Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot

by Equimorto

Rating: teen
Tags: Death, Narcotics, Main 6, Gore, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Shadowbolts (EqG), Equestria Girls, Mystery, Sex, Pony Life, Main 7 (EqG), Profanity, Adventure, Violence, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life
Length: 202639

And everything changed.

It was a pleasant summer day, when the Behemoth came to Canterlot. The air was clear, and the Sun shone bright. Everyone in Equestria who'd been there at the time remembered that day, and they all remembered it like that. And not a single one could ever forget the day when the Behemoth came to Canterlot, and everything changed.

Published 2020-04-26 18:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2023-01-23 22:46:41 UTC

Ripples on a Crying Mirror

'Where were you, when the Behemoth came to Canterlot?' became customary to ask. 'Where were you on that bright summer day when the Behemoth came to Canterlot?' or, perhaps, 'What were you doing that sunny afternoon, when the Behemoth came to Canterlot?'

It was a conversation starter. A way to get to know each other. Something every pony, every creature shared. Something everyone could relate to. Friends would ask it one another, colleagues would bring it up during breaks, family members would worriedly write about it.

Some, of course, didn't have an answer for that. Some hadn't been born yet back then. Some were too young to remember. But of those who had been old enough, everyone remembered exactly what they were doing as the Behemoth walked over Canterlot. Everyone remembered that day.

Startracking - Part 1

Applejack was out in the fields when the Behemoth came to Canterlot. Working on the orchard, taking care of the apple trees. Canterlot was in sight, but it still took her a while to realise something was off. At first, all she noticed was a little shade covering the fields, but she assumed it was merely a passing cloud. Distant as she was, the Behemoth's shadow wasn't as cold over her as it was over Canterlot.

But then came the steps. She thought it was an earthquake at first, as unusual as it would have been, what else could have caused something like that? But there was something off about it. It had a rhythm, a cadence, it stopped and started back up again, like a series of blows against the earth itself. She'd never felt anything like that, not even a dragon's steps could compare to it.

Another shock came, stronger than the last, and all fruits still hanging from the trees were knocked off their branches. Her first instinct was to look towards the farm, suddenly worried the buildings could collapse if things kept up. Then, as her eyes darted around to find some sort of explanation, she looked up to Canterlot, and a shiver ran down her spine.

The silhouette stood out against the sky, framed by the light, half-translucent and seemingly fading in and out, subtly shifting in shape. It was massive. Larger than anything Applejack had ever seen, and she'd walked around the Dragonlands before. That she could still spot it all the way from Ponyville was a testament to just how unreasonably big it was. It put even the Tantabus to shame, never mind dragons or other creatures.

Applejack suddenly felt cold as she gazed at the creature. An odd sensation, not something she'd ever felt, a coldness spreading from inside rather than outside. A flower of ice blossoming in her heart and extending its roots and thorns all the way to her limbs. Time seemed to slow down for her, the sounds of the shaking earth distant and muffled.

There was something about the light that passed through the half-there, half-fading figure. It was like watching an eclipse through a thick glass bottle to shield your eyes, a distorted, surreal tinge to the images on the other side. But they couldn't possibly be that near, right?

Another quake shook her out of her stupor. She was suddenly aware of just how cold it had become in the orchard. Without the Sun's light, while the breeze kept blowing, things did tend to get chilly, but the shadow cast by the creature felt like it was sapping away the heat from all it covered. But she had things to take care of. Running through the trees and fallen fruits, Applejack headed back towards her house, calling out for her family to make sure they were safe.

The buildings remained intact, though in need of repair, and none of their inhabitants were injured. Applejack was glad that was the case, she knew very well the rest of Ponyville hadn't fared as well. The ruined harvest would be a problem, but in the coming months it became clear just how little of one compared to everything else. Still, Applejack never forgot that first day. When the Behemoth came to Canterlot, and she gazed into its shadow.

Like Tears in the Wind

Rose was out near the edge of the Everfree when she found her scale. Many would have found it inadvisable to hang around such a place, in truth. It had never been considered the safest thing to do even before the Behemoth came to Canterlot, but in the months following and with the evident commotion the forest displayed it was less a matter of superstition and more one of common sense. But she knew the chances of something actually attacking her there were slim, and if her cutie mark called then the risk was worth it.

