Nyx found herself in the ruins of Trostland, sitting on the edge of a large crater and staring off into the distance. Some distance behind her, Devrim Kay kept vigil in the old church watchtower, looking for roving Fallen patrols, but Nyx wasn’t too worried about enemies at the moment. She had a sneaking suspicion that she was about to receive a rather eccentric guest. As if the gods heard her thoughts, a twig snapped and Nyx heard footsteps behind her. “Hiyah! I’m Pinkie Pie! What’s your name?” a cheerful and energetic voice called out.
Nyx looked back over her shoulder and found a bubblegum pink pony wearing a huge smile. Her mane was a slightly darker shade of pink and her bright blue eyes seemed to sparkle. Nyx let out a sigh and shook her head. “I suppose I should ask what you are doing here.”
Pinkie recoiled with surprise. “Really? That’s all you have to say?” she asked.
Nyx slowly rose to her feet and turned to face her guest. “It’s a legitimate question. Believe me, I have seen stranger things than pastel colored talking ponies.”
The Pinkie’s eyes went wide and her mouth gaped open. “Really? Then what IS the strangest thing you’ve ever seen, huh? Tell me, tell me, tell me!” She then started to bounce around while shrieking “Tell me!” Nyx was pretty sure she could hear springing sound effects. “To be perfectly honest, I lied.”
At this, Pinkie stopped bouncing around and frowned up at Nyx. “Lied about what?”
“The strangest thing I’ve ever seen,” Nyx said.
Pinkie tilted her head to the side. “Now I’m confused. So am I the strangest thing you’ve ever seen or not?”
“The short answer is no,” Nyx admitted. When Pinkie opened her mouth, Nyx put her finger up for silence. “But I don’t know what the strangest thing I’ve ever seen is. After a while, you sort of become numb to all the weirdness that goes on.” Nyx shook her head and put her hands on her hips. “Just how did you get here anyway?”
“Oh! So Princess Twilight Sparkle is the Princess of Friendship, and in her castle is the Cutie Map, which is a map of alllllllll of Equestria. When there is a friendship problem, our cutie marks will appear on the map and show us where the problem is so we know where to go. So anyway, I went to the castle to talk to Twilight about an upcoming party we were having, when suddenly, my Pinkie Sense started to tingle. I knew it was a big one because my whole body started to shake all over like this,” Pinkie said and demonstrated for Nyx by vibrating at high speed. “So anyway, I checked the map and I saw my cutie mark hovering over the map and going completely bonkers! I had no idea what was going on since the map had never acted like that before! To my complete shock and amazement, my cutie mark left the map and began buzzing around the mirror that Twilight keeps in her library to go to the human Equestria to visit Sunset Shimmer. At this point, my Pinkie Sense was shouting at me REAL loud, so I guessed that I should go through the mirror. To be completely honest, I thought I would end up in the human Equestria, but here I am instead!” Pinkie took a deep breath and made a squee sound when she smiled.
Nyx listened to Pinkie’s story and thought carefully. “So let me ask you this. When the Cutie Map shows a friendship problem, how do you know what the actual problem is and how to solve it?”
At this, Pinkie’s face fell a little. “Well, it’s not very obvious at the start. Usually we go to the location, ask around, and kinda figure it out as we go.”
“That doesn’t seem very efficient,” Nyx said.
“Not really, but we get to meet interesting ponies and other creatures of Equestria so that’s kind of nice,” Pinkie replied. “Like this one time Rainbow Dash and I went to Griffonstone and ended up helping all of the griffons realize that they didn’t need a fancy golden statue to restore their kingdom.”
“By the power of friendship?” Nyx asked sarcastically.
“Yup!” Pinkie replied with a smile.
Nyx considered this for a moment. “So you think the Cutie Map called you-” she pointed at Pinkie,“here-” she pointed at the ground, “for a friendship problem?”
At this, Pinkie rubbed her head and smiled sheepishly. “Well, yeah. The map hasn’t been wrong before!”
Nyx shook her head. “There’s no way I can convince you otherwise?” she asked.
“Nope!” Pinkie replied.
“And you have no idea what you are supposed to do here?” Nyx asked.
Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Obviously, there’s a friendship problem somewhere, or I wouldn’t be here, duh!” She cocked her head to the side and squinted up at Nyx. She made a hmm sound as she walked around the Hunter, taking in every detail. Pinkie stopped in front of Nyx and an actual lightbulb appeared above her head and clicked on. “Ah ha!” she proclaimed in a loud voice.
“Did you finally figure out why you are here?” Nyx asked.
“Nope! But I know who you are!” Pinkie said happily.
“Oh? Do tell then,” Nyx replied as she crossed her arms and leaned against a crumbling stone wall.
“You must be that crazy robot lady that Princess Luna met that one time she came here!” Pinkie exclaimed. Her face was glowing brightly, showing how impressed she was with herself. “Ah yes, how silly of me,” Nyx replied flatly.
Pinkie looked around and finally noticed how run down everything was. Her smile faltered a little. “What happened here?” she asked.
“The princess didn’t tell you?” Nyx asked and Pinkie shook her head. “Well, a long time ago, something very bad that we call the Darkness came and made everything look like this. Lots of people died.”
“But not everyone right?” Pinkie asked hopefully. “You’re still here right? How did you survive?”
“I’m not sure that I did,” Nyx said.
Pinkie narrowed her eyes and she stared hard at Nyx. “Now I’m confused. First you say that almost everyone died, but you’re standing right there saying that you didn’t survive the Darkness?” Pinkie’s eyes suddenly went wide and she disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Nyx looked around and found Pinkie eyeing her suspiciously from behind a large rock. “I knew it! You’re some kind of zombie!” Pinkie shrieked. She stood up on her hind legs and started throwing cupcakes at Nyx.
