and ate them. She giggled at Spike's incurable hunger. "I never know how I'm going to feed you when you get older, you silly dragon." she said. Spike looked up, confused at her, with his mouth full of hay fries. She involuntarily smiled at the sight.

Wake up.

Spike groaned as an unexpected pain in his back hit him. The chill rushed down his spine. This isn't right.. He looked up and saw the library fade into darkness, along with Twilight. His head began to buzz and he heard a familiar, feminine voice calling to him.

Spike. Wake up.

"Next time you feel like rolling around in your sleep, try not to land on top of my tail..." hissed Celestia.

Spike slowly opened his eyes then shut them again. Adjusting to the light of the morning day, he finally started to look around at his surroundings. With a long yawn, he stood up, freeing the annoyed Celestia from his unintentional weight. "Sorry." he bellowed, in his usual deep, calming voice.

Spike, now thirty-seven years old, had grown as large as nature allowed him to. He was roughly forty meters tall, when standing on four legs. With his neck forward and his tail straightened back, he spanned maybe a hundred in length. Wings and body to match, he was quite the dragon indeed.

"It's fine, really." replied Celestia, straightening her tail with an old brush she always brought along. "So. The Element of Honesty is first on our list?" she asked.

It had been thirty years since the fall of harmony and death of Twilight Sparkle. Spike couldn't shake his depression and longing to be with her again. He learned to cope with things, however. Celestia had taken Twilight's place after she fled Canterlot, and Spike had been at her side ever since.

"I doubt that Applejack will hesitate in assisting us," said Spike. "However, I fear that her connection to the elements has long passed. Either way, I will not turn down her desire to join our fight, if that is so."

Celestia nodded in agreement. She and Spike were planning an interesting strike against Luna - gathering all ten remaining elements of harmony and chaos, and finally killing the deity which was once a royal family member.

Spike and Celestia set off on a long flight to what once was Sweet Apple Acres, hoping to find, or at least a trace of Applejack. Spike thought to himself the terrible reality, that there was truly no way of knowing where she had gone, as it stood. It's not like we have any other plans. If we cannot locate the Element of Honesty, than we stop cold before we have begun. Spike breathed in fresh air, gracefully gliding across the open uncharted sky. As he looked down, he saw nothing but endless mountains made of gray stone. To a dragon, it was quite pretty. If they weren't preoccupied with the end of the world, he would have truly enjoyed flying with Celestia that morning.

"Nice, isn't it?" he asked.

"Would be nicer." she replied. "I don't see how you can enjoy this day. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for you. It's the only thing you've said in a long while not involving killing my sister or missing Twilight."

She was right. Ever since Luna had fought and killed Twilight in the palace hallways thirty years ago, he had done nothing but obsess over why everything happened the way it happened. He hadn't payed attention to the clues which led up to Luna's rebellion against Equestrian government, but once he talks to everyone, he will finally understand. That's what he hopes, at least. He had been the only one there to witness the fight, but nearing the end, an excess bolt of lightning had knocked him unconscious. He never would hear Twilight's last words. "You can't blame me." groaned Spike. He frowned and looked away, his earlier enjoyment of the scenery deflated into his usual melancholy.

"It will all be okay, Spike. We can end this soon. It will all work out." reassured Celestia.

Her statement went unnoticed, as Spike was staring down at a pile of gleaming emeralds. He hadn't eaten that morning, although Celestia had prepared a few sandwiches for the days of traveling to come. Without warning, he locked his wings and dove down, aiming at the large pile of delicious gems. He kept his lustful eyes wide open, with an unfaltering, gigantic smile stretching his entire head.

Celestia sighed and began a much more elegant descent towards Spike's new found breakfast. She couldn't help but giggle at the hungry young dragon, who's depression seemed to melt away at the sight of a good meal.

Spike landed on a flat platform of stone next to the pile of emeralds, licking his lips. Before he could take a bite, a dark red and black dragon, a tad smaller than Spike, appeared out from a nearby cave.

"How may I help you?" he said in a sarcastic, annoyed tone. His eyes narrowed at Spike as he sharply exhaled smoke from his nose.

Spike grinned at the angry dragon, failing at holding back a seemingly maniacal laughter. He took a few steps forward, grabbed a random emerald and held it up to the black dragon's snout. "I am going to eat these. You are going to leave." he challenged, daring the black dragon to do anything about it.

"Is he insane?" thought Celestia, as she circled the sky, spectating the scene below.

The black dragon grew more angry, and stepped forward opening his mouth to release a flame, but before he could do anything, it was held in the claws of his assailant. The dragon's eyes widened at Spike, startled by the younger dragon's strength and reflexes.

Not wanting to be further annoyed during breakfast, Spike slammed the head of the black dragon onto the stone floor below, instantaneously knocking him unconscious. Pleased with his victory, he returned his attention to the emeralds and began sating his endless hunger. This is how you will feed me when I get older, Twilight.

Celestia finally landed next to the black dragon and shot an angry glare at Spike. "You know, that was really unnecessary.." she said.

"I told him to move." said Spike, chuckling to himself.

"Yes, because that gives you the right to steal from the poor man and knock him to the ground." shot Celestia.

"Oh please, Tia." groaned Spike. "He will wake up with a headache and ninety percent of his stash still here. He's fine, he will stop caring about the entire ordeal by tomorrow."

Celestia's anger dissipated. Spike was the only remaining person who she would let call her Tia. Everyone else had died, or turned against her. The nickname reminded her that she was still loved by Spike, despite all the mistakes she had made when she lost Equestria to Luna. She walked up to Spike and sat down at his side, resting on his warm underbelly. In the midst of all the traveling and war, she had forgotten how much she loved Spike, just sleeping next to him. Upon noticing the alicorn on his side, he smiled and wrapped his left wing around her, as well as just about everything else to the left.

"So." she said.

"So?" asked spike.

"You never really told me the story or went into details about what happened between Twilight and Luna on... That day..." mumbled Celestia, looking off to the side worrying if she had upset the dragon.

"Hmph. Didn't think you really wanted to know." he replied.

"I do."

Spike yawned, and stopped eating for the moment. He looked down at Celestia and began reciting his tale. "It started early that morning, while Twilight was focused on her usual studies..."

The Tower of Light

"Spike! Wake up!" called Twilight. Why must he ALWAYS sleep so late in the morning?

Startled by the shouting, Spike scrambled out of bed, looked around the room and braced himself for an attack. "Huh? Oh." he groaned, rubbing his eyes. Twilight had been focused on some specific magic books a lot lately, and Spike had many more library duties to perform. It meant early mornings and longer evenings, but he didn't care. Twilight's 'Number one assistant' could do anything asked of him!

Twilight started a usual breakfast for the both of them - hay fries, coffee, and apples. When she finished cooking, after levitating the food to the table effortlessly, she sat down and awaited her baby dragon friend.

"Looks great!" he said, picking up and swallowing an apple whole.

Twilight usually would have been amused with Spike's enthusiasm over something as simple as breakfast, but today she just stared out of the window and ate her food. Spike didn't notice, inhaling everything he could at the fastest rate possible.

"So, what's my job today?" asked Spike, smiling.

"Just alphabetize the books, then you can take the rest of the day off." she replied, while still looking out the window, deep in thought.

"Hmm." thought Spike. He brushed it off though, it wasn't the first time Twilight had been thinking about things - he couldn't blame her anyways, with all the books she reads, she has to eventually find something interesting. Spike got up from the table and into the main library and went about his alphabetical ordeals.

After finishing her coffee, Twilight went outside on the balcony for a few minutes, just staring into the sky. She narrowed her eyes in thought, with a frown that made her seem almost determined of something - but what? She crossed her hooves on the railings and stood there for quite awhile. She had grown more distant lately, no time for friends, or anyone actually. Always indulged in learning some new spell.

Spike had been organizing books for awhile when he eventually saw Twilight out of the railing. He put down his stack and walked outside. "Is there something wrong?" he asked, with obvious concern.

She sighed in response. He won't understand. He can't understand. He's just a child. She walked towards Spike and put a hoof on his shoulder than knelt down to speak to him on his level. Spike's eyes widened, with indescribable levels of worry and confusion written all over him.

"I have to leave for Canterlot today, Spike. I will be back as soon as I can." she reassured.

He replied "Oh! Are you worried about some meeting with Princess Celestia? I don't remember any letters, I'll come along as well and-"

"No. You aren't coming with me. This is something I have to do by myself." interrupted Twilight.

Spike looked her in the eyes. She was calm. She was grave. He didn't understand what was going on at all, Twilight never leaves for Canterlot without a note from the Princess or chocolate rain falling down or something. This gave Spike all the more curiosity, all the more need to tag along with her. He shot her an angry glance. "Yes I am." he said, as if daring Twilight to do anything about it.

Her calm expression turned into confusion. She hadn't expected him to want to come so badly. I guess it doesn't really matter all that much. He will know what had happened by tomorrow anyways, so why not bring him. Ugh. This is a terrible idea. Why am I doing this? God damn it Spike, can't you ever just listen?

Spike kept his stare up. Twilight had lost. "Fine. You're staying out of the way, and you don't speak unless spoken to." she answered, finally.

He lit up and hugged Twilight. It had been quite awhile since he had been to Canterlot, and it would be a good chance to do some sightseeing.

Startled by the embrace, Twilight returned it with a lot more force than Spike did. She wrapped both hooves around him tightly, a lone tear slipping down her face. She blinked away the rest, Spike didn't notice it though. He was too busy thinking about buying some donuts in Canterlot. They eventually broke the hug, and Twilight turned away back towards the balcony, looking onward at the capitol city.

"Pack your things, Spike. It's going to be a long walk." she said.

He didn't hesitate. He quickly grabbed his backpack and filled it with a few odd objects, including a spyglass - why in Equestria did he have a spyglass? He continued filling it and then zipped it up, in what seemed like only a few seconds to Twilight. She giggled a bit, shook her head and went inside, collecting her own things.

Her saddlebags included apples, a few blank scrolls, and a book titled "The Alicorn - All you need to know!" After closing her bags, she and Spike left the library and began the long walk to Canterlot.

They didn't get far.

Rainbow Dash flew in front of them, seemingly out of nowhere. She was panting, obviously she had been practicing a few stunts or something. Twilight, annoyed at her, shot Rainbow an angry glance.

"Thanks, Dash, I forgot that today we had to stand in the middle of the road. We can always count on you to remind us can't we, though?" she hissed.

Rainbow, amused by the angry purple mare, burst out laughing and fell onto the ground. She put one hoof over her chest, the other pointed at the purple duo. "What are you so busy with, Twi?" said Rainbow, unable to contain her chuckling.

Twilight ignored the question and continued on, walking past her. Rainbow's smile flipped into a frown, she hated being ignored. She flew up next to beside them and looked Twilight in the eyes, somehow flying backwards to compensate for her walking. "Hey! What's your problem today, Twi?" she asked.

"Don't you have practicing to do? I heard the Wonderbolts need a new member soon." she lied.

"What! Well in that case, see ya later alligator! C'mon tank!" shouted Rainbow, slowly followed by her helicopter tortoise. She went about doing various flips in the sky, saying inaudible things to her pet.

Her and Spike continued on in silence for a few minutes. She usually would have loved to chat with Dash. Spike brushed it off for a bit until his curiosity got the best of him - as usual.

"What was that?" asked Spike, breaking the silence.

She sighed. "Don't worry about it."

They quickly reached the outskirts of town. Twilight let out a slight grin. Finally. No more ponies to come up and talk for no reason whatsoever. "So, Spike, do you have anything to do on our way to Canter-"

"HI GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" screamed Pinkie Pie.

Of course.

Pinkie was closely followed by Fluttershy, was attempting to hide behind her mane. It wasn't working so well.

Twilight jumped at the unexpected yelling. Pinkie had just come up out of nowhere, and now they all were stopped in the middle of the road. She should have known - It was impossible to get out of town without something like this in her way. She let out a long groan and looked at both of them, waiting for one to say something.

"I just wanted to say you're invited to my Pinkie's Ponyville Party Extravaganza Party! It's going to be great, we'll have candy, and balloons, and streamers, and candy, and games, and candy, and candy, and-"

"We have to go to Canterlot." said Twilight, oddly amused at the pink pony's ability to come up with an excuse for a party, at any time she ever wanted. She started walking again, followed by a bouncing Pinkie and hovering Fluttershy.

"Oh.. Well.. That's okay.. I mean.. You didn't have to come.. Have fun in Canterlot.. If you want to..." whispered Fluttershy.

"I have royal duties to attend to. Now if you please excuse me-"

"OOH! Can we come with you!? Is Discord out?! Is it going to rain chocolate milk again!? Is it.. NIGHTMARE MOON!?" interrupted Pinkie, shouting ideas out at random.

Twilight growled. "UGH!" she screamed, and her horn started to glow. She took aim at Fluttershy and the pink party pony, and in a flash they were gone - Twilight had teleported them far away so she wouldn't be annoyed.

Spike gasped. He had never seen or expected her to use forceful magic on anypony, and she got angry while talking to friends very quickly. Something was very, very wrong. "Maybe it's just a stressful meeting with the Princess?" he thought. He didn't say anything to Twilight about it though, he was content with staying silent. The last thing he wanted was to pop back into the library and not continue on with her.

"Hopefully we can make it to the palace without anymore interruptions..." she groaned, skeptical of the fact that they could actually make it to their destination without meddlesome ponies. They hadn't the clue how important this was.

It was just after noon when Twilight and Spike arrived in Canterlot. She took a huge breath of air and sat down to rest for a minute, the dragon climbing off her back. Twilight looked at the palace once again. They had made it, and the baby dragon was still completely oblivious as to why they were here.

"So. What now?" asked Spike.

"I have to have a word with the Princess." replied Twilight.

"What? You came all the way here just to have a chat? I could have sent her a letter just fine!" he shouted.

"It's different this time." she said.

Twilight's face turned from lost in thought to angry and serious. She levitated Spike on her back and went off towards the palace in a gallop. He was stunned. Unsure if he did anything or not, he refused to say a word. Twilight's sudden change of emotion had left him more worried than ever before, and the last thing he needed to do was agitate her about it.

Twilight made it to the door of the palace, sweating and panting. Her eyes were narrow, she was angry. Nothing could deter her from what she came to do...

Except the guards at the door. In unison, they moved their wings to block the door. "Halt!" one screamed. "Princess Luna expected you to be here. We were instructed to keep you off the premises. Leave now."

Twilight's horn began to move. She did not falter, her harsh gaze didn't lighten up as she looked at the guard who spoke to her.

"Move." she said.

"Are you mad you disrespectful twat? You speak to the royal guard like that!? What's stopping me from arresting you right now?..." he replied.

"Move." repeated Twilight, her horn's aura growing with intensity. Spike got off Twilight's back as he felt the surge of energy flow through his body. What is Twilight doing? She's the personal apprentice of Celestia, she could of easily just asked the guard to let her in? What the hell is going on?

The other guard stepped in. "That's it kid, you either go away or you're coming with us. I suggest turning around right now, the princess hasn't a care in the world about your problems."

Twilight stepped forward. "I'm going in now. Do something about it." she dared.

The first guard broke formation in anger, he charged Twilight.

"Moron." said Twilight as she discharged the energy around her horn into one lightning bolt focused at the forehead of her assailant. It was a direct hit. He stopped dead in his tracks, and fell before Twilight. Spike, and the other guard, looked on in horror at the sight.

He wasn't breathing. He wasn't moving. There was no heartbeat. She killed the guard.

Twilight killed the guard.

Twilight killed him.

Twilight killed him.

The second guard fell to the ground, crying. Spike was in shock. Twilight doesn't kill ponies. This is impossible. This is a dream. It had to be. How could this be possible? What did Spike miss? What was Twilight doing?

It wasn't a dream.

"Leave. Now." growled Twilight, now looking at the other guard. She ground her hoof into the pavement, as if she was ready to charge straight at the other guard. She didn't have the chance. He flew off as fast as he could, without a second thought. She opened the palace doors, Spike followed slowly.

This is treason.

"I didn't expect them to hold you back much. It's a shame I have to deal with Tia's star pupil myself though. You were nice while things lasted." said Princess Luna, chuckling to herself.

"You're disgusting." replied Twilight. Her eyes were now burning white, as they would be if she was using the elements of harmony. She shot a bolt of lightning at Luna, it was useless though. Luna teleported directly in front of Twilight, scaring her. Twilight backed up in astonishment and fear.

"Am I?" asked Luna. "I'm not the one who just killed a helpless guard who you could have simply walked around without him ever being able to hurt you." Luna grinned and narrowed her eyes.

"Where's Celestia?" asked Twilight.

"Please. As if Tia would of actually helped you with this attempt. You're nothing compared to me. Now leave. Maybe you won't find yourself on the moon for killing that guard if you stop annoying me." replied Luna.

"Step down you hag, or I'll kill you here and now. Would be pathetic to see an immortal die like this." hissed Twilight, with a small grin growing on her face.

"HA! HOW ARROGANT CAN THOU BE? WE HATH THE ABILITY TO MOVE THY MOON, YOU ART NOTHING COMPARED TO US! YOU ART JUST A SIMPLE UNICORN! BEGONE WITH YOU!" exclaimed Luna.

"You act as if raising the moon is hard to do." she replied.

Luna's eyes widened. That was not at all the response she expected. "What? You think you can do it?" she asked.

Twilight laughed. "I'll do it right now. In the middle of the day."

"Impossible!" claimed Luna. "The moon and sun can only transition at dusk and dawn!"

Twilight braced her fore hooves on the ground and closed her eyes in deep focus. Her horn lit up in a dark purple colour, almost black. In the corner of Luna's eye, she saw the sun lowering slowly outside of the window.

"No..." she whispered to herself, her head turned towards the window.

Before she had any time to react, the moon was centered in the sky and the sun had gone out of view. This can't happen. It's the dark of night in the afternoon! No pony had the power to do this. Luna backed up slowly, tripped, and fell on her knees. This was impossible. She had horribly underestimated her new found opponent.

"You amuse me." said Twilight, chuckling.

Luna got up, and began forming her own aura around her horn, hers of blue. She met Twilight's angry gaze, and her eyes went to an equal blinding white. They squared off in silence, until it was broken by Twilight, who was following and charging her red aura.

"Really?" said Twilight.

"It's not like you could actually win. This is a death wish, Miss Sparkle, you should leave while you still have the chance." said Luna, challenging Twilight.

Twilight was first to break the formation, she teleported behind Luna and let loose a red fireball.

Luna gasped, and an ethereal blue shield caught the flame just in time. She faced Twilight and retaliated, powerful gusts of wind formed on the side of Twilight knocking her over. Luna took aim and shot a blue bolt of lightning at Twilight while she was down.

It missed her vitals and hit her right fore hoof. Twilight screamed in agony, her hoof severely burned. She got up as fast as she could and braced herself for the advancing alicorn. This isn't going as planned. Luna seems to have some experience with this, I see..

Luna paused for a moment, then fired a line of blue energy at Twilight, only to be met with her advancing red line. They began squaring off once again, this time fighting to gain control over a fight of focused magical energy. The spot where the red and blue rays collided moved back and forth towards Twilight and Luna as they each put more and more effort into the spell.

They both broke it at the same time, panting and sweating. The dangerous invisible energy they had been using was now trapped inside the throne room, unable to escape or discharge. Twilight and Luna's eyes were still glowing.

"I know what you intend to do, I can't let you do it." said Luna, still breathing heavily.

"You understand nothing." replied Twilight.

"More than you. You can't stop me from this, filly." as Luna spoke, her horn engulfed in white flames as she charged Twilight, who only had the time to put up a red shield around her as Luna's horn collided with Twilight's. All the energy trapped in the room suddenly focused onto Luna and exploded in pure white burning electric discharge.

And then it happened.

"Oh... I think Twilight might have been angry..." said Fluttershy, who had just spontaneously appeared at Sugarcube Corner a few seconds earlier.

"Oh well! We still have to prepare for the party! Will you help me with the balloons?!" asked Pinkie, seemingly forgetting that she had just been forcefully teleported away by one of her best friends.

"Okay then." said Fluttershy.

Everypony arrived on time for the party. It was just after noon, and most of the guests were wondering why it was dark outside. Unusual, but they didn't panic. More unusual things have happened than a premature night.

"Ah wonder if one of tah princess' got a cold or somethin', probably sneezin' the sun up 'n' down ah think." stated Applejack, mesmerized by the night sky.

"Maybe they're playing tricks on us. Hmmph. The clothes I was hanging will never dry now, it's quite a shame really." added Rarity.

Rainbow Dash charged into the room angrily. "Where the hell is Twi?" she asked.

"Oh.. Um.. She had to go to.. Canterlot.. Yeah that was it..." answered Fluttershy.

"She sent me on a wild chase all day through Cloudsdale. She told me the Wonderbolts were looking for a new team mate! Why would Twilight lie like that? Does she know how important the Wonderbolts are to me!?" screamed Dash, well over the volume of the music playing.

"That does sound ah bit odd of Twi right there, did she tell ya why she was goin' to the city, Fluttershy?" asked Applejack.

"No she didn't... I'm sorry... Was I supposed to ask?" said Fluttershy.

Applejack began to reply. "Hmm. Twilight's been actin' all strange lately around me too, did you know the other day she-"

She was cut off by a deafening explosion in the distance, everypony ran outside in panic to see the Canterlot palace erect with huge bolts of lightning. They gasped and looked on in horror.

Just as they thought the worst was over, they all saw it.

The palace rooftop crumbled around Luna and Twilight, who still had their horns locked. From the point where they touched, a super-massive beam of white light shot straight upwards into the sky, illuminating all of Equestria, if you hadn't been here a few minutes ago, It would have been impossible to tell that it was night time.

The tower of light grew in circumference until it was as wide as the entire palace itself. Spike was knocked unconscious by the explosion. The sun returned to its usual position almost instantly, and the tower of light faded.

Something was wrong. A black aura engulfed Canterlot, and a section of the mountain it stood on. There is only one thing that can cause such a powerful display of concentrated magic. Only one, possible thing, one terrible thing, which would permanently change the fate of Equestria from now until.

Everypony who knew even the least about magic knew what that was. Applejack's heart sank as she looked on in horror at the scene. The other four were in disbelief, unable to accept what they just saw happen. What they knew just happened, and what it meant for Twilight.

An element of harmony had been destroyed.

Long Days Travelling

"Whoa, wait..." said Celestia, pausing in thought. She was now pacing around the unconscious black dragon. "So you're saying Twilight Sparkle just decided to storm the castle at random? How did she know Luna was?... Even I didn't know anything..."

Spike was oddly amused at Celestia's distraught. He exhaled through his nose, blowing out a large portion of black smoke and then chuckled a bit. "If I understood at all what happened, I would be in Canterlot right now. Not on the top of some big rock."

Celestia only sighed in response. She dropped to her knees and rested again on the underbelly of the purple and green dragon, somewhat calmed by his slow breathing and warm body.

"What happened after? I mean, well..." began Celestia.

Spike let out another breath and began to speak. "I woke up at the library a week later, everyone was there. I guess some guard had taken me home. The remaining of my friends explained to me what at happened. At first, I was in denial. I didn't ever want to accept that my big sister had passed. I assumed hard times for everyone would be ahead under Luna, however, I could have never imagined..."

"The sacrifices." completed Celestia.

"I still cannot understand them. Alicorns are supposed to be immortal, or am I mistaken? Why does an immortal being need to drain the life energy of other ponies?" asked Spike, rhetorically.

"Probably just showing off her power. By killing innocents just for the sake of it, she creates an aura of fear in which nopony will try to rebel against her. It's a sick, twisted way to protect yourself." added Celestia.

Spike was interested now. "So, like Discord?" he asked.

"No. Discord would never hurt a fly. He was in things just for the fun of it. His personal entertainment is screwing with the laws of physics, and that's why he was locked up. If not for twisting the fabric of the universe, he would of been a very kind leader. I've known him for thousands of years, Discord is no murderer." answered Celestia, now focused on the black dragon beside them. Spike had long since stopped eating emeralds, apparently he had his fill.

"Hmm. I guess I misjudged the fellow then." replied Spike.

The black dragon before them stirred and let out a yawn.

It startled Celestia. "We should.. Probably get going.." she said.

"I agree. After you, my dear." said Spike, smiling.

Celestia giggled. She spread her majestic white wings and took flight, closely followed by her dragon companion.

"Do you.. Want to talk about it?" asked Celestia.

"About what?" asked Spike. They had been flying for quite a few hours now and were going to be halfway to sweet apple acres by nightfall. Neither of them were particularly tired from all of the flying - they were used to it.

"How you felt. When Twilight died. It's unhealthy to have kept all of your emotions in for thirty years, Spike.." she said. Worry spread through her face. She hadn't wanted to ask the dragon about this before, she feared upsetting him. Now that it was all going to return to him, it was best she got it out of the way, though.

"No, I don't. I want to keep to happy thoughts. I remember Twilight for what she was, and I've accepted her passing. She died for a good cause. She could have won if she hadn't gone up against Luna herself. I assume she feared for the life of her friends, which is why she went alone. Noble and brave, but futile and stupid." Spike stared off into the distance while he spoke.

"Are you sure?" she asked, cautiously.

"Yes. I am content. I have you now, and with you, I am happy. I do not need to dwell on the past anymore. We will get through this fight together, and I promise, I will not let you fall before me as Twilight did. I would spend an eternity of suffering to protect you." reassured Spike.

Celestia's heart felt as if it was trying to escape from her chest. She flew closer to the dragon until she was only flying a few feet away from his face. They turned and smiled at each other, and continued onward.

It was growing dark outside, and they decided to land soon. They came across a hilly region with a few trees, and one river which flowed to create multiple waterfalls. It was unanimous, what a perfect spot to sleep for the night.

"I never knew the countries outside of Equestria were so... Breathtaking..." said Celestia as they landed, having surveyed the scene with amazement just moments before while flying over it.

"You should get out more, Tia." laughed Spike, as he watched Celestia cool off in the flowing river. "Absolutely adorable.." he thought, smiling as he lied down to take a rest.

"Never had the time when I was princess. So many things to do, royal duties never at rest." she said.

"No vacations at all?" asked Spike.

Celestia got out of the water, dried herself up and lied down on Spike's side as usual. He wrapped his long neck around her and covered his wing atop both her and his head. "No. For the thousand years that Luna was imprisoned on the moon, I had never the time to take a break." she replied.

"The bastards!" exclaimed Spike, using as funny an accent that he could come up with on the spot. He got a long laugh from Celestia in response, who then rested her head on his and closed her eyes.

"Did you notice anything different about Twilight before she went off and attacked Luna? She must have known what was going on obviously, were there any signs of it?" asked Celestia.

The question caught Spike off guard. Nonetheless, he began reciting his memories once again.

"A few weeks before the event, Twilight had gone to Canterlot library to pick up a few new books to add to her collection..."

I'm Not Quite A Pony...

"Miss Sparkle!" greeted Aquarius, bowing as Twilight walked closer to him.

Aquarius was one of the older guards, his coat a tad gray instead of the generic white colours. He had the regular guard uniform, however, due to his rank in the royal guard, his mohawk and tail were dyed red instead of blue.

"Rise, it's quite fine my friend." she said, smiling down at him.

"Oh of course, miss." he said nervously, jerking back to his original position.

Spike looked at both of them with a quirked brow. Why does he treat Twilight like one of the princess'? Maybe her apprenticeship to Celestia is a lot more than I thought. He brushed it off though and sat quietly on Twilight's back as he had been doing the entire trip.

"And hello to you too, Spike! My, you've grown since the hatch ling I last saw you as!" complimented Aquarius, averting his gaze from Twilight and smiling at Spike.

"Oh, well, I've been workin' out you know.." replied Spike.

Twilight giggled and looked back at her dragon friend. "Yeah, really scary now Spike."

"Hey! I'll get there! Just you wait, these wings are growing in soon, I can feel'em!" he said.

Twilight smiled and returned her attention to Aquarius. "Now that we have exchanged our pleasantries, I have come here on important business. Might you escort me to the library?"

"What?" asked Aquarius, a confused smirk upon his face, he chuckled a bit. "Miss Sparkle, you own every library in Equestria, why did you come all the way to the palace for an escort?"

"Because, the books I'm looking for are in Celestia's library, and I don't have the keys." she replied.

"Oh, of course miss! Please forgive me for asking, I did not wish to upset you!" pleaded Aquarius, as he bowed again.

"Don't worry about it. Let's go, then?" replied Twilight.

"Yes ma'am. Follow me." said Aquarius.

They arrived momentarily at a dark section of the palace, only lit by a few spaced torches. The door to the library had some ancient hieroglyphs, a lock with a key hole, and six open molds which looked to fit gemstones. The pictures inscribed on the left side of the door told the story of a draconnequus in a throne, who had worshiping ponies at his feet. The right side of the door was of princess' Luna and Celestia, the familiar story of Nightmare Moon which mimicked that of the history books, save being drawn in solid gold.

"I don't know if we can get in. I only have the one key." said Aquarius in a worried tone.

"Place the key in the lock." replied Twilight.

"As you desire, miss." agreed Aquarius, doing exactly as he was told then once again bowing before Twilight.

Twilight closed her eyes and levitated five gemstones from her saddlebag. Aquarius was shocked upon seeing them, he rose to his feet, backed up nervously, and fell once again.

He trembled as he spoke. "Are.. Are those the.."

"Yes." said Twilight.

Aquarius would have fainted if a fly landed on his back. "How did you get..."

Twilight laughed. "An old friend of mine was happy to hand them over."

"Ah. It makes sense now." said Aquarius, now standing upright and pulling himself together. "I'll let you focus."

"Thank you my friend." said Twilight, a small grin appearing.

The five gems began to glow, as one of them moved away from the straight line Twilight had been holding them in. As the gem touched its magic mold and locked into place, Twilight spoke in a calm, but powerful voice.

"Envy."

She began repeating the process with the remaining four gems.

"Depression."

"Innovation."

"Hatred."

"Discord."

Each of the five gems locked in place. They intensely glowed bright then dim, as if the gems themselves had a heartbeat. Twilight walked closer to the door, and Spike instinctively got off her back and walked a few steps away. What the hay is she doing? This isn't like the Twilight I know?

Twilight place one hoof on the center mold which was larger, and lacked its respective gem. Power surged throughout the room, pulsing. It forced Spike and Aquarius to hold their heads in pain, however, Twilight seemed unaffected whatsoever. She opened her eyes, which were now burning white with no pupils. Her hoof had a few lone sparks discharging from it. In an incredibly loud voice, she spoke the last word.

"Magic."

At that point, the clay and stone around the door shook and pieces crumbles. Electric flares of magic as pure energy erupted from the center of the door where the gems had been placed. Twilight removed her paw as the door slowly roared and opened itself, to reveal a massive, ancient corridor filled with books as far as the eye could see. Twilight's eyes returned to normal as she fell to the ground, stripped of energy.

"Miss Sparkle!" shouted a very concerned Aquarius.

"Twilight!" followed Spike, almost in unison with the elderly guard.

"I'm fine, really. It just took a lot out of me, that's all." reassured Twilight, breathing heavily. She rose to her feet as her knees slightly shook, then gained their usual control. The three gazed upon the gigantic library, speechless for quite some time.

"It's... Beautiful..." gasped Aquarius.

"Yeah, this makes our tree look like nothing!" said Spike, happily.

A huge smile ear to ear appeared on Twilight's face as sudden realization of what she was looking at kicked in. This was her dream - to finally see the most amazing book collection in all of Equestria.

"It would be disrespectful to attempt to put this library into words, as anything we say could never define a fraction of how amazing this library is." she finally said, not turning to look at either of the two behind her as she trotted into the main section of the building. "Well? What are you waiting for, come on everypony!" she shouted.

"Yes ma'am!" agreed Aquarius, lowering his head as he returned to the side of Twilight.

"I'm... Not quite a pony..." argued Spike.

Twilight giggled. "Oh come on you, you know you're as much family to me as anypony, as if more."

Spike's heart skipped a beat. He jumped onto Twilight's back as she looked behind her and smiled back at him.

"Aquarius, I need you to gather me some books. I'll wait here." ordered Twilight.

"Of course, Miss Sparkle. What would you be looking for?" asked Aquarius, eager to complete his task and please his superior.

"The following titles please." Twilight levitated out a list and began speaking. "The Art of Magical Defense; The History of The Elements; Alicorns - All you need to know; and The Study of Life and Energy, all of which by Dr. William Penwell."

Aquarius raised a brow and looked at Twilight. "William Penwell? I've actually heard of him."

"You should have," began Twilight. "He was adviser to Queen Aumean in the ages before Celestia and Luna ruled Equestria."

"What! That means these books must be three thousand years old at least!" exclaimed Aquarius.

"Don't drop them." teased Twilight. She winked and smiled at Aquarius.

Aquarius bowed at Twilight and then galloped off into the distant corridors of the library. She sat down, breaking her poise that she was attempting to keep when Aquarius was around. Spike got off her back and sat down next to the panting unicorn.

"Are you okay Twilight? What was that all about?" he said.

"I'm fine Spike. What was what about?"

"The whole.. Gemstone magic thingy.." he said, notable concern in his voice.

"Don't worry about it Spike, I just needed to open the door." She smiled and nuzzled the baby dragon. I trust Twilight more than anyone, I'm sure it's just some old thingy I haven't learned about. Spike lied down with Twilight for a few minutes, until Aquarius returned with the books Twilight had asked for.

"They were not all that hard to find actually, Queen Aumean must have been obsessive compulsive when it came to organizing a library." said Aquarius, proud that he had completed his task so easily.

"A mare of my own standards, I see." replied Twilight, giggling at the old stallions enthusiasm. "Thanks for all your assistance, Aquarius. You may return to your post when ready." Twilight levitated the four books from the guard's back into her saddle bag and rose to her feet. Spike climbed on her back and the three exchanged their goodbyes.

"Have a safe trip home, Miss Sparkle. And you as well, Spike." said Aquarius as he smiled and winked and Spike.

"Thanks! Have fun... Guarding." replied Spike.

