Harmony's Rule

Harmony's Rule

Part I: Dawn and Dusk

Chapter 1: The Tides of Anger

Twilight Sparkle's mental checklist was working beautifully. She hadn't missed a single thing in her morning routine. “Best of all, no wasted paper, ink, quills...” The unicorn continued to list off things verbally before scolding herself for getting side-tracked.

“Okay Twilight, if I'm ever going to get the hang of complex mnemonics then I need to stay focused!” she declared with absolute conviction, drawing a few curious looks from the ponies around her.

“Spike, take a...” Twilight turned, prepared to dictate a reminder to herself with the help of her ever-present dragon assistant. Except, this time, he wasn't there. “Oh, right. Rarity's,” she muttered, holding her hoof to her face.

Twilight couldn't help but blush at her mistake. She had specifically chosen today to practice the 'Magnificent Memory  Mnemonic' she had been reading about. It was ideal since the little dragon had been roped into helping the fashionista with her latest project.

Twilight chuckled to herself at how easily her friend had coaxed him into it before returning to her task at hoof. “Alright, back to work. Step one: Deep Breath.” Twilight inhaled deeply before loudly letting it out, drawing another round of curious looks from passersby.

Oblivious, the lavender unicorn closed her eyes and smiled. “Step Two: Use the MMM to remember what you had just forgotten,” she said, standing proudly before her face twisted in panic.

“Oh no,” she gasped, her eyes widening as she shook her head.“No no no no no nononononoNO!” she shouted, desperately trying to think.

“Argh! How am I supposed to use the Magnificent Memory Mnemonic if I can't remember what the mnemonic is!?” The lavender unicorn snorted in frustration and held her head before sighing.

“Okay, remember Twilight, failure isn't bad, it's just a chance to try again later,” she said to herself, the unicorn's purple mane drooping as she cocked her head. After everything she had been through, the high-strung mare had finally begun to get the hang of letting things go.

“Just relax and stay calm.” Twilight whispered, smiling to herself as she looked around at the place she called home.

“After all, it's just another, average, beautiful day in Ponyville. The sky is clear, birds are singing, Lyra and Bon Bon are fighting...” Twilight paused, her eyes going wide as realization set in. “Wait, that's not normal at all!”

She spun around rapidly, seeing the two ponies engaged in a shouting match that grew more vicious by the second. A chill went down Twilight's spine as the once loving couple had to be pulled apart by the gathering crowd of on-lookers.

The unicorn hadn't heard the cause of the argument, but could see that both ponies were glaring at each other with absolute rage. Her ears drooped as the pair were pulled far apart. “I hope I never see your sorry flank again!” both mares shouted in unison before vanishing in the crowd.

“Friends fight, but not like that. What happened to make them hurt so much?” Twilight wondered, making her way down the street. Whatever her mood had been, it was certainly more gloomy now and a slow sense of dread crept into her as she noticed more and more oddities in the town.

Everywhere she looked, it seemed that arguments and a few fights had broken out amongst the citizens of Ponyville. Even for a town where she was still convince that, on some level, everypony was crazy,  this was abnormal.

Ahead of her, Twilight saw the stately figure of the mayor standing near the entrance to Ponyville Park. As she drew near, she could see a half a dozen ponies being carted off, each a battered and bruised loser of a recent scuffle.

“Good morning madam mayor,” Twilight greeted, trotting up alongside the earth pony and her jaw dropped as she saw the full extent of what had happened.

“Did everypony wake up on the wrong side of the bed today?” she asked, as the parade of injured filed past her. Twilight turned her head to hear the mayor's reply, but felt herself taken aback by the glare of contempt the matronly pony was giving her.

“It most certainly is not a “Good” or for that matter “Morning” miss Sparkle. It is half-past noon and I have be forced to turn my offices into holding cells for the seemingly endless number of ponies who suddenly decided that today was a good day to start picking fights!” she snapped, causing Twilight to take a half step back in shock.

“Madam mayor, I...” Twilight tried to respond, but was cut off by the continuing litany of complaints that poured from the other pony's mouth.

“You? You!? Miss Sparkle, do not get me started on YOU,” the mayor snorted, though Twilight was certain that was just what the older mare intended to do.

“I certainly hope you have no intention of 'helping' in this situation, as it seems that whenever you do become involved, things often become worse then they were! I thought that having Celestia's personal student living in Ponyville would have proven to be of some benefit. At the very least, I expected an increase in visitors or had a few more bits sent our way from time to time, but that certainly has not been the case.”