Nyx shook her head and put her hands on her hips. “How can I be a zombie if I’m a crazy robot lady?” she asked. At this, Pinkie stopped mid-throw. “Huh. I guess you’re right,” she admitted, then stuffed the cupcake in her mouth.
The wind picked up and Nyx saw several snowflakes dancing lazily through the air. She looked around at the cupcakes Pinkie had thrown and a sudden idea struck her. “You’re the one who does all the baking, yes?” she asked.
“Yup! That’s me! Party planner and cake maker supreme!” Pinkie said, looking very pleased with herself. Nyx looked around and found the closest abandoned building. “Come with me. I think there’s something you can help me with afterall.”
“Ooh! What is it?” Pinkie asked and followed Nyx inside. Nyx cleared away the rubble so they would have space to work. When she was satisfied, she pulled out a large blue box with a small glass door on one side. It looked like a large lantern. Pinkie looked closer and saw a small fire was burning inside. “What’s this?” she asked.
“This is a small oven used for baking,” Nyx said. “During the winter, there’s a festival called The Dawning. Since there’s so many people with different beliefs that live in The City, we kinda just mashed up all the winter season traditions and festivals into this one big thing. Over the years, The Dawning has become a time for people to get together, give gifts, and wish blessings for the new year.”
“Ooh! So it’s like a big party?” Pinkie asked excitedly. “We have something like that too! Back in Equestria, we have the Hearth’s Warming Eve celebration every winter! It’s when we celebrate the founding of Equestria by singing songs, giving gifts, making treats, and being with loved ones. It’s one of my favorite holidays!”
“Why do I get the feeling that every holiday is your favorite holiday?” Nyx muttered to herself. She slapped her hand on the oven and said, “Anyway, this year is a little bit different. You see, everyone was given an oven like this one, and we were told to go out and gather ingredients to make treats for some of the more important characters, like the Vanguard for instance.”
Pinkie rubbed her hooves together excitedly. “This is gonna be good! I’m the best baker in all of Ponyville! So where do we get ingredients from?”
Nyx held out her hand a little metal ball with a ring floating around it appeared. “What is that!” Pinkie shrieked.
“Wah!” the Ghost startled and hid inside Nyx’s cloak. “This is my Ghost,” Nyx said and pulled it out.
Pinkie narrowed her eyes. “So, like, a dead pony then?” she asked.
“Why does everyone think that?” Nyx sighed. “This little guy found me and brought me back to life. His name is John Carter.”
“Why that?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head to the side.
“Because he found me on the planet Mars, and a long time ago, there was a series of books about a man named John Carter who went to Mars,” Nyx said. Seeing the confused look Pinkie was giving her, Nyx sighed. “Some people just don’t appreciate nerd humor.”
“Twilight likes books. She might get it,” Pinkie offered, but Nyx waved her off. “Nevermind about that now,” she said. John Carter’s eye flashed and a series of containers appeared. “What are these?” Pinkie asked as she looked inside one.
“These are the ingredients we’re baking with,” Nyx said.
Pinkie frowned. “But where are the eggs, milk, butter, flour, and sugar? You can’t bake without those.”
“I suppose you would be right, but these are special ingredients and this is a special oven,” Nyx said and gave the oven a pat. “Normally, we would just start combining ingredients and hope everything doesn’t blow up in our faces.”
“Yay! I like surprises!” Pinkie cheered.
Nyx pulled out a small notebook from a pouch on her belt. “However, in the interest of saving time and ingredients, I have all the recipes written down.”
“Okay,” Pinkie grumped. “How many do we have to make?”
Nyx scanned through her notes. “There is a total of fifteen people we have to make things for. Well, technically it’s sixteen.”
Pinkie thought to herself. “So, one thing for each of them?”
Nyx shrugged. “Sure, if I just want to make the oven a Masterwork. If I want to complete all of the Dawning baking requests, we’ll have to make 72 things.”
Pinkie’s eyes bugged out of her head in a comical manner. “72? That’s...that’s a lot!”
“I am well aware of this fact,” Nyx replied.
Pinkie carefully regarded the ingredients. “I don’t think we have enough to make all 72 at once,” she said.
“That’s fine. We’ll just start with one for everybody,” Nyx said. “Since we’re here in the EDZ, might as well start with Devrim Kay.”
“Who’s that?” Pinkie asked. Nyx pointed out the window and said, “He’s the old guy up in that bell tower who keeps an eye on this area and offers bounties and gear. A very proper English gentleman, he is.”
Pinkie pulled a top had an monocle out of nowhere and started sipping on tea. “Is that so? Sounds like a delightful old chap if I do say so myself.” Nyx couldn’t help but chuckle at her British accent. “In any case, we need one part Ether Cane, one part Perfect Taste, mix with fifteen parts Dawning Essence, and bake in the oven.”
Pinkie put the three ingredients together and gave a disapproving look. “I’m not really sure how this is supposed to work,” she said.
Nyx took the ingredients from Pinkie and put them on the tray. When she was satisfied with the arrangement, Nyx put the tray in the oven and shut the door. Seconds later, the oven dinged and Nyx pulled the tray out. To Pinkie’s complete surprise, the unlikely ingredients had transformed into perfect shortbread cookies. “They smell so good!” she said and smiled happily. “You know what? I take back everything I ever said about this new baking thing. How does it work?”