Twilight giggled. "Have a good day my friend." She trotted out of the library at that, not waiting for a response. She knew how Aquarius could talk for ages on something as simple as saying goodbye, and she had to get back to Ponyville before nightfall. She had a long walk, but it didn't bother her. It was a beautiful day out, and she had Spike to spend it with given that he didn't sleep the entire time.

After about an hour of walking, Twilight and Spike passed through Fillydelphia. It was busy as usual, merchants on the side of the road, business ponies discussing things, the occasional street performer made walking through the city quite enjoyable. Spike yawned and woke up after noticing all the noise.

"Morning, sleepy head." said Twilight.

"Uhhh... Morning." replied Spike, rubbing his eyes as he became more self aware.

"Getting hungry?" she asked.

"You bet! Are there any doughnut places around here?"

Twilight thought for a moment. "Hmm. I'm sure we could find something, or if not, we could wait until we get to sugarcube corner."

Spike considered his options. "Nah I'm kind of hung-"

"HELLO TWILIGHT SPARKLE AND SPIKE THE DRAGON! IT IS I, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE! WHAT BRINGS YOU TO FILLYDELPHIA, HOME OF THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE?" asked Trixie.

Twilight was shaken by the sudden interruption. "Oh, hello Trixie. We're on royal duty returning from Canterlot. It's nice seeing you, but I didn't know you were so happy with us? I mean, the last time we had spoken.."

"DO NOT FRET TWILIGHT SPARKLE, FOR THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE HAS COME TO APPRECIATE THE AID YOU HAD GIVEN THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE IN THE TIME OF THE COMING OF THE URSA MINOR. WHAT ROYAL DUTY WOULD YOU BE RETURNING FROM, TWILIGHT SPARKLE AND SPIKE THE DRAGON?" asked Trixie, beaming a smile.

"The duty of getting some lunch..." said Spike.

Twilight turned and snarled at him. "Spike." she said sternly. She looked back at Trixie, who was eagerly awaiting an answer. "Well I had to go pick up a few books from the library. What have you been up to?"

Trixie ignored the question and continued interrogating the purple mare. "THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE WISHES TO KNOW WHY YOU NEED TO CLAIM MORE TOMES. DO YOU NOT OWN A LIBRARY, TWILIGHT SPARKLE AND SPIKE THE DRAGON?"

Twilight tried to think of how to respond without getting anymore attention then she already was getting from confused on lookers. "These are some books I didn't have, and I wanted to add them to my Ponyville library collection."

"THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE DEEMS THAT QUITE A REASONABLE ANSWER. MAY THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE GAZE UPON THE TOMES THAT THOU HAST RECOVERED FROM THE LIBRARY OF THE ROYAL CANTERLOT CITY?" asked Trixie.

"No! I mean, these books are very old and delicate. I'd rather not remove them from my bags." said Twilight, growing annoyed by Trixie's constant questioning.

"VERY WELL THEN, TWILIGHT SPARKLE AND SPIKE THE DRAGON. SPIKE THE DRAGON, THOU SAID HE IS HUNGRY, WOULD YOU LIKE TO DINE WITH THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE? THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE HAD ALREADY GONE ABOUT PREPARING AN APPLE PIE FOR HERSELF, HOWEVER, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE HAS ENOUGH PIE TO SHARE WITH SPIKE THE DRAGON AND TWILIGHT SPARKLE." she said, now staring directly at Spike.

"Oh yes, please! I can smell the pie from here!" exclaimed an eager Spike.

"Thank you for your generosity Trixie. We would be happy to have lunch with you." agreed Twilight.

Trixie lit up with joy. "IT IS SETTLED THEN. COME TO THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIES HUMBLE ABODE, TWILIGHT SPARKLE AND SPIKE THE DRAGON, TO ENJOY SOME DELICIOUS PIE OF APPLES! HUZZAH!"

Spike jumped off Twilight's back and walked to the head of the group, excited. I bet Trixie makes an amazing pie..

"That was truly pleasant, Trixie. Thank you for everything." said Twilight.

"Yeah! That pie was great!" agreed Spike.

"NOT A PROBLEM AT ALL, TWILIGHT SPARKLE AND SPIKE THE DRAGON. HAVE YOUR TRAVELS EVER LAND YOU IN THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE'S HOME OF FILLYDELPHIA AGAIN, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ENTER THE HUMBLE ABODE OF THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE." said Trixie, her original smile yet to fade.

"We better get going, it's getting late out and we need to get back to Ponyville as soon as possible. See you around, Trixie." said Twilight, leaving as she did to Aquarius. Come to think of it - Trixie and Aquarius would have one hell of an endless conversation.

"Let's see if we can get home without anymore random ponies popping up to stop us, ey Twilight?" joked Spike.

"I hope so!" said Twilight, laughing as she walked through the vibrant city.

Yup. I jinxed it.

Twilight and Spike approached Ponyville, tired and achy due to the hours and hours of walking. It was almost time that Spike could go to sleep, and Twilight could begin reading her books. But no. That is never an option, is it?

Twilight saw an odd shady figure rustling through some plants on the outside of Ponyville. "Spike, do you see that?" she asked.

Spike began. "Yeah, it almost looks like.."

Startled by the talking, Zecora turned and saw Twilight and Spike staring at her. All three ponies laughed at the recent misunderstanding and Zecora greeted the duo ridden with fatigue.

"I was looking for ingredients to a medicinal brew. I had not expected to see both of you." she said.

"We apologize for interrupting, you can get back to what you were doing Zecora." reassured Twilight.

"You're sorry? Don't be. Maybe you two can be of assistance to me." replied Zecora.

Perfect.

"Uhm.. What did you have in mind?" asked Spike.

"Spike the dragon, breather of fire. A white lily is what I desire." said Zecora.

A switch flipped in Spike's brain. He kept white lilies in a vase on the coffee table in the library. "Actually, we do have some of those. Can you follow us back to our house?" asked Spike.

Zecora smiled gratefully. "Oh thank you Spike for helping me tonight, a white lily flower will make my potion just right."

After she took a flower from the vase, Twilight gave a perplexed look to the zebra. "So, Zecora, mind if I ask what exactly you're doing with the lily?"

"This potion is a very special brew. Anything you've forgotten, it will remind it to you." answered Zecora.

Twilight's eyes widened. "Wow! Would you mind giving me the recipe for that? It could prove very useful in my studies so I don't have to go through book after book when I already know things."

"Of course I can my pony friend. Would you mind giving me a scroll and a pen?"

Zecora wrote down the ingredients and exchanged goodbyes with Twilight and Spike. Very tired from the traveling, both of them went to sleep instantly after the zebra had left. They were finally home, after a long, confusing day for Spike. Twilight had her new books now, she could focus on her studies the moment she woke up the next morning.

She did just that the next day. And the next day. And the next day.

Weeks passed. Twilight did not spend time with friends, nor did she leave the library. She was always tired, and easily annoyed by the slightest amount of noise while she was reading Penwell's books. It became obvious to Spike that this was very important to Twilight. But why?

What could she possibly be reading about?

Unexpected Guests

"Now, Tia, could we please go to sleep? We have much more flying in the morning." groaned Spike.

"Sleep!? You expect me to sleep after hearing that!?" exclaimed Celestia, growling with some unusual anger.

"Yes. Yes I do actually." said Spike, blowing a cloud of smoke onto the raging Celestia.

Celestia was now flying around in circles for no apparent reason and shouting at the top of her lungs."Not only did Twilight possess all five elements of chaos, but she could flawlessly use every single one of them!?"

"What's so special about that?" asked Spike, dumbfounded.

Celestia stopped in mid air and looked at Spike in disbelief. How could he know so little about the elements of harmony and chaos? She let out a sigh and began to explain. "Remember when Twilight and the other five fought Luna using the elements of harmony?"

"Of course. It's when I moved to Ponyville." he replied.

Celestia flew up to Spikes face and stared directly into his eyes. "When she returned from the moon, Luna was under the influence of the element of envy, one that she didn't even know how to control. She had one element of chaos, and it took all five elements of harmony just to subdue her temporarily while I broke the spell. Do you understand how intellectual and powerful you have to be to control only one element of chaos? Forget about all five..."

"I never thought about it like that. I blame entropy." joked Spike.

"Ugh. I can't even deal with this tonight, that offer for sleeping still up?" asked Celestia.

"Why even ask, my little pony?" said Spike, grinning at Celestia, who had altogether defeated herself in the pointless discussion of the elements.

She curled up next to Spike and fell asleep quickly. For once, the night was uneventful, a relief for both of them as there had always been some unnecessary run in with someone they didn't care to see. Spike had gotten used to that sort of thing, though. He drifted off into a deep sleep next to the mare he lived for.

"Guess who!"

"AGH!" screamed a frightened Celestia as she jumped to her feet and braced herself, only to see a familiar figure standing before her. "Oh. It's just you. What do you want?"

"Well firstly I'd like for you to stop making me a statue, it gets ever so boring sitting there in your garden for years on end." said Discord, in his usual over dramatic voice. He was lying down on the ground in a seductive pose with a rose in his mouth. It was truly the most interesting sight to behold.

"No chocolate milk today? Damn. I'm quite parched, you know." joked Celestia.

"Quite a drag isn't it Tia? Without my element I can't stir up any fun at all! That's why I want to help you and your... Special friend... take little Loo-Loo of the throne!" said Discord, winking at Celestia as he referred to Spike.

"Is our relationship really that obvious?" said Celestia in an annoyed tone.

Discord laughed. "Well, it's not like you try to hide it much at all. You know, with all the..."

Spike, disturbed by the talking in his morning sleep, yawned and woke up to the sight of Celestia. Beautiful as usual. Oh, and a draconequus too. Wait.

Spike jumped up. "Ahhh! It's Discord! He's come to kill us and eat our brains and-" he attempted to take flight and charge the draconequus, but in his own confusion, he just stumbled over on the ground once again. He looked up at both of them and spit out a leaf.

"Absolutely. Priceless." said Discord.

Spike growled only to be cut off by Celestia. "Spike, Discord has been free for awhile now, and since all of the elements belong to Luna, he can no longer play with the laws of physics."

"Yeah. I knew that. I was testing him." defended Spike.

"You looked so content to me." teased Discord.

"Enough bickering you two. Discord, how can you help us?" asked Celestia.

"Well you two seem to be hunting for memories. I have many of those, not to mention infinite superior knowledge of the elements, and princess Loo-Loo." he replied.

"Hunting for memories? Is that what you call trying to solve a puzzle?" asked Spike.

"Big puzzle, bro." snapped Discord.

"For the record, you were a lot more interesting when you danced on peoples heads." said Spike.

"Agreed. Anyways, Tia, would you mind if I tagged along with you? By the way, would it be appropriate to call you a dragon rider?" asked Discord, a wide grin on his face.

Celestia twitched and Spike looked on with utter confusion. "Must you be.. So annoying.." she said.

"But where's the fun in making sense?" he asked.

"What? That made no sense how does that have anything to do with being annoying?" asked Celestia, raising a brow at Discord.

"But where's the fun in making sense?" repeated Discord.

Celestia slammed a hoof onto her forehead and groaned loudly. Spike couldn't help but burst into laughter, followed by his new draconequus friend. After he ended his fit, he looked up to Celestia, eager to change the subject to avoid being magically thrown off a cliff at this point.

"Twilight said that the library belonged to your family, Celestia. Do you have any relevant memories of her leading up to her fight with Luna?" asked Spike.

"Actually, yes I do Spike. I'm glad you asked. I had received quite a strange letter from Twilight a few days before she came to my library..."

The Closest Star

"Thank you, everypony. I do hope you attend the raising of the moon tonight, you know, Luna is quite the entertainer as well." said Princess Celestia, looking down upon her adoring subjects. She had just finished raising the sun to begin the day, and as usual, a crowd watched in complete awe.

While returning to her usual morning duty of holding court, Princess Celestia was stopped by one of her guards, Epsilon. He had the usual stern look on his face. "Your highness, General Aquarius has asked for your immediate attention regarding Drasil."

Drasil.. What now.. Can't the griffins handle themselves for once? Princess Celestia stood up straight and walked toward her meeting room, attempting to look as calm and confident as possible. Her and Epsilon eventually made it to the other side of the castle. "Epsilon, I must ask you to leave as this discussion should be between Aquarius, his admirals, and I." ordered the princess before opening the door.

"Yes ma'am." he replied, galloping off to return to his normal post.

With a bit of magic, Princess Celestia opened the double doors and walked in, taking a seat at the head of the table. There were nine sitting at the table. Her, Aquarius, and seven admirals with green mohawks and tails. She shot a glare at Aquarius. "Well?" she asked.

The general cleared his throat and began to speak. He was holding a closed scroll. "Your highness, we have received information regarding Commander Veldhavin. His new proposed tax has only created further unrest, and the Drasilian government is crumbling from the bottom up. What action do you propose we take?"

"What can we do? Equestria has no right to intervene." lied the princess. In reality, she wanted nothing more than the dictator's head on a stake, but the thought of having the stress of yet another war sickened her.

"I fear that the time for keeping to our morals has long passed, your highness. Civil war is on the horizon, and Veldhavin is desperate. What if he asks for our aid in fighting off the rebellion militia? What will his response be when we say no?" argued Aquarius. He opened up his scroll and seemingly took notes of the conversation. He finished, rolled up the scroll and passed it to the guard to his left. The guard saluted Aquarius and galloped out of the room.

"What happens if we succeed? The griffins will live ungoverned until they can miraculously find some perfect system and leader?" argued Princess Celestia.

"I had considered that as well. Possibly we should give him about a months notice, so that his successors may have time to develop a new government for Drasil?" asked Aquarius.

Princess Celestia sighed. "Hmm. Not a bad idea, actually. Shall we send a diplomat to discuss compensation for the commander's compliance to resign?"

General Aquarius narrowed his eyes and stared at the princess. "So we can insult him? No. I believe the best course of action is for you to personally visit Veldhavin."

Great. That's EXACTLY what I wanted to hear... Wait. Celestia's train of thought was interrupted as she looked around the room. Something isn't right.

"Excuse me for going off topic, but where is Princess Luna?" she finally asked.

The question caught Aquarius off guard. "She's holding court for you, as you are preoccupied at the given moment."

"How nice of her. Would have been quite a struggle to keep up with this, and my regular duties." she admitted. "I guess if Luna is keeping everything in order, I will leave for Drasil in two weeks."

Aquarius looked at the admirals then returned his focus to the princess. "Indeed. Now, where were-"

He was interrupted by a steam of green fire lit the air above the table as a scroll magically appeared before the princess. It broke the tension, and startled everypony in the room. It was wrapped in a purple and red ribbon, and had a small six point star made of paper to hold the ribbons in place. Celestia levitated it to her face, confused as to why Twilight would be sending her a friendship report at six in the morning. She opened the letter, and began reading it to herself.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I am regretful to inform you of recent events in Ponyville. I have just been told by Rainbow Dash that her former griffin friend, Gilda, had contacted her and spoke of joining some "Resistance", which after explanation, turns out to be a second rate army of rebellious griffins. She sounded very worried, is there something important going on in the western lands that I don't know about?

I apologize if I am overreacting to this incident, however, I fear that if a civil war breaks out in Drasil, Equestria will have to pick up the pieces again. The last thing we need is to spend more money aiding foreign lands. Please respond immediately, if you need the assistance of me and my friends, we will arrive in Canterlot as soon as possible.

Your Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle.

Celestia put down the letter and returned her gaze to the officers, which were giving her confused looks for reading a letter during a meeting. What perfect timing, Twilight... Celestia sighed and looked at Aquarius. "Make that three days."

General Aquarius nodded. "Meeting adjourned then?"

"Yes." she replied.

"Good. I will send Gamma and Epsilon to escort you to Drasil and inform Commander Veldhavin of your visit. Good day, your highness." said the General. All eight ponies saluted Celestia, rose from their seats, and exited the meeting room in two rows of four.

Yeah. What a great day.

Princess Celestia grabbed a blank scroll and began forming a reply to her student.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I appreciate your concern, but the situation is well under control. I will be attending a meeting with Commander Veldhavin in three days, in an effort to stop all of this drama between the griffins.

Thank you for making me aware of Gilda's situation, I did not know things had come that far just yet. You may go about your regular duties in Ponyville without worry, Twilight. You and your friends do not have to come to Canterlot.

With love,

Princess Celestia.

Three days passed quickly. After raising the sun yet again, she made her way to her golden chariot and boarded it. Epsilon and Gamma had been waiting for her for quite some time now.

"Ready to depart, Princess?" asked Gamma.

"As ready as I'll ever be." she groaned.

In unison, the two pegasi spread their wings and took to the sky, the chariot behind them. Celestia's awareness grew as she felt the wind through her mane. She hadn't flown in months, always too busy with something or other. Her mind wandered off as she enjoyed the relaxing ride to more dreadfully boring meetings.

The three arrived at Veldhavin's castle a few hours later. They were greeted by two uniform griffins who had been expecting them.

"Commander Veldhavin will be pleased to learn that you have arrived, Miss Celestia. Might we be of assistance, and escort you and your entourage to his quarters?" asked one of the griffins.

Celestia faked a smile and lowered her head to the griffin, trying her hardest to be polite. "That would be very kind of you."

They walked through a few winding hallways before arriving in a massive throne room, at least twice the size of her and Luna's. At the center sat an old griffin, with a scepter in his claws. He glared angrily at the Princess and let out a grunt. "Good to see you again." he lied.

"Likewise, Commander. I've come here on important duty. As you very well know, the citizens of Drasil are a tad.. Uncomfortable.. In their current situation." said Celestia.

"Bah. That's one way to put it. Those disgusting infidels want nothing but to do whatever they want, whenever they want, without anyone telling them otherwise. If not for me, this pathetic country would be even worse of a hell hole than it already is." said Veldhavin.

Princess Celestia thought for a minute. She had to choose her words carefully in fear of offending the commander. "I know how you feel. It can be very stressful when there are ponies - or griffins in this case - who can never be pleased no matter what you do."

Veldhavin's scowl turned into an intrigued look. He walked a few steps closer, but didn't sit down again before he began talking. "Seems to sum up my situation, doesn't it?" he said, now pacing around the alicorn and her guards.

"What if I can remove all of your stress, and give you leisure in return?" she asked.

Veldhavin raised a brow. He hadn't considered retiring at all before. "Go on."

I win. "In exchange for your resignation, I offer you a home in Canterlot, immunity to all taxes, and ten billion bits." she said.

The commander was shocked. "That is.. Quite a considerable offer, Celestia.. But why?"

"I am sure you are aware of this, but if things continue in Drasil as they have been, the country will fall into civil war. Neither you, nor I, wants to see that happen. If you step down, and a republic is formed, it can solve the problems that the Drasilian people have, and give them no ability to complain about officials that they themselves elected." said Celestia.

"And who will lead them while they elect these.. Officials. Those maggots will never survive by themselves for even the shortest amount of time." argued Veldhavin.

Celestia smiled. "You will. I had already thought of that. While voting and planning takes place, you will remain in command of Drasil. So. Do we have a deal?"

Commander Veldhavin hesitated and thought for a moment, weighing the options inside his head. "I am an old man, and I grow older by the minute every damn time I have to deal with these.. Things.." he paused and looked out of a window before returning his attention to Princess Celestia. "Yes we do." he said.

A flood of relief washed over Celestia as she shook the commanders talons with her hoof. She was successful - and persuading the dictator to leave the country was a lot easier than she thought. Well, I didn't die to a wrathful griffin today. This requires a fucking celebration.

"I expect you to be finished within a month. I will return then to escort you to Equestria, and attend any ceremony you might have planned." said Celestia proudly, still surprised that she had convinced the commander to step down.

"Alright, Celestia. And by the way, I wanted to tell you something before you left." he said.

"What?" asked Celestia, slightly worried.

The elderly griffin smiled at the alicorn before him. "Thank you."

Time went by. Princess Luna had taken hold of Equestria while Celestia journeyed once again to the capitol city of Drasil. This time, however, she was met with cheering crowds of griffins. Thousands of them awaited her arrival, she did save them from a tyrant after all. After wading through the crowds, Celestia made her way to the podium where Commander Veldhavin was standing.

"You made it." he said.

Celestia smiled. "How could I miss it?" she whispered to him as he turned to the crowd to begin his speech. She stood next to the commander and looked onto the crowd, which was chanting her name loudly. Some were holding up a few picket signs, one of which that she noticed read PRAISE THE GREAT PRINCESS CELESTIA, ALMIGHTY LORD AND SAVIOR OF ALL GRIFFIN KIND! The sign flattered her, and she winked at the griffin holding it.

The griffin cleared his throat and the crowd hushed. "Citizens of Drasil. As you know, I, Commander Veldhavin, have chosen to retire my reign to the fine members of the new republic. This was a difficult decision, and although you did not always agree with my policy, I hope we can set aside our differences. I bid you farewell, and wish the best to all citizens of Dra-"

He stopped dead as the sun shifted from its position in the sky, and was replaced by Luna's moon. Celestia's jaw dropped and she sank to her knees as the crowd broke out in screaming and panic.

"What the fuck are you doing, Princess?" snapped Veldhavin.

She was speechless. This was impossible. What in the world was Luna doing? "This.. This Isn't.. My sister must have moved the moon.. I don't even know what is going through her hea-"

Princess Celestia's excuse was interrupted as she heard a petrifying explosion to the far east. She rose to her feet and looked around, trying to find the source of the blast. She didn't see anyone hurt. She didn't see any fire. What just happened?

Everyone grew silent as the somehow night sky was broken in half by a massive column of brilliant white light. Celestia's heart sank as realization of what just happened came to her. One of her six students, one of the ponies who possessed an element of harmony, had just been killed. Then another thing came to her head. If she hadn't been focused on repressing the grief and guilt of one of her friends dying, it never would of dawned on her.

Celestia was no longer the leader of Equestria.

Imprisoned

Spike's eyes widened as he realized he couldn't move his limbs. Absolute fear took over his entire body as adrenaline shot through his veins like burning magma. He could not move to run. He could not even tremble in fear, he did not control any of his body whatsoever. The worst was the silence. It was so dark, so cold. He felt like he was just floating.

"Wh-Where am I?" he finally asked the empty space around him.

You are within my world.

Spike was startled at the voice, but he couldn't flinch. This world would not allow him to. He did not expect an answer, he could not even make out where the voice was coming from. "What is this place? Who are you? How do I get out?"

My true identity is what you seek. You can escape this place, Spike, but your mind is the key. I've been wondering something for awhile now, my friend. Your mind, so locked away, repressed, and always in the worst of hurt. Longing. Depression. Grief. Guilt. How much more of this pain can you endure, Spike? How much of your grip on reality will you sacrifice in order to save your broken soul?

Let the games begin.

Spike jumped to his feet and breathed heavily, flapping his wings and looking around at his surroundings. He was back at camp, Discord and Celestia now staring at him with blank faces.

"Are you okay, son?" asked Discord.

Spike ran up to Discord and pressed his face inches away from his. "How long was I asleep? Did any of you see anything? What happened?"

Celestia broke the staring contest. "Spike, you've been awake this entire time listening to my story. You never fell asleep at all, what was that outburst about?"

What?

No...

This is impossible.

It felt so real...

The voice was right. I am going insane.

Spike returned his focus to his two worried friends who just stared at him in silence. Eager to break off the tension, he tried to think of something to say. "So, what about the griffins? What happened to them?"

"You didn't know?" asked Celestia.

"Loo-Loo put targets on their backs, and what was once a great civilization, now wild animals that her blind followers killed for game. If there are any living griffins at this point, I do not know." added Discord.

"Yes. What he said." agreed Celestia.

"I overheard your little argument last night, Tia. You wondered how Twilight could use all of the elements of chaos." said Discord.

"What? You know why?" asked Celestia, now her attention set on the draconequus.

"The elements of chaos work differently than the elements of harmony do. Yes, you can still control them by being pure to the element they represent, but that is difficult and mostly contradictory when trying to use all five. The elements of chaos, as they are chaos, can be obtained by disarming someone who does indeed represent their trait, and hold an element." answered Discord.

"Disarming? You mean killing?" asked Celestia.

"Not quite. It can in some circumstances mean killing, yes. However, to disarm someone, is to render them defenseless. So all you need is the ability to kill them, and the element is yours." he replied.

"But where would Twilight have found these people?" asked Celestia, perplexed.

"I can name a few. She had obviously obtained the element of discord from me, when she came to me and unlocked me from my stone prison. Since she had control over my life, I had been disarmed, and she ripped the power of my element from me. So here I am. Boring. Another, would be your sister, the element of envy. When Twilight removed the influence of nightmare moon from Luna, once again, she had controlled Luna's life. Therefore, she had the ability at that point to steal the element of envy from Luna. In all honesty, I don't think Luna was anything but thankful at the time." answered Discord.

"Wait. Twilight set you free? When was this? Why would she do that?" interrogated Celestia, now pacing around in short lines while keeping her eyes locked with Discord's.

Discord looked off into the distance, annoyed by the questions. "It was thirty years ago, Tia. Just about a week before Twilight had broken into your library using the elements of chaos."

"Can you tell us what happened?" interrupted Spike.

Discord looked at Spike. "Do you really care? It's not like I understood why she would go through all this trouble for a few dusty books. Then again.. We are talking about Twilight Sparkle."

"Any information you have on Twilight could help us. We need to know how she discovered Luna's plan, and if she had ever formed a way to stop her, what it was. Twilight was the only pony who actually knew what was going on, and that was no coincidence. If we can figure out what Twilight was doing, maybe we can find a way of stopping Luna." answered Celestia, before Spike could speak.

"It's a long and boring story." argued Discord.

"We have all the time in the world." retaliated Spike.

"No you don't. You have fifteen hundred years." joked Discord.

"Discord. Get on with it." ordered Celestia.

"Fine, fine. Why must you make my life so miserable, Tia?" whined Discord.

"Because she can." answered Spike.

"Big dragon boyfriend to the rescue!" yelled Discord, flapping his mismatched wings to imitate Spike.

Celestia twitched and shouted at the top of her lungs. She cursed at the draconequus who stared at her in amazement and fear. She took a long pause before speaking again. "Sorry. Please tell your story, Discord."

Discord and Spike looked at the steaming Celestia, both of them subconsciously deciding how to respond to such an unusual outburst from the predominately calm alicorn. Discord wanted to burst out laughing, but he kept his cool and began speaking.

"I was minding my own business, doing perfectly normal statue things, when Twilight walked up to me..."

The Sideways Hourglass

"Well... Thanks fer yer help Twi..." said Applejack, trying to smile.

"Not a problem." replied Twilight.

A long silence followed, until it was broken by the concerned orange mare. "Ah... Ah'm really scared for ya Twi..."

"I know." she replied, trying to comfort Applejack.

"Are ya sure ya need to do this alone? We could use the elements of harmony again." pleaded Applejack.

Twilight sighed. "The elements of harmony would not help in this situation. They can intervene, they can push away, but they cannot kill. That's assuming the elements have even a small fraction of the divine power the alicorns have."

"And what exactly makes ya think that you can hurt Luna?" argued Applejack.

"Still working on that." answered Twilight as she looked off into the distant mirage of Canterlot city.

Applejack walked in front of her, blocking her view. "Can't we help? Ah mean, we're all friends! Our friendships saved Equestria Ah don't even know how many times!"

"It's different this time." said Twilight.

"How is it different? What about Discord? Ah remember he was evil and we stopped him! Ah also remember stoppin' Nightmare Moon, when we first became friends." said Applejack.

Twilight's anger got the best of her, she put her nose to Applejack's and shot her a death glare. Twilight refused to blink. "It's different because it isn't a game this time. Discord is nothing, an insect under my hooves. He turned buildings upside down and made chocolate fall from the sky. You think that's what we're dealing with now, Applejack? You think we can walk in, go through some friendship test, and come out victorious? Luna will kill you without hesitation. Crush your skull with magic, effortlessly. She does not care. Don't you get it? You won't turn gray, you won't have to say something honest, you will be gutted and tortured without being given the most minuscule ability to retaliate. If you come with me, element or not, you will die."

Applejack backed up and fell to her knees as realization and fear struck her like a lightning bolt. She hadn't considered at all how serious this was. Every time they went up against some villain in Equestria, the elements of harmony were there to help them, and friendship allowed them to overcome ridiculously easy obstacles. The illusion that they lived in a happy, fair world crumbled around Applejack. Friendship wasn't there this time. Friendship didn't matter anymore. This was terrible. Horrific. How could anyone disregard the life of someone else and end it without any consideration whatsoever? Evil. Applejack didn't want to believe what Twilight told her, but she knew that Twilight was right. This wasn't a game anymore. This was war. Pain in her chest took over Applejack as she cried in front of the purple mare.

"Why does this have tah happen, Twi?" she cried.

Twilight sat down next to the inconsolable earth pony and wrapped her foreleg around her neck. "I don't know. I'm sorry, AJ. I never wanted to become involved in it, but if I don't, there will be nothing for anypony to live for anymore. I'm sure night will last, however, I believe a figurative darkness will exist for as long as Luna is in power. I can't let that happen, even if it means..."

"No! Ya won't die, Twilight. Yer gonna live happily all your life, here with me and everypony else. We'll never die. We'll live ferever." pleaded Applejack. She returned the embrace with all her strength.

Twilight felt a tear roll down her face. "Applejack..."

Applejack wiped away her tears and rose from the dirt. "Ah know Twi. Ah know you have tah do this."

Twilight could feel her heart tearing to shreds. Why does it have to be like this? Why do I have to lie to her? No. You know what you have to do, Twilight. Do not allow your emotions to turn you in the wrong direction. This is your fate, and you cannot change it. The pain she will endure is worth it, and you know that very well. Do not be weak. She can not know, she would not understand. Twilight got up and stood next to the orange mare as they looked deep into each others eyes.

"I have to go, AJ. General Aquarius is expecting my arrival in Canterlot by tonight. I'm so, so sorry. For all of this." she finally said.

"It ain't yet fault Twi. Please be careful, Ah don't know what Ah'd do if Ah lost ya Twi..." replied Applejack, a sad smile on her face.

You're probably going to have to find out soon.

"Your highness!" exclaimed Aquarius as he bowed before the galloping mare infront of him.

"No time for greetings, I need an escort to the palace gardens and I need it fast. We must arrive before nightfall, Princess Luna can not know we are here." Ordered Twilight, as Aquarius quickly nodded and followed her.

"So how do you intend to get it?" he asked. Both him and Twilight were panting heavily, at full gallop towards the gardens.

"Easy. Discord is weak minded, I can simply ask for it." answered Twilight.

Aquarius was puzzled. "What? The former emperor of Equestria, who held his reign for nearly two thousand years? You believe he is weak minded?"

Twilight chuckled. "I know he is. Discord is nothing but a child in an adult body. He will have no response whatsoever when he understands that play time is over."

"Then what?" asked Aquarius.

"I will find a medium to imbue the elements into. Older and harder gemstones would do well, I have an old friend that collects and uses gems to make clothing. I'm sure she would give me some to store the elements in. I'd rather not be directly influenced by all five and slip into my own insane reality, the rest of Equestria following it." she replied.

"Imbue the elements of chaos into diamonds? That is impossible! No gem would be strong enough to hold them together. Ha! The day you walk up to me holding diamond elements of chaos is the day that unicorns will fly." he challenged.

"Do you underestimate me, Aquarius? If you think it's so impossible, then I'm sure you will fear me even more when I do it." said Twilight, winking at the elderly pegasus.

"I-I'm sorry your highness! I did not mean to offend you!" pleaded Aquarius, now realizing his mistake.

"Forget it. We're here." she said, as they walked up to the statue of Discord.

They both could hear the frozen draconequus' heart beating. It was a cold winter day, but being around the statue made everything somewhat warmer. Twilight stared into it's eyes for a few moments before focusing her horn towards the head of the statue.

"Now what?" asked Aquarius.

"Stand there and look handsome." said Twilight, annoyed at the interruption.

Twilight closed her eyes. Her horn began to glow red. Reality slipped away as Twilight removed herself from her physical body. She had gotten there early and she could proceed without Luna noticing. Stripping her soul from her own body was the easy part, now she needed to altar physics to let her do her work. With a fit of magic, Twilight stopped time. She could hold this spell for quite awhile, actually. She had practiced it in the library to get some work done quickly. Now she was safe for awhile, Luna would not come out to find her in the night for as long as Twilight wanted. She had won. Twilight had turned the hourglass sideways.

Discord slowly opened and closed his eyes, becoming more and more aware of his surroundings. He rose from the ground, stretched his wings and let out a long yawn. Around him were cold, gray stones. He smiled and took in a deep breath, looking around at his stone furniture. There weren't many trees up in the mountains, so it was usual for draconequus' to build everything they have from stone.

Discord took in another helping of air, and smelled something delightful. He recognized this smell immediately - It was his mother's soup. Soup for breakfast was unusual, but he didn't protest. It was his favorite meal. She had made this soup for him since he was a small child, and she had yet to tell him the recipe. He eagerly walked into the kitchen to see his mother, his father, and Luna sitting at the table. There was an empty chair and bowl for Discord as well.

"Took you long enough to wake up, son." joked Romulus.

Discord laughed and took a seat. "You know dad, it would be a lot easier if you actually helped me hunt. There aren't enough goats on this mountain anymore, I think I've scared them all off."

All four shared a laugh. "Dissy, maybe you should ask the goats nicely." his mother suggested.

"Yeah. That would work." joked Luna. She planted a short kiss on Discord's cheek, and smiled at him. "Morning, hun."

Discord smiled back at her then returned his attention to his father. "It's a shame you have to leave so soon, dad. You and mom can come back and visit our humble abode anytime you wish."

"Oh, please. You and Luna can't always have house guests. Anyways, your mother and I need to tend to the farm back home." said Romulus.

"I know." agreed Discord, now drinking the remainder of his soup from the bowl.

"We really do enjoy it when you come over, Mom, Dad." said Luna. She was comfortable enough with her father and mother in law to call them that. Luna shared close relations with her entire family, from both sides. As did Discord.

"Oh well thank you Luna, that's very nice of you." said Veronica.

Romulus looked and Luna and smiled. "So, how is Aumean doing? She must be so busy, I could never imagine ruling such a large country as Equestria."