Twilight was dumbstruck, barely able to comprehend what she was hearing. “H...how is that my fault!? I just live here, my taxes are paid for by my student accounts and...” she stammered, trying to defend herself, despite her brain screaming at how absurd it was.

The Mayor was unperturbed, whinnying to stop Twilight's protests. “Even so, I have found you are an incredible liability. Your very presence seems to attract all manner of disaster. Nightmare Moon, Discord, parasprites; Ponyville was peaceful and quiet until you arrived!”

The mayor started to advance on the young unicorn as she ranted and Twilight began to back away more quickly. “Of course, assuming such incidents were not entirely your doing, when there isn't some sort of disaster befalling our community, you find the need to create one! Such as that horrid doll you made half the town brawl over!”

“YouleaveMissSmartyPantsoutofthis!” was all Twilight could think to reply with against such a tirade, before fleeing from the irate public official. She thought it was insane of her, but the unicorn could swear that the mayor had spun around to try and buck her with both hooves just as she had started running.

Her mind was reeling and she prayed that this was all a bad dream, some cruel joke. “This isn't right! There has to be an explanation to all of this, a spell gone wrong, poison joke in the water, someth-Ooof!”

Twilight's train of though came to a crashing halt at the same time she did, barreling over another pony and sending the two of them tumbling to the ground. Twilight was the first to rise, her eyes spinning as she cleared her head.

“Ugh... sorry about that. I wasn't watching where I was going,” she apologized, before seeing that her impromptu speed bump had been none other than Rarity, laying in tangled heap of purple and white after the collision.

The elegant unicorn stood, brushing the dust from her coat and untangling her mane. “So I noticed, although I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything more from a pony so wrapped up in her own little world she gives no thought to even her own appearance, let alone that of anypony else.”

Twilight felt a lump form in her throat as she caught the edge in Rarity's voice and as the white unicorn's eyes narrowed, Twilight silently begged for mercy.

“It really is dreadful how you never seem to care about improving yourself, goodness knows the only time you ever bother to do more then basic hygiene is when I've practically dragged you to the spa. Though I do suppose that if you don't mind smelling of dusty books and ink then I've...” Rarity paused in the middle of her tirade, a look of horror on her face as she seemed to realize what she was saying.

Her eyes focused on the victim of her criticism, the purple unicorn on the verge of tears.“O..oh my, Darling, I'm so sorry! I have no idea what came over me!” Rarity said, desperately trying to fix the situation.

Twilight sniffled, barely holding back from sobbing, receiving such a tongue-lashing from the Mayor was one thing, but from one of her friends it was almost too much. “I... I smell like dusty books and ink?” she said, her voice cracking slightly as Rarity frantically sought for a way to not put her hoof in her mouth any more then she already had.

“Well darling, you seldom bother with perfume so it's understandable after you've spent a few hours in your library... but it isn't all the time!” the fashionista quickly clarified, seeing her friend's ears droop a little.

“I mean, with a little bit of care and effort, er... EXTRA effort, you could be one of the most glamorous mares in Ponyville!” the unicorn declared, a little too forcefully, before clearing her throat into her hoof.

“But that's beside the point right now. The point is: I'm sorry. I had no excuse to talk to you like that, let alone over such a trivial matter. Well, not that making oneself look more then presentable is a trivial matter...” Rarity caught herself before slipping down another digression as she approached Twilight, lowering her head and looking as contrite as she possibly could. “I'm sorry Twilight, for yelling, for insulting you. Please, forgive me?” she asked, a pleading smile on her face.

Twilight had managed to regain most of her composure, sniffing as she wiped her eyes with her leg. “A...apology Accepted.” she said, smiling at her friend after a few calming breaths.

Rarity sighed in relief, before gesturing to a table under the shade of a nearby awning with her head. “Oh thank goodness. I still cannot imagine what possessed me to lash out like that. Though I suppose I could certainly blame the morning I've had,” she said sheepishly.

“Every customer that walked into the boutique today was simply dreadful!” she lamented, taking the quizzical glance that Twilight had given her as an invitation to continue.

“They were utterly rude, complaining about every single detail, even if they had found everything perfect the night before and were simply picking it up after having it gift-wrapped!” she said, her hooves flailing to emphasize her distress.

“And then, when I've offered to make changes to their order, they yelled at me for wasting their time with unnecessary alterations!” Rarity snorted, slamming her foot down on the table before hanging her head.