“Magic,” Nyx replied with a shrug. Before Nyx could stop her, Pinkie swiped the shortbreads off the tray and stuffed them into her mouth. “This is amazing! You’d never know these delicious things came from something so unappetizing!”
“And thanks to you, we have to do it all over again,” Nyx replied sternly. Pinkie stopped chewing and Nyx watched the comically large lump travel down her neck and into her belly. Properly chastised, Pinkie put in her best effort to help Nyx complete the baking. With how quickly the oven worked, it didn’t take very much time.
“So now we have to deliver them right?” Pinkie asked. Nyx placed the last of the treats into the decorative pointed oval boxes and John Carter scanned them into her inventory, along with the oven. “And this one is for the old guy in the tower?” Pinkie asked, pointing to the remaining box.
“Yep,” Nyx replied and scooped the box up into her hand. Pinkie followed her out of the building and across the square to the church. Once inside, Nyx looked around and gently pushed Pinkie out of the way under the stairs. “Look. Around here, people have seen a lot of strange things, but a pink talking pony will probably grab the wrong attention. Wait here and I’ll be right back.”
“Oh. Okay,” Pinkie said. Her face fell and her mane deflated a little as Nyx quickly jumped up the stairs. Pinkie sighed and drew circles in the dirt with her hoof. “This isn’t very much fun,” she said. She heard footsteps and perked up in time to see Nyx land in front of her. “On to the next location,” she said.
Pinkie looked up expectantly. “Are you going to make me wait around while you make all of the deliveries?” she asked.
Nyx made a show of thinking it over. “Well, I can’t really leave you here all by yourself unsupervised. Princess Luna would never let me hear the end of it if something happened to you.”
Pinkie put her hooves together and made the biggest and saddest face she could. “Pleeeeeeeeease?” she begged.
Nyx threw her hands in the air. “Why not? You’ve helped me out so far.”
“Yay!” Pinkie cheered and leapt for joy. Nyx quickly grabbed her and put her hand over her muzzle. “Hush! Now let’s go.” Pinkie nodded and Nyx put her down. She held out her hand and John Carter appeared. “To my ship!” Nyx said.
To Pinkie’s amazement (and Nyx’s growing regret) Nyx took her across the solar system to visit the various gift recipients. On Nessus, Pinkie and Failsafe hit it off immediately. Nyx made a note that for the continued sanity of the universe, they should never meet again. On Io, Asher Mir was grumpier than usual, most likely because Pinkie tried to cheer him up by telling jokes. On Titan, Sloane thanked Nyx for the gift and found Pinkie rather amusing. Ana Bray on Mars wanted to take samples of Pinkie’s hair and began mumbling to herself about cloning and genetic engineering. Nyx had a sudden premonition of Pinkie clones hopping around everywhere. At the Tangled Shore, the Spider wanted to keep Pinkie for his collection, but Nyx offered to trade for a dead Ghost shell she found. To Pinkie’s relief, he reluctantly agreed. Nyx wasn’t sure how Petra Venj would react, but took Pinkie along to the Dreaming City in the Reef anyway. Pinkie was more curious than anything and asked Petra why her skin was blue and glowy. Petra gave Pinkie a quick explanation of the Awoken, then asked about talking ponies. Pinkie did her best and promised to bring Princess Twilight the next time she came to visit to explain things better.
Once they were back in the ship, Pinkie asked, “Where are we going now?”
“To the Tower,” Nyx replied.
Pinkie heard the reluctant tone in Nyx’s voice. “Do you not want to go there?” she asked.
Nyx sighed. “I’m not a very welcome person there,” she said.
“Why not?” Pinkie asked.
“Once upon a time, I caused a lot of trouble and was locked up,” Nyx said.
“What did you do? Pull the wrong prank on the wrong person? Because that happened to Rainbow Dash. There was this one time-” Pinkie started, but Nyx cut her off. “No. I did something a lot worse.”
“And it was so bad they put you in jail?” Pinkie asked.
“Well I agreed to it,” Nyx said.
“But why?” Pinkie asked, clearly confused.
“Because I knew that when the time came, I would get out,” Nyx said.
Pinkie watched the stars race by the window. “So did you get locked up before or after the Darkness thingy happened?”
“After. Way, way, way after, but still a long time ago,” Nyx said.
“So what did you do if it wasn’t a bad prank?” Pinkie asked.
Nyx thought about what to say and how to say it. “A long time ago, a bunch of scientists built a machine to simulate probable outcomes.”
Pinkie’s eyes went wide. “You mean they built a machine to see the future?”
“Possible futures,” Nyx corrected. “The thing is, even the most powerful and advanced computers we have can’t accurately predict the future. There simply too many variables to consider and account for. As an added bonus, test subjects who used the machine were often driven to insanity.”
Pinkie frowned. “How is that an added bonus? Doesn’t sound very good to me.”
“It’s not. Just a figure of speech,” Nyx said. “Anyway, logs were kept of what was observed in the machine and everything was lost during the Collapse. Some time later, the journals were found and the machine was uncovered. And it is still used to this day.”
“Why? Doesn’t it still make people crazy?” Pinkie asked.
“Sure. But since the Ghosts have brought people back to life, and with crazy robot people like me, it’s not much of an issue anymore,” Nyx said.
“Oh. So what did you see in the machine?” Pinkie asked.
Nyx snapped her head around to stare at Pinkie, then turned back to the ship control console. “I saw the City in flames. I heard the people cry for salvation, but there was none to be had. I saw the Traveler encased in metal, the Light fading and dim. And I saw a false god, shining and bright, holding the galaxy in his grip. And when the Light is gone, twisted and corrupted, who is left to oppose a false god?”