"Mother is doing fine, nothing really exciting happening lately. I've been raising the moon a lot more lately. She wants me and Celestia to be ready to take her place, she says she's getting too old to work anymore." answered Luna.

You failed them.

Romulus chuckled. "Did you hear that Discord? That makes you future king of the ponies! Who'd of ever thought, my son born a farmer would ever be royalty."

Discord laughed. "I don't think I'll be making many decisions. That's for Luna and Tia to do. I'll just be the most gorgeous thing in all of Equestria."

Luna giggled. "All of the world." she added, giving Discord another kiss.

Why did you ruin all of it? You're nothing.

A cold gust of wind blew into their cave. Startled, Discord flinched and closed his eyes. He rubbed them and looked up at the table to see his entire family... Wait. Something isn't...

Their smiles turned to frowns as the happy family before him turned gray and angry. They slowly walked closer to him, Discord flew back against the wall in fear. His heart was beating at light speeds, adrenaline rushing through his veins.

You're pathetic. You deserve every last bit of this.

"Why did you leave me? You ruined me. I went mad in isolation. How would you like a thousand years in solitude? Oh that's right, you got it." said the Luna look-a-like.

"I am disappointed in you. You tore this family apart. Get out of my sight, scum. You aren't my son anymore." added Romulus.

His mother did not add in the discussion. She turned her head away and cried, but she did not cry tears. She cried blood. It was a horrific scene.

"Come with us. Your life ends here." ordered Luna.

"No!" shouted Discord, he flew out of the cave as fast as he could, thinking he lost the trio. He tried to calm himself, but then he turned around. Why did he do that? What he saw made his heart sink. The three were following him, at the same pace.

The world as he saw it crumbled around him as the trio disappeared, along with everything else. He flew in complete blackness until he was stopped and frozen by an unexplainable force. He could move no muscles in his body. Fear overtook the draconequus as he tried to look around, but his eyes would not budge. He was at the mercy of whoever held him here.

"What.. What is this.." he said, still able to use his mouth somehow.

Twilight materialized from thin air in front of Discord, she laughed to herself then looked up at the draconequus. "You're fun to play around with, Discord. Such rich memories... Repressed feelings... It must be hard keeping up that tough-guy façade of yours. Married to Princess Luna? Ha. I can't say that she had no taste, after reading the book of your mind I can see exactly what she saw in you. You are quite the charmer, Dissy. Maybe when we get out of here..." Twilight smiled and winked at him.

Discord boiled with anger but his body did not allow him to show it. "Twilight Sparkle? How are you here? What is this place? What do you want?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Twilight asked. "That nice little fun part of you... The part of you who wants nothing but to play with the universe to his hearts content... There must be a name for that isn't there? How you not only want to, but actually can do it!"

"The element of discord." he answered. "How did you know?"

"It's blatantly obvious, not to mention your name sort of hints me here." replied Twilight, still laughing at the angry draconequus.

Discord was now confused. "Of all ponies, why in the world do you want my element?"

"I'm collecting them. Going to stuff them all in a box and label it 'Twilightz Stuff'." she said sarcastically.

"You expect me to just give it to you? Whatever magic your using to hold me here cannot last long, you are but a simple unicorn. Not to mention you have to use so much energy creating... Wherever we are."

"You don't have a choice, child. I am not using any energy to hold you, or making an illusion. You are still in the palace gardens, trapped in stone." she replied.

"What? That's impossible. If I am trapped in stone, Twilight, how are we standing here now?" he asked, growing increasingly nervous as he stuttered on a few words.

"We aren't standing anywhere. This is your own subconscious, Discord. I have complete control over your mind." corrected Twilight, once again beginning to laugh at the frightened draconequus.

Discord paused for awhile to consider what she said. "You're insane."

Twilight continued laughing. "I'm not the one who is trapped inside his own head with some purple unicorn appearing and asking for a mystical rock that lets you play with the laws of physics at your own will. Just saying."

"Fair point. You still aren't getting it, though." defended Discord.

"You annoy me, pest. You're nothing. You are no element of chaos, just a small child who wants to play games all day. Your arrogance is despicable." said Twilight. She had stopped laughing.

Discord let a chuckle escape. "You may be able to see my brain, but you know nothing. Let's play a game Twilight. I heard your little friends were going to be slain by little Loo-Loo."

"Really? You think that shit actually works on me? I couldn't care less about those annoying twats." said Twilight.

A sweat rolled down his forehead. He did not expect that answer. "Oh, but Twilight... Don't you just love the magic of friendship? What if I were to bring little Fluttershy here..."

"Do it." challenged Twilight, releasing her magical grip from Discord. "I'll kill her on the spot. This place isn't real, if you remember."

"Here are the rules to this game, Twilight Sparkle." said Discord as he approached her, stroked her main and laughed. "I'm going to keep you trapped here, as long as I want, and you will endure the most amusing punishment I can think of. How does that sound?"

"No thanks. The time for games has long passed." said Twilight, as she forced discord's body into a hanging position above her. She outstretched his arms and forced his neck upwards. A small cut appeared at the top of his chest, and slowly ran down his entire body. He tried to scream in pain, but couldn't. He had never felt anything this severe before, and this wasn't even real. The entire front of his body became drenched in blood almost immediately.

Twilight focused her energy on his paws and talons now. She slowly ripped each of his nails from their sockets, one by one. Discord was now crying uncontrollably, unable to speak. His wings, legs, and arms moved forward in unnatural ways, then finally... Snap.

His body fell to the floor as Twilight released her grip on him once again. He breathed heavily, his avatar slipping away. He coughed blood and looked up at the smiling unicorn. "You..."

At that instant, she healed the draconequus to his former self, and froze his body for the third time. She walked up to his face, then began to boast. "Did you really think you're better than I am at this?"

"How..."

"You're pathetic, Discord. You don't represent chaos. You don't deserve your element. Give it to me." ordered Twilight.

He didn't respond, just continued to stare into the unicorn's angry eyes with fear.

"I can set you free, in return for you handing it over without any trouble." said Twilight, in a seductive voice. "You can escape this stone prison. Live a happy life. You no longer have to deal with the ponies any more."

Discord was surprised. Could he really return to a simpler life, before he became influenced by the element of discord? He hadn't lived like that for thousands of years. He weighed his options for awhile, then the thought of another torture session with Twilight came to him. "You amuse me, Twilight Sparkle. Impressive show back there. I will accept your offer."

"Good that you came to your senses. Let's get out of your head now, yes?" joked Twilight, as she smiled at Discord.

"I would like that." he said. They both laughed as the black, empty world faded around him.

Twilight returned to her physical body as time began ticking normally again. She focused a beam of energy on the center of the statue as it began to crack. Aquarius looked at her confused, he hadn't known that she had been inside Discord's mind for six hours. Since she had stopped time, it appeared to Aquarius that the both of them had been standing there for only a few seconds.

Discord broke free from his stone prison, gasped and kissed the ground. He looked up to see Twilight smiling at him. She winked, and touched her horn to his forehead. He felt a surge of energy rush through him. It wasn't painful, it felt... Good. Clean. As if his blood had just been taken out, and replaced with brand new blood. Pain and depression within his mind dissipated. A massive weight had just been lifted from his shoulders. For the first time in three thousand years, he felt... Happy.

"Wasn't so bad was it?" she asked.

"No... Not at all Twilight. That was... Amazing. Thank you. Thank you so much." he said.

"What are friends for?" she asked.

"Mhm. By the way, that was quite a brutal performance back there. I didn't know you had such a dark side." joked Discord.

Twilight giggled. "It had to be done, there was no other way to convince you. Trust me, I'm still the nice Twilight Sparkle you know."

Discord smiled. "Speaking of that, you never exactly finished your thought. I mean, after you called me quite charming..."

Twilight blushed. "Oh my, quite bold are we now? You know, Aquarius is standing right here."

"Erm.." Aquarius stood there dumb founded. "Am I missing something, your highness?"

Twilight and Discord both broke out in laughing fits. "You may return to your post, General." she said.

Aquarius stared at them for a few moments before walking off. "Uh... Okay Miss. Have a... Good night?"

Discord looked at Twilight. "So. What exactly did you need my element for anyways?"

Twilight sighed and looked at the ground. "I fear that dark times are approaching Equestria. Princess Luna has been involved in some... Wrong activity. I recently spoke to Luna about it. I could not read her mind, but she was angry. She was hateful. Evil. I asked Aquarius about it, and he said that Luna had plans to overtake the country in a final plot of revenge against Celestia. I can not allow that to happen, and I believe that only the control over all eleven elements can stop Luna."

Discord looked off in thought. "Seems like something Luna would do. Every single damn day we were married. 'Oh Discord people like Tia more, why cant people love me??' - It got so unbearably annoying. That's why I left Luna in the first place." Discord paused and looked at Twilight. "To put yourself in harms way, to protect everyone else... It's quite a noble cause indeed. You have my best wishes, Twilight Sparkle. Good luck."

Twilight smiled and blushed again. "Thank you. Now, we best get going before nightfall. If Luna sees either of us here..."

"It won't be good." he interrupted. "Good night, Twilight."

They turned to leave, but Twilight turned around. "Wait, Dissy. Before you go..."

He turned around and looked at the purple mare, raising a brow.

"Whenever Spike isn't around for the night, please, drop by the library. We can do some... Studying." said Twilight, her cheeks turning scarlet red. Discord smiled at her before spreading his mismatched wings and preparing to begin his ascent.

"I might just take you up on that offer."

Through Evil Eyes

The Queen's eyes opened as she released her focus on Discord's mind. "Amusing." she said.

She was taller than most ponies. She had white eyes, not lit with much magic, but just enough to hide her pupils. Her coat was pitch black, if you didn't look close enough, she would appear to just be a flying pair of eyes. She wore a black cloak and hood at all times, covering her wings and horn. She had been lying down while listening to Discord's conversation, despite being hundreds of miles away.

Aquarius laughed. "It's funny how they actually think they can do something."

Aquarius was now even older looking than he used to be. Wrinkles covered his face, and his coat was now much darker then the light gray which he wore thirty years ago. His armor was black, with a purple mohawk and tail. All of the other guards had the same uniform, however, red mohawks and tails.

"Celestia could be troublesome, actually." she contradicted.

Aquarius narrowed his eyes. "What? That old hag? I bet she couldn't lift a rock!"

The Queen sighed. "Are you really that stupid?"

"What?" asked Aquarius.

"Alicorns are immortal and do not age past the height of their health. It would be suicide to assume Celestia is any less, if not more powerful then she was thirty years ago." she argued.

"Hmph. You worked so hard to take the throne from her, yet you still respect her?" asked a puzzled Aquarius.

She sighed once again. "Celestia taught me everything I know."

"Not everything." challenged Aquarius.

Spike's eyes widened. "Did... You ever actually... With Twilight..."

Discord turned away and stared off into the open. "Yes."

Spike's jaw fell. He shook his head trying to deny it, but the mental image of it happening wouldn't go away. Twilight... And Discord... TWILIGHT... And DISCORD...

"You must be joking?" he finally said.

"No." answered Discord.

Celestia grit her teeth and twitched. "Wasn't she... Just a bit... Young... For you..."

"She was a fully grown adult, Tia." defended Discord. "It was her who asked me. Anyways, you are four thousand and are in love with a thirty seven year old dragon."

Celestia cringed. "If you made her happy... I don't have many arguments. I've lived long enough to know what is important..."

Spike was confused as Discord walked over to the crying Celestia to comfort her. "She was so young..." cried the alicorn.

Discord suddenly understood her distress. "You never told her, did you?"

Celestia shook her head. "I was always waiting for the right time. She admired me so much... Something in the back of her mind must of known. Every time she was around me, it burned. It was torture. I failed her..."

"You did the right thing, Tia. It was wrong for Twilight to grow up in those conditions. You would have always been busy with something. She would of asked where Luna was. A child needed more attention then that, and for someone who is immortal like Twilight, waiting for a few decades to tell her was never a mistake." said Discord, failing to comfort the inconsolable alicorn.

"Twilight? Immortal? How?" asked Spike, walking closer to the two.

"Spike..." began Discord.

Celestia interrupted him. "No. We better get going. This is a story for another time. Sweet apple acres is only about three hours away from here."

Discord sighed and gave a concerned look at the white mare, but decided not to speak. He was usually the one to make a joke or lighten up the mood, but this was serious. He went and collected his belongings. Spike turned and looked at Celestia. "Is there something I need to know?"

"Yes, but not now. Let's find Applejack first." she said.

"Fair enough." agreed Spike, who had nothing to carry with him.

Discord and Celestia eventually gathered their things and took flight, followed by the super-massive purple dragon.

Dash yawned and stretched her arms as she walked down the stairs into the kitchen, only to smell the familiar aroma of apple pie. "Mornin' AJ."

"Heya Rainbow!" the orange mare responded.

Dash walked up to Applejack and kissed her on the cheek. She walked over to the window to see the blooming apple trees. "Going to be a great season." she said. Even now that Equestria was in Luna's hooves, she never really bothered anyone except by sacrificing a few criminals and raising taxes. Nights were also longer, 16 hour nights and 8 hour days. It was enough, though.

"Sure is. Did I tell you Big Macintosh might be comin' to visit later this week?" announced Applejack.

Dash smiled. "Sounds great! I haven't seen Mac in awhile, how is his farm going?"

"Good as usual. The price of corn has risen lately, he's been rakin' in the dough. Not to mention all the money they get from Fluttershy's milk and eggs. Them critters of hers finally decided to turn a profit." answered Applejack.

"Fluttershy and Mac have always been so happy together." said Dash.

Applejack smiled. "Yeah they have. It'll be good to see them again, maybe you and Fluttershy can practice them flier tricks eh?"

Dash laughed a bit. She hadn't flown to perform stunts at all since Luna disbanded the Wonderbolts. That dream had long passed since she and Applejack got together. She didn't need such silly things such as the Wonderbolts anymore, she was happy.

As they were eating their pies, they heard a knock on the door. "Ah'll get it." volunteered Applejack. She walked up to the farm house door, and opened it. She stared up in awe, and backed away a few steps. "R-Rainbow..."

Dash rushed into the main room in an attempt to defend her mate, only to see someone she thought she would never see again. Her jaw dropped at the sight of it.

Celestia smiled. "Hello girls. May we come in?"

"Of course P-Princess..." said Dash.

Celestia entered the house and looked around at the various pictures and pieces of furniture. "Please, call me Celestia. I'm no longer the princess." She smiled at them. "This is a very nice place you have here."

"Thank you, uhm, Celestia." said Applejack.

"Look out behind you!" shouted Dash, as she flew and tackled the draconequus which was entering the building.

"Could someone please get it off me." said Discord, growing increasingly annoyed.

"Don't worry, Discord here isn't making trouble anymore." said Celestia. She smiled at Dash.

Applejack bit Dash by the tail and pulled her off the angry draconequus. She gave him a crooked smile. "Sorry 'bout her, Mr Discord."

Discord chuckled to himself and got up. "It's quite alright. I understand it must have been odd seeing me."

They shared a laugh as Discord and Celestia explained why they were here.

"So you want us to come along with you?" asked Dash.

"Yes. Precisely. Will you both come outside with me, for a moment?" asked Celestia.

The four exited the house to be greeted by the massive purple dragon. "Is... Is that you, Spike?" asked Applejack. Her and Dash's mouth were agape.

"Sure is." he answered.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" said Dash as she flew up to hug the dragon's neck.

"Hello to you too, little one." joked Spike.

Applejack was concerned however. She turned and looked up to Celestia. "Thirty years ago, before Twilight died in the fight versus Luna... She told me she needed tah do it alone. Why do ya need us now? Did she need us before?"

Celestia looked around at everyone, who now had their eyes on her. She turned to Discord, he nodded his head. Celestia looked back at Applejack. "I believe there is something all of you need to know about Twilight, before we depart..."

The dark alicorn released herself from Celestia's mind after reading into what she was about to say. She backed up and fell to her hooves, and began breathing heavily. She shook her head in denial, but could not turn away the thoughts of what she had just seen. She thought about it once more until making a final jurisdiction.

Impossible.

Great Sacrifices

"She's... Beautiful..." said Nurse Redheart.

Celestia's eyes were locked on the baby filly that the new mother held. "I know." she replied.

"Is there anything you need, Princess?" asked the nurse.

Celestia smiled without looking at the nurse. "I think I just need a bit of rest. Thank you for all of your assistance."

The nurse left the room, Celestia did not even notice. The baby filly let out a yawn as she fell asleep in Celestia's arms. She looks just like her father... Celestia's mind wandered off as she thought about her husband. She thought about the events of half a year ago. A single tear streamed down her face. You were so stupid, Star...

General Stardust took a second look at the astronomy charts. "Aquarius, what is this?"

Stardust was a tall, large build alicorn. His coat was of very dark purple, matching his eyes. He had a pitch black mane, save for a stripe in the middle, which was dyed scarlet red. His cutie mark was scarlet red as well. It was a four point star, however the tips of each point were as black as his mane. He wore a golden plate of armor on his chest. Unlike the other soldiers, he wore no helmet, but a gold crown with a red gem. His outstretched wings were four feet long, each. General Stardust was truly the textbook definition of a divine alicorn stallion.

"Oh, well... I believe having the sun rise a few hours early will boost the agricultural economy from it's current deficit into a surplus. You know, with more crop then it would have had." defended the Admiral.

"Such a change can upset the natural order of things. For eons, the sun has risen and fell at the same exact times. Do you really think it's worth it to test nature like this? For some extra bits?" interrogated Stardust.

Admiral Aquarius rolled his eyes."Oh please, Star. What's the worst that could happen? Some owls and raccoons get angry because they get a bit less time to be awake?"

Stardust sighed. "I fear it could be much worse then that. Please redo these charts and return them to normal, Aquarius."

"Do you not care about the farmers at all?!" shouted Aquarius, angrily. "The money this could bring to them, and the entire nation! You would be a fool to pass it up because of some annoyed rodents!"

"Then I will have Celestia sew me a jester's outfit. As of now, go fix the charts." said Stardust, grinning.

Aquarius snorted as he stormed out of the room. Stardust chuckled to himself and returned his attention to some maps of the Drasilian empire that he had been looking at before Aquarius came in. Why do the griffins need all of this land? He lost track of time in thought.

"My husband approved of this?" asked Celestia, reading the astronomical charts with a confused look on her face.

"Of course he did! He said the boost in crop supply was just what we needed to keep in competition with Drasil." answered Aquarius, eagerly.

Celestia sighed. "Well, if he thinks it's a good idea, it must be. I just don't get why he would be so bold as to do something like this. I'll inform my advisers of the new changes, then prepare to raise the sun. Two hours earlier than usual, I wonder if we will still get a large sum of spectators."

"I'm sure we will, your highness." assured Aquarius.

Stardust had been staring at his maps for hours. He was growing increasingly bored, pacing back and forth around the room. He looked outside his window to see a large crowd gathering before Celestia's podium. That's different. Why are they here so early? The sun doesn't rise until...

His eyes widened as he saw Celestia walk toward the center of the stage. She spread her wings and began saying things that he couldn't hear from that far away. His jaw dropped as he saw his wife slowly fly upwards, raising the sun with her.

No.

He took off at full gallop towards the stage as Celestia set into place. The sun was now in its regular position, and the sun goddess lowered herself back to the ground. Stardust was panting now, trying to reach the alicorn as fast as possible.

No!

He finally made it, and with a surge of magic, pushed away the crowd blocking him. Celestia was confused and worried. He made it up to her and took a deep breath. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked.

Celestia gave him a puzzled look. "I'm raising the sun early for the farmers, just like you wanted me to."

"What? When did I-" The General boiled with incomparable anger as realization flooded his mind. "Son of a bitch!"

Their conversation was interrupted as the earth shook below. The onlookers panicked as Stardust and Celestia looked off in the distance. Her heart sank as she saw three purple transparent figures the size of mountains rise from the ground. Three, ultra massive, Ursa Majors.

Stardust didn't wait as adrenaline shot through his veins. He spread his wings and took off at unimaginable speeds, and in only a few short seconds did he reach the point where a huge explosion of sound and light followed him in his path. The light was six different shades of purple, black, and red. Everypony in Canterlot held their hooves to their ears and cringed as the horrific sound passed them.

Stardust slowed as he approached the angry, cosmic beasts. Upon seeing him, one of the ursa let out a loud roar, and the other two followed shortly after. Please, Aumean... Give me strength. Stardust's horn began to glow, and his eyes turned scorching white. He tapped into all of the stored energy that he had - Including his element of magic.

The general released a magnificent bolt of lightning focused at the blue insignia on the center Ursa. It fell to the ground with a crash, and it's transparent body disappeared. One down. He charged his horn once again, only to be knocked out of the air by the left Ursa major before he could finish the spell. He jumped to his hooves the instant he fell, and flew back up to a safe distance.

"Tough things you are eh?" he said. The Ursa didn't notice his taunt. Too exhausted to use anymore magic, the alicorn propelled himself towards the insignia of the left ursa that had just attacked him. Seemingly just in time, he reached the correct speed and performed another sonic lightboom. The second Ursa fell similar to the first. He turned his attention to the remaining Ursa major.

They locked eyes, but then something happened. The last Ursa absorbed the cosmic energy of his fallen brothers, and grew to three times it's original size. The beast turned from dark purple to bright red, and let out a petrifying scream. Stardust looked on in absolute horror, weighing his options and contemplating what he had to do next. He thought of his beautiful, loving wife. He thought of his soon-to-come baby daughter. He thought of all of the citizens of Equestria that he had sworn to protect, no matter what. His entire life flashed before his eyes.

I love you, Celestia.

White lightning bolts began to circle at impossible speeds around the purple stallion. He closed his eyes and rested his wings, but he did not fall. He was being carried by an unexplainable magical force. The lightning bolts grew with intensity as he slowly rose to eye level with the Ursa Master. General Stardust gave a sad smile to the Ursa before him, accepting what he was about to do.

The alicorn prince lifted his head, and opened his burning white eyes. "Well played."

At that very instant, a pressure wave released from the alicorn, knocking back the Ursa master, and crushing a nearby forest. A brilliant tower of white light erupted from where Stardust was flying, so massive that all of Equestria, and even beyond, could have seen it. The Ursa master slowly turned to dust and disappeared completely from the land below. As the tower of light subsided, the purple alicorn fell to the ground. He was out of all energy, out of all being, all existence. An immortal being, used seemingly infinite power, and drained himself dry.

He had sacrificed his own life.

"So what are you going to name her?" asked Comet. Comet was a blue unicorn stallion, of regular build. He had golden eyes, and a yellow cutie mark depicting two intertwined moons.

Celestia thought for a moment. She looked down at the sleeping alicorn filly, and smiled. She had a small stub for where her horn would grow in, and no sign of wings yet. That was normal, wings didn't grow in until the mare was about twenty five years old or so. She was light purple, with a black mane to match her fathers. It was the most precious thing Celestia had ever seen. "Twilight. Twilight Sparkle."

"That's a beautiful name, my friend. To match a beautiful little girl." said Comet.

"Am I making the right choice, Comet?" asked Celestia, giving a worried look to the unicorn.

"She needs attention. She needs someone to be there all of the time. You know that you have a country to run, and without Luna or Stardust here to help you, you won't have time for Twilight." said Comet, trying to not cry in front of the Princess.

"You're right." she admitted. "Please, Comet. You and Eclipse, take good care of my daughter for me? I will always be watching, and I will try to visit whenever I can. When she is old enough, she can come to my school."

"Celestia. You are giving up your only daughter, so she may live a happier childhood. That's the most amazing, most selfless thing anyone has ever done. I won't let you down, I'll make sure she is loved, no matter what. She'll be raised right. She'll be happy. I promise." he said.

"What if she finds out?" asked Celestia.

Comet sighed. "Then you need to tell her. When Twilight is old enough, Celestia, she needs to hear the truth, and she needs to hear it from you. In twenty five years, I do not want to have her coming to me asking 'Daddy, why do I have wings?'"

Celestia cried deeply and hugged her filly one last time. "I love you so much, Twilight. I will always love you."

Your Life Depends On It

"You sick, corrupt, manipulative bastard." said the black alicorn in disgust. She rose to her hooves and walked slowly towards the trembling Aquarius.

Aquarius gulped. "N-Now you wait just a minute. Everything had to happen for a reason."

"If not for you, it all would have been different. You made me this way. This is your fault." she accused.

Aquarius covered his face and squealed as the alicorn stood above him. "If I hadn't become general, you wouldn't even be here right now! You should be thanking me!"

She growled deeply and narrowed her ghostly eyes. "DOES THOU THINK THOU HAST HELPED US?! THOU HAST GIVEN US NOTHING SAVE MISERY AND TORMENT! WE HAVE BEEN ALONE HERE FOR THIRTY ORBITS, AND THOU IS TO BLAME!"

"No. You are to blame. This was all your decision." he said, in disbelief that he had been so courageous as to say that.

The alicorn smashed a hoof into the throat of the pegasus. It was enough to keep him down, but not kill him. She put her muzzle to his ear. "Now you listen to me." she whispered. "I'm going to torture you. I'm going to heal you. I'm going to torture you again. Then, I'll repeat the process to my hearts content. It's about time I got some entertainment around here." she whispered.

Aquarius immobilized as dread claimed his facial expression. "You... You can't do that..."

The Queen smiled. "Oh, but I can, and when I get bored of you, I'm going to give you the worst punishment I've ever known. A thousand years on the moon. Unless..."

He almost screamed it. "Unless what!?"

"You bring me Discord's head."

As Celestia finished her story, Applejack and Rainbow Dash stared at her in disbelief. "You're Twilight's mom?" asked Dash, finally.

"Yes." replied Celestia.

Applejack's curiosity got the best of her. "So, if she'da lived longer, she'da grown wings?"

Celestia giggled. "Huge, powerful wings. All six Wonderbolts combined wouldn't of been a fraction a good a flier as Twilight would have been."

Dash grit her teeth. "You wait just a minute! She wouldn't of been as good of a flier as me, would she have been?! I can do a sonic rainboom! I can clear the skies in ten seconds flat!"

"All of which a very nice, Rainbow. However, an alicorn can reach hypersonic speeds in just a few seconds, without putting much effort in at all. Even if they are moving upwards." said Celestia.

Dash's mouth hung open. She couldn't think of any response to that.

"I believe a part of me always knew." interrupted Spike.

Celestia looked up at him. "What makes you say that?"

"Her seemingly infinite magical ability at such a young age. The part of her mind that always wanted your approval, no matter what. She could never go a day without sending you a letter. When she went to the gala the first time, she did absolutely nothing but stand next to you. Even if she never knew it, some subconscious force made Twilight love you like a daughter." he said.

Spike realized his mistake as Celestia lowered her head. He was going to try to comfort her, but he knew that anything he would have said would only make her feel worse. What could he have said anyways? That Twilight was in a better place now? That she would have loved her if she lived? No. He might as well have driven a nail into Celestia's heart before saying that.

"We should get moving." said Celestia.

"Where?" asked the draconequus.

"Rainbow Dash, Applejack, would either of you know where to find Pinkamena?" asked Celestia.

Dash laughed. "You mean pinkie pie?"

"Uhm... Yes?" said the alicorn.

"When Twi passed away, Pinkie took it really hard... She went up and left all of us 'ere for that old rock farm ah hers." added Applejack.

"Quite a ways away. Applejack, do you want to ride on my back?" asked Spike.

Her eyes lit up. She had never flown much before, except with Dash, who struggled to carry her more than a few feet off the ground. "Boy, would I!"

Discord looked at the alicorn. "It's settled then. Shall we get moving?"

"Yes. Whenever you are ready."

Discord turned from Celestia and looked at the orange mare. "Applejack. When Twilight was inside my mind thirty years ago, she had been thinking about some conversation with you. I wouldn't have usually been able to tell, but the thoughts were overtaking her. She was struggling hard to focus on keeping me trapped. What were you two talking about?"

"Twi was goin' off about Luna and how she had to kill'er." said the earth pony.

Discord looked confused. "You had no response to that?"

"Ah did. Ah told her that we should all go together. But she didn't listen. She went off and killed 'erself."

Discord sighed. "Is there anything significant about Twilight you noticed in the month before she had gone to Canterlot to fight Luna?"

Applejack thought for a moment. "Yeah actually. When she got back from tha Canterlot library, she was all doin' these weird things in her house..."

The Jack of Hearts

"Where've ya been all day, Bic Mac?" asked Applejack, cross with the red stallion for not being at the orchard to help buck.

"Been in town." he answered.

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Doin' what?"

Macintosh didn't respond to her body language, only continued to chew his hay. "Sendin' some mail."

"Yah have mail tah send?" she asked.

Macintosh pushed his orange mane out of his eyes. "Eeyup."

"So ya walked all the way tah tha post office? Who do ya have to send a letter tah anyways?" she asked.

Macintosh stopped chewing his hay for a moment to think. "Nope. Ah went to Twilight's house. Spike mailed tha letters fer me. They're fer Princess Celestia."

"Ya went to Twi's house!? Ya can't be botherin' her, she's gotta-" Applejack paused as she suddenly realized what Macintosh had just said. "Since when do you send letters to the Princess?"

"Asked her fer more rain." he said.

Applejack narrowed her eyes and put her face up to the stallions. "Rain!? The apples've already grown in, and are ready tah buck! We don't need anymore rain! Ya take a whole day off of buckin', go tah see Twilight, the last pony ya should be distrubin', and send a pointless letter to the Princess!?"

Macintosh continued to chew his hay. "Ah know the apples don't need rain. Mah corn does."

Applejack was boiling with anger. "Corn?! Since when do any of us grow co-"

Macintosh sighed. "AJ, there's something I need to talk to you about."

She snapped. "Oh, Ah'm sure there is, we got a whole field of buckin' and ya want me to worry about yer prob-"

She was interrupted as a scroll with a royal seal landed on the ground next to Macintosh. Before he could pick it up, Applejack snatched the letter and began reading it.

Dear Mr. Macintosh,

It's so good to be hearing from you! I get regular letters from your sister and your friends, however we've never really had the chance to speak. I do wish you the best of luck with your new found interest in growing corn - I will be sure to ask the weather pegasi in Cloudsdale to send a bit of rain your way.

On more serious matters, I am very pleased that you have chosen to accept my offer. Sergeant Epsilon will be arriving within the week to brief you on your duties, and escort you to Canterlot. As you asked, I will prepare you and Fluttershy a house in the most quiet part of the city, with an acre or so of farmland for your corn.

I suggest you spend this week to say your goodbyes to all of your friends and collect your thoughts and belongings. You are a very brave soul, to join us in our time of war. The fate of Drasil, and Equestria, rests on the shoulders of ponies like you. I will personally be the one to perform your ceremony of knighthood, as your family is very close to me.

I think that you and Epsilon will become very good friends. He is very much like yourself in many ways, and he will be the one to give you your basic training. It shouldn't be a problem for a pony as strong as yourself, you are what every earth colt strives to be. I cannot wait to see you later this week, Macintosh. I am sure your family is very proud of your decision.

Semper Fidelis, my friend.

Princess Celestia.

Applejack's anger faded away as her eyes watered more and more for each word she read. As she finished the letter, she dropped it and wrapped her forelegs around the crimson stallions neck as tight as she could.

Even Macintosh himself started to cry. "AJ..."

"No! Ya aren't leavin'! Ah can't take this anymore! First Twi leaves me, now mah big brother! This ain't fair Big Mac, it just ain't fair!" cried the orange mare.

Macintosh returned the embrace, however much more loose then his sister. "Yes Ah am, AJ. Ah have tah go. Mah country needs me. Ah don't know much about politics, but havin' no leader at all doesn't seem very good tah me."

Applejack wiped away her tears and released her tight grip. "So... Yer goin' all the way to Drasil?"

Macintosh looked west, away from his sister. He pointed a hoof in that direction. "Eeyup. All the way over there."

"Ah don't see anythin'." joked Applejack, her voice slightly cracking as she tried to repress her sadness.

He chuckled a bit in response. "Eenope. It's far away."

Worry overtook the orange earth pony. "Wait. Tha letter said time of war. Are ya gonna be fightin' anypony?"

Macintosh thought about it for a second. "Probably not. Tha Princess just wants us tah police the place since all of tha important griffins will be busy votin' and stuff. Save fer tha occasional thief or somethin', Ah don't think Ah'll be seein' much action around there."

Applejack let out a sigh of relief and smiled at her brother. "Ain't like no army of griffins could hurt mah big brother anyways, Big Mac. Yer too tough for them fellars." She shoved the stallion playfully.

He picked up another stalk of hay and began chewing it. "Eeyup."

"So what happens when ya come back tah Equestria?" she asked.

"Ah'll go back to Canterlot and serve as one of the royal guard. Fluttershy will tend to the farm animals, and Ah'll harvest mah corn in the summer. Ah love corn. A lot." he said.

Applebloom had overheard the conversation from where she had been attempting to buck apples from a younger, weaker tree. She walked up to the pair with a confused look on her face as to why the two had just been fighting. Applejack and Big Macintosh never fight. As the two earth ponies noticed the filly below them, they instinctively stopped talking for a few moments.

Applejack let out a sad sigh. "Applebloom, we were..."

"Ah think Ah should be the one to tell'er, AJ." said Macintosh. Applejack nodded, and turned away, unable to look at the face of her baby sister.

"Tell me what?" asked the filly.

Macintosh knelt down to be at eye level with Applebloom. He gently raised her head with his hoof. "Applebloom, Ah'm gonna be leavin' soon."

The filly laughed and put on a bright smile. "That's it? Ya were gettin' all emotional over goin' into town? Yer chores can wait a day, Big Mac."

Applejack cried as Applebloom's words forced her to remember all of the times she and Macintosh would buck together. She walked off, not wanting to look weak in front of the sister who looked up to her.

Applebloom's smile withered away. "A-AJ?..."

"Ah'm not goin' into town, Applebloom." said the crimson stallion.

She looked back up at Macintosh. This was a lot for the child to take in, she didn't understand at all what was going on with her family. "Then... Where are ya goin'?"

"Canterlot." he replied.