Living in what had used to be a relatively minor town before Princess Twilight's arrival, running a flower shop had been pretty much the only reasonable path in life for her. She didn't mind, in fact she very much liked it, but it wasn't the only thing she was good for. Her affinity for flowers moved past simply growing and selling the few breeds that ponies liked, past the simple confines of her work. She kept up with the newest studies, discoveries and publications concerning botany, and she even had her own private garden where she kept more exotic, less common breeds.

Most of all, she understood flowers. The same way Fluttershy understood animals, or Pinkie understood parties, or Twilight understood magic. It was her special talent, her life's calling. Selling came afterwards, and really, she would have done what she did for free. But the bits were needed, and not unwelcome. But it was precisely because of her talent that she was there. Because most ponies would not have noticed it, but she couldn't ignore it. There was something different about the flowers, there near the edge of town, and it was spreading.

Standing there and looking closely at them, she had no doubts about it. Most, if not all of the usual species found there were undergoing severe changes. Whether mutations or very rapid evolution she couldn't tell, but it was impressive either way. And it wasn't all. She didn't feel she had the knowledge and experience to make a definitive call on it, but a fair portion of the flora she was seeing didn't look like anything she knew of. The geometry, the colours, the size and disposition of leaves and petals, the more she looked at them the more she was convinced she was staring at entirely new sets of species.

Tall stems with blue petals, stubby orange flowers that came up directly from the ground like bushes, grey-green leaves in patterns of seven or nine, thin vines slithering in swirling patterns across the ground ending with tiny pale pink blossoms, and a number of other plants that were like nothing she'd ever heard about. She would have liked to study them more closely, but she knew better than to go smell or taste a plant she wasn't familiar with. Especially one rooted so close to the Everfree. So she was left with sight, and so it happened that she spotted something else there. Certainly colourful, but distinctly not a flower.

So it happened that Rose found her scale. And so it happened that Princess Twilight, just a few days before the news of the other findings reached her, was made aware of the scales' existence and had a chance to study one for herself. Rose had brought it along, later that day, as she'd gone to tell Twilight of her discoveries at the edge of town. It had felt odd, when she'd found it, like the thing was calling for her. And odd leaving it to Twilight, even if it was the right thing to do, almost like she should have kept it as hers. And odd still, when Twilight had given it back to her, like a weight had been lifted off her chest.

She would spend the following months helping the princess study the changes in the flora around the town, and learning quite a bit about the matter simply by virtue of being there. So, almost by accident, Rose became one of the founding members of Princess Twilight's research institution, and perhaps the single most knowledgeable expert in the field of post-arrival botany. While she did not forget about it, that she'd also come in possession of a scale, on that day, became a rather secondary fact in the course of events. That is, of course, until Twilight made her first major breakthrough when researching the scales.

I am the Fury in your eyes

Ruins always looked different from up there. Sat on a cloud, drifting by as the wind carried him along, watching the world stretch out below him. It was all he could do, most of the time. Just watch.

There had been a time when things were different. Very different. Before the Behemoth came to Canterlot, others were watching him. It was kind of funny, in a way. Kind of ironic. But after the Arrival, there hadn't been much if any space for big shows and sporting events. And so he was left on the sidelines, watching.

He'd helped, of course. When he could, how he could, he'd always tried to help. But the thing was, really, there was only so much he could do. He knew his limits. He wasn't the strongest, he wasn't an expert on anything beyond his own field of work, he could only help so far. And that annoyed him, very much.

Not the lack of attention. Not being put on the side. He wasn't that kind of pony, he knew the world had far more important things to focus on. But that feeling of powerlessness, that knowledge that all he could do was watch. He was one of the best in his field, but in the world as it was, that was useless. He lived in a world that didn't need him anymore.

That had led him to quite a few moments of reflection. Were all cutie marks equal? Were there ponies out there whose entire purpose wasn't needed by the world around them, leaving them stranded and alone? The best answer he'd managed to give himself was that he'd not been useless when he'd found his talent. Not in that version of the world. And in the new one, the one he lived in now, ponies wouldn't get a useless talent. The world wouldn't produce them.