Pinkie stepped back, unsure of what to say. Nyx looked back over her shoulder and saw the uncertainty on Pinkie’s face. “What’s wrong, little one? Do my words frighten you?”
“I...I don’t know,” Pinkie said with a quiver in her voice. “Maybe a little bit.” Nyx left Pinkie to her thoughts. After a while, Pinkie said asked, “But didn’t you say the future was unpredictable? Why did you get locked up just for using that weird machine?”
“Because I tried to make that future come true,” Nyx said.
This time, Pinkie visibly recoiled. “But why? Why would you want make such a terrible thing happen? Why not try and stop it?”
Nyx turned around to face Pinkie. “Didn’t Twilight Sparkle do the same thing?”
“Yeah, but she was trying to stop Starlight Glimmer,” Pinkie protested.
“And every time, each future was worse than the last, culminating in the total destruction of Equestria,” Nyx said.
“But that didn’t happen,” Pinkie said quietly. “Twilight stopped it, didn’t she?”
“All things must end,” Nyx said. “That is the way of things. And what I saw was meant to happen. The Story demanded it.”
“I don’t understand,” Pinkie said.
“It’s the same reason why all these bad things seem to happen to Equestria,” Nyx said. “Nightmare Moon, Tirek, Starlight Glimmer, Queen Chrysalis, the Storm King, Discord, all of it. The Story demands that a problem arise that only the Magic of Friendship can solve. That is the point, isn’t it?” Pinkie said nothing lay dejectedly on the floor.
“My world is a dreary and depressing place,” Nyx continued. “There is a legend from long ago about a girl named Pandora and her box. You see, Pandora was created as the first woman and all of the gods granted her different traits and characteristics. But most of all, she was given a box and told not to open it. In the end, she opened the box, and all the evils that plague the world, hunger, strife, war, pestilence, plague, famine, you name it, were released.”
“Why would you tell such a depressing story?” Pinkie asked as her mane went completely flat. “If you are trying to make me feel bad, congratulations, you win.” Pinkie half-heartedly threw bits of confetti into the air and sickly kazoo sounded from somewhere.
“Because, my little pony, there was one thing left in the box, and that was hope,” Nyx said. She moved her seat to the side and motioned for Pinkie to join her. Curious, Pinkie rose to her feet and slowly approached the window. What she saw took her breath away. The Earth filled the front window, suspended in space up ahead. From their current view, half of the planet was covered in shadow, the rest brilliantly illuminated by the sun. Wispy clouds covered various landmasses and Pinkie could see where large portions of land had been razed. Bits of metal glinted in the light and Pinkie realized these were the remains of ships, many similar to the one Nyx was piloting. While Pinkie was taking in the view, Nyx gently placed her hand on the pink pony’s head and rubbed between her ears. “There have been many horrible atrocities during and since the Collapse, but humans are a stubborn and resilient species. It’s things like The Dawning that give us hope that maybe someday, things will be better and we won’t have to fight so hard just to survive.”
“Hope,” Pinkie said quietly. “We have that in Equestria too, but sometimes it’s hard to have Hope.”
“I know,” Nyx said. They traveled the rest of the way to the Tower in silence. Before they departed the ship, Pinkie said, “You can be pretty scary sometimes, but I don’t think you are a bad person.” Nyx hesitated for a moment, the continued down the ramp. Pinkie frowned. What was that all about? She cautiously followed Nyx and tried to keep up, but it was so hard. Everything was so foreign and new. She wanted to stop and look at everything, but Pinkie suspected that Nyx wouldn’t like that very much. She put on her best smile and waved to everyone she saw. “Hi! How are you? Happy Dawning!”
Nyx saved the gifts for the Vanguard for last, since they were the most wary of her. Lord Shaxx tolerated Nyx only because she was an unholy terror in the Crucible (but only when she wanted to be). Banshie-44 said little and accepted his gift. The Drifter tried to make small talk, but Nyx had always been suspicious of him and his Gambit game. Once all the other gifts were handed out, Nyx went to see Ikora Rey. The Warlock mentor’s face was on the suspicious side of neutral when she saw Nyx, but accepted her gift with no issue. Commander Zavala was the same. Once the last gift had been given, Nyx and Pinkie found a quiet place to look down at the City. “It’s so big,” Pinkie said in awe.
“There used to be cities bigger than this one once upon a time,” Nyx said.
Pinkie looked up to the enormous white ball that hung over the City. “Is that the Traveler?” she asked and Nyx nodded. “You could say the Traveler is what started all of this in the first place.”
Pinkie hummed quietly to herself and absorbed the sights as much as she could. “I think it’s time for me to go back to Equestria now,” she said.
“Okay. I’ll take you back where I found you,” Nyx said.
Pinkie’s face clouded and she seemed to struggle with some inner turmoil. Finally she said, “I have a request for you.”
Nyx was a bit intrigued. “Okay Pinkie. I admit I’m curious as to what you could possibly want from me.”
“I want you to kill someone for me,” Pinkie said.
It took a moment for Nyx to process what Pinkie had said. “Why?” she managed to ask, clearly stunned.
Pinkie’s face fell and her mane started to droop. “This isn’t the kind of thing I would normally ask anypony to do for me,” she said. “I mean, it’s what you do isn’t it? Kill people and stuff?”
“Among other things,” Nyx said. “Besides, aren’t you ponies all about friendship, forgiveness, second chances, and all that? Who could you possibly want dead and why do you want me to do it? Are you absolutely certain there is no one else you could ask? And more importantly, how does any of that mesh with the fact the Cutie Map supposedly sent you here?”