"Well that's not bad, right? I'm sure AJ will miss you but you'll be back soon, right? Like, in a week?" asked the filly.

Macintosh gently hugged his baby sister and stared deep into her eyes. "Ah'm not comin' back."

The words hit Applebloom like a train. She was utterly speechless. She thought of everything her big brother taught her. She remembered her first day of school, when Mac had walked her there and told her all about his school experiences and friends from twenty years ago, when he was Applebloom's age. She thought of how he comforted her when she had a nightmare. Applebloom never had a father, but she had her big brother. Now that he was gone, who did she have left?

Applebloom finally gulped, and began to speak. She wasn't crying, but it was blatantly obvious that she wanted to. "Why?"

"Princess Celestia needs me. There's a storm'a brewin' over in the west. Ah'm joinin' the army, and Ah'm gonna make sure nopony ever has the chance tah hurt ya." said Macintosh.

"Ah'm gonna miss ya, Big Mac..." cried the filly.

He smiled, and lifted her head up once again with his hoof. "Ah know."

Spike grew ever more frustrated as his fire failed to penetrate Twilight's weakest shields. Dragon fire is supposed to resist magic! Mine is broken...

"Come on, Spike! We aren't getting anywhere with this, you have to try harder." said Twilight.

"I'm trying! Why can't you go to that green dragon in the everfree forest and ask him to shoot fireballs at you?" asked the frustrated dragon. He once again blew out a small shot of green fire, which disappeared almost immediately after taking shape.

Twilight giggled. "I don't think he likes me very much."

"Perfect! So he'll do it for free!" joked Spike.

Owlicious responded with a short hoot, and memories of Spike's runaway adventure caused both him and Twilight to burst into laughter, which only subsided as they heard a knock on the door. "Coming!" shouted the unicorn as she opened the door with magic, to see an orange earth pony standing there with a confused look on her face. "Oh, hi Applejack."

Applejack observed the torched flowers, piles of unorganized books, and the baby dragon in the background of the entire thing, shooting fire in the general direction of Twilight's pet owl. "What the hay are you doin' Twilight?"

"Oh, I was just practicing some magical defense spells that the book suggested." said Twilight.

"Book? What book?" asked Applejack.

Twilight levitated over an old, crumbling tome. It was titled 'The Art of Magical Defense, lectured by Starswirl The Bearded, written by William Penwell.' Applejack raised a brow. "Wasn't that swirl guy supposed tah be a genius? Why didn't he write his own book?"

Twilight laughed. "He was dyslexic."

Applejack shook her head and chuckled a bit. "Ah s'pose you heard about Big Macintosh?"

"I did actually. He came in today and dictated a letter to spike, I couldn't help but over hear the conversation." said Twilight.

"What happens if... Luna wins? Will Big Mac be okay?" asked the worried mare.

Twilight sighed. "I don't want to think about that. She won't. I promise."

"Ah've got a bad feelin' about all this, Twi. Nothin' seems right. Why ain't Celestia doin' anythin' about Luna?" asked Applejack.

Twilight thought for a moment. "She's preoccupied with foreign affairs right now. That's why Luna thinks its the best time to strike - her sister will be too busy to listen to anyone about her, and she can steal the throne while Celestia is away."

Applejack looked closely at Twilight. "Did ya try writin' to Celestia?"

"Yes I did. She said I shouldn't worry, and that Luna was nothing to be afraid of. She doesn't understand." said Twilight.

"Well why don't ya do somethin' else?! The princess can stop this!" exclaimed Applejack.

Refusing to repeat the same conversation that she and Applejack had before she had obtained the element of discord, Twilight closed her eyes, then re opened them. When she opened her eyes, they were scorching white, showing no signs of her pupils.

"Don't you have to go help Fluttershy pack for Canterlot?" lied Twilight.

Applejack fell for the trance. "Oh yeah! Ah forgot all about that! See ya later, Twi!"

Twilight rested as her eyes returned to normal. "Have fun."

"Oh, thank you so much Applejack. That table was so heavy." said Fluttershy.

"Not a problem in tha world, Fluttershy." said Applejack. "Yer family now that you and Big Mac are gettin' married soon."

"Oh yes. I hope it won't be too big a celebration, I don't like everypony looking at me..." she said, looking around to make sure if nobody was listening in on the conversation.

Applejack smiled as she pushed yet another piece of furniture out of the cottage. "It's gonna be great."

"Macintosh told me that we were going to be driven to Canterlot in a flying chariot. That sounds fancy." said the pegasus.

Applejack giggled. "Well of course it is! Y'all are great friends of the princess, one of ya is an element of harmony and the other is soon to be a royal knight! If Ah was the princess, Ah wouldn't spare one bit in expense for ya."

"I wonder how all of my animals will like our new home." wondered Fluttershy, not meaning to say it out loud.

"Ah think they'll find it mighty fine." said the earth pony.

Fluttershy turned and looked out the window. "Canterlot is such a big, big city though. Do you think I'll make any new friends there?"

Applejack tried really hard, but just couldn't. She couldn't stop herself from doing it. It was Fluttershy's fault for setting her up, anyways. Hardly able to contain her laughter, Applejack turned away from the couch she was pushing to look at the pegasus.

"Ah'm sure they're goin' tah love you, Fluttershy."

New World Order

Please no...

Sadly there was no way around it. Only one possible thing can cause a gigantic beam of light like that one, and that was when you kill someone who holds an element. Fluttershy looked around at her friends, who all appeared to understand what just happened. They were all in too much shock to shed tears, except for Applejack. Pinkie's hair deflated as she sank to her knees. The music stopped. Conversation stopped. Nopony even blinked.

"What just happened?..." asked Dash.

Applejack cringed. "Ah shouldn't of let her go. Ah shouldn't of. This is my fault..."

Rarity pulled the orange mare in and held her as tight as she could. "No. You did what you could, Twilight would not have let you assist her. This is not your fault, it is Luna's."

Dash screamed in anger. "Can anypony just tell me what the hay is going on!?"

"Dashie..." said Pinkie Pie.

"Rainbow Dash. Have you no idea of how the elements of harmony work?" asked Rarity, shooting the cyan pegasus a glance.

"I know how they work! Nopony ever told me about some big light stick!" she retaliated.

Rarity sighed. "The tower of light appears when the holder of an element releases control of their element."

"What!? So you mean Twilight isn't our friend anymore!? She's just gone off to Canterlot to live with the princess and not care about us? You bring me to where she is, I'll show her who's boss. Nopony messes with my friends." defended Dash.

Rarity scowled at the pegasus. "You really are an idiot, aren't you?"

Dash growled. "Me? Anypony who doesn't stand up for their friends is an id-"

"Twilight's dead, Rainbow." interrupted Applejack, stumbling on every syllable.

All of her anger immediately vanished as she just now understood what was going on. "W-What? No. You're lying."

Applejack sighed. "Ah'm the element of honesty, sugarcube."

Dash hung her head and walked in closer. "I'm so sorry..."

"It's okay, Rainbow." replied Applejack.

The tower of light finally subsided. Fluttershy still had her wings locked to her side, shivering. Her friends were now huddled together and crying. She couldn't take it. She couldn't just watch everypony suffer like this. Her one instinct took over.

Run.

And she did just that. She took to the sky and flew off as fast as she could towards Canterlot. Faster than Rainbow Dash could ever dream of going without falling vertically. Fluttershy grit her teeth and closed her eyes as a cone of air formed around her. The pressure of it was something she didn't want to deal with, it hurt to do this. She slowed down to a normal speed and continued a long nights journey to the capitol city.

Fluttershy returned to her home in Canterlot later that night, when night was actually supposed to happen.

"Did ya see that, Fluttershy?" asked the red stallion as his wife landed before him.

She didn't say a word. She held Macintosh as tight as she could, letting out the emotions she had repressed on the trip back to Canterlot. Twilight was dead. They had been friends for years. This wasn't fair.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Dumb of Fluttershy to expect Macintosh to understand the elements of harmony. Dash was one of them, and she didn't even know what the tower of light meant. She explained to Macintosh what had happened, and he pulled Fluttershy in closer as a response.

He let out a sigh. "Ah'm sorry..."

"It's okay." she replied.

"So what now?" asked the stallion.

The pegasus looked off into the distance. "I think that we should just live our lives, Mac. There's no point in fighting anymore, It's best that we just stay here."

Macintosh took in a deep breath. "Yer probably right. What about everypony else?"

"I don't know. I don't want to know. I can't live with that happening again. At least, I can't live with knowing it happened." she said.

"So ya just want tah detach yerself from the world?" asked Macintosh.

She cried. "No... I mean... I don't know what I want. I love my friends, and now everything's different. What if somepony else is killed? What will Luna do now? What about your job in the guard? I'm scared, Mac... How am I supposed to do this?"

"Ah don't know either. We don't need tah think about it now. Let's go to sleep, okay?" he asked, ashamed that he didn't have the answers his wife needed.

She sighed. "Mhm."

Twenty seven years passed. Fluttershy grew more tired, more impatient. She was no longer afraid of things anymore, at least not nearly as much as she used to be. If not for Macintosh at her side, she would have lost her connection with the element of kindness completely.

Luckily, she still had quite the menagerie. The house that Celestia had originally given them came with a huge barn for her collection of animals. Most of the animals were cows for milk, and pigs for fertilizer, however she maintained the exotic set of animals she had obtained decades ago.

The world had changed around her. Harsh laws and taxes had replaced the morals that had once controlled Equestria. Magic was no longer a gift, it was a science. It was studied. It was explained. Corporations figured out how to make goods quicker, how to mass produce them. They even bribed the weather ponies to send rain their way, so they could grow vegetables at incredible rates. The home farms were now obsolete, and they disappeared slowly over the decades.

What were once clean, beautiful cities, now are polluted and overpopulated. Factories and skyscrapers dominated most of Equestria. Jobs were scarce, nobody needed ponies to work anymore, and even still, the population just kept growing. Hate grew between ponies as they competed for jobs, they were no longer equals. The unicorns and pegasi targeted earth ponies, and made them out to be obsolete. An inferior race. A unicorn could kill an earth pony just for being an earth pony, without the slightest bit of doubt that what they were doing isn't right.

Ponies without jobs stole from other ponies. Killed other ponies. To stop the spread of crime, Luna employed her guard to keep control in the city. She gave them the ability to use force when necessary. Anypony who did not obey her law, would be locked in a cage until she said they could come out. Depending on what they did wrong, time would vary. Many were locked up until they died.

Fluttershy and Macintosh never left Canterlot, save for his royal duties and short visits with Applejack and Rainbow Dash. She hadn't seen Rarity or Pinkie Pie for twenty seven years, she never really thought she would to be honest.

Fluttershy groaned as her alarm clock went off and she saw the morning sun. Macintosh was already awake, making coffee. All the years working at sweet apple acres must of done it for him, she never could understand why he would get up so early. She walked into the kitchen and saw his face. Her annoyed expression instantly turned into a smile, despite how tired she was.

"Good morning, Hun." she said with a bright smile.

She was met with a quick kiss on the cheek. "Mornin'."

The yellow mare giggled. "Going to start tilling today? I think the weather is finally perfect."

"Eeyup. Just readin' tha paper. Did ya hear about tha new law regardin' dragons?"

Fluttershy looked at the newspaper on the table. "No I didn't. What's happening?"

Macintosh let out a sigh. "Any dragon who don't sign up tah work at an electric company is gonna be banished." said the stallion.

Fluttershy gasped. "That's... That's terrible... Wait, what will happen to Spike?"

Macintosh chuckled. "Spike? Ah don't think anypony will ever find Spike. Ah heard he's been livin' in the mountains fer decades now. And even if they did, Spike would drop dead before he worked fer Luna."

"I can't help but be worried for the poor little guy..." said Fluttershy.

"Ah don't think he's so little anymore, hun." reassured Macintosh.

"I'm going to go talk to Luna about the new law." said Fluttershy.

'Hmph. Good luck with that one." he said.

Fluttershy stormed into the castle as she arrived, not stopped by any of the guards seeing as they knew exactly who she was. Luna had sometimes invited Fluttershy and Macintosh for royal parties and dinners, so they had no reason to intervene. Fluttershy saw a familiar gray pegasus walking down the hallway near her. She hated talking to him, but It was unavoidable now.

"Hello, Miss Fluttershy, element of kindness." said Aquarius.

Fluttershy walked passed him. "I don't have time for this."

A look of disgust appeared on his face as he followed the mare through the castle hallways. "What on earth is your problem?"

"Going to go tell Luna not to persecute the dragons. They deserve to be free."

Aquarius laughed. "She isn't going to revoke the law for you."

"Then follow me and watch me fail." challenged Fluttershy.

The pegasus growled. "You know, I can help you."

Fluttershy stopped and laughed. She turned to the pegasus. "You're joking right? Remember what happened last time you helped a pony?"

"It's different now! Anyways, I've learned from my mistakes. Can't you forgive me?" lied the general.

"No."

"Hmph. Luna will never stop hunting dragons. I can give you one, though. As a token of my sincere apologies."

Fluttershy lit up, her previous anger gone with the wind. "You... You can give me a dragon?"

Aquarius chuckled. "Of course dear, your farm has quite enough space, and you are amazing with animals. I just need you to do one thing."

Her eyes narrowed. "What's that?"

"Your husband, Colonel Macintosh, is quite useless commanding a force of many pegasi from the ground. If you could train the dragon to listen to him, and allow him to ride the dragon, then I shall give him to you. Do we have a deal?"

Fluttershy gulped. "You want me to make an animal... A killer?"

"Better than it being banished to the sun, or enslaved in a power plant for it's entire life." argued the gray pegasus.

Fluttershy thought about it. He was right. A life with her and Macintosh, free and happy, was better then the alternative. "Yes. We have a deal. Can you show me to him?"

Aquarius grinned. "Of course."

My Struggle

Darkness. Emptiness. Loneliness. Spike grew angry as he realized that he was once again in the deep corridors of his own mind, the very mind that had tormented him for years, and was now intervening in his life more than ever. Much more than he wanted. For the longest of times, he was always able to hold back his depression and anger, he could no longer do it. He was at the mercy of his greatest enemy - himself.

Thoughts danced around inside the dragon's head. When he had entered his subconscious many times before, he was always suspended by chains or forceful magic. This time, however, he just felt like he was floating. He couldn't feel his body at all. He couldn't see his body at all. Is this Luna's doing? Why is she trying to torture me?

He maintained that explanation for the longest of times, awaiting the voice of his captor to come and lecture him. After he had floated there for hour after hour, it became apparent that no such assailant was there this time. Come to think of it, this isn't what everything is usually like at all...

He could hear nothing. He could see nothing. The corporeal enclosure that his mind had kept him in every time he visited it no longer existed. No pain, no confusion. He was completely isolated this time. Panic set in as Spike considered his fate. What if he was stuck here forever now? No. He couldn't let that happen.

The dragon let out a fit of rage as he began to speak out into the blackness. "I don't have time for this! Whoever you are, show yourself this instant! Say whatever you want to say and let me leave for Aumean's sake!" bellowed the massive beast.

Absolute fear and dread engulfed Spike. What had just happened was the worst possible thing he could have expected from his outburst. He could not hear himself talk. It was obvious now that he had no physical form whatsoever, and he had never spoken anything at all. He was truly alone. All he could do nothing but plea within his own mind.

Whatever I've done... I'm so sorry... Please let me go...

No response.

Do I deserve this? I will make amends for anything and everything, please, please, just free me. I will do anything.

The painful silence continued. Spike was defeated. All hope he had was drained as the next few hours passed by uneventfully. He wanted to cry so much, but he couldn't. There was nothing to cry out of. He was just a spirit, an essence, floating in a sea of impenetrable fog.

His slowly deteriorating mind could only think of one thing through all this loneliness. The one thing he had been trying so hard to avoid after his most recent run ins with who he thought, up until now, was Luna. The one thing he lived for. The thing he would die for. His entire world, his entire happiness, everything he had. The thing that he had just been told he had to give up.

Celestia.

Spike's emotional assault grew too much for him to take, but there was nothing that he or anypony could do in this abstract place. He thought about how he should have done so much more, and all of the mistakes he had made that he would fix if he could just escape this place. He thought about how he could have been better for Celestia. How he could have comforted her when she needed him to. He thought about his entire life. If only I could see her face... Just one more time...

Then, he saw it. Spike didn't notice it at first, but a very small, dim spot of light had begun to illuminate the seemingly endless black aura. At first it was almost nothing, but as time passed it continued to grow in volume and intensity.

The small speck of light now engulfed the entire universe. It was so bright. So painful. For the first time all day, Spike wished that the room was once again a sea of nothingness. He would have well preferred being scared and alone to being blinded, scared, and alone.

As the light reached it's breaking point, all Spike had in mind was to just die and have it over with. He couldn't do this. Nopony could do this. It broke him. The once strong, powerful dragon, broken by empty space and blinding light. The worst of it was, the ever cruel irony. He didn't understand what was going on at all, or why. He should have, though. He should have been able to figure it out and escape by now. The dragon let out a single tear as he accepted defeat for the final time.

Wait.

Spike realized what he had just done. He had just cried. At that moment, he ripped his eyes open, and the light vanished. His floating body fell to the transparent surface that was apparently the ground. It was cold, metallic. It was... Glass? He didn't think about it too much, he was so happy to be feeling anything. The familiar black emptiness had returned, but he was solid. He was corporeal. For the first time in the twenty hours he had been trapped here, he felt an undeniable sense of joy.

The dragon breathed deeply and took a good look at himself. Same old me. He felt around at his scales to make sure he was really there, and after some quick confirmations to himself, he let out a sigh of relief. For some reason, he felt like just lying on the dark glass and falling asleep. Maybe that would fix all of his problems.

"Spike." called out a familiar voice. It was deep, coarse. It was oddly familiar, but the dragon couldn't put his finger on who was talking to him.

Spike smiled at the thought of his captor finally interacting. "Who's there? Thank you so much, thank you. I thought I was alone all this time. Can we get on with this now?"

Breaking silence followed. The dragon grew very suspicious of his situation. "Uhm... Hello?"

"Spike." said the voice. It was closer now. Much closer. He still could see nothing.

"What do you want? Why have you trapped me here so long? Who are you?" asked Spike, nervously.

Spike's captor chuckled. "I think you know who I am, Spike."

"No... No I don't. Your wrong about that." he replied.

As he said that, a large, purple and green dragon emerged from the dark smoke. Spike trembled as he stared into what appeared to be himself. His captor was much different however, his scales were wrinkled, and his coat had grown darker. A small, white beard hung below his mouth. Spike backed up and stretched out his wings, his body preparing to fight the intruder at any means. The dragon only smiled and looked at Spike with concerned eyes.

"Be at peace, my friend. I am not here to cause you harm." said the elder dragon.

He didn't know why, but that simple statement had calmed Spike down a lot. He lowered his wings and hung his head. "I'm sorry."

"It's quite fine, my child." responded the dragon.

One question came to Spike's mind. "Am... Am I dead?"

The elder dragon laughed in response. Spike had a confused look on his face as the dragon regained his composure and began to speak. "No, son, you are not dead. But I fear you will be soon if you do not snap out of this."

Spike slowly lied down and looked up at what he assumed to be some illusion of Luna's. "What do you mean?"

The dragon sighed. "It hurts to watch you go through all of this pain. I don't think you can tell what is real and what is not anymore, Spike. You've been consumed by your own mind. Would you bet on your life that any of the events that took place at the battle of Appleoosa, actually happened? Would you swear to it that you were not just imagining it, or hallucinating?"

Of course I... No... No... The thought of his own collapsing grip on reality sent a chill down Spike's spine. "I can't say I would."

The old dragon rested his arm on Spike's back. "What is troubling you so much, my child?"

"Don't you already know? I thought you things could read minds." challenged Spike.

Spike got another laugh in response. "No, no. I can enter your mind, I can communicate with your mind, but I can only read what you write for me. So, would you take a letter Spike? From yourself to me."

The young dragon cringed as he thought of Twilight, his past, and the adventures they shared. All the friendship letters to Celestia, from his childhood. "I don't know what to write. I'm just so confused. The entire world is against me."

"It would be good for you if you vented your frustrations, Spike." advised the elder.

He fancied the idea. "To you?"

"Why not? We haven't much else to do." said the dragon, smiling.

A switch flipped in Spike's mind as he unlocked his repressed anger. His eyes were wide open as he involuntarily screamed into the distance. "I hate all of this! I hate this world I live in! I wish that everything could just go back to the way it was, but NO! I need to go on some pointless trip in this Aumean forsaken desert just to find some annoying pony who won't help at all, in order to rebel against an infinitely powerful alicorn that could crumble us into dust by blinking!"

Spike hadn't noticed it, but he was now pacing back in forth in front of the elder dragon, who was staring intently at him. Spike exhaled a large bit of smoke from his nostrils before continuing.

"And that is simply the tip of the iceberg! I can't go five minutes without some insane voice locking me inside my head and giving me a god damn lecture about how I need to give up the only thing that actually makes me happy! I get it, my life is shit. Can't everyone just leave me alone for once? Let me make my own fucking decisions, how to deal with my own problems and what to do about Celestia."

The dragon smiled warmly at Spike. "Anything else, my friend?"

Spike openly sobbed as he thought of the last thing on his mind. "Yes. Twilight. Twilight Sparkle. If you had not been so arrogant as to go off and fight Luna alone, none of this would have happened! Did you even think for a moment about how I would feel? What would happen to me? I was a child back then! You were everything I had! But you were so content to just leave me stranded, hurt, and alone, on some conquest to save Equestria all by yourself?! I suffered my entire life without you, and it is YOUR FAULT."

Spike fell to the ground and cried harder than he ever had before. He had never revealed his true emotions to anyone, not even Celestia. For some reason, he felt safe here. He felt protected. Only one conclusion came to him. Why did you leave me...

He jolted up his head as he felt the elder dragon's wing rest across his back. "Do you feel better now, Spike?"

"Actually... Yes, I do feel better. Much better." said Spike.

The dragon let out a small chuckle. "If you had kept all of your feelings in any longer, I fear you would have jumped off of some cliff or something."

"Up until now, that was very tempting. I wanted to ask you something, sir." admitted Spike, ashamed about considering suicide regularly. He hung his head and turned away from the dragon.

"Hm?"

"Who are you? Why do you look like an older version of me?" asked Spike.

"That is because I am an older version of you, Spike. At least, that is what my form is. I am only what you allow me to be, I am what you desire to be. Wise, old, and happy." said the aged dragon.

Spike let out a sad sigh. "So, you're just another figment of my imagination?"

"Maybe I am. But I could be real."

Spike's eyes narrowed and he stared at the elder dragon. "How? What do I have to do to be happy? I need your help. Please."

The old dragon laughed. "What advice do you seek, child?"

Spike thought for a moment. "The last few times I have been imprisoned like this, a spirit spoke to me about Celestia. How she was immortal. How she would hurt when I died. The spirit told me I had to leave Celestia to protect her, but I don't want to. What do I do?"

"Hmm. What does your heart desire?"

It was obvious. He didn't have to think at all to respond to that question. "I want to be happy with Celestia. I want to live with her for a thousand years, to comfort her, to be there for her, to make her as happy as I am when I'm around her. I don't want her to be lonely anymore, and I sure as hell don't want to be lonely. I would burn for ten thousand years, for every one day of her life that was good."

The elder dragon looked Spike dead in the eye. "Then you must fight to keep her. You must fight any force stopping you, and you must never doubt yourself. She needs to know about everything. She needs to know what she means to you. She needs you to be open with her. You need to tell her about everything that you have been through in your own mind. Allow her to fix you."

Spike looked up at the dragon and smiled. "I... I think I understand what I have to do now. Thank you... Spike?"

The dragon laughed. "You are very welcome, my son. Now, do not sit here and wallow in self pity. Take charge. Go fight for her."

And at that, the glass shattered beneath Spike, and he fell into the black abyss.

Lost And Found

Spike let out a sigh of relief as he clawed at the desert sand beneath him.

Never again...

Out of pure joy, he began rolling around on his back, happy to be returned to the real world. It was pretty late, everypony in the group was already asleep, save for himself and Peppers, who was staring at the purple dragon with a confused look on his face.

"What on earth has gotten into you, hatch ling?" asked the red dragon, trying his hardest to hold back a laugh.

Spike chuckled. "Sand is just so... Amazing..."

Peppers shook his head and laughed. "I'm concerned for you. You aren't tired at all?"

"Not in the slightest, you?" asked Spike. The last thing I want to do is sleep and get stuck in the back of my brain again.

"Why would you even ask that? I slept for a hundred years, save for moving caves every once in a while. I no longer need sleep." replied Peppers.

"Makes sense."

Peppers looked at the purple dragon in thought. "Want to go flying?"

Spike laughed. "Flying? In the middle of the night? For no reason?"

"Yup."

The purple dragon grinned as he rose to his feet and spread his wings. He was quickly followed by Peppers, and the two took off as quietly as they could, hoping to not wake the sleeping ponies at camp.

Spike never really liked astronomy as much as Twilight did, but she did teach him how to navigate using the stars when he was younger. Peppers listened as Spike pointed out various constellations, and talked about one specific star in particular. The star was both light green and dark purple in colour, to match Spike. It was the largest star in the sky, and Peppers was almost as mesmerized by it as his new friend was.

"It must be amazing to have a star of your own colours, as if you belong under it." said Peppers.

Spike laughed. "There are plenty of red and yellow stars too, but the reason I love that star, is because it isn't a star at all."

The older, red dragon went slack jawed. "Uhm... What?"

"That my friend, is the Andromeda galaxy."

Peppers turned from Spike to look back up at the purple and green dot. "Why is it the same size as the other stars?"

"It's much, much farther away. The other stars are within our own galaxy. If we were to fly at the speed of light through space, it would take us hundreds of millions of years to get to Andromeda."

"That's... Breathtaking." replied Peppers, his gaze still fixed on the night sky.

They had been flying for just about an hour now. They weren't going anywhere in particular, just twisting and turning throughout the large desert. Spike had assured Peppers that he would be able to find their way back to camp, so he wasn't worried for now.

"How far is the everfree from here?" asked Spike.

Peppers raised a brow. "What sort of a question is that?"

"Can you answer it?"

The red dragon thought for a moment. "Assuming we've been heading north as you said, we could reach the outskirts of the everfree within two hours or so. Then we would have to fly back for another three hours. Why?"

Spike ignored the dragon's questioning, and thought to himself. "So that gives us just about an hour in everfree to do what we need to do, then get back, before the others wake up?"

Peppers let out a long sigh. "I guess so. Again, what do you need in the everfree?"

"Visiting an old friend."

The hours passed like seconds as Peppers and Spike shared stories of their past adventures. Peppers was more the normal dragon, so it wasn't surprising that he was humbled to be around someone so close to the royal family and wielders of the elements, despite being there now himself.

"... And then Celestia turns to Twilight and says 'run'!" exclaimed Spike, laughing uncontrollably.

Peppers broke out in tears. "Ha! I never knew miss Fluttershy had that wild side!"

Spike broke the laughter as he looked down at the rushing river which split the forest in half. "We're here." he said in a serious monotone. "Put on your scariest face and follow me."

"What? I thought you were visiting a friend? Aren't all your friends harmony ponies who talk about spreading love?" asked Peppers.

"Tough love." said Spike, locking his wings and going into a nosedive. The red dragon followed suit as best he could, not really caring to protest at this point. They were very high up, and it was truly impressive how Spike managed to see the small orange speck which was his target. As he got closer he unfolded his wings again to skim across the water's surface. The small orange speck now moved about in an attempt to evade the charging dragons.

"Magnet!" called Spike. The orange speck rose from the water to reveal a huge purple serpent.

Pepper's eyes widened as he struggled to keep up with the younger Spike. "What the hell is that thing?"

Spike had to scream to be heard over the sound of slicing wind. "It's a basilisk! A very annoying one at that!"

The dark purple basilisk failed to keep up the speed of the dragons, despite going along with the direction of the currents of the river. Spike eventually caught up with him and grabbed him by the chest with one arm, lifting him in the air.

"Grab his tail!" ordered Spike.

Peppers did so, with little resistance from the in shock basilisk. "Got it!"

They flew away from the river for a few minutes before landing in an open field that would fit the three of them. They had grown tired from the chase, and the last thing they wanted was to waste energy flattening out trees.

Spike dropped the basilisk next to him. He couldn't get away, he had very weak legs and could only move well in water. He looked intently in the eyes of his captive before bursting into laughter, quickly followed by the basilisk.

Peppers stared at the two, mouth agape. "I don't get it..."

"Fabulous flying, Spikey!" said the basilisk.

Spike calmed down from his fit of laughter. "You're getting better as well. If you could fly, I would count myself out."

"Who's your friend?" he asked.

Spike stopped and looked at the red dragon. "Oh, this is Peppers. He was the dragon that accidentally polluted all of Equestria with smoke a few decades back."

The purple basilisk smiled at Peppers. "So wonderful to meet you, big fellow! My name is Steven Magnet, but you can call me Steve."

"Pleasure, Steve." replied Peppers, still very confused on the whole situation.

Steve looked closely at the red dragon, and noticed a severe burn mark on one of his wings. "Oh dear, what ever happened to you?"

Peppers laughed. "Oh, this old thing? Well, my unit was on rou-"

"He fell." interrupted Spike.

The two stared at Spike, not sure how to respond to his horrible attempt at lying. The awkward silence lasted for quite a few moments, as the three looked at each other.

"Into a fire." continued Spike.

Peppers chuckled. "Nice save."

"Anywhoo, Spikey, what did you drag me out here for?" asked Steve.

Spike cleared his throat. "Well, Steve, I was wondering if you still had any idea where Rarity was? I know she studied under you for a few years to perfect her skills as a fashion designer."

Steve let out a wide smile. "Oh! Rarity! Well, it was like it was just yesterday. Rarity had come to me one day before usual lessons, asking for advice..."

...

No.

Spike covered Steve's mouth with his claws to prevent him from speaking any further. "You're my best friend, Steve, but were you planning on telling a long story about how Rarity got to where she was?"

Steve's eyes widened. "Uhm... Yeah I was, actually. How did you know?"

Spike let out a long sigh and hung his head. "Trust me. I just know. Can we skip that part, get to the point this time, and just tell me where you think she might be?"

The basilisk rolled his eyes. "Fiiiiiiiine. Rarity is most likely living somewhere in Manehatten."

Great. Flying blind through an overpopulated city that's racist against earth ponies, with two earth ponies on the backs of two huge dragons, alongside the former princess, Celestia, and former king, Discord. What could possibly go wrong?...

"One more thing." said Spike.

"Yes?"

"Do you know if Zecora still lives in the everfree?" asked the dragon.

Steve thought for a moment. "Why yes, she does. Always picking flowers or something."

Spike nodded. "Peppers, return Steve to the river, We'll meet back here in ten minutes."

"Gotcha." said the red dragon, picking up Steve and flying off.

Zecora rose from her bed in a shock as she heard three swift knocks on her door. She angrily walked towards the door and fidgeted with the knob, unable to focus while this tired. She finally got a hold of the it and slowly began opening the crude wooden door.

As the door opened she faced the unwelcome guest and snorted. "Don't you know it's the middle of the night? Waking a pony up like that just is not ri-"

Zecora stopped talking immediately as she noticed who was standing there. Involuntarily, her jaw hung down. She quickly regained her composure and bowed before the visitor. "It... It's you..."

The black alicorn removed her hood and smiled at the frightened zebra. "Calm down, you may rise. I need your assistance in Canterlot, miss Zecora."

The zebra did as she was told and nodded. "I shall pack my bags your majesty, I was not expecting that I had to leave."

The black alicorn let out a small chuckle. "Don't worry about your belongings, I have prepared a room and workplace for you. It is important that we depart immediately, have you ever been teleported before?"

Zecora raised a brow. "No I've never had the chance to try it out, can you assure that I'd be safe without a doubt?"

"Of course. For somepony such as myself, to mess up a teleportation spell would be as rare as you being unable to mix lemonade correctly." joked the alicorn.

Zecora blushed at the compliment. "Then why waste time, let us go, I'm sure there is much I need to know."

Spike landed in the clearing, frustrated.

"What did Zecora have to say?" asked Peppers.

The purple dragon snorted out a large plume of smoke. "She wasn't home."

"Odd."

"We're running out of time." realized Spike. "Let's go back?"

"Yeah."

The two took off at a more hurried pace then the one they flew at when they came to everfree. It was almost four in the morning, and Celestia's internal alarm clock usually woke her up around six thirty to get ready and raise the sun, back when she was princess. They would have to fly fast in order to make it back to the camp before they woke up.

"We need to gain some altitude." said Peppers.

Spike grunted. "Won't that just waste more time?"

"A bit yes, but there's much less wind resistance up there."

Spike shrugged as he followed the red dragon to the sky. He was right, it was much easier to fly up here then it was closer to the ground. It was also quieter, the sound air made when you break through it is intolerable.

"So, Spike." began the red dragon.

"Hmm?"

Peppers considered his question before asking it. "I've been wondering how exactly a dragon got together with a pony. Not just any pony at that, an alicorn."

Spike's body shivered as he was assaulted by thoughts of Celestia. He grit his teeth as an unwelcome voice rang in the back of his head, repeating it's taunt.

How much of your grip on reality will you sacrifice to save your broken soul?

Silence fell over the two as Spike could feel himself slipping back into the darkness. Peppers soon became invisible behind the black wall which was slowly closing in around the purple dragon. Looking around at his growing prison, Spike grinned and closed his eyes.

None of it.

Spike opened his eyes and let out a powerful jet of green and purple fire, illuminating the darkness around him. He thrust forward through the flames and left the ethereal world behind him, as it vanished into the night sky. Spike, now quite far ahead of Peppers, turned around to fly beside him.

He let out a laugh and smiled warmly at the older dragon. "That's a funny story, actually."

Macintosh jolted upwards from his sleep as the two dragons landed at the camp in unison.

"Where were you two fellers?" he asked.

Peppers laughed. "Perfectly good dead bison, why let them go to waste?" Spike simply nodded in agreement to his lie.

The stallion was taken back with disgust. "Ee... Yup?"