“Also, it wasn't as if these were impossible to please clients. Most of these ponies have never given one complaint before and many of them are normally epitomes of gentility and graciousness.” Rarity sighed, unable to look Twilight in the eyes. “I couldn't take anymore of that brutish behavior, so I closed for the day. Spike, the little darling, was able to force the last group of customers out before I locked everything up and slipped out the back.”

Twilight's ears perked up at the mention of the dragon. “So, is Spike still at the Boutique watching things or...” she began to ask before Rarity shook her head.

“No, I sent him home before making my own escape. It's impossible to get any work done when there's practically an angry mob outside your window.” she admitted with a sigh.

“I imagine he's made it back to the library by now, though considering every pony suddenly decided to act like ruffians today, I do hope the dear is alright.” Rarity said, looking in the direction of Twilight's home, her face full of worry.

“Me too,” Twilight said, before looking at her friend with alarm. “Wait, what about Sweetie Bell, wasn't she with you?”

Rarity waved her hoof, a weary smile crossing  her face. “No, thank goodness. She and the other Crusaders spent the night at their Clubhouse. Applejack said she would keep an eye on them and Sweet Apple Acres is far enough out of town that they should be safe from all this fighting... I hope.”

Both the mares jumped from their seats as two scuffling pegasai suddenly crashed into a nearby stall. The pair of unicorns shared a panicked glance before backing away slowly from the flying hooves and feathers.

“This is getting ridiculous! This is decidedly not normal and I have no idea what's causing it!” Twilight groaned as she and Rarity trotted carefully around the ever escalating melee that seemed to have engulfed the heart of Ponyville.

“Agreed darling. Perhaps we can find an answer in the library? The sturdy, safe, secure library?” Rarity asked with an over-eager smile on her face. She had no desire to get caught up in any of the fighting and from the looks of the many sprawled out ponies, their bodies swollen with bruising, no pony was safe. Stallions, mares and even foals seemed to be getting swept up in the wave of violence and anger.

“We'll have to cut through the middle of Ponyville Park and reach the Library from the south.” Twilight said, rubbing her chin as she mentally mapped out the route.

Rarity shot her a confused look before the shudder that ran through Twilight's body halted her question. “You weren't the only pony to tear into me today Rarity,” the lavender unicorn said with a frown. “We'd pass by Town Hall if we took the short route and I have no desire to find out if the mayor is willing to tear into me physically as well.”

The pair slipped into the park and with the lack of other nearby ponies, the idyllic place made it seem impossible that just beyond its grassy limits, the rest of Ponyville was ripping itself apart.

As they crossed the small stream that divided the park, Twilight paused, seeing a familiar, multicolored pegasus ahead. “Uh oh. I really don't want to deal with Rainbow Dash if she's going to yell at me too.” the unicorn whispered before Rarity nudged her.

“Far be it from me to throw a friend to the timber-wolves, but if we don't get it over with you know full well we simply cannot outrun her,” Rarity reasoned, smiling guiltily as they slowly drew closer.

However, once the pair was nearly on top of their friend, both unicorns saw that Rainbow Dash was crouched in front of a bush and seemed to be frantically begging and pleading with it.

“I didn't mean it! Come on, I'm sor...” Dash stopped and turned towards her friends, a look of panic and terror across her face as she took wing and darted towards them. Rarity spied the tip of a pink mane beneath the shrub and, remembering her own outburst, pieced together what happened.

“Fluttershy's under there, isn't she?” the unicorn asked, giving Twilight a glance when Dash nodded, her eyes ringed with held back tears. “I'll try talking with her. Fluttershy requires a 'gentle' touch,” Rarity said, trotting over to the bush as Rainbow landed in front of the other pony.

“I... I yelled at her Twilight,” she said, her features twisting into a panicked look when the unicorn reached out with a hoof to try and calm her down.

Twilight backed away a half step at the sudden movement. “Wh..what... er... Start from the beginning,” she instructed, unsure of how to comfort her freaked out friend. However, she hoped that talking through it would calm the frantic pegasus down. Rainbow sniffed a little, trying to hold back her emotions as she looked back towards the bush.

“W... well, I was just finishing up my weather patrol rounds for the day. You know, clearing clouds, keeping an eye to the sky in case anything blew in from the Everfree, the normal stuff. There was only one little puff of a cloud was where it shouldn't have been, so I figured I'd knock it out and get some stunt practice in. As I'm heading over to it, I see this big fight break out on the ground.” Rainbow seemed to becoming calmer, causing Twilight to breath a sigh of relief as the pegasus continued her story. “Then I spot Fluttershy down in the park and she's heading straight towards the brawl. So I swoop down to give her a heads up and she snaps at me! Told me I should mind my own business...”