Pinkie’s mane went completely flat and it seemed that her vibrant pink color had dulled considerably. “This is a personal request that doesn’t have anything to do with the Cutie Map, it was just an excuse for me to come here. If it makes you feel better, I don’t feel very good asking you to do this,” she said sadly.
Nyx put her hands together in a T and said, “Hold up. Stop. Back up. So you made up that story about the Cutie Map? Nopony back in Equestria knows where you are right now?”
Pinkie dropped down from the railing and sat down. A small cloud appeared over her head and started raining on her. At this point, Nyx wasn’t surprised by anything Pinkie did anymore. “Princess Luna knows. She’s the one who sent me here through the mirror.” Pinkie looked up with tears in her eyes. “This is a friendship problem, but one that only you can help with. I don’t think Twilight would understand.”
“The princess actually agreed to this?” Nyx asked and Pinkie nodded before continuing. “To be honest, I don’t really want this someone dead. I mean sure, they’ve been a big meanie pants and caused a lot of trouble, but I don’t want them dead dead, like, all the way dead. Maybe mostly dead?” Pinkie looked up to Nyx. “Hey. Can you mostly dead someone for me?” Her look was hopeful and some of the color started to return to her coat.
Nyx thought about Pinkie’s request very carefully. “I couldn’t help but notice you said someone, not somepony. I assume you actually mean that?” Pinkie nodded. “But you still haven’t told me who you want me to kill.”
“Not kill, just make them mostly dead,” Pinkie insisted.
Nyx sighed and rubbed her head where her temples would be. As an Exo, she couldn’t really get headaches, but the pounding and throbbing sensation felt real enough. “This is certainly the last thing I expected to happen today.”
“So you’ll do it then?” Pinkie asked.
Nyx stared down at her. “Doesn’t seem like you’re leaving me much of a choice,” she said. “Still need a target and a name though.”
“Oh. Right.” Pinkie got to her feet and looked Nyx in the eye the best she could. “I, Pinkamena Diane Pie, respectfully request that you, Nyx the Hunter, make Lord Tirek mostly dead.”
Nyx carefully considered what Pinkie had told her. “If Princess Luna agreed to this plan, why can’t she make this Lord Tirek mostly dead herself? If he’s so dangerous, why isn’t he locked up?”
“He is locked up in Tartarus,” Pinkie said. “He’s already escaped his prison once, who’s to say he won’t do it again? And even then, he helped influence a recent problem in Equestria. And as to why Princess Luna can’t do it, Lord Tirek is a minotaur with the ability to absorb magic. If any of the princesses, or any unicorn with powerful magic, appears, Lord Tirek will just steal their magic.”
Nyx stared long and hard at Pinkie, who looked up with the best puppy eyes she could manage. Nyx then knelt down next to Pinkie to look her in the eyes. “First things first, did the princess put you up to this?” she asked. After a moment of hesitation, Pinkie nodded. “And she chose you over all of your friends because everypony is accustomed to your crazy antics and nopony would think twice about it?” Pinkie nodded in reply.
Nyx looked down at her wrist, as if checking the time. “Fine. We’ve stood here long enough and the readers are probably getting bored with all of this talking.”
Pinkie brightened up instantly. “So you’re going to help?” she asked. When Nyx reluctantly nodded, Pinkie jumped up in the air. “HOORAY! My mission wasn’t a total failure after all!” She calmed down and looked up at Nyx. “Normally I’d throw a party or sing a song, but you probably wouldn’t like that right now, huh?”
“Whatever gave you that idea?” Nyx deadpanned. A sudden thought struck her. “Before I take you back, there’s somewhere I need to go first,” she said. Curious, Pinkie followed Nyx as she made her way through the tower to a residential area. Nyx came to an old apartment that looked like it hadn’t been lived in for some time. After a few seconds, Nyx jimmied the lock open and stepped inside. Everything was covered in a layer of dust, and Pinkie couldn’t help but sneeze. Nyx rummaged through piles of weapons and discarded armor until she found what she was looking for and John Carter scanned them into her inventory. Nyx then went back to the main Tower Plaza and quickly accessed her storage to grab a few more items.
“What are you doing?” Pinkie asked.
“I have a hunch I’m going to need some of this later,” Nyx said and went back to her ship in the hangar, with Pinkie following close behind.
Nyx took her ship back to the EDZ and they arrived with no incident at the same statue portal Princess Luna had used. “See you on the other side!” Pinkie said and hopped through. Nyx sighed. “Well. I think I know the answer to the strangest thing I’ve ever seen now,” she muttered and stepped into the portal.
When her eyes cleared, Nyx found herself standing in a large circular room covered with mirrors. When she looked closer, she noticed that each mirror had a different shape and border. Nyx took careful note of the mirror she had emerged from. Pinkie was standing in the middle of the room with a midnight blue pony. “So. This is what you actually look like Princess,” Nyx said.
Princess Luna’s eyes narrowed slightly and she took a careful step forward. “I wish to thank you for accepting my rather selfish request,” she said. “However, I am quite surprised to see that you have not transformed into a pony.”
Nyx looked down at her body. “You’ve seen my face Princess. I doubt the rest of me would look any better as a pony,” she said.
“Indeed,” Luna agreed, and slowly walked around Nyx. “Your armor seems to be different from last time.”
Nyx shrugged. “Times change and you have to upgrade to the latest and greatest.”
“Hey, I have a question,” Pinkie spoke up and waved her hoof in the air.
“Yes Pinkie?” Luna asked.