Overhearing the conversation, the other five slowly woke up. It was just after dawn, and the sun was slowly rising over the eastern lands. Repeated yawns from the other ponies quickly began to annoy Spike.

"I don't feel like taking our time this morning. Luna is sure to get the report of yesterday's events soon, and she will not be happy about it. We no longer have the luxury of dilly dallying." he said.

Celestia gave a look of concern as she nuzzled Spike's head. "You seem really worried. Is something else bothering you?"

Spike returned the gesture and sighed. "Yes. But that can wait for later."

"Mhm..."

"You heard the man, everypony! The quicker we get this done, the quicker we can all enjoy some nice, refreshing, cold chocolate milk." urged Discord.

Rainbow Dash shot the draconnequus an angry glare. "You aren't getting your element back."

"You're no fun."

Applejack stepped in between the feud. "Ah think Spike's right, we should move along now. Time's ah runnin' short."

The eight arrived at Pinkie's rock farm within moments of flying, it wasn't but a few miles from where they camped out. They landed near the main house and took a brief look around. Everything was covered in dust, even the rocks themselves.

"It doesn't look like anyone has been here for quite some time." said Peppers.

Applejack growled. "Nonsense! Pinkie's gotta be here somewhere! She just might not be awake yet."

"Uh huh."

Spike looked at the group. "I suppose we split up. This is a lot of area to cover."

And so they did. The silence was only broken by hoof steps, and the occasional "Pinkie!" call. None of which were answered, however. This only served to make the old place more ominous then it was before they arrived.

Spike came across a small shed that everypony else had seemingly overlooked. It had a very odd smell to it, and curiosity got the best of the dragon as he carefully opened the door...

Long Overdue

Spike sighed as he looked at the scene in front of him. He felt a rush of emotions, but, all he could bring himself to do was let a few tears fall, close his eyes, and form a small smile. He moved away from the shed and motioned for the others to come over.

Celestia was the first to enter and review the room after Spike. She shook her head in thought as the others crowded outside of the shed, watching as the alicorn's horn lit up. Celestia turned back to the group as she finished and gave an apologetic look to them.

"Pinkie was very sick before she passed. Auto immune, nothing one of Appleoosa's doctor's could have done for her." said Celestia.

Before the group lay Pinkie, wrapped in blankets and lying on her bed. The shed had been cleaned quite nicely, on the walls were many pictures of her and her friends, from before Twilight had died. The inside of the shed was painted blue, yellow, and pink. Many of her personal belongings lie on the floor or on an oak bookshelf, that ironically had no books on it. Pinkie had her eyes closed, and was smiling. It was poetic.

"How long?" asked Fluttershy, struggling to hold back her obvious tears.

"Two months, maybe three. From what I can tell, she passed in her sleep, and felt no pain." said Celestia. Most of the group sighed in relief, save for Discord and Macintosh.

"Ah don't get it. How did nopony in Appleoosa see tha big white light?" asked the stallion.

"Allow me to explain, Tia." said Discord before Celestia could speak. The alicorn responded with an agreeing nod. "Macintosh, when somepony who possesses an element of harmony or chaos passes away naturally, their respective element does not release any energy. It is transferred to the next pony who represents the element as best as possible."

"Oh."

Rainbow Dash interrupted the unimportant lecture. "I think we should bury her."

The group traveled with heavy hearts as they headed north towards Manehatten. For the most part it was quiet, save for the occasional small talk. The sun began to set as they got ever closer to the city, and it was Peppers who finally broke the silence, pointing towards a large field of grass.

"I'm quite tired. May we set camp down there?"

"I don't see why not." said Discord.

Celestia cleared her throat when they landed. "Would all of you go and collect some wood for a fire? I need to speak with Spike in privacy."

Once they were all gone, Spike lowered himself to the ground as Celestia lied down next to him. He wrapped his arm around the minuscule alicorn. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm doing fine. Pinkamena and I were never particularly close." replied Celestia.

"Mhm."

Celestia looked up to the purple dragon. "I'm very, very worried about you Spike. You seem distant."

"I would be lying if I did not agree."

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

"Yes, I do want to talk about it. Remember when we were still hiding out in the mountains last week, and I had accidentally rolled over on your tail?" asked Spike.

Celestia raised a brow. "Uhm... How is that important? You know I'm not mad right?"

"I'm usually never disturbed in my sleep. However, that night, I had a very... Interesting dream." he said.

Spike explained his dream sequence, and the self conflict he had been going through over the past few days. Celestia grew more and more worried for every word he spoke. The scariest part for her was, she had no idea how to fix it. How to comfort him. For the first time she could remember, the alicorn goddess did not have the answers.

"And it came with a message." said Spike.

"What was that?"

Spike closed his eyes and turned away. "It said that you are an immortal, and that I have to leave you so you will not be lonely and hurt when I die. It said that the longer I stayed with you, the more pain I would inflict..."

It was now coming into focus how serious his problems were. Spike cannot even distinguish what is real or not anymore. Celestia was now on the verge of tears as she looked up at her companion.

"Spike..."

The dragon interrupted her. "So I told it to fuck off."

Celestia's eyes widened, her mouth agape. "W-What?"

"I came to my senses, Tia. Last night, I had a dream that lasted over thirty hours. Thirty. I didn't even know such lapses in time were possible, but it happened. I was alone for so long, no voice to lecture me. I thought I would be stuck there forever. I thought I had died. You know what I wanted at that point?"

The alicorn could form no response as she stared deep into Spike's eyes.

"I wanted to see your face. Just one more time before I let go. At that point, I realized how important you were to me. Then, this older dragon that was apparently myself came out and told me to vent my frustrations to him, so I did. He asked me what I wanted with my life, and I told him I wanted you. He told me to fight for you. That's exactly what I'm doing." he finished.

A wide smile formed on Celestia's face as she kissed Spike. "That's... The most amazing thing I've ever heard. What happens if you get trapped in your mind again?"

Spike grinned. "Then I deal with it. It doesn't control me. I do. I'm sure that whatever it is will be back, believe me, after this morning's flight with Peppers I would bet my life that I have to swim through shit's creek. But I'll do it. For you."

The touching moment was ruined as the six others returned with Celestia's desired fire wood. Macintosh and Applejack worked together to prepare a good pile, and Peppers lit it with a small controlled flame.

"Hey, how did you do that?" asked Spike.

Peppers turned to the younger dragon. "Do what?"

"Light a fire without killing everypony in a hundred foot range."

"Oh, that." Peppers laughed at his oblivious question. He had forgotten how inexperienced Spike was with his dragon fire. "Prepare a good stance. Breath calmly through your nose, pucker your lips, and exhale a flame as slow as possible. Concentrated fire is much hotter than regular fire, so you probably want to practice before using it in combat or around your friends."

"I'll take note of that." replied Spike, jokingly.

"Everypony, get some rest. We have much to do tomorrow, the City is not going to welcome us when we arrive." said Discord.

They all fell asleep quickly next to the warm fire, as Discord instructed.

Told me to fuck off, eh?

Spike jolted upright as he was awoken from his slumber. He looked around at the familiar black room and let out an annoyed sigh. "Gonna do anything about it?"

You know I don't have the heart to torture you.

Spike laughed. "Is that so? You've been doing such a good job at avoiding that option, haven't you now?"

Amusing. I can keep you here as long as you want, bring you pain in places you don't even know exist, and have you praying for all of your friends to die just so it would stop. Alas, I will not.

Spike grinned as he walked around the empty space. The floor was not made of glass like last time, more like a type of wood. He couldn't tell which though, seeing as everything was pitch black. A surge of confidence rushed through the dragon as he taunted the unwelcome visitor. "Do it then."

What!?

"I'm waiting."

Do you know what you are asking me, Spike?

"I know exactly what you can do. You're weak. Show yourself, coward. Your true self."

The room instantly changed colours from black to white. In the corner of the room, it revealed a Cloaked pony with a black coat, and no cutie mark. Her eyes were scorching white. She growled as she threw her cloak and hood on the ground, revealing a horn and wings.

Spike gasped as he looked upon the queen of Equestria, involuntarily bowing before her.

"It seems you still do maintain some manners, dragon." said the black alicorn.

Spike got up and snorted at the figure before him. "I considered your offer. I declined it. You have no more place here."

The alicorn laughed. "But don't I? It seems you and Celestia have been stirring up quite the illegal activity lately. Did you know treason is punishable by death?"

"Then kill us." grunted Spike.

She looked off to the side, strongly considering that option. "Boring. Make your move on me, fool. Gather your elements of harmony. Show me their true power, Spike."

"Can't wait to."

The black alicorn sighed. "Now that we're here together, I think it's best that I asked you a few questions."

"Not going to happen."

"Implying you have a choice!" protested the queen. "I can keep you here as long as I wish!"

Spike laughed. "You really didn't think this through, did you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Predictable. Let me tell you something, Luna. If you are just another dream, and you aren't actually here, then I can simply edit this dream to my desire, now that I am conscious."

The alicorns mouth hung open.

"Assuming you are real, you are nothing but a visitor. I still control every aspect of my own brain, you can only influence it to think certain things. Do you know what that means?"

No response.

"It means that I control you!" screamed Spike, as he swung a claw at the black alicorn. In utter disbelief, Spike's captor teleported away, and the universe they were in seemed to fall apart around him.

You were right. My mind *is** the key.*

Spike smiled as he woke up to the rising sun. It was the first time all week that he had gotten a full night's sleep. Refreshed, he let out a small green fireball as some odd form of a yawn. He looked down to see Celestia sleeping at his side.

So peaceful... So quiet...

...

Oh... It. Is. On.

Spike breathed in deeply. "MORNING EVERYPONY!!!"

A collection of squeals, and Discord jumping up then falling face first into the ground forced Spike into the laughter of an evil genius.

"Hey! What was that for!" shouted Dash as she charged to Spike's face.

"Nothing in particular."

Celestia giggled. "You shouldn't complain Rainbow, the only reason we're here is because of what you brought to my attention thirty years ago."

Dash turned from Spike and gave Celestia a confused look. "Huh?"

"Well, the only reason I wasn't at the palace to stop Luna was because of the letter you told Twilight to send me."

Dash looked around at everypony in the group, who were now staring at her. "What letter?"

Celestia rolled her eyes. "The one about Gilda joining the rebellion militia against Commander Veldhavin?"

"I hadn't spoken to Gilda since she first visited Ponyville, I don't have a clue what you're talking about." defended the cyan pegasus.

Spike and Celestia looked at each other in worry before turning back to Dash. "Rainbow... What was Twilight doing just about a month before the incident? Did you have much interaction with her?"

Dash lowered her voice as she realized that she wasn't a target of accusation. "Well, no, not much. I did talk to her some times, though, do you want to know about it?"

Celestia sighed. "Yes, we do."

Rainbow Dash protested. "Are you sure? I hate telling stories..."

Spike interrupted in frustration. "Yes we're sure, now get talking."

She grunted. "Fine. It was just a normal morning like always, and I was moving the clouds around..."

Rainbow's Day Off

How adorable...

Luna smiled as she looked at the peacefully sleeping Rainbow Dash. She hadn't returned home as usual that night, but decided to stay outside and sleep on a small patch of cloud. She almost didn't want to wake the pegasus up, but disappointing Celestia by failing to complete such a simple task was not an option.

Luna softly nudged Dash with her hoof. "Hey. Wake up sleepy head."

No response.

She spoke a bit louder this time, and pushed harder. "Rainbow dash."

Nothing.

Luna snarled as she tried six more times to wake the cyan mare. Losing her temper, she leaned in to Dash's ear. "THINE PRINCESS DEMANDS THAT THOU AWAKENS FROM THINE SLUMBER AND OVERCOME THINE FATIGUE!"

Dash jumped up and spread her wings, instinctively bracing herself from an oncoming assault. She let out an annoyed huff when she saw nothing but a giggling blue alicorn flying next to her.

"Good morning, Rainbow." said Luna, a small smile appearing as she tried to hide her amusement.

"Yeah, yeah. Why did you have to wake me up so early?"

Luna burst into a fit of laughter, confusing the pegasus.

Dash growled. "What!?"

"It's noon." said Luna.

Rainbow arched her back and let out a slow chuckle. "Oh... Uh, right. Wait, what are you doing here? Don't you have to run Equestria while Celestia is away?" she asked.

Luna regained her thoughts which she had forgotten about while waking Dash. "Yes of course, but the nobles can handle court for today. Celestia wanted me to have some rain clouds moved over to irrigate Bic Mac's new farm in Canterlot."

Dash let out a sigh. "So... Why didn't you ask the weather pegasi to do it?"

"All still busy dealing with the drought in Appleoosa." argued the alicorn. "I knew you would be here in Ponyville, though."

The pegasus twitched in anger. "Because today is my day off!"

"I know! What better way to spend it than with me!" said Luna, grinning.

Rainbow face hoofed.

"If you wanted to tell me to move clouds to Canterlot, why make the trip over here? Couldn't you just send Twilight a letter?" asked Rainbow.

"Well how would she give it to you when she and her dragon are in Canterlot as well?" asked Luna, actually expecting an answer.

Rainbow sighed again and gave up trying to argue with the socially oblivious mare. Her and Luna gathered a few small rain clouds and began their slow flight to Canterlot, constantly moving around to keep the clouds in place. It became a miniature contest between the two to try and round out their half of the cloud collection as perfect as possible.

After they had finally arrived in Canterlot, the cloud they were moving was now a perfect gray sphere. Neither Luna nor Rainbow Dash wanted to give up their work, but it was inevitable as rain began to fall over the tilled soil. Upon seeing it, Macintosh exited his house and waved his large, black cowboy hat at both of the flying mares. They smiled in response as he went back inside.

"So now what do you want to do?" asked Dash.

Luna thought for a moment. "I am going to go do some paper work, the usual things. Tax extensions, appeals, and the occasional death threat." she joked.

Rainbow gasped. "Death threat!? Who would threaten to kill you!? Show me where they are, I'll give'm the old one-two!"

Luna giggled at the defensive pegasus. "Oh, the element of loyalty fits you so. Worry not Rainbow Dash, I am an alicorn. I cannot be hurt by physical means, and it would take the magic of ten thousand unicorns to wound me fatally. I am quite safe, I don't even understand why my sister and I have an ensemble of guards."

Rainbow Dash wiped the sweat off of her forehead. "Phew. So, you don't even take them seriously?"

"Not at all. I keep most of my death threats in a file cabinet, and read them whenever I need a good laugh." reassured the princess.

"That's awesome!" exclaimed Rainbow.

"It is, isn't it? Anyways, feel free to tour Canterlot for the rest of the day. After I raise the moon at eight, I thought it would be nice if we had a race. Palace roof to Twilight's library, what do you say?"

Dash lit up with partial disbelief, and excitement. "You're on!"

Canterlot sucks.

Rainbow Dash grew increasingly bored of the generic flowers she had been staring at. She had earlier visited the Equestrian Air and Space History Museum, the only interesting thing in this city. It had a lot of information on famous pegasi, and even some inventors who tried to make steam powered wings and flying machines for unicorns and earth ponies. What captivated her most, though, was the complete history and member list of the Wonderbolts. They were young, only about four hundred years old, but it was still interesting for Rainbow to admire the past great fliers.

That didn't last long, though. After she left the museum, Dash took a long walk around the Palace gardens. It felt weird to her, seeing as she flew everywhere. If her wings could talk, they would be thanking and praising her for the rest right about now. For once in a long time, Dash stopped to smell the flowers. They smelled amazing, it was no wonder why Fluttershy loved flora so much.

Rainbow made her way through the gardens, and was about to turn and leave when something caught her eye. She didn't notice a problem at first, but then it hit her. The statue gallery was missing something. Something important. Something like...

Discord!

She flew up to investigate the empty platform. Sure enough, one frozen draconnequus was missing. Dash turned and raced towards the palace to tell Luna that Discord had escaped, frantically trying to put together her thoughts.

As she arrived at the gates, she looked down and spied on the scene below her. Twilight was casually talking to a palace guard in fancy armour, different from the other guards. She flew in closer, close enough to hear what they were saying but far enough away so she wouldn't be noticed.

Dash's jaw hung open when the guard bowed to Twilight and greeted her as royalty. After some small talk, they went inside. Dash quietly followed them, keeping a safe distance. She had the advantage, flapping wings made virtually no noise at all.

A chill ran down the pegasus' spine as she entered an ancient hall way, only illuminated by torches which Twilight lit with her magic. They finally came to the large golden door which led to Celestia's library.

In disbelief, Dash spectated Twilight activate the elements of chaos and enter the massive library. In fear of being spotted, Rainbow quickly fled from the hallway and back to the main section of the castle. She made her way to the throne room to find Luna with two stacks of papers.

She was wearing black eyeglasses, her full attention on her work as she levitated various papers, signing them and moving on. It took her awhile to notice the cyan mare standing in front of her, resembling Fluttershy more than she did herself.

"P-Princess..." said Rainbow, in the shyest, most quiet voice.

Luna looked up at the distressed pegasus and gave her a worried expression. "What's wrong, my friend?"

Rainbow pushed her mane in front of her face. "I just saw some... Really strange things."

"What would those be?"

"Well..." Dash gulped. "Twilight was just down in this creepy basement in the castle, and there was this huge gold and stone door. She had some weird diamonds and she put them inside the door, then there was this huge flash and the door opened."

Luna dropped her scroll as Rainbow told her the story. Her eyes widened, but then she brushed it off.

Really, Tia?... Giving the daughter of Stardust Arcane and Celestia Sparkle free access to ancient spell books? What are you trying to raise here, a princess, or a weapon of mass destruction? You'll be hearing about this from me when you get back...

"Rainbow Dash, follow me. There's something you need to know about." said Luna, letting out a long sigh and shaking her head slowly.

Luna led her friend to an office near her room, and levitated out a dusty old book. After flipping through a few pages, she found what she was looking for. Luna put the book down on the table and motioned for Dash to read it.

"This is... Your family history?" asked the cyan mare.

"Yes it is. This book contains the genealogy of almost every royal alicorn, save for the creators."

A question popped up in Dash's mind. "Wait, if the alicorns created the earth, why do you only rule one country?"

Luna laughed a bit. "A lesson to be learned, my friend. Great power corrupts greatly, but absolute power corrupts absolutely."

The night princess' seemingly infinite wisdom did little more then confuse the pegasus. "Hmm."

"Find anything on this page, Rainbow Dash?" asked Luna.

She looked again. Sure enough, there was a picture of a large, dark violet alicorn stallion with a black mane and tail, with a scarlet red stripe going down them. He wore a large crown with a red gem that matched his cutie mark, a red star.

Luna smiled. "That, is General Stardust Arcane."

Realization smacked Dash across the face. "That looks just like..."

"Twilight Sparkle." said Luna, finishing the pegasus' statement.

"But how?" asked Dash. "I've met Twilight's parents, why does this pony look just like her?"

Luna chuckled. "Have you ever noticed how Twilight's mother and father look nothing like their daughter at all? They are her foster parents, Twilight was given up at birth when her father died. Her mother was far too busy to take care of her correctly."

Dash felt utterly stupid for not connecting the dots so much sooner. "This is... Her father?"

"Yes."

Wait. "If that's Twilight's dad, who's her mom?"

Luna coughed as she tried to think of a response. She had promised Celestia never to speak to Twilight or anyone she knew about being her daughter. "That is not important. What's important is, Twilight is an alicorn, and a royal princess all the same. She has complete access to the palace and all of it's contents."

Rainbow needed a few moments to collect herself, this was a whole lot to take in. Not only was her friend an alicorn, but she was also heir to the throne! "Wait. Aren't alicorns supposed to have wings, and be a lot bigger then normal ponies?"

"Oh, I forgot you aren't one to research such things." joked Luna, getting a scowl in response from the rainbow maned pegasus. "An alicorn mare only grows wings once she has lived for about a quarter century. Only then will she go through the final stages of her adolescent life, and mature into a full grown alicorn. The entire process takes just about five years after her wings grow in."

Dash lost all control and burst into laughter, rolling around on the floor. "So you're telling me, Twilight is still just a filly!? At twenty two years old!?"

Luna sighed. "That's one way to put it."

"That makes no sense..." said Rainbow, choking on the words through her laughter. Pain kicked in, so she eventually calmed down.

Then, as she said those words, the strangest feeling washed over her. The same one she got when she was released from Discord's influence. Like she had just missed something, something really important. A look of dread over took the pegasus as evil words rang in the back of her head.

But where's the fun in making sense?

Luna grabbed the now hyperventilating pony and tried to calm her down, oblivious to what was going on. "Are you okay, Dash?"

Rainbow held back her imminent tears as fear over took her. "Luna... I went to visit the statue garden today after we moved the clouds to Big Macintosh's new house..."

The alicorn braced herself for the worst. "What happened? Is everything alright?"

Dash gulped as she looked into Luna's eyes, the weight of what she was about to say only now showing itself.

"Discord wasn't there."

Involuntary Movements

"So? What happened next?" asked Celestia, leaning in uncomfortably towards Rainbow.

Rainbow backed up slowly. "I... I don't really know. Luna did some magic horn thingy and then told me not to worry about Discord."

Celestia sighed. "Obviously."

"So who won tah race?" asked Applejack.

Rainbow gulped. "It... I don't remember." she lied.

Spike ignored most of the post story conversation and looked north of the camp. The city was waking up. Slowly, more and more lights were turned on, and more sounds could be heard. Spike wanted anything to be invisible right now, so he wouldn't have to deal with city ponies.

"It's best we get Rarity before they all wake up." he said.

He didn't wait for a response before grabbing Applejack and lifting her onto his back. Peppers tried Spike's tactic and snatched up Macintosh. The farm ponies weren't happy about it, but they would get over it. Spike was the first to take off, followed by Peppers, and eventually the rest of the group.

When they arrived at the city, Discord and the two dragons decided to simply fly over head and keep watch while the other five searched for Rarity. Celestia took out a large black hood and cloak from her saddle bag and wore it to cover her wings and horn. Seeing the former princess of Equestria in such a large city would surely attract unnecessary attention.

"Where do you think she might be?" asked Fluttershy.

Celestia looked around. All she saw was street vendors and business ponies going about their days. "Not sure."

Applejack spotted a small flier on a street light. Come one, come all! Hoity Toity's winter fashion extravaganza! With appearances by Photo Finish and Fleur De Lis. Applejack smiled and held up her head arrogantly as she showed the flier to the other four. They all nodded and began heading toward the auditorium.

"How lucky was that?" asked Rainbow.

"Ah think yer jumpin' the gun there, sis'. There ain't no way of tellin' if Miss Rarity's even at tha fashion thingy." argued Macintosh.

Applejack kicked the red stallion. "What? Yer already callin' Rainbow yer sister?"

Macintosh flicked his tail in anger. "Eeyup. Sis' in law is still a sis'. Rainbow's part of tha apple family."

Rainbow giggled as Applejack rolled her eyes at the stallion.

Peppers grew uneasy when a crowd gathered on the ground below where the two dragons were flying. All dragons had been placed in power plants in Unicouver, or slaughtered for their scales to make armour. Seeing a free dragon was unbelievable, but two at the same time? That's just scary.

Spike grinned maniacally as an idea came to him. "We should put on a show for them."

"You're insane."

"You have no idea." joked the purple dragon.

Peppers looked at the crowd and shook his head. "We're supposed to be looking out for the others, not performing tricks."

"Please. Celestia is the second most powerful living thing in the empire, she can protect the group fine. We really have nothing else to do, so why not?" pleaded Spike.

"Wait, where's Discord?" asked Peppers.

Spike looked around to see that they were indeed missing their draconnequus companion. He shrugged and chuckled softly. "Probably went to go buy some chocolate milk? I don't know what he does, but he'll be fine I'm sure."

"Mhm..."

The young dragon's grin returned to his visage. "Nose dive parallel, ninety degree turn up at a hundred meters, mirrored circle to meet with crossed flames. Got it?"

The red dragon sighed. "This is a terrible idea."

Two large unicorn stallions approached the group as they were walking. One had a dark gray coat, his cutie mark a saw and hammer. The second unicorn was dark green. He wore a brown trench coat, his cutie mark covered up by it. They walked in front of Macintosh, beckoning him.

"What's a slave pony doing in Manehatten?" asked the gray pony.

His accessory laughed. "Don't know. Maybe we should show him the way out."

Macintosh laughed and pushed the two aside as he walked. "Eenope."

Disgusted, the two unicorns spit at Macintosh and held him up with a magical aura. He wrestled to break free as Applejack delivered a painful kick to the green stallion.

"You uneducated mongrel!" he exclaimed, focusing his magic on Applejack.

Celestia sighed and shook her head. "Please let them go, boys. What would you like? Bits? Gems?"

Rainbow was growling loudly at the ordeal as Fluttershy shivered and hid behind her. Nopony really paid attention to the cyan mare, there wasn't anything she could do in this situation. Celestia had things under control, and if she needed help, she would ask for it. Unlike herself, Dash decided to keep quiet.

"Ha! I don't want to get your filthy money all over me, you probably wear that cloak so nopony has to look at your disgusting self." said the green stallion.

Celestia giggled. "You're not very good at insults. I've heard much better in my time."

"I'm sure you have." added the gray unicorn. His comment was followed by laughter from him and his friend.

The cloaked alicorn shook her head in disappointment. "I would suggest you release the two and stop what you're doing, I would despise having to intervene."

The green unicorn laughed. "Stop doing what? This?" he focused his magic around Applejack's neck, choking her. She squirmed and tried to escape his grasp, but could not.

"AJ!" exclaimed Macintosh, who was then quickly muffled by a similar spell.

The gray unicorn snorted. "Disgusting earth ponies, you're all worthless trash. Your little friend isn't going to do anything. I'll see you in hell."

Sharp pain shot through Celestia's chest. Horrible memories that she had fought so hard to repress were now returning. The alicorn's eyes grew burning white as Twilight's voice rang through her head.

Why didn't you save me, mom? You just left me there to die alone... I thought you loved me...

The alicorn snapped open her wings, sending her cloak flying off of her. A spinning white aura surrounded Celestia as she rose from the ground. The two unicorn stallions instantly dropped their targets and fled in fear, in disbelief of what they had just seen. Coming back into reality, Celestia fell to her knees and relinquished her powerful magic. She didn't care who had seen her, the only thing on her mind was what she had just heard.

I'm sorry...

"Why are we doing this!?" screamed Peppers as he prepared himself to turn upwards.

Spike laughed. "Don't know!"

The red dragon gulped. "Ready?"

"Now!"

Just missing a tower, the two dragons skillfully shot forward and then turned in opposite directions. After a few seconds of fast flight, they met where they had started and shot two jets of flame directly above the others head. It formed a massive, flaming, rainbow cross in the sky. As they finished their performance, the two dragons looked at the silent crowd, waiting for someone to shriek in fear. They were pleasantly mistaken.

Everypony cheered. Loudly. The only words either of them could make out in the complimentary shouting were "Encore!" and "Spectacular!". Spike and Peppers bowed mid air to the spectators below, and smiled at each other. Spike looked down at the mesmerized ponies and didn't believe what he saw at first.

A white unicorn with a violet mane in the center of the crowd was waving them down. Spike's heart pounded as he quickly identified the mare as Rarity. Without warning Peppers, he flew down and landed in the street. Rarity ran to the front of the crowd to greet the dragon.

"That was amazing!" complimented Rarity.

The purple dragon smiled. "Thanks."

"I can't believe you're really here!" she exclaimed. "I haven't seen you in thirty years, Spike!"

Spike chuckled. "I know. I had to leave, but I'm here now."

Rarity smiled warmly as she hugged the adult dragon's neck. "You've gotten so big..."

"Haven't I?" he asked, flattered.

"You look magnificent. You really grew up well, how have you been?" she asked.

Spike cringed as he thought of a way to correctly answer that without worrying his friend. "As good as I'm ever going to get... But anyways, I actually am in Manehatten with a purpose." said Spike in monotone.

Rarity's excited expression faded slightly. "What would that be?"

Spike explained the recent events within the group and plans that he and Celestia had made. Rarity nodded slowly as he went along, trying to comprehend everything he was telling her. When he was finished, she lowered her head in thought. Joining Spike would be a huge trial and responsibility, but it was necessary to ensure the future of Equestria.

"Count me in." she said.

"I knew you would agree, now let's go find the others."

An odd feeling of Deja Vu ticked in the back of Spike's mind. He didn't quite understand it at first, until he looked up past Rarity. The cheering crowd was no longer behind her, only a dirt covered and cracked road, very different from the one he was just standing on.

"It looks like it's been abandoned for years..." said Discord.

Spike was startled by the voice out of nowhere. He turned around quickly to see the entire group behind him. There were no business ponies, no street vendors, no nothing. The entire city was empty, vines growing on most of the structures.

"I wonder what happened here." said Fluttershy.

"So do I." agreed Rainbow.

Celestia sighed. "Guess you were wrong about Manehatten, Spike. There's no way that Rarity is here, I don't think that anypony is still here..."

Spike went slack jawed. "What are you talking about Tia? Rarity is right he-"

He stopped mid statement as he looked back in front of him. Rarity was gone, and there was absolutely nothing whatsoever. Just empty streets, dirt, and dust. He backed up and fell to his knees, frantically whipping his head around in an attempt to locate the white mare. His heart pounded faster then it ever had when he realized that everyone except the group was gone.

Twitch.

The Wisdom and Responsibilities of Epsilon

"Fifty three years... Aquarius had been the General for fifty three years." said the black alicorn, smiling at Epsilon.

"Was it difficult to let him go?" asked the pegasus.

The alicorn rolled her eyes. "Hah! You'll be a hundred times better now that you're in his position."

Epsilon returned the friendly gesture. "It's an honor, your highness."

The black alicorn let a long giggle escape her, which was very unusual. She had for the longest time kept herself from displaying any emotions, in order to get the respect she demanded. The only pony who she ever opened herself to was Aquarius, who obviously can't listen anymore. There was something about Epsilon though, something special she couldn't put her hoof on.

"Please, skip the pleasantries and titles. They annoy me, would you like it if I stopped calling you Epsilon, and called you Great and Powerful General Epsilon, commander of the Regal Militia whenever we spoke?" asked the alicorn, trying hard to contain her laughter.

"Of course ma'am. Is there anything you need?" he asked.

The alicorn thought for a minute. "Hmm. It's quite cold in here, I know you're far from a servant, but would you mind fetching me a blanket?"

"Not a problem."

The alicorn was left to herself as the white pegasus exited the room. Being alone was normal, but it was slowly beginning to take it's toll on the stressed queen of Equestria. She hasn't had a mate for decades, she couldn't. It would only distract her. Maybe... No. I have way too much respect for-

Her train of thought was interrupted as Epsilon returned with a blanket, and wrapped it over the alicorn. For some reason, having him around made her comfortable. She felt open to him, safe with him. For the first time in thirty years, the alicorn closed her flaming white eyes and ended her concealment spell, revealing her true coat and eye colour.

Epsilon stood there in shock. He had never seen the queen like this for as long as he could remember. He only became more surprised when the alicorn smiled, and motioned for him to sit down next to her.

"Am I evil, Epsilon?" she asked softly.

"No, of course you aren't."

She sighed and turned away from the white pegasus. "I've hurt so many ponies though. I won't anymore, and I can try to fix my mistakes, but look at the group hunting me. They were some of my closest friends, and then there's Celestia..."

Epsilon put a reassuring hoof on the alicorn's back as she spoke of Celestia. "You are not evil. An evil pony would never try to make amends for what they did wrong, they would never even notice it."

The alicorn turned back and lowered her head to the ground in fatigue. "I don't think I say this enough, Epsilon, but you are very wise."

"Maybe." he answered.

"You have work to do, Epsilon. Do not feel obligated to stay with me." she ordered.

Epsilon bowed and left the room a second time, the alicorn somewhat regretting her demands to send the pegasus back to his admirals.

Epsilon eventually made it to the other wing of the castle, greeted by three of his closest officers. They had a look of concern expressed on each of their faces, which worried the new general.

"Sir, we received the report from Colonel Macintosh a few hours ago." said Admiral Gamma.

Epsilon grinned. "Good, good. What did he have to say?"

"Take a look at it yourself sir." said the Admiral, handing Epsilon a fairly large scroll.

Epsilon,

Hate to be the bearer of bad news again, but it don't look good down here. Not only is Ms. Belle not in Manehatten, nopony is. They haven't been for years. This place is a ghost town, do you know what happened?

On a more personal note, I ain't gonna lie. You really look stressed mate, I know how you want nothing more than to protect... Her... But you should schedule some free time. Maybe relax a bit, you know? You're worrying me.

I'm awaiting orders, the group will pretty much believe me if I say I have a lead. They don't really have anything else to go on, so make up a story and I'll pass it off.

Your Friend,

Mac.

P.S. Send one of the privates to look after my corn.

Epsilon chuckled softly to himself and rolled up the parchment. He and Macintosh had been very good friends since he joined the army, at that time neither of them expected that Epsilon would one day command it. Other than Gamma and the Queen, he was the only pony Epsilon actually talked to regularly.

"Any suggestions on how to respond to that? Macintosh was never briefed on the Manehatten Project." said Epsilon as he sat down at his desk and put on his reading glasses, taking out a smaller scroll and a quill.

Gamma sighed. "Just tell him to move on, and say we'll investigate it."

The white stallion nodded and closed his eyes. He tilted his head down and focused on the quill, instinctively trying to grab hold of it with arcane strings. Before he could realize the mistake, he was hit with a painful shock to the head as the quill refused to budge. Gamma ran to his side as Epsilon let out a piercing shout.

"General!" exclaimed Gamma.

Anger got the best of the usually calm Epsilon as he pounded the desk, knocking over a lamp and some paperwork. He quickly jumped from his seat to escape the grasp of a concerned Gamma. The stallion growled at himself for being so careless, and looked back at his inferior.

Gamma hung his head in shame and pawed at the floor. "You have to stop..."

Epsilon held out his hoof and raised the younger pegasus' chin to look him in the eyes. "I know I do. I'm sorry. It just happens sometimes. I'll be fine."

"No you won't. Not like this."