“And that's when you yelled at her.” Twilight said, but Rainbow shook her head furiously. “Twilight, I didn't just yell, I exploded!” The Pegasus's wings drooped as the Unicorn tried to comfort her. “I'm certain it wasn't that...” Again, Twilight was cut off by Rainbow Dash suddenly flying up mere inches from her face.

“You don't get it. I completely lost it! You didn't hear the things I screamed at her, the terrible things I said. It was like I was one of those stupid bullies from back in school, only twenty times worse.” She slumped back to the ground and hung her head in shame, unable to look at anything but her hooves.

“Fluttershy's been my friend for like, forever. I've known her since I was a filly and I...” Dash heard the rustling of leaves and the muffled sound of hooves on grass. She whipped her head around and was staring straight into a pair of quivering cyan eyes.

“Fluttershy, Pal! I'm sorry! Please don't hate me, I didn't mea...” Before Rainbow could say another word, she was suddenly embraced by the butter colored pegasus.

Fluttershy buried her face in her friend's multicolored mane as she weakly beat at the pegasus with her hooves. “You Big Meanie!” she cried out as the pair descended into a blubbering pile of apologies.

Rarity and Twilight took a step back and shared worried looks. “The poor dear was shocked by Rainbow's outburst, but seemed equally shocked by her own. Darling, are you alright?” the white unicorn asked her friend, who was fixated on a massive dust cloud that had appeared on the edge of the park.

“My stars, darling! Is that who I think it is at the center of that brutish display!?” Rarity gasped, drawing the attention of the two reconciled pegasai. Twilight nodded and the four galloped towards the cloud, kicked up as it was by a half-dozen ponies brawling in the street.

Above the din and flailing hooves a singular voice rose above the rest, delivering an endless litany of challenges. “I'll teach you ta insult mah hat... Kicks McGee, Face. Face, Kicks McGee... WHAT did you call mah granny!?”

One by one, ponies staggered from the cloud of dust, hoof-marks on their faces as they dropped to the ground, while others flew from the swirling melee to land in crumpled heaps sporting their own bruises.

Slowly, the combat faded and the victor limped out from the settling dust cloud. Applejack was battered and bruised, her right eye swollen shut by the dark ring of a horseshoe shaped shiner.

She limped towards her friends, grumbling as she went, but by the time she reached them she seemed to have calmed down from the fight. “Hey girls, good ta see friendly faces for a change. Seems the folks 'round here don't have a lick of manners ner sense today.”

Twilight looked aghast at her friend's injuries, quickly trotting over to the earth pony. “Applejack! Are you alright!? Do you have a concussion, any internal bleeding, did...” Twilight paused as she realized the sheer number of ponies that were now unconscious in the dust. “...did you really do all of that!?” she asked with disbelief as her friend chuckled at her.

“Reckon I did. Them ponies started it first, but I sure as sugar finished it!” she said with a measure of weary pride.

Before Twilight could say another word, Rarity rushed up, knocking the other unicorn out of the way. “Applejack! I thought you were looking after the Crusaders! Don't tell me Sweetie Bell is out in all of this!” the fashionista demanded, beside herself with worry.

The farm-pony smiled, shaking her head. “No need to worry none about that Rarity. They were up at the crack of dawn and spend most of the morning crusadering. Big Macintosh was telling them his cutie-mark story when we got this big rush order fer one of tha shops in town.” Applejack paused a moment to shift her weight, easing the pain in her front leg.

“So I just loaded up tha cart and headed into town. It shouldn't a taken me more then an hour. 'Course, that was a'fore all tha ruckus started,” she explained, propping up her hat as she surveyed the damage.

“Not sure when or why it 'appened, I sorta recall a couple of stallions coming up and startin trouble... then I jus started seein red.” she finished with a sigh.

“With those injuries you'd better come to the library with the rest of us,” Twilight began, before Applejack gave her a stubborn shake of the head.

“Nuthin doin Twi, I'm headin straight back to tha farm before...” Now it was AJ's turn to be cut off by a frantic unicorn. Twilight refused to let her friend wander into anymore danger.

“No! There is no way that I'm letting any of you out of my sight!” she said with a bit more force then she intended. “Er, what I mean is: The whole Town is like this. If you go off alone then next group of off-base, buck-happy brawlers might be more then you can handle.”

She turned to the rest of her friends. “That goes for the rest of you too! We're far more capable together then apart and if we're gonna put a stop to this we have to stick together!”