“If everypony is supposed to change when they go through the mirror, why didn’t I change into a human and Nyx change into a pony?” Pinkie asked.
Nyx and Luna shared a look and Nyx shook her head and shrugged. “Plot armor?” she suggested.
Pinkie frowned. “I thought plot armor was when the main character didn’t die in overly dangerous situations?”
“I think plot armor can mean whatever the author wants it to mean,” Nyx replied.
Luna coughed lightly into her hoof. “It seems that we have gotten off of track,” she said.
Nyx crossed her arms and faced the princess, her demeanor all business. “So. Where is this Lord Tirek and how do you want me to mostly dead him?”
Luna raised an eyebrow. “I am unfamiliar with ‘mostly dead.’ Is that some other form of punishment?”
“To a degree. I’m sure Pinkie can explain it to you,” Nyx said. “Or we could just avoid the whole thing and make him all the way dead.”
Luna hummed to herself as she thought. “I will leave it up to your judgement, since this sort of thing is your area of expertise.”
“Wow. You all must think I’m some kind of heartless monster. I don’t just kill people you know,” Nyx said.
“But isn’t that what you do best?” Pinkie asked. “Princess Luna made it sound like you were Nightmare Moon-levels of terrifying.”
“Is that so?” Nyx replied and slowly turned on Princess Luna, who was looking everywhere else and whistling nervously. “I may have embellished your part in my story a bit,” she admitted.
“Great. Now everypony thinks I’m the boogey man or something,” Nyx groused.
Again, Luna let out a small ‘ahem’ to draw everypony’s attention to why they were here in the first place. “To the business at hand. I do not particularly care for the details, only that your job has been completed.”
“Finally. Getting down to business,” Nyx said and rolled her shoulders. “The way I see it, since this Tirek guy is already locked up, I’ll just sneak in, do the job, and sneak out.” She sighed and shook her head. “You know princess, you really should discuss something like this with Celestia,” she said.
Luna appeared hurt and took a step back. “I understand your concern, but I believe it would be best if she did not find out about this. There was once a time where my sister would not hesitate to deal with our enemies with finality, but that time has long since past. These many years of relative peace have made her “lose her edge,” as you might say.”
Nyx tried to keep her exasperation to a minimum. “Isn’t this how the whole, Nightmare Moon thing, started in the first place?” she asked. “I thought you two were past the point of keeping secrets from each other.”
Luna narrowed her eyes. “What would you have me do then? Go up to her and say, ‘Excuse me, dear sister, but could I have a moment of your time? Yes thank you. I believe it is in Equestria’s best interest if Lord Tirek were made to disappear permanently forever. Yes, yes, you silly mare, I am suggesting we kill Tirek and be done with him.’”
“Well that doesn’t sound so bad to me,” Nyx said with a shrug.
Luna growled and stomped her foot in frustration. “Why must you always be so difficult?” She started to pace back and forth. “I knew this was a terrible idea,” she muttered.
Nyx saw Pinkie sitting off by herself and looking downcast. Nyx sat next to her and said, “I’m sorry the princess got you involved in this unpleasant business.”
Pinkie sighed. “I understand what Princess Luna is trying to do, but I don’t really understand why. Is this really the best thing we can do? I mean, he IS locked up in Tartarus.”
“But didn’t you say he escaped once and still caused problems after he was caught again?” Nyx asked and Pinkie nodded. Nyx gently rubbed Pinkie’s back and said, “I know this a new thing for you ponies, but sometimes people are just so bad, they can’t be redeemed. Isn’t it better then, to end one life to prevent the suffering of others?”
“Twilight wouldn’t agree, but I don’t know what she would say,” Pinkie said.
“I’m not opposed to doing this, but I want to do it for the right reasons,” Nyx said.
Pinkie looked up questioningly. “Right reason?”
Nyx sighed. “If I do this, and Luna doesn’t talk to Celestia about it, it will no doubt cause a rift to form between them, and in worse case scenario, lead to another Nightmare Moon situation.”
Pinkie gasped and put her hooves to her mouth. “I don’t want that,” she said.
“Nor do I, and I suspect Luna doesn’t either,” Nyx said. Luna walked up to them and sat down. Nyx could see she was struggling to keep her face neutral. She sighed and said, “Princess, from what I’ve heard, Equestria is a place full of happiness, love, and laughter. I feel that just by me being here is somehow tainting all of that.” Nyx rose to her feet and stared down at Luna. “I do not wish to see you, or anypony else taint their hooves with this act. I am aware of your history, but it will do you no good to regress to the days of yore.” She held up one finger. “I will do this thing for you on one condition. You must tell your sister of this, and when you call upon me in the future, you must both be in agreement.”
Luna’s eyes narrowed and she gave an angry snort. “So be it. I will agree to your terms.” Nyx held out her hand, Luna put out her hoof and they shook on the deal.
“Now I need to get to Tartarus,” Nyx said.
Deep inside Tartarus, Cozy Glow had no concept of time. How long had she been here? Days? Weeks? Months? Perhaps that was the point of Tartarus after all, to spend the rest of her days lost to memory. The fact she didn’t know how long it had been only added fuel to her rage.
There was no doubt she would escape and have her revenge on Princess Twilight and the others, but Tirek wouldn’t talk to her anymore. No matter. The old minotaur centaur had served his purpose. She would escape without his help, but she needed to get lucky.