The white alicorn sighed and rubbed the small lump on his forehead, under his mane. "I've managed without magic since I was a colt. Don't worry about me, Gamma."

"No promises." replied the orange maned pegasus, shaking his head as he left the room.

Reviewing the damages, Epsilon sat back down at his ravaged desk and picked up the quill in his teeth to begin writing.

Mac,

That's quite a shame. Just wondering, what exactly made Peppers think that Ms. Belle would be located in Manehatten? I don't remember suggesting you look there or having any of my men suggest it.

As for me, please don't worry. I am fine, and I will always be fine. The Queen isn't exactly in the best mental state at the moment, so do your best to stall out Spike. Though, after hearing what her highness had to say about the hatch ling, I don't think he's in a position to charge blind at the palace gates.

Move to Fillydelphia, if you cannot locate your target there, then I will have to take matters into my own hooves. I don't want to do that, it would be much smoother if you had Ms. Belle within your group. For now, I'm going to make sure that her highness doesn't crack under the pressure.

Really, I'm okay,

Epsilon.

P.S. On it bud.

The white alicorn closed the scroll and tied it with a small gold ribbon. After looking at his torrential storm of an office a second time, he shook his head and began down the stairs. Eventually he made it to the room of one of his unicorn captains, Dusk Avano.

"Captain Dusk." addressed Epsilon.

He was met with a surprised look and an instantaneous salute. Epsilon laughed quietly as the small gray unicorn ran up to meet his superior. "At your service, General!"

"I just wanted you to send out a letter." said Epsilon.

"Of course! Where to?" asked Dusk.

Epsilon removed the scroll from his mouth and put it on the captain's desk. "To Colonel Macintosh's dragon, please do not send it until midnight."

"Why midnight?"

Epsilon furrowed his brow. "You aren't supposed to question your superiors."

The unicorn attempted to sink down to the size of an ant. "I'm so sorry, sir!"

The alicorn chuckled and put a hoof on his captain's shoulder. "It's quite alright son. It must be sent when the others are asleep, so they are not suspicious of Pepper's sudden burst of flame."

"Makes sense." replied the unicorn.

"Get it done." said Epsilon as he left the room. He turned back to the direction of the throne room to report his progress to the queen, who would surely not be surprised of anything. Epsilon hadn't ever a chance to experience what it was like to read minds, it sounded like a very interesting thing to play around with.

When he made it back to the throne room, however, he was not pleased by what he saw. The queen, who was now back under her concealment spell with a fully black coat, was pacing around angrily in the middle of the room. There were ten guards throughout the room, not including the general.

"Epsilon! I'm so glad you're finally here." said the black alicorn.

"Ma'am, what happened?" he asked.

The alicorn sighed and walked over to look out of the window. She was followed by the ensemble of armoured pegasi, but motioned them back to their positions. Epsilon joined her as she stared out of the window, not really knowing what to look at. The alicorn gulped and turned to her general.

"We have a problem."

The Remorse and Honesty of Epsilon

"Uhm... I don't see anything." said Epsilon.

The black alicorn stared questioningly at the white stallion. If her pupils were visible, she would most likely have been rolling them right then. "That's the point."

Epsilon turned back to the window and studied the outside world carefully. "So what's the problem?"

"You don't get out much, do you Epsilon?"

He shrugged. "Guess not."

"Look outwards, towards the grass lands. Away from Canterlot. What do you see?" asked the alicorn.

Epsilon tried his hardest to repress his imminent laughter. "I see grass, your majesty."

"Now why is that a problem?"

The white stallion lowered his brows as he focused on the outer lands in thought. "I don't get why there's anything wrong wi..." his eyes widened as he realized the situation. He backed up slowly and fell to his knees, shaking his head in disbelief. "How!?"

"I fear that I am losing my connection to the elements. Their combined power was what kept it up for thirty years." admitted the alicorn.

The two looked out of the window in despair. The black aura which once surrounded and shielded Canterlot had dissipated. The city was now open to any invasion or attack from Celestia's group, and the Queen herself was vulnerable to their wrath. The worst of it was, nopony knew exactly why the black alicorn could no longer use any of the five elements of chaos.

"You must have changed." said Epsilon, breaking the silence.

The alicorn began pacing around the room, holding up her hooves to look at herself. Her appearance was still very much the same. Black coat, white eyes, black mane. "I didn't."

Epsilon sighed. "I meant your personality. When we spoke earlier today about you, you asked me if you were evil."

The alicorn tilted her head and stared at Epsilon. "I don't quite follow..."

"When I explained to you why you were not, and you let your concealment spell fade, I assume you were thinking about important things. About yourself, about your past." interrogated Epsilon.

"Yes of course, it was natural." answered the alicorn.

The white stallion grinned. "What did you conclude?"

The Queen looked off to the side and thought about it for a few moments. "I... I don't really know. I guess that if I could turn back the clocks, I would have never made my same mistakes. I no longer want this Aumean forsaken throne, Epsilon. I want my life back. I want Celestia back."

Epsilon smiled warmly as he walked over to the Queen. "You'll have to take it." he whispered.

The alicorn returned the smile as her concealment spell faded for the final time. The magical coat of black returned to it's natural colour, and her eyes cooled as she closed them. With a gentle shift in weight, the alicorn removed the cloak and hood from her back. For the first time in years, she spread her wings wide and took in a deep breath.

"You don't know how beautiful you are." said Epsilon.

The alicorn giggled. "Prettier than you, old man."

Epsilon portrayed his best fake look of disgust. "I'm not that old!"

The Queen shook her head and looked up at the stallion. "Epsilon, how do you always know the right things to say?"

Epsilon sighed and looked away. "I've been through a lot, your majesty."

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked in a concerned tone.

He walked over to the alicorn mare and rested a hoof on her shoulder. "Do you really want to know?"

Spike growled as he rolled around in place. After today's events, it was slowly becoming obvious that he wasn't going to be able to get any sleep. Had he really hallucinated everything? Was everything he was seeing now just an illusion? The thought of his deteriorating sanity scared him.

"Peppers, you awake?" asked Spike.

The elder dragon smiled. "Of course."

"Do you remember much of earlier today?"

Peppers raised a brow, considering how to answer the peculiar question. "I may be old, but not that old, my friend."

Spike chuckled a bit. "Can you tell me what happened?"

The red dragon stared at Spike blankly. "... What?"

"Well?"

Peppers shook his head and laughed. "We left camp early since you made us, and when we got to Manehatten, well, you know."

Spike snorted and glared at Peppers. "No, I don't know."

Peppers didn't know whether he should be amused, or scared. "Everything was dead. Nopony and nodragon anywhere to be found in that ghost city."

The purple dragon rested his head on his claws and sighed. "Of course."

"You look troubled, Spike." said Peppers, walking over and sitting down next to the younger dragon.

"Do I now?" asked Spike, chuckling to himself.

The conversation between the two dragons was interrupted as Peppers uncontrollably belched a large yellow fireball into the air. It swirled for a few seconds before forming into a small scroll with a royal seal. Peppers gulped and carefully brought the letter up to his face, reading it. He was completely oblivious to the staring purple dragon that was now wondering why exactly a conspirator would receive a message from the palace.

Spike growled. "Peppers?"

"Worry not, hatch ling. This message is from General Epsilon." reassured Peppers.

"What does it say?"

Peppers laughed. "He's just on my tail about how it's taking quite a long time to find Rarity."

Spike let out a sigh of relief. "Speaking of Rarity, there's something you should know."

Epsilon carefully grabbed a large brown book from the shelf and brought it over next to the alicorn queen. She gave him a confused look as she read the title. "What does this have to do with your past?"

"Your highness, you remember this book, correct?" asked Epsilon.

"Of course." she replied. "It's the one Rainbow Dash had read in her story, the alicorn history book."

Without a response, Epsilon flipped to the page on Stardust Arcane. The alicorn's eyes widened as she stared upon the familiar face. "That's..."

"Yes. That's him." said Epsilon.

"I don't get it." said the alicorn. "Where do you come in?"

Epsilon sighed as memories of his childhood assaulted his mind. No. The Queen has a right to know this, she has a right to see. With struggle from every fiber in his being, Epsilon pointed to a small, formal looking passage located directly under the picture of Stardust.

Name: Arcane, Stardust.

Race: Alicorn.

Gender: Male.

Date of Birth: April 30th, Year 2054.

Date of Passing: July 21st, Year 4271.

Title(s): General; Prince; Element of Magic.

Spouse(s): Sparkle, Celestia.

Offspring: Sparkle, Twilight. Arcane, Epsilon.

The alicorn's jaw dropped as she read the final line. A mix of unwelcome emotions flooded her, a dangerous combination of pity, confusion, and the overpowering sense of betrayal. Why hadn't Epsilon told her that he was her...

"I'm sorry, your highness." he said, destroying her train of thought.

She rested her wing on his back and looked deep into his eyes. Epsilon turned away in shame for a moment before returning the gesture. Gently, the alicorn queen removed his armour and brushed away his mane to reveal an old, permanent scar where his horn should have been. Pure maternal concern overtook her as she embraced the distressed stallion and stroked his mane.

"Epsilon... What happened to you?"

The Guidance and Patronage of Epsilon

The moon. Unrivaled in it's divine beauty, complimented only by the millions of shining white stars. Like a cosmic painting in the night sky, it brought absolute perfection to the universe. Celestia's sun was no comparison to this sight, at least, not for one young colt.

Epsilon stared out of his bedroom window, looking up at the display before him. It was the only comfort he could truly claim in the short life he had lived so far, for he was one with the night. His coat and horn were flawlessly white like the moon, and his mane and tail a royal blue with cyan highlights to match the sky.

The unicorn walked away from the window and levitated a scroll and quill from his desk. With expert precision, he sketched every last detail of the night sky which he had just seen. When he was finished, the colt took a final look at the paper and the window to compare the two. Pleased, he opened his drawer and placed the drawing among a stack of hundreds of other similar scrolls.

Slightly annoyed by the sudden noises, Aquarius woke from his sleep and made his way to Epsilon's room. Upon arriving, he kicked open the door to see his foal skillfully folding his bed sheets and preparing to go to sleep. Startled by the pegasus' violent appearance, Epsilon jumped back with a yelp and dropped the blankets.

"What could you possibly be doing up so late?" asked Aquarius.

Epsilon looked around the room nervously. "Oh! Uhm... I was... Drawing?"

The pegasus let out a long sigh and rolled his eyes. "Let me guess. The same exact picture you've drawn hundreds of times."

"No!" defended Epsilon. "It's different every night! It's even different every hour! The stars, they move. They move a lot. I need to draw for every hour of the night, for every day, of every year. Then I'll finally have records of what it looks like!"

"That's four thousand of the same boring thing." countered Aquarius, putting on his best 'I'm not amused' face.

"Nah, only like, thirty eight hundred and fifty two to go. Give or take ten." corrected the unicorn, with a beaming smile.

Aquarius brought a hoof to his forehead. "Can't you be like every other colt and play sports or something? Really, you're obsessed."

"Sports are boring. Anyways, with who? You don't let me go to school." argued Epsilon.

"Go to bed, foal. We have a meeting with Princess Celestia and Princess Cadence tomorrow. You know that." ordered Aquarius.

"Do I have to go? The palace is so booooring..." whined the unicorn, laughing to himself as he exaggerated.

"Yes you do." said Aquarius, turning off the lights in the room and leaving.

Defeated, the colt growled and climbed into bed. Aquarius usually didn't mind him being up so late, but apparently the meeting tomorrow was going to be very important. Epsilon had to be on his best behavior, in no way was he going to disappoint his father. Not this time. He slowly closed his eyes, drifting into a deep sleep...

But sleep never came.

He wasn't sure why exactly. Maybe he was too nervous about the meeting. Maybe he had too much soda before bed. Maybe the moonlight shining in his window kept him up? Well, it didn't matter now. Sluggishly, the unicorn flopped out of bed and made his way to the bathroom to wash up for his later trip to the palace.

Epsilon flinched as the cold water hit his muzzle, sending a shock running through his entire body. After a few seconds, he looked up into the mirror to see his disheveled self. To his surprise, his mane did not look the same as it did only a few hours ago. Not only was it messy and unkempt, but it was... Longer? Much longer. His horn looked odd as well. It was slightly taller, and significantly sharper than he ever remembered.

Maybe I had a growth spurt?

He dismissed the thought as his upper back was hit with an excruciating twisting pain, knocking him onto the floor. Panting and twitching, he regained his composure and began his morning grooming to prepare for the meeting.

It wasn't long before Epsilon had cleaned himself up nicely and put on the nicest suit coat he owned, followed by his raised black steel shoes. For somepony who was only sixteen years old, he could sure play the part of a noble very well, despite how much he hated it. Pleased with his appearance, he made his way down to the kitchen and levitated himself a cup of coffee. Upon doing so, he noticed the most nervous pegasus he had ever seen standing by the door.

"Moning, father."

Aquarius wiped some sweat from his forehead. "We have to leave now, are you ready?"

Epsilon chuckled as he took a sip of his cocoa. "Of course. What's the hurry?"

"What's the hurry!?" exclaimed Aquarius. "We are the guests of the rulers of not one, but two major countries! I will not tolerate being tardy!"

"Well I have some advice." the unicorn teased. "You should probably try to look more like a pegasus, and less like a sea pony in front of the Princesses."

"Watch your mouth." snapped Aquarius.

Without any further incident, the two left their Canterlot estate only to be unexpectedly greeted by a guard-drawn chariot waiting for them at their doorstep. Despite how excited Epsilon was to finally fly again, he kept his calm expression and walked slowly towards the guards, allowing Aquarius to enter the chariot first.

"I didn't know Celestia organized all this. Are we early?" asked the pegasus.

One of the guards simply shook his head in response as they prepared to take off. Epsilon stared down in amazement at the glistening city below him twinkling to life as ponies began their daily routines. It wasn't every day that a unicorn gets to fly, and he knew that he was going to make the most of it...

... However they arrived at the palace just after he finished that thought.

Epsilon got off the chariot followed by Aquarius, and they made their way into the ornate doors of the palace throne room. It wasn't very decorated, but there were a few noble colts and ladies sharing small conversations with each other. Happy to see her General arrive, Celestia motioned for him and his follower to come sit next to her. When they made it to the throne, both Aquarius and Epsilon respectfully bowed, receiving two rolled alicorn eyes in response.

"Aqua, you know you don't need to be so formal around me. These parties are boring enough as it is, the only thing worse than a diplomatic party is the Grand Galloping Gala." said Celestia.

"I know, your majesty. What does Cadence think of everything so far?" asked the stallion.

Celestia let out a very non-regal laugh, getting a stunned look from everypony in the room before continuing in a whisper. "Last time I saw her she was in the kitchen, harassing poor Chef Le Me to make her some donuts."

"She always had a sweet tooth." added Aquarius.

Epsilon didn't contribute to the conversation, he was far too busy looking at the design of the throne room. To his surprise, it wasn't entirely made to match Princess Celestia. Half of the room was of course yellow and white, to match the sun. However, the other half was dark blue and black, with many paintings of stars and the moon.

Deep in contemplation, the unicorn didn't catch the smell of Celestia's breath as she stared at him from the side where she was sitting. "Do you like it?" she asked.

Epsilon jumped in sudden astonishment and recomposed himself. "Uh, Miss Celestia! I'm so sorry I didn't mean to be rude I-"

The alicorn giggled and put on an amused smile. "Oh, don't worry. Now really, do you like it?"

"I don't quite get it." the colt admitted. In the background, Aquarius brought a hoof to his forehead.

"Oh? Mind explaining?" asked Celestia.

It's official, I'm going to be thrown in a dungeon. "Why does only half the room look like you?"

The opportunity to give a history lesson instead of sit at a boring old party made the Princess' eyes light up like a colt in a candy store. Epsilon backed away slightly as she beamed at him, leaning in ever so closely. Noticing the look she was getting from Aquarius, she cleared her throat and put on the same elysian smile as usual. "That is a very good question."

Both Epsilon and Aquarius spoke in unison. "It is?"

"Why yes of course." assured Celestia. "Mister Epsilon, would you like to take a walk with me? I would love to tell you the story of the castle's design."

"You... You would?" he asked. It's a trap! She's bringing me to the basement with the dragons and the...

"I want nothing more than that right now. Aqua, do you mind greeting the guests for me while we're away?" she asked, giving a quick wink to the confused pegasus.

"Yes your majesty." he agreed.

With that, Celestia and Epsilon were on their way into the empty hallways of the palace. He was trying his best, and failing, to keep his good posture as he walked next to the divine sun goddess, the current center of her attention. Eventually he found the courage to look up at her, only to be met with a similar gaze.

"Is there anything wrong, my little pony?" she asked.

He stumbled as he took his next step, then looked back up at the alicorn. "No! Nothing at all your majesty. It's just... You're a lot... Different. Different then I expected you would be." he said. "Not that it's a bad thing! I mean, it's a good thing. You're nicer then I thought."

I wonder what dungeon food tastes like. It's probably made of rocks.

Much to both of their surprise, Celestia let a small blush escape her. "Why thank you. Everypony seems to think I'm just going to throw them in a dungeon or something if they don't act ever so perfectly around me." she said, giving the unicorn a knowing smile.

Can she...

"Yes." answered Celestia.

Epsilon chuckled. "I have to admit, that's pretty cool. And creepy. Very creepy."

Celestia smiled. "I don't usually do that, but you were thinking very loudly. I couldn't help it."

"Thinking... Loudly?" asked Epsilon.

"Mhm. When you're nervous, or... How do I put this... Thinking about, erm... Private moments shared between two ponies..."

A blush took over the unicorn's facial expression, and he chuckled nervously.

"... Uhh, yes. When either of those are occuring, you think very loudly and anypony who knows what to listen to can hear you. You can also have conversations with thought, if you think towards someone, and address them in your mind, they can hear you speaking." finished Celestia.

Epsilon contemplated the concept of mental communication. "So, theoretically, if somepony was a good enough spellcaster, and they knew enough about their target, could they enter somepony's mind?"

"I'm sure it's possible, but I've never tried, and I've certainly never heard of anypony actually doing it before." she said.

"I see. Now, where were we?" asked Epsilon. He was growing increasingly calm and casual as the conversation went on.

Celestia laughed a bit. "Ah, yes. The story of the throne room decorations. Well, the palace itself was never originally designed for just me."

Epsilon cringed as he put two and two together. "You have my most sincere condolences for General Stardust, Princess. I'm sure he was a great stallion."

Celestia stopped in her tracks and blinked in disbelief at the unicorn for a moment. "How did you?..."

"Father told me." admitted Epsilon.

Her four thousand year old facade fell as Celestia's jaw hung down. "What?! But we deci- Oh. You meant Aquarius."

"Who did you think I meant?" he asked, intrigued.

"Never mind. Thank you, Epsilon. Your empathy for the situation is very much appreciated, and it feels good having somepony else know about it before the press finds out. He's going to go down in history for being a hero... When he was just a fool who didn't wait a few moments to ask for my help." she said.

She's going to kill me I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die...

Against his better judgment, Epsilon put a hoof around the goddess' neck and brought her in for a hug. "It's okay. He's in a better place now. Now, you have a story to finish don't you?" He grinned.

Celestia had no response whatsoever to the impossible act of kindness shown by one of her subjects. They would never approach her like that, everypony was so afraid of the Princess. For the first time in a long time, Celestia put on a small, genuine, joyful smile. She raised herself to her usual regal position and laid one wing over the white colt. "Yes I do. Firstly, it wasn't my husband who I was supposed to be sharing the palace with, it was my sister."

Epsilon raised a brow. "Your sister? You mean Princess Cadence? But she lives all the way in Esterayella."

"No, no. Not Princess Cadence, Princess Luna." corrected Celestia.

Epsilon's eyes widened. "Princess... Luna? Who is Princess Luna?"

As they walked through the castle, Epsilon having no idea where either of them were going, Princess Celestia told the colt many stories of history. Those including Discord, Nightmare Moon, and most importantly, the elements of harmony and chaos. As the alicorn spoke, Epsilon listened carefully and took mental notes on all of the various subjects.

"So you and Luna were really close?"

Celestia almost shed a tear. "That's one way to put it."

"What happened to her?" he asked.

"I did some very, very bad things in my past, Epsilon." admitted Celestia. "My sister only wanted my love and affection, but I put royal duties before her. I drove us apart, and I drove her insane. The history books will tell you that Nightmare Moon's rebellion was a quest for power and control of Equestria. While that may be true, her real motives lie deep within her soul. A broken, betrayed child who had to grow up on her own because of my own selfish desires."

"How long?"

Celestia was taken back by the question. "What?"

"How long until she comes home?" asked Epsilon.

"Just about nineteen years. Why?"

Epsilon brought his muzzle as close as he could to the Princess'. Dismissing all thoughts about his imminent trip to the moon, he spoke in a commanding tone. "Because the minute she gets back, you're going to apologize to her. For everything. You're going to make it up to her. You're going to love her, and you're going to be the sister you never were. The friend you never were. The friend she so desperately needs."

Celestia looked deep into Epsilon's dark blue eyes. She frowned sadly and got up to look down onto Epsilon. As she breathed in, the unicorn cowered beneath her.

"I'll try."

What?

"I said I'll try." joked Celestia.

Epsilon got up off the ground. "Right. Mind reading. Forgot."

"We're here." the alicorn announced.

"Huh?" Epsilon looked in front of him to see a large, impressive looking door with a magical seal on it, with odd looking hieroglyphs. He hadn't been paying attention to the walk for awhile now, but after a quick look at his surroundings he appeared to be in some kind of chapel. There were stained glass windows, all depicting different historical events. One that caught his eye specifically was of a white pegasus with a blue mane, standing next to Princess Celestia and an unidentified lavender alicorn. Above the three figures was what appeared to be Princess Luna, sitting peacefully on top of a cloud.

"Where are we?" asked Epsilon.

"This is where the elements of harmony are kept, Epsilon." answered Celestia.

The unicorn gasped. "Why did you bring me here?"

"How else was I to show you them if you weren't here?" asked Celestia, jokingly.

Epsilon went slack jawed. "You trust me with the most powerful forces in the world?"

Celestia didn't answer, instead she walked slowly towards the door and gracefully placed her horn inside a key hole. With a quick burst of magic, the door's locking mechanism ground open and revealed a small gilded chest. Celestia levitated the chest in front of Epsilon and opened it, revealing five multicoloured gemstones.

Epsilon looked inside the chest in awe. "They're beau-"

Before he could finish that statement, all five elements flew out of their container and began violently spinning around the white colt at ridiculous speeds, all somehow managing to maintain a perfectly round orbit. Losing control of his body, Epsilon gracefully floated upwards and closed his eyes. After what seemed like hours to him, and in reality was only a few seconds, his eyes tore open. He could feel how scorching white they were, and what he saw took away his breath. The entire room was lined with gold particles which enveloped everything, dancing around in place. It was almost if... He was looking at magic.

Celestia looked up at the floating unicorn in thought. "Interesting..." she whispered to herself.

Soon after, the rainbow blurs that were the elements slowed down and stopped altogether, dropping the unicorn on the ground with an audible thump. Now thoroughly exhausted, Epsilon massaged his forehead with his hoof and moaned slightly in dull agony.

"Need help getting up?" asked Celestia.

With that, he slowly and weakly rose to his hooves. "I think I'm okay. Do they do that to everypony?"

His question was followed by an unexpected, indescribable grin which appeared on the Princess' face. "You're very special, Epsilon."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Celestia sat down to get a better look at the unicorn. "When an Element of Harmony chooses a bearer, you will see quite a similar display to what just happened to you. It means that whoever controls an element represents that trait almost perfectly. For example, if you were chosen by the Element of Loyalty, you would always remain loyal to your loved ones, friends, and family."

Epsilon gave her a quizzical look. "So what happened? Did an element choose me?"

"You are very, very, very special, Epsilon." she said, her grin only widening.

"I don't get it..."

"To answer your question, no. One element didn't choose you." assured Celestia.

Epsilon felt a wave of relief wash over him. "Oh, good. Sounds like a new responsibility I don't nee-"

"They all did."

An audible silence followed as Epsilon sat down, his mouth hanging wide open. Celestia could only giggle, she was absolutely giddy, and failing to hide it. The colt didn't know it, but the last pony to ever be chosen by all five Elements of Harmony was Celestia, and it happened four thousand years ago. Looking out of the window, the regal alicorn stood up and motioned for Epsilon to follow.

"It's passed noon now I believe, oh, where has the day gone?" asked Celestia, rhetorically.

"You sort of spent it teaching me history."

She smiled. "Hehe. Right. Well, I have a party to attend to at the moment. You should go enjoy yourself as well, mingle with the other colts. Or even fillies..." she joked.

Epsilon raised a brow. "Uh..."

"See you later then! I hope you and Aquarius will be staying for dinner tonight, most of the party will be leaving except for my family and Princess Cadence's. Six sharp in the banquet hall. Don't be late." ordered Celestia, teleporting away after she finished her speech.

"Erm..."

Epsilon looked around him to see a messy room, an open door, an open chest, and five multicoloured gemstones lying on the ground. He sighed and levitated the elements into their container, then put the chest back on it's pedestal. With that, he carefully closed the large doors and put his horn inside the locking mechanism. With a small fit of magic, he sealed the door shut once again. However, the outside encryption looked different this time then they had when he first looked at the hieroglyphs.

Hmm. I guess the door is locked with my code this time instead of Celestia's. Should I tell her immediately? Nah, I guess it could wait till dinner. I mean really, what could possibly go wrong? Some ancient mismatched monster breaks into the palace without being noticed by anypony and steals the elements so the bearers can't stop him? Ha! Yeah, right. Like that would ever happen.

Satisfied with his rationalization, Epsilon started off towards the main room of the palace. His bout with the elements had made him far too tired to simply teleport, and anyways, he had missed most of the scenery while talking to Celestia. It was a perfect opportunity to do some sight seeing.

I'm sure the Princess won't mind if I look around in some of the rooms that guests aren't occupying right now. I mean, we're practically friends now I think?

With that logic, he started off towards the palace observatory. Though it was still broad daylight, he wanted to look at the various equipment and notes. Maybe he could find something relevant to his astronomical drawing quest? That would be great.

He had walked pretty far now, and was just passing the palace kitchen, when...

"... AND HOW DARE THOU DENY THINE PLEASANT PASTRIES TO THINE PRINCESS! WE DEMAND THAT THOU IMMEDIATELY HOOF OVER ALL OF THINE DONUTS, OR THOU SHALL EMBRACE THE BURNING WRATH OF A THOUSAND STORMS! NEVER AGAIN SHALL THOU SPEAKEST AGAINST US AND OUR WISHES!" boomed a feminine voice in a manner that was alien to Epsilon.

Curiosity overpowering him, he walked closer towards the kitchen door, examining the scene before him. A mid sized pink alicorn with a multicoloured mane, not as large as Celestia, was standing angrily above a cowering unicorn in a chef's coat and hat. The alicorn had an odd looking cutie mark, the top half of the sun shining and the bottom half covered by a cloud.

"Uhm... Princess Cadence, is it?" asked Epsilon from the doorway.

Everypony's attention turned to the white unicorn as Cadence spoke. "Who art thou?"

The colt cleared his throat. "I'm sorry to disturb... Whatever you're doing... But if you were looking for donuts, I know a bar in town that serves the best of the best. Chef Le Me is probably busy here anyways, if you wanted, I could show you to it?"

The pink alicorn's eyes lit up as she flew over to hug Epsilon. "We would be very, very grateful if thou could escort us to this pastry vendor!"

"We?" he asked.

Cadence coughed and laughed nervously. "Right. Canterlot voice. Celestia doesn't use it anymore, does she?"

"I... Don't think so. To be honest, Celestia doesn't really act like a royal figure at all except when everypony is watching her." said Epsilon.

Cadence smiled. "Ha! So you do know my sister. And who might I be the pleasure?"

"Epsilon Arcane, ma'am."

"Arcane!? I'm so sorry! I didn't kn- OH! OH OH OH! Never mind. Heh. So you're Aquarius' colt?" she asked.

Epsilon didn't quite understand her tone or what she meant, but he shrugged it off. "Yes."

"Oh, how I've been waiting to meet you! Celestia has said so many things about you over the years, the last time we met you were but a newborn foal."

Epsilon did a double take. "Celestia talks about me? We've only just met."

"You are the son of her highest ranking military officer. Obviously she has paid attention to your growth." argued Cadence.

"Hmm. Makes sense." he said. No it doesn't. But really, what HAS made sense today?

Cadence flew out of the kitchen eagerly. "So, where is this donut bar? It is unwise to break a promise to a princess."

"Oh, right. Pony Joe's. You don't mind leaving the castle to get there, do you? It's not a far walk." reassured Epsilon.

"Not at all. I have diplomatic immunity! Celestia can't coop me up in here!"

The two shared a laugh, then began towards the nearest exit. Cadence made it clear early on that it would have been stupid to leave using the front door, all of the guests would be trying to get her attention, fans, press, and what not. Eventually they found a back door near the banquet hall and made their way to Pony Joe's, which as Epsilon promised, wasn't a far walk at all. He had been walking next to Cadence for awhile now. It was weird, but he was getting used to the divine attention her and her sister had been giving him today. They sat down at a table in the corner, and despite their best efforts, managed to catch the eye of every single patron in the bar.

Pony Joe himself approached the two, with his notebook. "A pleasure to have you here again, Mister Arcane. Who might this young lady be?"

"This is Princess Cadence of Esterayella." said Epsilon.

Cadence laughed. "Young? I'm three thousand years old. You're quite the Charmer, Pony Joe."

Joe chuckled heartily. "Well, what can I get you both?"

Cadence reviewed the menu, choosing her prey carefully. "Double chocolate glazed, no sprinkles. With a coffee, black."

Joe scribbled down on his note pad and turned to Epsilon. "And you?"

"Just the usual, one glaz-"

Epsilon's order was cut short as he collapsed onto the table, earning the gasps of everypony in the room who had been staring at the alicorn up until now. He had tried his best to put on a bright face, but thirty four hours without sleep had finally caught up with the young colt. Cadence sighed and reached out her hoof to check his pulse, which was healthy and normal as expected.

"Can you make that to go?" she asked.

"Wake up sleepy head." said a quiet voice from in front of Epsilon's face.

The unicorn grumbled and fidgeted as he fought to open his impossibly heavy eyelids. Slowly but surely, he slipped back into consciousness and became more and more aware of his surroundings. Finally, he opened up both of his eyes, to see a giant Celestia head smiling childishly and staring at him.

"AGH!" shouted Epsilon as he jumped upwards. Almost immediately he felt a splitting pain in his head, but he ignored it.

"Someone was tired." joked Celestia.

Epsilon snorted. "Ugh. What happened?"

"You went out cold in the middle of the donut shop. I had to carry you all the way here." said Cadence from behind, momentarily startling the colt.

"I'm sorry, I hope I wasn't too heavy..." he said.

Cadence laughed. "Magic."

"Right. Forgot." said Epsilon as he looked out of the window. To his relief, it was still mostly daylight. "What time is it?"

"Ten minutes to dinner. Well, breakfast in your case. Clean yourself up, messy." ordered Celestia as she threw a brush at him playfully.

He was too groggy to argue with either alicorn right now. Reluctantly, he levitated up the provided hair brush and began grooming his coat and mane. Once he was pleased with his appearance yet again, he made his way out to the banquet hall and greeted the ensemble of royal guests.

One which effortlessly caught his eye was a small, maybe seven or eight year old unicorn colt with a straw coloured mane, and blueish white coat. Upon seeing the teenage colt enter the room, the foal in question approached him eagerly.

"Hi! I'm Blueblood! What's your name? Are you a prince? I'm a prince. You look like a prince. Do you like board games? I love them! And hoofball, that's fun too. But my mom doesn't let me play it. Does your mom let you play-"

"Hi there, little one." greeted Epsilon, laughing softly as he knelt down to get on Blueblood's level. "My name is Epsilon."

The energetic colt lit up. "Wow that's such a cool name! My name's cool too, but it's weird you know? I have red blood, I know because I was outside and I got stuck in this one thorn bush and then I got hurt and I bled and it was red blood not blue blood and I wondered why I was named Blueblood and I went to go talk to my mom and-"

Blueblood was interrupted as Cadence levitated him back into his seat. "Sorry about my foal. You know how they are at that age." she said.

Epsilon chucked as he took his seat next to Aquarius. "It's not a problem at all."

He was met with a harsh glare from the annoyed pegasus. "Where have you been all day? Do you know how many stuck up nobles I had to talk to, alone? And it was always the same question! 'Where's Celestia?' ... When we get home, I swear..."

"Oops?" joked Epsilon, giving his guardian a sheepish smile.

Dinner began as Celestia sat down, and Epsilon carried on multiple conversations with various members of the royal family. Never had he felt more important than he had today, and he wasn't going to lie. It felt great. For some reason, it was like he had some kind of special connection with all of the alicorns. Not to mention all that he had learned today, about history and mind magic.

As the meal wore on, Epsilon completely forgot to tell Celestia about the lock on the elemental door. It didn't really matter though, it's not like anything would happen. Dinner eventually ended and noble ponies left the banquet, though Celestia stayed and waited for everypony to finish. Epsilon and Aquarius did the same.

"It's getting late now. Don't you have a sun to lower, sister?" asked Cadence.

Celestia coughed up the wine she had just been sipping. "Oh my, I almost forgot. I don't want a repeat of what happened last time the sun and moon were off schedule."

Aquarius chuckled nervously, oblivious to Epsilon's widening eyes. "Uhm... Celestia..." the colt began.

"Yes, Epsilon?"

"Could I... Come watch? I mean, I've never actually seen you raise the sun or the moon before."

Celestia smiled. "Of course you can. There isn't a large crowd like there is in the morning, but you can come out on the balcony with me. That is, if it is okay with Aqua."

"I don't care." said the Pegasus, more focused on his salad than anything else.

"Well, it's settled then. Follow me, Epsilon." ordered Celestia.

The giddy unicorn almost jumped out of his chair to meet the alicorn. After a quick ascent to the balcony, Epsilon looked at Celestia in utter amazement. "So what do you have to do?"