Applejack gave her friend a lopsided smile. “Sugar-cube, that's prolly for tha best an all, but do you have any idea what tha hay we're try'in ta stop?” she asked pointedly.

“No, I don't,” Twilight admitted. “What I do know is that we are running out of time. If we spend the time trying to figure it out without acting, there might not be a Ponyville left to save,” she said, her ears drooping slightly.

“Then why tha library, why not jus grab Pinkie and go from there?” the orange pony asked. “Seems ta me that studyin' up an answer is just what yer plannin ta do,” Applejack said, stretching her leg with a wince.

Twilight was unperturbed and took in a deep breath to calm herself. “Because we need to find Spike,” she said definitively.

“This... this is beyond us. It's certainly beyond me at any rate and the longer we take the more ponies get hurt.” Twilight began to pace back and forth nervously, unable to remain still.

“We have to tell the princess. At the very least request her to send the Royal Guard to try and restore order and Spike's our fastest way to tell her.” She looked to each of her friends as she finished, seeing nods of agreement.

“Though I do think we need to find Pinkie Pie, I'm worried about her,” Twilight admitted, looking around.

Everypony jumped as the sound of crashing cans came from a nearby ally, accompanied by a pink form that staggered from the shadows on wobbly legs. “N... no need to look for me. I'm right here,” Pinkie Pie said to the collective gasps of her friends.

Her hair was straight, cascading over her face like a wet mop. Her eyes, puffy and red from crying gave her a haunted look. She was covered from hoof to head in dripping red splotches and she rubbed her eyes, giving a halfhearted smile before her face cracked.

“I am a BAD PONY!” she wailed before collapsing into a sobbing heap.

***

“Spike! Spiiike!?” Twilight called out as she burst into the library. The journey had felt like an eternity, with far too many close calls as they navigated the citywide battlefield. Just behind her, the remaining ponies staggered into the library and quickly closed the door behind them

Pinkie hung like a sack of melted candy in Rainbow Dash's hooves, still sobbing even as she was helped along by her friends. Of the others, only Applejack seemed truly worse for wear, the limp in her stride becoming more pronounced despite her best efforts to shrug it off.

They lowered their distraught friend to the floor as Twilight darted from room to room, searching for her dragon assistant. “I can't find Spike anywhere! Everything's just like I left it this morning so I don't think he made it here after leaving Rarity's,” the lavender pony said, breathing heavily from her search.

She peeked nervously out the window, seeing that thankfully they had seemed to make it to the library unnoticed. Still it was small comfort for the unicorn. Owlyicious and Peewee were also gone without a trace and Twilight's sense of worry only deepened.

Nearby, the others had succeeded in calming the party pony and Pinkie Pie managed a small smile as her normal poofiness started to creep back into her hair.

“C'mon sugar-cube, we know you're not a bad pony. Now, why don'tcha tell us what got ya so worked up.” Despite the severe limp that Applejack was nursing along with the other injuries she had received, the earth pony's voice was nothing but comforting.

Pinkie sniffed and wiped her nose with her leg, causing Rarity to suppress a slight shudder as she finally stopped sobbing. “I... I yelled at the twins!” Pinkie lamented, burying her face in her hooves.

“They were fighting over a toy and none of my usual routines were working. They just wouldn't play nice!  I even did the flour-dump and still nothing. I... I don't know what happened, I just started screaming at them.”

She looked away from her friends, her face burning with shame. “They started crying and I panicked. I backed off and went downstairs to get the Cakes, but they were fighting too.” Her blue eyes shimmered with tears before Fluttershy put a comforting hoof onto her shoulder.

“I've never seen them fight like that. They were shouting and throwing things. Mr. Cake threw a jam jar at me and I only barely ducked, still got all sticky though.” she explained, looking at the red spots all over her coat and mane.

“I got so scared, I just ran out the door... an...and then every pony was fighting outside and...” Her confession was ended by another comforting hoof, followed by a soft hug.

“It's alright sugar-cube. We know it ain't yer fault. Everypony's been losin it today so ya didn't do anything wrong. We jus need to figure out what caused it. Right Twilight?” Applejack said, looking to her friend for support.

The purple unicorn nodded. “With Spike not here and the fighting outside getting worse, it looks like we don't have any choice but to try and find an answer ourselves.” She looked to each of her friends, her voice taking on the authoritative tone it had whenever she was organizing things.

“First, Fluttershy, take Applejack into the bedroom and see how badly she's hurt. I've got a first aid kit in the bathroom upstairs. Rarity, take Pinkie Pie into the bathroom and help her clean herself up.” Her friends nodded as each took their charge in hoof.