As she paced around her cage the umpteenth thousandth time, a small crack appeared in the air. Intrigued, Cozy Glow stopped to watch as the crack suddenly split open into a jagged fissure and a figure unlike any she had ever seen emerged. It clearly wasn’t a pony, since it walked upright on two legs. Perhaps this was one of those “humans” that lived on the other side of the mirror. This strange person wore even stranger clothes. It looked like they were covered in bleached bones. What really caught Cozy Glow’s attention was the face. There were no eyes to speak of, but what looked like a large mouth. Ghostly purple flames danced in the mouth, casting an eerie glow inside the hood.
The strange person’s overall appearance was quite unsettling. Cozy Glow swallowed her fear and put on her best smile. “Hi there!” she called out, but the person didn’t seem interested in her. It walked past her and focused instead on Tirek’s cage, who had watched the whole thing with growing suspicion. It stopped before Tirek’s cage and seemed to look him over. “Are you the one called Tirek?” it asked with a decidedly feminine voice.
“Maybe, maybe not. That depends on who’s asking,” Tirek replied.
“I am,” the strange lady said.
Tirek hmphed to himself. “I find your pathetic attempts at intimidation amusing. Were I free from my prison, I would teach you a thing or two.”
The lady said nothing, but reached for a curved, jagged piece of metal at her hip. It seemed to glow with an unholy green aura. Warning bells started to go off in the back of Cozy Glow’s mind, but she stood rooted to the spot, unable to look away from what was happening.
Tirek’s eyes went wide. “What do you mean to do with that?”
The lady said nothing and her finger twitched against the curved part in her hand. Thunder echoed through Tartarus, and Cozy Glow fell back in surprise. Tirek stumbled back in his cage with twisted metal dagger sticking out of his chest. Sickly green motes of light began escaping from the wound. Tirek looked up in shock. “What have you done to me?”
The lady continued to say nothing and fired three more times. Tirek lay at the bottom of his cage and watched as the motes of light floated into the air and disappeared. “The princesses will hear of this. They will not stand for your actions. Their wrath will be terrible and mighty as it falls down upon your head!” Tirek closed his eyes and breathed his last.
A cold, icy hand gripped Cozy Glow’s heart. Her whole body felt numb all over. Surely this couldn’t be a human, could it? Twilight said humans were different, but to commit such a terrible act with ease was unfathomable to Cozy Glow. She was a fool to think that this person could or would help her. Cozy Glow’s legs gave out and she collapsed to the bottom of her cage. What if this wasn’t a human at all, but some sort of nameless, unspeakable evil that roamed across Equestra, waiting to dole out its cruel punishment. Such a creature was completely unknown to Cozy Glow.
The lady pulled out a green crystal and held it out. A wisp of white vapor emerged from Tirek’s body and was sucked into the crystal. When this was done, the lady put the crystal away and turned to Cozy Glow, who trembled with fear. The lady’s footsteps echoed loudly as she slowly stepped toward Cozy Glow’s cage. “G-g-g-get away from me!” Cozy Glow cried out. Her body trembled with fear. She found herself drawn into the formless void that was the lady’s face. A wave of dizziness came over Cozy Glow and she felt like she was going to be sick.
“I have heard of you, Cozy Glow,” the lady said. Cozy Glow’s mind went blank with panic. She knows my name. She knows what I’ve done. Cozy Glow stared at Tirek’s body out of the corner of her eye. I’m going to end up like that. The lady’s oppressive aura pressed down on Cozy Glow. Her breath caught in her throat. She felt like she was drowning. “Do not make me come back here,” the lady continued. “I will take you with me and show you things so horrifying and unspeakable, you will wish to share Tirek’s fate.” By now, Cozy Glow was sobbing uncontrollably. The lady reached for her jagged piece of metal and pointed it at Cozy Glow. Thunder cracked again, and Cozy Glow waited for her soul to be ripped from her body. When nothing happened, she opened her eyes and saw the thorny dagger embedded into the ground outside of her cage. The lady stared down at Cozy glow for a few more moments, then walked back through the portal.
Princess Luna nervously paced back and forth in the room of mirrors. Pinkie Pie sat off to one side, idly playing with a paddle ball. The portal opened and Luna was immediately buffered by a heavy, dark, oppressive aura. Poor Pinkie Pie wailed loudly and tried her best to dig a hole and hide. What is this dark and malicious intent? Luna wondered to herself. Just then, Nyx stepped through and Luna felt her heart drop into a black hole. Not even Nightmare Moon had been this terrifying. Luna fought back her fear and carefully approached Nyx.
Nyx turned her faceless gaze to Luna, who involuntarily stepped back. Nyx sighed and her whole body began to glow and change shape. When the light faded, she was wearing her previous armor and her dangerous aura had disappeared. Luna took a deep breath to calm her heart and Pinkie slowly peeked out of her hole, still shaking. “I guess I really am the boogey man,” Nyx mumbled to herself.
“So. It is done then?” Luna asked, her voice quivering slightly. Nyx reached into a pouch on her belt and pulled out the green crystal. “Tirek’s essence is trapped in this crystal. Unless reincarnation is a thing, I don’t think you will have to worry about him anymore.”
Luna took the crystal from Nyx. Such a small, simple thing. Who would have guessed it housed the soul of a monster. Luna put the crystal away and turned back to Nyx. “I take it the other matter has been settled as well?” Nyx nodded. Nyx reached into her belt again and pulled out a bronze colored disk the size of her palm with a turquoise stone in the center. “This strange coin is imbued with my Light. When you need me again, use this coin as a catalyst for the portal spell,” she said. Nyx held out her hand and John Carter appeared. His eye flashed and a metal cylinder with a long metal spike appeared on the ground. “This is a transmat beacon. When it is active, Ghosts can triangulate the source of the signal and essentially teleport Guardians to that location.”