"Watch."

Celestia crouched down, then with a powerful leap, jumped into the air about twenty feet up. As she hit her highest point, she opened her scorching white eyes and stretched out her wings. Her horn began to glow white at the tip, and ever so slowly she began lowering back down onto the balcony. As she descended, the sun followed suit, and was eventually under the horizon and beyond vision.

"Wow." said Epsilon.

"That wasn't even the fun part." teased Celestia.

"Huh?"

Celestia laughed. "Now it's time to raise the moon."

The very thought of his cosmic friend brought a wide smile onto Epsilon's face. He imagined the orbit it went through every night, and finally, he was actually going to get to see it happen! Buck the elements, buck history, this was the true highlight of his day. No. This was the highlight of his life. Celestia opened her wings and began humming softly, a different tactic then last time.

For some reason, an overpowering instinct told Epsilon to stand up and close his eyes. He did so, without knowing why or fighting it. The moment he did so, he could no longer feel his body whatsoever. He was just an essence. From the blackness which had taken over his vision with his eyes closed, somehow became a golden pool. Inside the pool, there were three balls. They were organized perfectly from left to right. Small, bigger, biggest.

Something told him to stick his hoof in the water, so he did, despite the fact that in this universe he wasn't sure that he even had a hoof. He began treading water around the smallest ball, moving it upwards near the center. It resisted. It resisted a lot. It was so small, yet it felt so insanely heavy. Knowing he couldn't do anything more with his hoof, he focused on the gold particles bouncing around the small orb, and reached out to it with his magic.

He got it. This was so much easier now, the ball did everything he commanded it to. Slowly, he moved it from it's position on the left, to directly above the medium sized ball. As it reached it's final destination, the colt could once again feel his mortal body straining on him. Whatever he had just done, it was the most powerful feat of magic he had ever tried.

"Epsilon!" cried Celestia.

He was ripped from his dream world as the alicorn's voice rung through his head. He ripped open his eyes and looked down at the white alicorn under him...

Wait.

How am I above Celestia?

With that, his magic ran out, and he fell onto the balcony the same exact way he did when the elements took control of him. This time, however, his body was too numb to feel any of the pain from doing so. Celestia sat down next to him with worried eyes, and behind her, he could see a few noble ponies along with Cadence staring at him with their mouths wide open.

"You never cease to impress me." said Celestia.

"Wha... What?"

Cadence walked over and took her seat next to her sister. "Epsilon, do you know what you just did?"

"I told you. He's very special." interrupted the white alicorn.

Epsilon chuckled weakly. "I guess I'm going to find out."

Aquarius walked out on the balcony and sighed. "Look up."

Epsilon did as he was told and looked up into the night sky. It all looked the same, until he moved his gaze, and came across the moon. It wasn't shining white like it usually did. It was shining brightly blue, illuminating most of Equestria and bathing it in the most beautiful light anypony had ever laid eyes on.

"I... I did that? I changed the colour of the moon?"

"That isn't all." began Celestia. "You raised the moon. Look at your flank, Epsilon."

He did just that. Permanently etched onto him, a cutie mark depicting a blue crescent moon, surrounded by four blue stars. He was utterly amazed. He had found his special talent, and it was that of the gods.

Nopony could tell if it was his overwhelming exhaustion, some magical enigma, or sheer disbelief that caused it, but Epsilon immediately fainted as the words left Celestia's mouth.

He woke up later that night in his usual bed at Aquarius' house.

I'm actually getting used to this whole fainting thing.

His body and instincts fighting him all the way, Epsilon sluggishly got out of bed and left his room. He was horribly thirsty and the only water he could get was from downstairs. Painfully, he walked over to and opened the door with his hooves. He couldn't seem to work any magic at the moment. As the door creaked open, he was startled by what he saw.

Aquarius was sitting on the other side. The brutal, angry expression he had on his face could have killed a weaker pony.

"I've been waiting for you to get up." he said.

Epsilon tried to walk around him. "What's this about, father?"

"Don't call me that." ordered Aquarius.

"What?..."

Aquarius huffed out violently and with a swift kick, bucked the railings off of the second story indoor balcony. "Do you know what I have to deal with now?"

"I..."

"The press are going to be at me for life! Ponies just don't go around raising the moon! That's something for the Princess, and the Princess only to do! What in Equestria were you thinking?" demanded the pegasus.

Epsilon slipped away from Aquarius and made his way closer to the stairs. "I couldn't control it! It just happened! I didn't even know what was going on!"

Aquarius spit at the ground. "I'm supposed to believe you? You go around, acting all important and mingling with alicorns all day while I'm stuck doing work. Then you put on this huge show, and Celestia says to me that she wants you to go live with her! As if I'm not good enough a parent!"

Epsilon considered it for a moment before responding. "It's not my fault!"

In a fit of rage, the pegasus flew over to the defiant colt and without thinking, powerfully bucked him in the head, sending him flying down the stairs. He thrashed about on the steps, gaining speed as he neared the stone floor. He landed head first on the cold rock, and then he felt the most indescribable, blinding pain he had ever imagined possible.

His horn had shattered.

The pain took over everything else. He could feel nothing. He could see nothing. Then, after what felt like an eternity, everything went peacefully black...

Beep.

Epsilon groaned as he rolled around on his small hospital bed. He had slept for what felt like an eternity, and he hadn't woken up since the incident with his father.

Beep.

He couldn't feel any pain in his head anymore. The doctors probably gave him some really good medicine. However, he couldn't quite describe how weird his back felt. He couldn't ignore it, and continued shifting around in position.

Beep.

I swear if somepony doesn't shut that thing off...

Beep.

My heart rate is fine! Seriously, what the-

Beep.

"FOR BUCKS SAKE!" shouted Epsilon as he tore his eyes open and unplugged the heart monitor.

His outraged earned him a nervous laugh from the most exhausted, worried looking alicorn he had ever seen in his life. Celestia sighed as she looked at him. "They're magnificent, you know."

Epsilon looked at her in confusion. "What? I don't-"

He was interrupted as the alicorn levitated a mirror in front of Epsilon. What he saw made him wonder why he didn't faint yet again. Wings. Feathery, white wings. Feeling around his new, alien muscles and bones, he gave them an audible flap.

"They usually wouldn't grow in until you're older, but the whole moon fiasco sort of sped up that process." explained Celestia.

"How..."

"I think you know."

She was right. All of the recent events made sense now. Everything did. Well, not everything. There was still one, tiny detail...

"Celestia?"

Celestia wrapped her huge wing around the white colt, and kissed his cheek.

"Sit down. This will take awhile."

A Fatal Misunderstanding

"You said you haven't been able to use magic since then, correct?" asked the alicorn.

"Mhm."

"You're wrong."

Epsilon stared blankly at the alicorn. "What?"

The alicorn laughed maniacally. "That plane you described. Those gold particles. They are not manipulated by your horn, they are manipulated by your mind. A horn is a conductor rod that can send signals, however, if somepony is to think loudly enough..."

You could hear the gears grinding inside Epsilon's head as he went back to his first conversation about mind reading with Celestia. "They listen."

"Do you want to know the secret to magic, Epsilon? How I mastered it?"

"More than anything." he said.

"Clarity."

Epsilon repeated the word in a whisper a few times before responding. "What do you mean?"

The alicorn teleported in a random book from no apparent place, and began lecturing in an overly enthusiastic tone. "Magic is controlled by thought, and thought is controlled by a series of things. Emotion, speculation, experience, logic, and fantasy. Those five things generally govern your thought process. Clarity is the meditative ability to block out and ignore four of those things, and only leave logic to control your mind."

"Makes sense." he said.

The alicorn continued without registering his statement. "If you find clarity, then you can tap into the purest of magic and command it to do whatever you want it to. A horn usually makes this process unnecessary, however, if you use your mind instead of your horn, magical ability is amplified. Do you understand what you have to do, Epsilon?"

Epsilon, finally noticing that he had been pacing back and forth for the last hour or so, sat down and sighed. "I think so."

The alicorn gave him a stern look. "You are not like me, are you?"

"No. I'm not."

"Why are you still here?" she asked.

Epsilon flapped his wings violently in frustration. "I made a promise to mother, fifty years ago. To protect you from anypony and everypony. In this case? Even from her."

The alicorn looked out of the window. "So what do we do now?"

Epsilon cleared his throat and began speaking in a more formal tone. "Rarity Belle is nowhere to be found. Colonel Macintosh has informed me that-"

"I meant about you."

Epsilon just gave her a quizzical look.

The alicorn rose from the ground and closed her eyes, and tapped into the echoing traditional royal Canterlot voice she had so long forgotten. "PRINCE EPSILON ARCANE!"

The white stallion's jaw dropped immediately.

"THOU ART HEREBY RELIEVED OF THINE MILITARY DUTIES, WITH THE HIGHEST HONOUR PRESENTABLE! THINE PRINCESS DEMANDS THAT THOU SPEAKEST THE OATH OF EQUESTRIA, AND RESUME THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THINE BIRTH RIGHT! FROM THIS DAY FORTH, THOU SHALL STAND BESIDE THINE PRINCESS, AS AN EQUAL!" boomed the alicorn.

Epsilon respectfully bowed his head, then rose. "Oh dear..."

The alicorn smiled. "Now! With that over with, I have come to another decision."

"What would that be?" he asked.

"It's complicated. Do you know where I could find Celestia?"

Epsilon returned the smile. "As a matter of fact, I do."

The alicorn returned her attention to the beckoning window once again. "It's almost dawn. Mind doing me a favour?"

"Anything for you, princess. You know that no matter what request, it's beyond me to consider denyi-"

"Move the sun."

"... So that's it then?" asked Peppers.

Spike exhaled a large cloud of smoke and spat into the air. "I guess so."

Peppers gave him a stern look. "You need help."

"There's no time for that."

"No. You really need help now, or this is going to kill you." argued the elder dragon.

Spike got to his feet and stared at the now exposed Canterlot castle. "Not before I have Luna's head. She stole Twilight from me. The problem at hoof is more important than-"

"He's right, Spike." interrupted Celestia.

Both dragons, slightly startled, looked over at the distressed alicorn. Spike softly ran a claw through her ethereal mane and sighed. "Tia..."

"We all heard your story..." said Rainbow.

Spike looked around at the camp site, to reveal all of his friends awake and listening. He had been so focused on telling Peppers about his mental struggles that he not only forgot to keep his volume down, but his eyes didn't leave the red dragon's. The facade he had been desperately trying to preserve in order to lead this group had just crumbled.

"Ah don't think we should be doin' this." said Macintosh.

Spike scoffed at him. "You can't be suggesting we stop here? We've come so far!"

"It's jus' not worth it, sugarcube..." protested Applejack.

Discord approached Spike and eyed him judgmentally. "You aren't going to last much longer."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"You're doing it."

"You're insane.

"Move the sun, Epsilon."

"Not in a million bucking years."

"Deal with the ursa then."

"I hate you."

"No you don't."

"Can't I just lower the moon?"

"Nope!"

The two alicorns broke from their stand off and began laughing uncontrollably. The light hearted conversation was probably good for both of them, after all. Both Epsilon and the alicorn's stress had been eating away at them, and after thirty years, it was the first time things had actually started to look up.

Epsilon wiped a few joyful tears away. "Seriously, though. How do you expect me to do this?"

"You did it before just fine."

"I moved the moon. That's over ten million times smaller then the sun." argued the stallion.

"Technicalities. You'll be fine, let's go? Everything will come to you naturally."

Epsilon let out an exaggerated sigh and made his way out onto the balcony, followed by his fellow alicorn. Once there, he lied down and closed his eyes as he did the previous time. To his surprise, he was immediately taken into the same obscure universe as he had entered fifty years ago. Now, however, he was met with a familiar presence. He knew exactly who it was.

Epsilon reviewed the golden pool before him. This time, the three balls were in different positions. The smaller orb was on top, the medium sized orb in the middle, and the larger orb was to the left of the medium orb. Assuming that the princess had already moved it half way in order to make it easier, he decided to focus on getting in the 'peaceful' state that she described.

He channeled his own mind and obsessively categorized all aspects of his thoughts, choosing carefully which emotion or experience caused what. It felt wrong, to look at himself as a third party conscience. He dismissed it, and after he was pleased with his organized brain, with a small spell he sealed away the thoughts temporarily, leaving only logic and reason in their place.

The effects were immediate.

Epsilon could feel the entire world around him. He could tap into the minds of ponies hundreds of miles away. He could levitate entire buildings that stood on the other side of the planet. He understood magic. He was magic. Magic was him. But he had a job to do.

He returned his focus to the massive orb that represented the sun. Not knowing what exactly he was supposed to do, he reached out to the sun with the same magical grip as he did the moon many decades before. The sun, however, was not a big rock. It was made of gas. To Epsilon's frustration, his aura fell straight through the sun and came out on the other side, managing to grab onto a confused asteroid.

He let go of the interfering rock and studied the sun carefully again. He could feel it touching his forehead, and it was hot. It was like air, but air that had somehow caught on fire, and the fire itself had also somehow caught on fire. He stuck an ethereal hoof inside the sun a second time to confirm it's molecular properties. Definitely just like air.

Ideeeeea!

Instead of trying to grab onto the sun this time, Epsilon focused his magic directly behind it. Slowly but surely, he began swirling around the particles inside the golden pool until he had a nice spiral. As he expected, the sun was drawn into the whirlpool's gravity, and began following it at a steady pace. Epsilon made sure to keep it just far enough away so the sun didn't lose any of its mass to the black hole he had just accidentally created dangerously close to earth.

Eventually, the sun found it's way to the correct position above the medium sized ball. Now finished, Epsilon calmed the whirlpool and dissipated the raging black hole. As soon as he had finished, the universe around him dissipated to reveal the same setting as last time. It was still pitch black of night, and the princess was staring at him impatiently. Epsilon grinned evilly.

Good plan. Now, to execute.

With a mighty leap, Epsilon flew into the air and opened his eyes a familiar scorching white. He spread out his wings dramatically and levitated in place, slowly rising as his black hole ripped and tore through the cosmos, dragging the persistent star along with it. He gently floated back down to the balcony as he finished, and looked at his companion to find her mouth agape.

"How did I do?" he asked.

The princess coughed and regained herself. "Unusual, but effective."

Epsilon reviewed the sky a second time. "Aren't you going to lower the moon?"

"I have a better idea."

Effortlessly, the alicorn mare fidgeted with the annoyed moon and moved it into her desired position - directly in front of the sun.

"Spike. It's okay. We can handle this." offered Celestia.

Spike growled. "It's not enough."

Celestia sighed. "I can control the elements of generosity and magic. I'm sure Discord can handle laughter easily, it suits him. You need your rest, I don't know what I would do if-" she was interrupted as daylight overtook the camp, and assaulted her eyes violently. Thinking it was over, she began to speak again but stopped as the moon made its way to the sun, blocking it, and Celestia immediately fell to her haunches. "Oh my..."

Spike surveyed the solar eclipse above him. "What?"

"We have to leave. Now." ordered Discord.

Applejack stared blankly at Celestia and Discord. "What do ya mean? What's so special about tha sun gettin' blocked by tha moon?"

Celestia lowered her head and spoke in a solemn monotone. "The last time Luna created a solar eclipse, it was meant to represent a death threat to me. It led to the confrontation between Nightmare Moon and I, and if the Elements of Harmony hadn't aided me... She would have fulfilled that promise."

Spike pieced together everything, and a switch flipped in the back of his mind.

"No."

At this point, the entire group turned to the purple dragon. He had pure hatred in his eyes. He no longer wanted a peaceful solution. Luna had crossed the line. Spike bellowed a deep yell, and with it, released a massive tower of green and purple flames into the air above him.

Celestia approached him calmly. "Spike..."

"I have already lost one pony I loved to Luna, I refuse to let it happen again! I am done playing this foalish game of hers! Let her take my life and my sanity! We are going to Canterlot right now!" demanded the raging dragon.

Discord looked at him and shook his head. "I don't think-"

Spike slammed his foot to the ground to interrupt the draconequus. "You are coming with me, or you can take your leave. That goes for all of you. This ends tonight."

Celestia and Discord nodded and shot each other a worried glance. The following silence spoke louder than any voice could have as everypony prepared for what might be their last journey. As Spike took off first and began to ascend, he was met with a powerful red claw to the throat. Using all the strength he could muster, Peppers slammed Spike onto the ground and stood angrily above him. This was followed quickly by Macintosh running over towards, and delivering a painful buck to Discord, knocking him unconscious. Peppers lowered his snout to meet Spike's gaze and whispered into his ear.

"Can't let you do that."

In Which the Truth is Revealed

"For the record, I'd much prefer the moon next time." joked Epsilon.

The princess laughed. "I think I can make the arrangement."

The two alicorns shared a laugh as they made their way back into the throne room. Unusually bored, the princess began flipping through an old astronomy book until she came across a peculiar star pattern. "Hah! I remember hearing about this. Celestia was always the prankster." she said.

The constellation in question was made on a winter night over three hundred years ago, a night where Nightmare Moon refused to allow Celestia to raise the moon. In response to that, using a few hundred stars she had written out the phrase 'GO TO HELL LUNA' in the sky.

"I heard it made Starswirl the Bearded turn in his grave." added Epsilon.

"I for one wouldn't be surprised. Celestia tends to have that effect on ponies. Even me."

Speaking of Celestia... "I'm going to take a walk. I'll return within the hour."

"Where are you going?" asked the princess. However, by the time she spoke, Epsilon had already teleported away. "So much for walking..."

Spike felt the world fade around him as Peppers refused to loosen his death grip, preventing the young dragon from taking in any oxygen. He squirmed around in place, knowing well that Celestia's magic would be useless against naturally resistant dragons. No energy to continue fighting it, Spike surrendered to the elder dragon.

So that's it? This is how it ends? You're pathetic.

You loosened the jar.

What?

If you hadn't driven me mad, I'd have already solved this puzzle. Now exhausted from everything that you did, I'm pinned under what could be old enough to be my grandfather.

You're an idiot. The answer is obvious.

If it's so obvious, then what is it? Why won't you tell me?

Don't you understand? I've told you this a thousand times. I am you, and whatever you don't know, I don't know. However, for some reason, the back of your mind wants you to know that the answer is obvious. And, that you're stupid.

Such a help to me isn't it?

No, but what of it? It's not like you're going to have much chance to be consulting with me if you don't get your ass off the ground.

Perhaps not. How am I supposed to do that?

Hatred.

I genuinely hate everything. Peppers is still on top of me. What now?

This entire time you focus on protecting what you love, and it has made you weak. Focus on destroying what you hate. Kill this insignificant whelp of a dragon, and kill Luna too. It's not like either of them had any concern for your life.

... I don't need to turn to that.

You don't? Last time I checked, you're only going to be conscious for the next few seconds, make up your mind pal. Think about it. Think how Peppers betrayed your trust. Think of what Luna stole from you.

I...

Think of Twilight.

With that, Spike tore open his eyes and with a burst of strength, grabbed and twisted Pepper's fore arm, breaking it. The red dragon yelped in pain and astonishment, thrashing about as Spike tackled him to the cold ground. The three young mares looked on in horror at the scene as Celestia magically restrained Macintosh.

Spike boomed his words in a voice that did not belong to him as his eyes turned pitch black. "DRAGON OF CANTERLOT CITY!"

Peppers coughed up a large sum of blood as he responded to the formal address. "Dragon of the Drasilian Highlands."

"THOU HAS OFFENDED US, CONSPIRED AGAINST US, AND ENDANGERED US! WE CANNOT ALLOW THE CONTINUITY OF SUCH HORRENDOUS ACTIONS!"

Peppers looked the purple dragon in the eyes. "Spike, you don't understand, I-"

"SLEEP." commanded Spike, and as he said it, the red dragon surrendered his consciousness and began breathing in a slow, rhythmic fashion. Macintosh shouted muffled curses from inside Celestia's aura as his dragon fell to the ground, which went generally unnoticed.

Finished his assault, Spike's eyes returned to normal and he fell to the ground in exhaustion.

Epsilon reappeared in the long abandoned palace hallway, adorned with immortalized history in stained glass windows. Slowly he made his way to the very picture that had captured his attention fifty years ago. However, now, it was not just a window. Below the glass was a gilded marble coffin, a true testament to the princess who now rests inside.

He sat down next to the coffin and looked up at the old window. He finally understood what the picture meant, and it tortured him. He could have done something. He could have stopped her. But he didn't. He did the opposite, he helped her succeed. He was equally guilty.

"It's been awhile since I visited, hasn't it?" laughed Epsilon to himself as he spoke into the open air. "She's changed now, you know. She isn't the same pony as when she killed you. I know you would be so proud of her. I am. Her hate is gone... She's so grown up."

Epsilon coughed quietly as he cried before the grave. "I know we only met once, but Celestia told me so much about you. She always spoke so highly of you, even after everything that happened. It's all over soon. I'm going to make things right again, for you. I promise."

He closed his eyes and trembled, trying to muster the strength to continue speaking. "You'll never believe what I did today. I raised the sun! It was amazing, you should have been there. I'm learning a lot about magic that I didn't know. Even though I don't have my horn, I can still use it. She taught me that. You know... She feels remorse. She feels it every day. I only hope that you could ever forgive her like I have."

Epsilon's speech was interrupted as a lone leaf slammed against the window with a crack. He looked up at the leaf and laughed. "Is that a yes?" he asked. "Anyways, I came here for a reason. I'm going to try something, and I thought you should be here when I did it."

Epsilon sat down in a meditative position and began taking slow, deep breaths. It took much longer this time without the urgent calls of the sun and the moon, but he eventually found his way into the depths of his own mind and began sorting through his various thoughts and emotions.

He worked through it quickly this time, he was getting a lot better at it. With a last review of his now untangled brain, Epsilon temporarily silenced all but the logical parts of his mind. He openly welcomed the sensation that followed. The unbelievable ability to be standing everywhere in the world at once, the ability to hear, see, and feel everything, and everypony.

Like last time, however, he was on a mission. He focused himself on the outskirts of Manehatten and scouted the area for the familiar presence of his mother, Celestia. Though it is very difficult to read the mind of an alicorn even in Epsilon's divine state, he could still locate, and even converse with Celestia if he found her.

He noticed a few large sources of heat and magic in a clearing outside of the city, and decided it would be best to look there first. To his luck, there was indeed a white alicorn within the group. But... What he saw was not what he expected.

There were two large dragons, both of whom he could identify as Spike and Peppers. They were both heavily wounded, though that wasn't the problem at hoof. The magic which engulfed Spike was not gold like everypony else's, it was tainted black. It spun around violently inside the dragon's head, threatening to escape at any moment. Epsilon knew that if that were to occur, it would mean death.

Celestia would have to wait.

Epsilon dove into the young dragon's mind, and what he saw was unsettling at best. Thoughts and memories were torn, corrupted, and burned entirely beyond repair. Even natural brain functions, instincts, and nerve receptors were horribly damaged. It reminded him of Aquarius in some ways, but he didn't dwell on it.

These were definitely the Elements of Chaos at work, that combined with Spike's torturous childhood formed a lethal combination of mental diseases. First things first - Epsilon had to find the real Spike in here, wherever he was.

Sadly, the alicorn's neurological knowledge was limited. It took him a good twenty minutes to get anywhere close to the sealed-off Spike, and even once he found the dragon, he couldn't get anywhere close to breaking the lock. This was too far advanced, there was no way he could manually cure Spike from his insanity, especially from a hundred miles away.

I'm running out of time here. Think Epsilon, think!

As remorseful as he was about intruding on Celestia, she was the only one who would know anything about these sort of illnesses. Cautiously, Epsilon entered the goddess' mind. As he expected, it was heavily guarded by various protection spells. However, the parts of her brain that were guarded mostly were personal or secret, things he had no interest in. Irrelevant forgotten medical study? Wide open.

Epsilon carefully dug around inside Celestia's mind, trying his best not to bring attention to his presence. Finally he found what he was looking for, records on violent mental diseases. Not only did he find books worth of information on normal things, but a similar experience that Celestia had fresh thoughts on, her sister Luna! Nightmare Moon's symptoms perfectly matched Spikes, or so that's what Celestia believes.

Pleased with the information he had uncovered, Epsilon returned to the physical world and found himself at the foot of the grave where he had been grieving earlier. Instead of crying, this time he smiled and laughed. He galloped across the hallway and made his way to a large, ornate door encrypted with various hieroglyphs.

How did I not think of this sooner?

Applejack stared at her struggling brother in disbelief. "What the hay..."

"Ah'm sorry AJ, but ah serve she of Equestria. Nopony else." declared Macintosh.

Discord grumbled as he woke from his unpleasant slumber. "How's that working for you?"

Macintosh stared at his sister, he could physically see her connecting things inside her mind. He expected what was about to happen, he expected all of the screaming and yelling. He expected Applejack's curses, he expected her pity, and he expected her shame. He expected her marefriend to join in as well, and he probably deserved both his sister's, and the cyan pegasus' rage. But something much, much worse happened.

It never came.

Celestia released her ethereal grip as Applejack approached her brother, trying her best to hold back the tears welling up in her eyes. "Ah forgive you."

Macintosh was at a complete loss for words.

Rainbow approached the scarlet stallion and rested a hoof on his shoulder. "I would have done the same. Element of Loyalty, you know. Look... I don't really know what to say here, but we're family, Big Mac. I don't think you ever intended to hurt anypony. Hell, you were trying to save one! Even if it is just mean old Luna..."

Macintosh was utterly taken back by the understanding nature of his friends. The friends he had just conspired against. He looked up at the white alicorn who had just held him, sadness in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Celestia."

She nodded gracefully. "I understand. Although, it isn't me you should be apologizing to."

The stallion turned around to see a bruised draconequus, arms crossed and brow raised. "Sorry, Discord."

The mismatched pony thing broke out into laughter. "All's fair, love and war."

Almost on cue to that statement, both sleeping dragons slowly became aware of their surroundings - and each other. Peppers and Spike jumped to their feet, oblivious to the emotional scene behind them. Both dragons growled equally loud and snorted out large bursts of toxic smoke.

"We settle this in draconic manner. No more sneak attacks, and no more magic." challenged Peppers.

Spike chuckled deeply. "Fight until crippling injury."

The red dragon shot a jet of yellow flame into the air. "No. Until death."

"Enough. Neither of you are fighting until anything."

All eight of the group turned to see an older white stallion with a long, flowing blue mane. He was wearing an ensemble of the finest jewelry, four golden shoes with star gems, each a different colour. A necklace with a bright red sun shaped gem inside, and a large crown with a dark blue moon. He stood tall with massive wings outstretched, and these were definitely not pegasus wings.

They were alicorn wings.

Macintosh, Peppers, and Fluttershy immediately bowed down to the royal figure before them as they realized who they were looking at. Celestia approached her foal and ran a hoof through his mane, as if she didn't believe he was really standing there.

"You have no horn, how did you get here?" asked Celestia.

Epsilon smiled softly and motioned Celestia away from him. "I have been studying magic, mother. It seems that a horn has never really been required for the use of magic, and I will happily compare notes with you. But this isn't the time."

Celestia nodded in response, and Epsilon walked closer to Spike. "Dragon of the Drasilian Highlands."

Spike lowered his gaze and examined Epsilon. "Alicorn of Canterlot City."

"You request audience with she of Equestria, and you wish to fight her. You are a fool." said Epsilon.

Spike growled and spat at the ground before the stallion. "Luna will be a meal to me soon enough."

"Is that so? I have but a fraction of the magical ability that her highness possesses, and I guarantee to it that you would never be able to defeat me in combat." scoffed Epsilon.

"Is that a challenge?" he asked.

"I believe so." said Epsilon, teleporting a good fifty feet away and hoofing at the ground, beckoning Spike.

Generosity...

The gem on Epsilon's back hoof began to glow as he recited the names of the elements in his head.

Laughter...

Spike returned the taunting gesture with his own clawing at the dirt, and upped Epsilon with a piercing screech into the sky.

Loyalty...

Celestia immediately recognized what Epsilon was doing and nodded at him. He gave her a wink, and returned his attention to the fierce purple dragon in front of him.

Honesty...

At this point, his hooves were burning with multicoloured light as the elements began to slowly lift him into the air. His sun necklace glowed brighter then all combined as he thought the fifth element.

Kindness...

Not willing to let him finish whatever he was doing, Spike took off and charged the concentrated alicorn. He clenched his teeth in pain as he formed a huge fireball in his lungs. It cried to be released, but Spike knew to save it and let it grow. Just as he reached Epsilon and opened his mouth to let go of the flame, he felt Celestia seal it shut magically as Epsilon leaned in towards his forehead.

"Magic!"

The hour that Epsilon was supposed to return came and passed, and the princess became more and more worried for his safety. She knew better then anypony else that Epsilon could handle himself fine, but what of Celestia? What would she do to him if she found him? Horrible things most likely. The same horrible things Celestia would do to her.

Panic setting in, the frantic alicorn quickly entered and cleared her own mind. She couldn't waste a second when Epsilon's safety was at risk, he was way too important to her. He was all she had.

The princess tapped into her well-researched magical plane and began looking around for her misplaced companion. The castle was checked first, and as she expected, he was nowhere to be seen. Having no other leads to go on, the alicorn searched around for Celestia's elysian life force. It wasn't long before she found it... And confirmed her worst fears.

"Oh no..."

Spike woke up in a pleasant grassy meadow, abundant with many species of sweet smelling flowers. There was a clear blue sky, and the gentle spring sun bathed the baby dragon's scales perfectly. In front of him was something he never thought he would see again - The ponyville library. Not to mention, it towered over him. He was a kid again.

"Am I dead? Is this heaven?" he asked the open air around him.

"No. This is the place in between."

Spike was genuinely startled by the voice, he hadn't actually expected anyone to answer him. He turned around to see a towering white alicorn above him, dressed in royal jewelry that complimented his long, highlighted blue mane. The baby dragon knew exactly who this was.

"You're that pony from Appleoosa, the one who helped kill Aquarius."

Epsilon smiled and knelt down to be on equal grounds with Spike. "The one and only."

"What are you doing in my dream?" he asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I created your dream. Well, not me entirely. You can thank the Elements of Harmony for this."

Spike did a double take in confusion. "What? You used the elements on me? But I'm not the evil one!"

"Spike, I know you aren't. You have such good intentions, and I respect you for that." he said. "But I can feel your pain. You are very ill, my dragon. Everything that has happened to you is not the intervention of the princess, or myself. It is not some curse that has been placed on you. It is a very serious disease you have developed, and today within my studies, I managed to catch it by accident."

"That explains a lot actually. But if the elements can cure me, then why am I in this place? And why did you call it the 'place in between'?" he asked.

Epsilon rested a wing over Spike and nuzzled him in a purely paternal way. "You have a very, very long life to live. A life so long that it shall only be outlived by the alicorns and chimera themselves. You drove yourself mad because you lost somepony special to you. Spike... It is going to happen again. And if you don't want to go through with the pain again... You don't have to."

Spike fell to his knees as he realized what Epsilon meant. "Are you... Are you asking me if I want to die?"

Epsilon sighed. "It is your choice, my child. I can cure you of your illness, and you can return to life as it is. You can live through loss again, and you can go through the struggles of life. I can also grant you peace. I can send you to a place where you are returned to your childhood, where time will never pass, and your friends will never grow old. It will be just like the good times."

Spike considered it for a moment. "But... It won't be real, will it?"

"No. No it won't."

Spike closed his eyes and let out a sigh of his own. "I've made my decision. Please, cure me of my insanity. I am returning to Celestia, and I am returning to my friends. Every moment I will ever spend with them is worth all the pain I must endure to be there."

The small dragon was met with a bear hug from Epsilon as the fantasy world faded around them.

"I'm so proud of you."

Spike awoke to the sound of Epsilon's voice as he magically reviewed the dragon's vital signs. For the first time in so many years, he saw everything clearly. He no longer felt the overwhelming depression, the doubt, the hatred... He was free. The weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. He was happy again.

Interrupting the alicorn's lecture, Spike wrapped his long neck around Epsilon and brought him in for a crushing hug. "I love you."

Epsilon let out a fake cough. "Air!"

The purple dragon smiled sheepishly and let go of the white stallion. "Right. Ponies. Smaller than dragons."

"So I'm guessing it worked?" asked Celestia.

Epsilon smiled and turned to his mother. "Of course it worked, even better than I expected. Not only is he fully healed, but you can expect improved brain function."

"The elements work miracles, don't they?" added Discord.

"Indeed. But there are still more pressing matters at hoof." said Celestia, angrily glaring at Epsilon.

Epsilon sighed. "I know you have many questions. I am not the one to answer them. I have to return to the castle soon."

Celestia sharpened her gaze. "What..."

"I was not supposed to leave in the first place. I came because I saw Spike's condition. If not for me, he would probably be dead right now. Can't this fight take place another day?" he pleaded.

Celestia scoffed at him. "You want us to just let you go? Do you even know who you are defending, Epsilon?"

"Do you even know who you are attacking? She's changed, mother." he asked.

The alicorn mare was slightly taken back, and offended. "Luna doesn't change. She played that card on me thirty years ago. I could have just as well sent her to the moon. But she manipulated all of us and played victim, so I let her stay. Look where it got us. You will bring me to her, now."

Epsilon's mouth hung open. "What?... You want to talk to Luna? Mother, that isn't even possible."

Celestia grit her teeth as her patience withered away. "Why is it impossible? Is she too important for me now? Why can't I speak with my sister?"

The argument was interrupted as a regal figure teleported next to Epsilon, earning the stunned looks of everypony gathered in the field. The alicorn princess stood tall, her lavender coat and ethereal dark mane which was complimented by a pink highlight flowing gracefully in the wind. Twilight sighed and hung her head as she approached Celestia and spoke in a soft, sad tone.

"Because Luna has been dead for thirty years."

Through The Unforgiving Desert

"Bring your best pegasi. A storm is the only thing that would distract the group while you went for the draconequus." said the black alicorn.

Aquarius smiled. "Of course your highness! I will not let you down, I promise!"

"Your life depends on it." she said, lying down as he walked out of the room.