“Right, now no fussing Applejack... up you...oof... go.” Fluttershy gasped, struggling to move the grumbling earth pony. Though AJ protested that she was fine, she let the cream colored Pegasus to lead her away.

“Come along dear, lets get that sticky mess taken care of. Just relax and let me handle everything,” Rarity said to the normally upbeat pony, her voice dripping with sympathy.

Twilight watched the ponies head upstairs before turning to the hovering form of Rainbow Dash. “Alright Rainbow, I need you to do something that... well it's rather dangerous,” the unicorn said with a measure of hesitation.

Rainbow Dash snorted , puffing out her chest. “Danger? Ha! Whatever you need, I'll get it done! You know I'll never leave my friends hanging!” the pegasus declared and Twilight smiled at her friend's bravado.

“Thank you Rainbow,” the unicorn replied, before her expression became serious. “I need you to get out there and find Spike. Head towards Sweet Apple Acres and keep an eye out, but if you don't see him...” She looked away and took in a deep breath.

“If you don't find him, see if things are alright with the Crusaders and the Apple Family.” Dash nodded and made to leave by an upper window when Twilight stopped her.

“If you don't find Spike and after you've checked out the farm...” Twilight hesitated, knowing that her friend wouldn't like what she was about to say. “I need you to fly to Canterlot and tell the princess about what's going on.”.

Dash turned and looked at Twilight in disbelief. “Fly to Canterlot!? You want me to just take off and leave you all in the middle of this mess! After I've found out whether or not things are alright with AJ's and Rarity's families!? They need to be told right away!” The pegasus was furious but calmed down when she saw the look in Twilight's eyes.

“Rainbow, listen to me. You're the fastest flier in all Equestria, but even with your speed it will take time to reach Canterlot, time that's rapidly running out. With every second that passes, more and more ponies are getting hurt and I have no other way to contact the princess. If you can't find Spike quickly then your speed is all we have.” The unicorn stared into the pegasus's magenta eyes before a look of determination crossed Rainbow Dash's face.

“You can count on me!” the Pegaus declared with a nod, before opening the window beside her. She paused a moment, turning to give her friend a salute before taking off into the sky. Twilight's magic closed the window behind Rainbow Dash as she turned towards her bookshelves to begin the search for an answer.

***

What felt like hours had passed and sky had darkened outside, though it wasn't yet near nightfall and each of the five ponies looked up at the window when a tapping was heard against the glass. To the shock of the assembled ponies, Rainbow Dash, soaking wet and covered in small burns tumbled through it the second it was unlocked.

Twilight cried out and rushed over to her friend. “RAINBOW! What happened, are you hurt?” the unicorn asked frantically as the Pegasus sat up and shook the water from her mane.

“Some bruises, spark burns, nothing seriously hurt except my pride,” the pegasus said before collapsing on a nearby cushion. “Never found Spike and when I got to Sweet Apple Acres I couldn't find anypony. The whole place was deserted,” she began, looking at both Applejack and Rarity with a deep frown.

“I'm sorry. I couldn't find a trace of the crusaders. Though their clubhouse was trashed,” she  admitted apologetically, unable to look her friends in the eye.

Twilight listened intently, then looked at Rainbow expectantly. “What about Canterlot?” she asked, nervousness tying her insides in knots.

The defeated pegasus sighed and shook her head. “I'm sorry Twi, but it's a nightmare outside. The fighting isn't just on the ground, but the sky too. There's a storm over Ponyville that's bigger then I've ever seen. Every pegasus in town seems to be kicking it into overdrive, bucking lighting at each other and causing horrific crosswinds.” Rainbow Dash hung her head in shame and closed her eyes.

“I tried to make it through. I really did, but my speed and stunts are no match against a storm that's actively trying to zap me out of the sky.” She stretched her wings and looked gloomily around at her friends. “How about you guys, any luck figuring out what the hay is going on?”

Each of her friends looked at Twilight, who managed to give a small smile. “Actually, yes.” She trotted over to a book that had been propped up on one of the reading stands. “It's our best guess at any rate, but we think it might be a Fury,” the unicorn explained, though Rainbow Dash simply looked bewildered.

“A Fury? What the hay is that?” the pegasus asked, her depression giving way to curiosity as Twilight cleared her throat.

“A-hem. According to The Malign Menagerie: A Complete Compendium of Malevolent Mythical Monsters, a Fury is a spirit of destruction that draws strength and power from the unleashed ire of other creatures. It magnifies feelings of frustration and anger until those feelings explode into full blown rage.” Twilight paused in her impromptu lecture as her friend scratched her head.