Luna nudged the beacon with her hoof. “And why are you giving this to me?”
Nyx shrugged. “Consider it a Hearth’s Warming Eve gift. It’s already activated and it will start to flash when it is being used.”
“I see,” Luna replied, unsure what to do with the strange gift.
Nyx turned to Pinkie, who slowly emerged from her hole. “I am sorry for frightening you. That was not my intention,” she said.
“I know,” Pinkie replied softly. Before she could say more, hoofsteps were heard on the stairs and were rapidly approaching. “That will most likely be my sister coming to investigate,” Luna said.
“Oops,” Nyx said. Luna led Nyx back to the correct mirror and activated it with her magic. “Until next time,” Nyx said and stepped through. Just then, the door burst open and Celestia, Twilight and Cadence jumped in. All had their horns glowing and quickly looked around. Celestia’s eyes narrowed when she saw Luna standing in the center of the room with Pinkie hiding behind her. “Luna. What happened in here?” she asked.
“Fear not sister. I was showing Pinkie Pie the different mirror portals. One of them seemed to have residual magic stored inside and reacted to my own. Unfortunately, the mirror led to a less than desirable location,” Luna explained.
The look on Celestia’s face said she didn’t quite believe her. “Is this true?” Twilight asked.
Pinkie nodded. “Yup. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” she said and made the motion with her hoof.
Celestia still didn’t seem convinced. “We will discuss this later,” she said and left, with Twilight and Cadence following behind. When they were gone, Luna turned to Pinkie and said, “You didn’t have to lie.”
“I didn’t lie. The world Nyx comes from is very dark and dangerous,” Pinkie said.
Luna considered this. “Our business is finished here,” she said and Pinkie followed her out.
Later that night, Luna paced in her room. She had already raised the moon and most of her other duties were finished. Luna cast her gaze out to the balcony where she had placed the beacon Nyx had given her. She shook her head and snorted. What was she expecting to happen? She was acting quite silly, that was all. Luna’s ears perked up as she heard a light beeping sound and the beacon began to blink. A small light appeared and quickly grew bigger and brighter. When the light cleared, the smile on Luna’s face spread from ear to ear.
“Happy Dawning,” Hildr said.
“Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve,” Luna replied.
Sunset Shimmer sat at her desk, staring at her journal and pen in hand. This wasn’t the magic journal to Princess Twilight, but a plain old notebook. Several pages had been filled in and scribbled out in frustration. Now Sunset stared at a blank page, struggling with what to write. Outside, the wind gently drifted the snow against her window and door. School was out for the winter break and Sunset was going out to Applejack’s farm in the morning for a sleepover with her friends. Sunset sighed and pushed away from her desk. As she spun around in her chair, Sunset’s gaze settled on the longsword hanging on her wall. A thin smile appeared on her face as she recalled the memories associated with the sword. An idea finally struck her and Sunset put the pen to the paper.
Dear Hildr,
This letter will probably never reach you, so it is more for my own peace of mind. I think that part of the reason this has been so difficult is simply the way we parted. No hugs, no teary goodbyes, no oaths of everlasting friendship. The portal opened, and then you were gone.
It has been a few months since you came crashing, literally, into my life. I’d like to say that things went back to the way they were, but that would be a lie. Despite your brief time here, you seem to have left quite a lasting impression on everyone you met. Princess Twilight has been obsessed with the book you left her. From what I hear, nothing too terrible has happened. Yet. I think Princess Luna is secretly hoping for something to explode in Twilight’s face so she can say she told you so.
For me, things have been...interesting. I’d like to tell you more, but I don’t think Agent Smith would appreciate it. Yes, he’s still around and annoying as ever, but he hasn’t outright threatened me since you broke me out. I think he’s still wary of me though, and I don’t exactly blame him.
I think what disappoints me most about our parting is I never got the chance to thank you. Thank you Hildr. Thank you Hildr, from the bottom of my heart. You came like a comet, bright and shining and sudden in the night sky. Here for a time, and gone just as quickly. I’m sure it would have happened eventually, but I don’t think my reunion with Princess Celestia would have happened the same way.
I know we didn’t exactly get along when we first met, but I didn’t know that you carried such a heavy burden. After all this time, my heart aches when I think about it. I sincerely hope that everything worked out for you in the end. It has so far for me.
Anyway, I wish I could see you again one more time, if only to give you this letter and-
A knock at the door startled Sunset from her thoughts, and she nearly fell out of her chair. Sunset then looked at the clock. Who could it be this late at night? She wasn’t expecting company. Sunset’s eyes briefly went to the drawer where she had hidden the sidearm Hildr had given her. She shook her head and answered the door.
“Hello Sunset. Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve,” Hildr said.
Sunset stood there with her mouth open in shock. Could it be? Was she really here? Acting almost on instinct, Sunset planted her face in Hildr’s chest and grabbed her as hard as she could. Hildr’s eyes went wide in surprise. After a moment of thought, she said, “I suppose this reaction is appropriate.” She put her arms around Sunset and held her gently.
Sunset looked up and sniffed. “What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I wonder,” Hildr said to herself. She looked down and added, “Are you crying Sunset?”
“What? No!” Sunset insisted as she wiped her eyes. “I’m not crying. My eyes are sweating, that’s all.”
“Oh I see,” Hildr said. “Sweating eyeballs is a quite the serious malady. Fortunately for you, Doctor Hildr makes house calls. Shall we go inside and see about curing your ailment?”
Sunset couldn’t help but laugh and led Hildr inside, shutting the door behind her.