The alicorn let out a sigh as she observed her palace throne room. She was alone, as usual. The isolation tortured her constantly, like moon banishment. But it was worse this time. It was worse because she had the ability to return to her former state, be good, be loved. But she wouldn't. Her mind would not allow her to. She cried every night, alone. No one to hold her. No one to comfort her. This wasn't what she expected from power, not what she expected at all.

Her thoughts were interrupted as one of her pegasus soldiers entered the room. He heard her crying. Not even she heard herself crying. That's a regular thing now, so its no wonder she didn't notice. He had a very worried look on his face. "Are you ok, miss?" asked Epsilon.

The alicorn blinked and wiped away a few stray tears. She laughed at herself for a short moment. "Yes. I'm fine, thank you."

"You don't look fine." challenged Epsilon, walking closer then sitting down next to the distraught queen.

She sighed and chuckled to herself once again. "Am I going insane, Epsilon?"

He joined in the laugh. "Maybe. But is that such a bad thing?"

"Yes. My mind is all I have left." answered the alicorn, now her tone growing more serious.

The pegasus stopped laughing and thought for a moment. "You don't want this, do you?"

The alicorn lowered her head in shame. Was she really expressing emotion and weakness to one of her guards? Fuck it. Just fuck it. I don't care anymore. "It wasn't supposed to happen this way. I had so many plans."

"It's never too late to go back." he said.

The alicorn let out a sigh. "Sadly, it is. I have to continue what I started. I could never show my face among the crowd again."

"I know they all miss you. A lot. I know that they would forgive you if you wanted them to. They love you as much as you love them." reassured the pegasus.

She turned away and let a few tears escape her. "Everything I thought I knew was a lie. Especially after what I found out yesterday."

"Must have been hard to learn it that way." he said, moving over to be closer to the inconsolable alicorn.

She turned back to look at Epsilon. "It would have all been different. I'd of never made the mistakes I did, if only I knew..."

Epsilon lowered the alicorn's hood to brush her mane with his hoof. "It's not your fault. Aquarius used you, and everyone else around him."

"I should have been smarter than that. Now I'm stuck leading a country that's afraid of me." admitted the queen.

Epsilon got up, followed by the black alicorn. "Everything you have is what you make it. You can choose if you are happy or not. Please, my friend, always remember one thing, and never forget it."

"What?" she asked.

He stared into her burning white eyes and spoke in a stern tone. "When you look around, and think you have nothing left - You do."

His words echoed inside the alicorn's mind. For what felt like an eternity, she thought of everything she had been through in her entire life. Then it clicked. It all made sense. She knew what she was going to do now. A wide smile appeared on her face.

"You are very wise, my pegasus. Why aren't you the one who befriended me thirty years ago?" she asked.

"Don't know. Should have been that way." joked Epsilon.

The alicorn narrowed her eyes and stared out of the window. She laughed for a second before covering her head once again with the hood she had on her cloak. "Are your troops ready?"

Epsilon smiled. "Yep. So what's the plan?"

Everyone except Discord burst out in laughter as they remembered the gala. He looked at all of them as if they were insane. "I don't get it." he finally said.

This only caused Dash and Spike to fall on their backs and cough in laughter. Celestia only giggled and covered her mouth, despite wanting to fall over just as well. Applejack walked over to Discord and whispered something in his ear, and he grinned.

"Alright everypony, calm down now. Applejack, where would we find Pinkie's rock farm?" asked Celestia.

"It's just a few miles east of Appleoosa." the orange mare replied.

Discord frowned. "Appleoosa? That's half across the country."

"Better get moving then." said Dash.

"Flying is the fastest route, if we walk we'll never make it there. Applejack, would you mind climbing up on my back?" asked Spike.

"No prob, Spike. Just let me grab-" Applejack stopped as the dragon fell to the ground with a quake. "Spike?! Wake up! Spike! Spike!!"

Spike coughed as he found himself hanging by invisible chains. Everything was black around him, but this time he could move most of his body, save for his limbs. This time he wasn't as afraid, just very annoyed.

Welcome back.

"You have bad timing. I have to be somewhere." said the dragon.

I know you do. Time does not exist in this world, so you should not worry about such mortal things. We have years to talk in here, and you will wake up merely seconds after we started.

Spike gulped. "That's sick."

It is, isn't it? Maybe now you will understand the curse that is immortality.

"What are you talking about? How does this involve me?"

Have you no understanding of what you're doing to her?

"Doing what to who?"

Spike. Do you love Celestia? I mean, *really** love Celestia?*

Spike didn't need to think. "Yes I do. She's everything to me. She was there for me when nopony else was. She's funny. She's beautiful. Every day, I wake up just to see her face. I want to protect her. I want her to be happy. When she is with me, I am complete. She is mine, and I am hers."

Then you will leave her.

A chill passed down the dragons spine as he thought about life without Celestia. "No. You're out of your mind."

You wouldn't say that if you knew who you were talking to.

"I would say it if you were Aumean herself. There is no way in hell I am leaving Celestia. I love her, and she loves me."

That is why you have to leave her.

"What on earth are you even talking about?"

Celestia is an immortal. You are not. You will die.

Spike was taken back by that statement. He was so young still, he had never really thought about his death that would come in a millennium. "I don't get it."

The longer you are with her, the more pain you force her to endure. Pain that only can come from the strongest of love. Celestia cannot deal with a companion, because anyone she ever loves will leave her. Have you ever considered what you're doing to her before now? She will spend over a thousand years with you, thinking of you, loving you. Then one day, when she wakes up, you won't be there. She hadn't known Stardust for even a century, and when he was killed in the fight with the Ursa Master, she went into depression and isolation for *twenty five years.** When you die, Celestia will be forced to live on, alone. Immortality is the worst fate there is.*

It hit him. Everything he was doing hit him. Why had he never thought of this? The voice was right. He had to leave Celestia. He could not deal with the sadness that she would have. He wanted nothing but her to be happy, and if that meant sacrificing his own happiness... So be it. Guilt flooded his mind, and somehow he felt his chest twist into a knot.

"AGH!" screamed spike as he involuntary shot out a large jet of green fire.

Forgot to tell you. In this world, your emotions will inflict physical pain on you. You'll get used to it though, I deal with it every day.

Spike looked up, tears of pure anger focused on the empty space in front of him. "Who... Who are you?"

Isn't it obvious? I am your conscience.

Dash smiled and flapped her wings as the dragon's eyes blinked open. "Hey guys! He's waking up!"

Everypony rushed over to Spike as he exhaled a large cloud of smoke from his nose. He slowly regained consciousness and reviewed his surroundings. A barn. Apple trees. They hadn't moved an inch from sweet apple acres. He looked up to see everypony staring at him.

"Are ya okay, Spike?" asked a bright yellow mare.

Spike coughed. "A-Applebloom?" This was wrong. He was so much weaker then the last time he came out of a conversation with... Himself. His eyes widened as he felt a familiar pain in his chest. He breathed deeply and growled, which made the ponies around him back up in fear. Discord didn't realize his pain as he was rolling around in the dirt.

"You should have seen yourself, Spike! At first you were like 'Oh, I'm big scary dragon, you can ride on by back Applejack!' Then you were all like 'Boom I fell over!' Ha! Hahahaha!" teased Discord, unable to bring himself to stop laughing.

Celestia shot the draconequus a hateful glance, he rolled his eyes in response and got up. Spike looked around at the ponies. Scootaloo and Applebloom were here as well. They all had very concerned faces. He didn't think about it too much, until something in the back of his mind started ticking. It was like, he had a word on the tip of his tongue, but couldn't say it. The ticks got louder. He looked around to see Celestia's eyes. They were bloodshot with black rings around them. Then it hit him.

"How... How long have I been asleep?"

"Yah've been out fer a whole three days, partner." answered Applejack. She sighed and stroked his scales with her hoof. It was obvious how much pain he was in.

"Three days!? What happened to me!?" he asked, although he knew very well what happened to him. Sort of. It's getting stronger.

Dash intercepted the question. "You were talking to Applejack, then you collapsed. None of us could tell what caused it, not even Celestia."

"I tried to see if you had brain damage. Something was stopping me from gaining access to your mind. Do you know anything about that?" she asked, a deep feeling of concern in her voice.

"Uhm... No." lied Spike. The last thing he wanted to do right now was get into a conversation with Celestia. As of now, he didn't even want to look at her. It hurt too much. Almost instantly as he thought that, in response he received a splitting headache in response. Great. It works out in the real world too.

Then the voice's words which he had heard the week before echoed in his head, drilling a hole through his skull. They were swift, and powerful. They were simple, yet perfect.

Your mind is the key.

Spike took a deep breath, calmed down, and rose to his feet. He thought of happy things. He thought of flying, he thought of gems, and he thought of Twilight. As his pain subsided, the dragon laughed and shot out a ball of fire into the air.

"I think he's okay now, everypony." said Scootaloo.

"Better than okay, my friend." said Spike. He jumped into the air and flew in a circle for a few moments before returning to the ground to pick up his passenger. "It's time we finally left here. Apologies for what happened."

"Not a problem, Spike!" said Applejack as she climbed onto his back. "Can't wait to try this."

Dash smiled at her companion and giggled. She got the same as a response.

"Ah think ya need tah know somethin' before ya go, guys." interrupted Applebloom.

"What is it?" asked Discord.

"Well, after Luna took over Equestria, and occupied Drasil, the survivin' griffins moved over to ponyville. They're thugs, it just ain't safe there." she said.

Spike chuckled. "We'll fly high up, so they don't see us. I just hope Applejack can cope with the lack of oxygen up there that fliers are used to."

"Awh shucks, don'tcha worry 'bout lil old me, Spike. Ah've been buckin' so long, Ah got the body of an athlete! Ah'll be fine even if Ah get a bit winded." joked Applejack. She smiled as the dragon turned his head to look at her.

"It's settled then. Let's go." said Celestia.

Not high enough, obviously.

Spike growled as four griffins closed in on the group from both sides, flying in formation. Three of the griffins remained silent, while one smiled at Spike. "Names Wallace. Who're you, mista draggy?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Spike."

"Nice name yeah. I'ma call ya green though. Ya okay with that, green?" asked the griffin. He had a thick accent that would have nearly brought Discord to tears of humor, if he was paying attention.

"Do I look like I care?" answered the dragon.

The griffin laughed. "Well well well green, It looks like someone woke you up on the wrong side of the bed this mornin'. Me and my boys, we here to discuss your payment."

"What?" asked Spike.

"These are our skies, green. Ya can't just fly up here without payin' taxes. That'll be a thousand bits please." The griffin held out his talon as he spoke, expecting Spike to put money in his hands.

"You're out of your mind. What's stopping me from killing all four of you right now?" Spike shook his head and laughed. This was a pretty weird situation, though. Why weren't any of his friends talking? They look like they don't even notice the griffins. Is their tactic to ignore them and see if they go away? Maybe I should do that now.

Wallace laughed. "I really liked you green, I did. This is what's stoppin' ya from killin' us, boy."

At that moment, as if on cue, the three silent griffins grabbed and subdued Celestia, Rainbow Dash, and Discord, as Wallace kicked Applejack off Spike's back. His heart sank. He said nothing. Without a moments hesitation, the dragon locked his wings and began a nose dive to reach Applejack. Her body fell lifelessly, she didn't even scream. He felt immense pressure as a cone of air formed around his snout.

Not going to make it...

One thousand feet.

Five hundred feet.

One hundred feet.

Ten feet.

One foot.

Crack.

Spike slowly lowered himself to the ground. He was nowhere near Applejack when she hit the ground. He'd of never made it in time. He stared at the pool of blood. The image of strength, torn and perverted by a gang of griffins who wanted a few extra bits. He had no tears. He had no words. He had no strength. He had nothing.

Just then, he could feel it. His heart pounded. It grew faster and faster, increasingly more painful. Then it stopped. It just stopped. He wasn't able to take it. Everything was too much for him this time.

Spike fell to the cold hard ground, dead.

"Listen up you fillies! We have a long march tonight!" shouted General Aquarius.

The thousand soldier crowd groaned before the general. Over half of them were pegasi, followed by about three hundred earth ponies, and a hundred unicorns. They all wore solid black chest plates, with black helmets. Their manes and tails were red, and their fur was dyed white. Save for Epsilon, and one red stallion that was accompanied by a dragon of matching colour.

Aquarius cleared his throat. "The great one herself has tipped us that the draconequus and his party is heading east of Appleoosa. It is crucial that we intercept them there by tomorrow at noon, then overpower and kill the draconequus. You may kill any of the group members who try to interfere. Admiral Epsilon shall brief you on your specific duties while I prepare to depart." Aquarius nodded to Epsilon and left as the pegasus stallion approached the podium.

"It will be a long night, but we will get the job done my friends. My fellow pegasi, you shall brew and take with you storm clouds to fight with. Only bring a small patch of cloud each. Do not tire yourself, many small patches of cloud will create one large storm. I will be the commander of your regiment." he took a deep breath and looked up at the pegasi, who then left to collect clouds.

He began again. "As for the unicorns, rest yourself and do not use magic until the confrontation. The hundred of you shall be pitted against former princess Celestia." the crowd of unicorns gasped and whispered to one another. "This may seem a daunting task, but do not fear. One measly alicorn is nothing in comparison to a hundred of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria!" as he finished that thought, cheering broke out among the soldiers. Phew.

"Now you, earth ponies. You will be the blunt of our forces, do what you can to destroy the buildings around the town so they cannot take shelter. Make it impossible to land, and if they try, kill them. Use your hind legs to kick, not your fore legs." Epsilon turned to look at the large red stallion and the dragon sitting behind him. "Right colonel?"

The stallion let out a deep chuckle and smiled at his friend. "Eeyup."

Discord flew over to the trembling dragon in concern. "Spike, wake up."

No response.

Discord slapped Spike as hard as he could. "Wake up!" he shouted.

Spike's eyes opened and widened, he flapped his wings and took several deep breaths. It was dark out. Pitch black. He saw some stray trees, and dirt below him. "Where are we?" he asked.

Discord looked closely at Spike. "What are you talking about, we've all been asleep? We haven't moved from camp since we got here. Why would we do that, we're already more than halfway to Appleoosa."

Spike shuddered and shot his eyes around the camp. "Where's Applejack?" he asked, in a panic.

"She's right over there." Discord pointed to a tree, and under it was Dash and Applejack, sleeping soundly next to each other. "You were rolling around, screaming something I couldn't understand, and then you grabbed your chest in pain. One hell of a nightmare. Spike, are you okay?"

Relief and fear washed over the dragon. That could have happened. There was no way he would have made it. His own mind was torturing him. Spike sunk to his knees and boiling tears melted the ground below him. "No. I'm not okay. I'm far from okay. I'll never be okay."

The usually playful and light hearted draconequus felt an uncommon sense of empathy and worry. Spike was sincere. Something was really wrong. "Do you want to talk about it?"

The dragon shivered. "Discord..."

Discord walked close and sat down next to Spike to comfort him. "Yes, Spike?"

"Kill me." he answered. His voice was grave. He was cold. He had given up.

Discord was taken back by that. "What?"

Spike sighed. "Use your magic, make a knife, cut my throat, and kill me. Please. I can't do it anymore. I just can't."

The draconequus was scared now. He didn't know how to handle the emotions of others. He had always just poked fun at them and lightened the mood so they got over it. This was different. This was horrible. "Spike... What's wrong?"

"I'm going insane, Discord. You remember when I blacked out for three days back at sweet apple acres?" he asked.

Discord looked up at his eyes. "Yeah, why?"

Spike told Discord the story of all three of his dreams. The draconequus seemed to be literally taking notes inside his head. It was a wonder how nopony else woke up, Spike made no attempt to stay quiet. He poured out all of his soul into Discord, a first for both of them.

Discord let out a sigh. "Well, I have good news, and bad news. Which do you want first?"

Spike laughed. "I could probably use the good news right about now."

Discord narrowed his eyes and looked at the dragon. "Well the good news is, you aren't going insane at all, and your conscience isn't talking to you."

"Well, that's good! ... ... ... Wait. What's the bad news?" asked Spike, his small sliver of happiness crushed by his own fears.

"Luna is."

"We're just about to leave, your highness." said Epsilon. He stopped talking as he saw that the alicorn was reading some old scrolls. There was a purple ribbon lying on the ground. "Miss, are those what I think they are?"

The queen laughed. "The old friendship reports. They bring back so many memories. Except this one..." she levitated over a letter to Epsilon, and he read it. It was the letter that Twilight had sent to Celestia on nightmare night thirty years ago. The night she became friends with Luna. He suddenly realized why this made the alicorn so emotional.

He looked up to the alicorn with concern. "Your highness..."

She sighed. "I didn't have to kill her. I could have easily trapped her, or sent her away. She was just so persistent. She fought me despite knowing there was nothing she could ever do. It is my greatest mistake, Epsilon."

He decided it would be best to not interrogate her on it. She seemed stable enough. "I wanted to know something before we left."

"What is it, my pegasus?"

"Why did you tell Aquarius to target Discord specifically?"

She blushed at the question. "Oh... Well..."

Epsilon chuckled. "You still love him don't you?"

"More than anything."

Spike once again woke up in the dark world. He has gotten used to this by now. He had things to say this time, though.

You shouldn't have fallen asleep.

"You aren't my conscience." said Spike.

Oh? Than who am I?

Spike growled as he kept trying to move his arms and legs."You're Luna."

Ha! Luna! Is this some cruel joke?

"What?"

That's impossible, seeing as Luna isn't even... Never mind. Why pretend anymore? Of course I'm Luna, you win Spike!

A dark blue alicorn materialized in front of the dragon. Luna smiled at him. Spike's eyes widened as the alicorn walked closer. "Hello, my little dragon." she said softly.

"What do you want with me, Luna?"

"I have already told you my desires. Will you fulfill them?" she asked.

Spike let out a sigh. "Can't say I haven't considered it."

Luna giggled. "A good first step."

"One last thing, though." he said.

Luna smiled at Spike. "Hmm?"

"Why did you kill Twilight?"

As he said that, he felt the world around him crumble. He was knocked out of his position, and Luna disappeared. As to be expected. So much for that.

"Wake on up ya big lug! We got a load of flyin' tah do today." said Applejack.

Spike opened his eyes immediately upon hearing her voice. He grabbed her in and held her tight to his chest. She didn't have to get it. She didn't have to know. But Spike needed this.

Applejack looked around at everypony. "What in tarnation... Cmon let's get goin'!"

Spike released his grip on the orange mare and she climbed onto his back. "Couldn't think of a better idea. How long do you think until we get to Appleoosa?"

"Maybe three hours, according to my calculations." said Celestia.

"Egg head." mumbled Dash.

Celestia was shocked. "What did you just call me?"

Dash broke out into laughter. "You said you weren't the princess anymore. To show my utmost respect of your wishes to be treated normally, you are an egg head."

The sun goddess couldn't contain her amusement. "Okay, you win. Now, let's finally depart?"

"Agreed." the entire group said in unison.

Applejack was crushed as she looked upon the ruins of what was once her family's home town. The apple trees had befallen. What was once a town is just a pile of scrap wood and saw dust. Bison carcass lay scattered. The smell of blood was fresh, however. This just happened.

"What the hay..." asked Rainbow Dash.

"I don't get it." said Spike.

They five felt the earth tremble beneath their feet. It wasn't a large thump, it was like a collection of smaller vibrations.

"Look up!" screamed Discord.

They stared on in disbelief as hundreds of pegasi clad in black plate armour, all with storm clouds, rose from the horizon coming at them at imaginable speeds. They were closely followed by hundreds of unicorns and earth ponies.

Celestia instantly noticed the older pegasus at the front. "General Aquarius!" she exclaimed.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack were surprised that they would ever see Aquarius with their own eyes. Sure, everyone had told their stories about him, but meeting him face to face was just scary. He was apparently the fastest and most powerful pegasus in Equestria, even at his old age.

Spike took to the sky to confront the oncoming army, that's why it surprised him even more so when they did nothing but fly around him. As they approached the group, they stomped on their parts of cloud, shooting small lightning bolts at the ground below.

"Discord!" screamed Aquarius. He stood above the draconequus and smashed his hooves into the top of the storm cloud. Discord teleported a few feet away and returned fire, shooting his own lightning at the pegasus. "You can't run forever, freak of nature!"

"Rainbow! See if you can intercept the clouds from the pegasi! I'll deal with the unicorns!" ordered Celestia.

"You got it princess!" said Dash, shooting off from the ground to steal the storms away. It wouldn't be hard for her, she had been a weather pony for over thirty five years now.

Spike flew down and soaked the earth pony soldiers in green fire, killing over fifty in one go, and badly burning others. They scattered and screamed as he followed and picked off some more, only to be stopped at the sight of a huge beast blocking out the sun.

"Celestia! They have a dragon!" screamed Applejack from Spike's back.

"Can't help you right now!" said Celestia, holding up a shield and raining down small meteorites at the group of unicorns.

Spike flew upwards to confront the enemy dragon. He was larger than Spike, and looked considerably older. He had deep red and bright yellow scales. "Hey! Ah remember you! Yer that dragon that was snorin' all that smoke into Equestria!" said Applejack.

The red dragon lowered his head to shoot a ball of flame at the earth pony. Luckily, Spike dodged it just in time and returned his own blast, hitting the red dragon on the wing. It was a good hit, but the older dragon brushed it off. As Spike circled to the other side of his opponent, he and Applejack saw it.

"Why are you here, Aquarius?" asked Discord, jumping away from yet another lightning bolt before shooting a yellow fire ball out of his paw at the pegasus general.

Aquarius laughed. "The queen wants you mounted on her wall! I was more than happy to oblige!"

Discord raised a yellow, ethereal shield above his head to protect from the general's lightning. "A bit overkill don't you think?"

"Maybe. I don't want to be dealing with your little friends, though. You know Dissy, you've gone soft." he challenged.

"What are you talking about?" asked the draconequus.

The elder pegasus continued his barrage of lightning. "You are companions with these things now. You were much better when you fucked up the universe. But wait, you lost your element to the queen didn't you? Ha!"

Discord gave him a confused look. "No. I gave my element to Twilight Sparkle. Not Luna."

"What? Is there something..." as Aquarius realizes what Discord was thinking, he smiled. "Oh right! My bad, I was there! How silly of me!"

"This is easy. You aren't even amusing me whatsoever." said Discord.

Applejack's heart sank all the way from the sky to the ground as she saw Big Macintosh stare into her eyes with hate. What has become of her own brother? He is now one of Luna's men? No. This isn't possible.

The red dragon whipped around so the stallion riding on his back could get a better shot. Macintosh turned and delivered a painful buck to Spike's jaw, knocking him out of focus. The purple dragon turned and shot a jet of flame directly at the stallion, who ducked for cover just at the last moment.

"Don't hurt him Spike!" pleaded Applejack.

Spike panted heavily. "Not much I can do."

Macintosh stared down as Epsilon broke from the pegasi's formation and spun in a large loop. That was the signal. Luna's forces all began to retreat, save for Aquarius who hadn't a clue what was going on at this point. Macintosh smiled and winked at Applejack and Spike. He turned back to his dragon to bark another command. "Now!"

The red dragon locked its wings to the side and did a nose dive directly towards Aquarius. The general looked upwards in horror, as Discord teleported to safety. Rainbow and Celestia looked at the entire thing with the utmost confusion.

The dragon stopped in front of Aquarius, and flapped its wing to force a mighty gust of air at him. While his guard was down, Epsilon flew towards him and knocked him out of the sky. Macintosh jumped off of his dragon and landed next to Aquarius, only to deliver a punishing final blow to his skull.

Crack.

Epsilon and Macintosh broke out in laughter. "Now that's what I call justice!" said Epsilon.

"Eeyup."

Rainbow Dash walked up and inspected the dead general on the ground. Blood dripped from his unrecognizable head. "Uhm. What just happened?"

Discord and Celestia were speechless, and looked at each other. Their silent communication was interrupted as Spike and Applejack landed in between them. "What in tarnation..."

"Heya sis'." said Macintosh.

"HEYA SIS'? YA JUST TRIED TAH DARNED WELL KILL US BACK THERE BIG MAC, AND YER ONLY THING TO SAY IS HEYA SIS'? WHAT THE HAY IS YER PROBLEM?"

"Sorry." he said.

Epsilon coughed. "Please allow me to explain, Miss Applejack. Your brother had no intention of hurting you, see, him and I are both strongly against the Queen's rule. We played the part of good little soldiers for half the battle, so Aquarius wouldn't worry, then we stepped in and killed him."

She laughed shamefully. "Oh... Uhm... Mah bad..."

" 's okay." said the red stallion.

"I best be going now. I have to deliver the news that Discord killed Aquarius in battle today." Epsilon winked at the draconequus, who replied with a laugh. Epsilon flew off, and before they knew it, was out of sight.

"Gonna take off this armour. It's heavy." said Macintosh. "Ah'm gonna be travellin' with you folks from here on out."

"Fine with us." said Discord.

Just then, a yellow, pink maned pegasus flew out from behind one of the canyon walls. She immediately inspected the red dragons burnt wing. "Oh, Peppers. Are you okay?"

"Fluttershy!" said Applejack.

"Where have you been?" asked Discord.

"Hello miss Fluttershy." said Celestia, letting out a small smile.

"Hey Fluttershy!" said Spike.

Rainbow Dash burst out into uncontrollable laughter. Everyone turned their attention from Fluttershy onto the slightly insane cyan mare. She contained herself just enough to settle her curiosity. "You named your dragon Peppers!?"

Fluttershy pushed her mane in front of her eyes. "Oh, yes. I thought it was a very nice name." She got a nuzzle from the red dragon in response.

"Sorry for the roughness, Spike." said Peppers.

"Not a problem at all. You had good intentions. Sorry about your wing." he replied.

"Haha. It will heal, don't worry about it." bellowed the older dragon, flapping it.

Fluttershy was taken back by the sudden movements. "Not if you keep stressing it like that. We better walk for awhile. I mean, if that's okay..."

The group laughed. "I'm getting quite tired myself from all this. We should camp here for the night, and meet with Pinkie Pie tomorrow." said Celestia.

They all nodded in agreement. Except for Dash. "Wait a minute. Fluttershy, how did you get here? And where did you get a dragon?" she asked.

Fluttershy giggled. "Oh. Well that's a very funny story..."

It was the black of night when Epsilon and the surviving troops arrived back at the palace. After giving them a pep talk and a pat on the back, he went straight to the throne room.

The black alicorn awoke from her sleep as she heard Epsilon come in. "How did it go?" she said in a quiet voice.

Epsilon chuckled. "Aquarius is officially out of your hands."

She smiled. "One less problem now. The arrogant fool thought I needed him alive to use the element of innovation."

"Yeah. Big Mac decided to stay with the group, just like you told him to." announced Epsilon.

She giggled in response. "Good, good. Did they buy your story?"

"Yup."

Older than the Mountains

Silence. Painful, ungodly silence.

Twilight cringed as nine pairs of eyes stared directly at her. No, directly through her. Over the years her appearance had changed dramatically. The lavender alicorn now stood nearly as tall as Celestia, and her wings were of the same ratio. Her mane had darkened slightly, but it was obvious that the mare standing there was none other than Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight felt smaller than she ever had. Her lip quivered and she trembled uncontrollably in place. Looking up, she saw that Celestia was slowly approaching her. Involuntarily responding, Twilight backed up in fear and stared wide eyed at the sun goddess. Her face lacked the regular fake divine smile, replaced with utter confusion.

Soft whimpers and sniffling broke the silence as tears fell from the lavender alicorn. All the confidence and poise she had when she interrupted Celestia's tyrade was shattered and unrecognizable. The emotional wall that Twilight had built around herself for thirty long years had finally crumbled.

It was too much.

As Celestia reached out a hoof to stroke Twilight's mane in disbelief, the young princess yet out a suppressed yelp and teleported away with a bright flash of pink light. The whole experience left Celestia sitting on her haunches and staring at the ground, eyes ever wide and jaw hanging loosely below her.

"How could I have been such a foal?"

All eyes turned to Spike as he hung his head and sighed. "Aquarius. Discord. The Elements of Chaos. Those creepy forbidden books. It was so painfully obvious... I think I knew it all along. The messages that my subconscious kept giving me in the dreams. That's why I thought I was being possessed. It knew something I didn't know. Something I refused to believe."

Epsilon stared at the dragon quizzically and raised a brow. "You... Who did you think she was?"

"Luna." interjected Discord.

The white stallion lowered his gaze. "All of you?"

The proceeding silence answered his question for him. Epsilon sighed and looked around at the group, weighing his options between shouting at them, throwing comets at them, or simply sending them all to the moon. He chose a much simpler course of action, however.

"You all don't know anything. Do you?"

Twilight re-appeared under an old hollow oak tree. Still sobbing, the alicorn gently raised a hoof to wipe away her tears. She had always expected for things to go bad between her and Celestia, but a complete mental breakdown just by seeing her mother? Also, come to think of it, she hadn't even a clue where she had teleported to. She just needed to leave.

The lavender mare went slack jawed as she gave the oak tree a second glance. It wasn't a regular tree. This one had a door. It had windows. This isn't possible.

My library.

Twilight cautiously opened the door and walked inside her old home. She looked around at the walls, her furniture, all of her books... It was all there. Everything was there. In utter disbelief, the alicorn climbed up her old stair case and peeked inside her bedroom. It was if she had never left the house, not even for a day.

Feeling heavy and exhausted from her recent emotional struggle, the depressed mare slowly climbed into bed and pulled the covers over her. She was just about to fall into a deep, peaceful sleep... When something caught her eye.

On top of a book shelf sat a small picture frame, it's contents invisible due to the glare within the room. Twilight sighed as she levitated the photograph over to the bed and viewed it. It was the first group photo of her and her five friends, all standing together and smiling. The thought of it brought her to tears. Not because of her mistakes... But because any love or friendship she could ever have would fade in time. She led a life of despair and loss. What would she have to even display for her first friends? How she destroyed everything?

When did we grow so far apart? I can't be the only one who's noticed...

... I can't be the only one who's learned?

Her thoughts were interrupted as a faint, nearly inaudible creak in the wooden floor rang through her ears. Having been any other pony, she wouldn't have even noted it, but the thirty years of isolation, insomnia, and paranoia has taught her otherwise. She grinned and placed the picture on the floor below her.

Twilight spoke in a lecture as if she was teaching a magic class. "Substitution. Using physical magic to bend light and gas in order to create a corporeal clone of yourself, one with no thought or emotion. The clone can answer simple questions and do certain tasks, and is perfect when you want to get out a sticky situation. One of my favourites, but I assume you know it better. It is a spell of your own invention, anyways."

Discord snapped his claws, materializing in front of the alicorn. He chuckled softly. "You never cease to impress me, Twilight Sparkle."

"Such a charmer. Oh, how I've missed you Dissy." she said, getting up out of the mattress.

The draconequus sighed as he sat down on the now unoccupied bed. "For someone ever so interested in telepathical and psych magic, you were thinking very loudly and vulnerably."

"How much did you hear?" she asked.

He softened his gaze. "Everything."

She laughed and shook her head, a few fresh tears falling to the ground. "I really messed up, didn't I?"

"Everypony makes mistakes. Though, us divine, ours tend to make a greater impact then we desire." he said. "You are not the only one who's learned, Twilight. I have made my share of messes, such that locked me in stone. Luna turned to envy and became enveloped in hatred. Celestia... She was probably the worst of all. But that is a story for another time."

The alicorn sniffled as she walked closer to, and finally sat down next to Discord. "Why do you know exactly what to say, all of the time?"

"Well," he began. "I have quite the personal experience. Most recognize me for my creation of the classical era, however that is but a small fraction of my lifetime."

"Wait..." Twilight's curiosity and recent contemplation of her immortality forced her to interrogate further. "Mother never told me... Discord, how old are you?"

He laughed heartily. "That is a good question, and Celestia has not told you because she has never asked. I am older than the mountains, yet younger than the seas."

Twilight repeated the statement in her head a few times. "Beg your pardon?"

"Seventeen million."

Twilight eyes shot open at the sudden realization. "That's... You're..."

Discord met the alicorn's stare. "Celestia herself is but a child, as you are. The immortal think of immortality as a curse, a burden for those who must carry that title. The mortal think of immortality as a blessing, a gift to anypony who gets the chance to live forever. It is neither of those things, but it is also both of those things at the same time."

"I don't get it." said Twilight.

The draconequus sighed in response. "As you should know by now, good and evil do not exist. Neither do harmony and chaos. They are not actual forces or traits, they are just ideas created to explain what we do and do not desire. There is no such thing as black and white, only many shades of gray. Immortality is both a blessing and a curse. Yes, it hurts to see those you love pass away. Yes, it is great to be able to spread your influence for an eternity. Do you know why I took rule of Equestria? Do you know why I spread chaos?"

Twilight didn't respond, but simply shook her head. Discord continued his speech after noting the gesture. "Because I understand life. I understand the world. I know at the end of the day, all the worries that we have are irrelevant and minuscule. Death is sad, and grief is necessary in times. But you cannot let it consume you. You must accept life for what it is, and use your influence to shape it for the better. Immortality is about the ability to see time pass. To prevent history from repeating itself. Harmony shall loop events, and play them over and over. Chaos shall change the future to something new. It is why on occasion I would edit ponies lives for my entertainment - never was it in the idea of harming them."

"And I thought Epsilon was wise." joked Twilight.

Discord laughed. "As ironic as it is, I brought about chaos to restore harmony. Celestia was too young to understand what I had been doing, therefore I forgive her for the error of her ways. She was only two thousand years old then, the smallest of fillies compared to my lifetime. Now you may be wondering why I told you all of this. You carry a responsibility, and that is to not forcefully shape the world as you have been doing for thirty years, but to gently nudge it in the right direction. Life is hard. But those who die are in a better place."

The young alicorn hung her head as Discord finished. "I'm sorry."

The chimera wrapped his wing around the alicorn to comfort her. "I forgive you. I'm curious though, what exactly happened after your fight with Luna?"

Twilight laughed softly. "Yeah, I guess after all of these memories it's finally time to tell my story. But you must know one thing before I begin."

Discord raised a brow. "And what would that be?"

"I never intend for Luna to kill herself."