“So, it makes ponies mad at each other?” Rainbow dash asked, before Applejack nodded, half her head wrapped in bandages along with most of her body.

“Eyup. They're kinda like the Wendigos from the Hearth-Warming's Eve stories, 'cept a lot more ornery. Seems they get more powerful the more folks around them start getting hot under the collar.” the farm-pony explained, wincing as she shifted on her cushion.

“It's more insidious then that,” Twilight added, turning to face the book. “Furies are fierce in appearance, with wings that look like bladed spines, serpentine bodies with long tails, razor-edged talons on their hind claws and reptilian heads with mouths full of sharp teeth.” As she completed her description, the unicorn couldn't help but shudder at the thought of the creature.

“Ugh... how hideous.” Rarity remarked, before Twilight looked at her with worry in her eyes and a serious expression on her face.

“It's not just that, Rarity. Everything about them implies a predatory nature and that they...  are carnivorous,” the Unicorn explained with a gulp.

“They weaken others through in-fighting, growing ever stronger from the anger and violence that ensues. Then, when their prey is exhausted and too weak to keep fighting...” Twilight couldn't bring herself to say it, but shuddered and clenched her eyes at the thought of such a creature out in Ponyville with so many battered ponies littering the streets.

Rainbow's face flushed with anger and she darted up from her seat. “Then let's go out there, find this thing and buck it back to wherever it came from! There is no way that I'm letting this thing eat anypony!” the pegasus declared, ready to argue tooth and hoof against her friends if they thought differently. To her surprise, Twilight smiled and looked to the others.

“Then we're all in agreement,” she declared, levitating a scroll and a few other items into a nearby saddlebag. She noticed the confused look Rainbow was giving her and as the others rose from where they were sitting, turned towards the pegasus.

“We had been thinking the same thing, even battered as some of us are, our best chance now to save Ponyville is to find and stop the Fury,” Twilight explained, draping the bags over her back.

“In case we do find Spike though, I've written a letter explaining everything to the princess.  Though, I have to admit, I think our chances are actually better of the Fury finding us first,” she said with a small measure of worry.

“Why do you say that? I mean a winged lizard thingy looking like it's covered in cutlery shouldn't be too hard to spot.” Rainbow asked, glancing over to see Applejack trying to convince Fluttershy that she was fine, despite having her front hoof in a sling.

“Furies are like the true sources of anger, they often go unnoticed and unacknowledged,” Twilight said, quoting a line from the book, though her friends all just gave her blank stares.

The unicorn brought her hoof to her face and rolled her eyes. “Ugh... simply put, Furies can go unseen.”

“So... they can turn invisible?” Fluttershy asked, before blushing when she saw how irritated her friend seemed to be getting. Each of the ponies shifted nervously, afraid of what might happen should Twilight be the next of them to succumb to the Fury's power.

The unicorn sighed and calmed herself down before looking at the pegasus. “Sort of. If I understand things correctly, a Fury has a kind of camouflage that works best if they aren't being actively looked for. Also, thanks to Rainbow Dash we can reasonably assume that it will be outside to better feed on the airborne fighting going on between the pegasai.” Seeing that everypony was ready, the six mares opened the door to the library and set off into the embattled town.

None of them were prepared for what they saw and for a moment, they were frozen at the site of their home. Her eyes shrunken to pinpoints, Twilight felt a tightening knot of fear form inside of her as she realized Rainbow Dash hadn't been exaggerating.

The houses and buildings of the town were heavily damaged and the streets were carpeted with the bodies of fallen ponies. Even worse, the ever-escalating battle between ponies still raged. Earth ponies attempted to trample others beneath their hooves, while everywhere the flashes of lightning and magic could be seen.

Above it all, a towering storm cloud of swirling vortexes, arcing lightning and surging winds churned in the sky, reflecting a dull red from the many fires that had broken out in the town below. With one direction as good as another, they moved through the shattered city streets in the direction of Sugar Cube Corner.

Their pace was slow, due in part to Applejack's injuries but also to their desire to search and the need for stealth. They waited in the shadow of a collapsed home as a trio of earth ponies stampeded by. Twilight looked towards the others, a haunted look in her face.

“Is something wrong dear?” Rarity asked, bringing Twilight out of her reverie. “Besides the obvious, of course,” the white unicorn clarified as the others turned towards their friend.

Twilight shook her head. “Did you see their eyes? They were bright red, like heated iron. I think there's more to this Fury's abilities then was in that book,” she muttered despondently.

As Fluttershy drifted towards her to offer comfort, Twilight's eyes caught a bit of movement in the rubble across the street. She suddenly jumped up, sending the pegasus fleeing back with a squeak.

“SPIKE!” the unicorn called out, rushing out into the street, followed quickly by her friends as they galloped towards the purple dragonling. Twilight slowed and trotted towards the cart he had been hiding beneath, a relieved smile on her face. “Spike! Where have you been? I've...”

“You've what, got a letter for me to send?” Spike interrupted, looking her with an annoyed glare. He folded his arms as he stood there, his tail thrashing from side to side.

“Well, yes. But...” Twilight began to speak again, only to begin shivering inside as she caught the disturbing gleam in the young dragon's eyes.  Her words stuck in her throat when it was clear he wasn't going to let her finish a sentence.

“I thought as much! That's all I'm good for isn't it?” Smoke curled from the little dragon's nostrils and  Twilight fell back on her haunches as he advanced on her.

“It doesn't matter that I've been smashed, blasted, shocked and nearly trampled! Oh nooo, not an 'Are you Alright Spike?' or a 'I was so worried about you!' NO! Nothing but another stupid letter to send!” Twilight tried to choke out a reply, but found it died in the face of Spike's tirade. “That's all I am to you isn't it? A piece of furniture, a purple and green mailbox!”

“What? No... Spike I was...” Twilight tried to stop him, tried to reassure him, but even her friends were unable to react to the sheer vitriol that poured from the dragon's mouth.

“Ever since I can remember I've been picking up your messes! I make you breakfast, dust your shelves, miss out on everything because you've decided that some little study project just has to be done!” Emerald flames licked at his lips, smoldering embers released by his rage.

“Well I've HAD it! I'm through being your slave, through being walked over and pushed around! You want a letter sent, buy a stamp!” he turned to walk away before looking back over his shoulder at the unicorn, who looked as if she might shatter if he said another word. “Or better yet... Take your stupid letter and choke on it!”

Spike quickly stormed off into the collapsed ruin of a nearby building as Twilight's friends rushed up to her, each attempting to calm the stunned pony.

“Now darling, do..don't take what he said to heart. After all, we know that Spiky Wikey is just under the influence of that dreadful Fury.” Rarity offered before Applejack stepped in front of Twilight.

“That's right sugar-cube, you know the little guy didn't mean it,” she said, but as her friend's wide eyes flitted back and forth between her and Rarity, Applejack felt a lump form in her throat.

Nearby, Pinkie Pie seemed to deflate, whispering only a quiet “Oh, no,” before Twilight began to tremble.

“B...but that's just it AJ, he did mean it,” Twilight said, continuing her explanation before her friends could protest. “The Fury doesn't create anger, it magnifies it. If it drove Spike to that outburst, deep down inside, everything he said is something he really felt and... and it's true! I've been abusing his help all this time. I didn't mean to, I...”

Pinkie's eyes went wide and she shouted a warning to her friends as her own body began to spasm and shake with the rare symptoms of a Doozy. “EVERYPONY BACK!”

Her warning came just in time as, seconds later, Twilight began to crackle and spark with power, accompanying the sobs that were now wracking the unicorn's body.

Her world was collapsing and Twilight's emotions strained to their breaking point. Memories of Spike flashed before her eyes and all the perceived ills she had done to him were magnified, turning her actions into the most tyrannical of cruelties.

Somewhere, lurking and grinning, the monster tasted her anger, her growing rage. Cruelly, hungrily, it stoked the wrathful embers buried in her heart. Spurred on by the power of the Fury, Twilight's anger at herself boiled over and through her sobbing, the pony's face twisted with rage.

The other ponies could only watch helplessly as her tail and mane erupted into flames, their eyes widening in horror as the unicorn gave a shriek of anguish.

Twilight's horn flared with power and with a thunderous roar it surged back over her body. The untamed cascade of magic enveloped her like a shroud of incandescent fire, only to detonate with a blinding flash. The ground shook violently from the blast, knocking Twilight's friends to the ground.

Applejack, protected from the brightness by her hat and bandages, rose shakily to her feet. “Twilight, what in tarna...” the earth pony's voice died in her throat as she looked over at her friend.

Twilight sat where she had been before, her horn blackened and her lavender coat smoldering with sparking residue from the backlash. Her eyes still shimmered faintly as the magic faded away, leaving them dull and lightless.

“TWILIGHT!” Even as the earth pony raced towards her, Twilight's eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed to the ground unmoving.