But he was not an expert, and perhaps he was too old to study such things. Sometimes, he did wonder about going to Ponyville, to Princess Twilight, to maybe study something there, anything useful. But he knew he didn't have the motivation for it. He'd never been good with books. He was good at flying fast, and that was about it.

And so he watched. Absent-mindedly, trying not to think about it, trying to ignore the burning frustration at being forced to just watch the half-destroyed remains of towns across the country while he couldn't do anything about it. Maybe he would go to Princess Twilight. Maybe... Maybe just to see the castle there, maybe just to talk to Rainbow.

Lazily, with no real motivation, he pushed his cloud in the vague direction of where Ponyville was supposed to be. Staying low, close to the ground, just in case he met someone worth talking to. And as chance would have it, he did meet someone. A unicorn, watching the road from the edge of town, and staring at a map.

A unicorn who was planning to go to Ponyville, too. To deliver a message to Princess Twilight, about something they had found while clearing out the rubble. A message that would have been sent by magic, but as it seemed, the spell just refused to work, not unlike others. Soarin''s wings itched as he listened to the unicorn. Yeah. That was something he could help with.

A Brief History of Terms: Behemoth

As with many things, it was Princess Twilight who first utilised the term Behemoth to describe the creature. As with many things, the term came from a book. It had been used, in ancient times, to describe a large terrestrial creature, by a tribe or a species living somewhere roughly near the location of Chrysalis's old hive. Probably. Centuries by the dozens had muddled the waters and there simply wasn't an original source of information to study, rather a multitude of reports all far more recent than the time they talked about.

It was, for example, impossible to tell who exactly had used the term first. Was it a tribe of ponies? Or a different species? No way of knowing. All the texts said was that ponies had learned of the creature from a population of sorts. It wasn't possible to say whether or not the creature had been real or simply a myth, either. The population apparently told stories of it, and goodness knew what that actually meant. Reports agreed that no one had ever seen it, but then again, there were no mentions of ponies travelling in that territory, just of the exchanges that happened at the border.

The description itself of the creature was weird. Rather lacking in many aspects, oddly specific in others, at times contradictory across different sources even from the same time period. The only thing everyone agreed on was that it was big. How big, though? Some said like an elephant, some said like a mountain. Some said the earth shook beneath its steps, other talked about being able to mount it just by jumping off a tree. Some theorised it was in fact just a giant tortoise, while others spoke of horns or tusks or claws.

The name too was of debatable origin. Between the culture the name came from likely having spoken a different language, the shakiness of the translation process, and several instances of transcripts where the pony working on them clearly thought they knew better than the one who'd written the original and had tried to correct perceived mistakes, never mind the language differences across hundreds of years, it was anyone's guess how much the name was actually the right one anymore. It might have had a meaning, at some point, but all that was left was a set of sounds rearranged through time.

Still, it had been a fitting name. Perhaps even more fitting given its mysterious origin. Whether or not the thing in Canterlot was the Behemoth of legend, Twilight had no idea, but it certainly fit the description. Some versions of it, at least. And so, she'd called it that. A large creature, its steps enough to shake the earth, that had come out of nowhere and settled itself in Canterlot, forever changing all of Equestria with its mere presence. Some had argued that perhaps it was a construct, not a creature. No one had dared go near enough to check, so the name stuck. It had a nice ring to it, most ponies found.

Startracking - Part 2

Rarity was there, when the Behemoth came to Canterlot. Not exactly where the Behemoth stepped, of course, but she was close. Very close. She was in her boutique, talking with Sassy, making sure every order would be on time for the next event and already planning the one after that, when suddenly the ground had trembled. Just briefly, just a little, but it was a worrying thing. Canterlot was not known as a town prone to suffering from earthquakes, it would not have been wise to build a city on the side of a mountain if that had been the case in the area.

Then the second step. The second quake, a little stronger, lasting a little longer, and then another pause. Rarity had looked at Sassy, then the two had dashed towards the exit, right as the third step had come. The walls creaked, cracks appearing in them, a little rubble falling from the ceiling. Enough to make the unicorns stop for a moment, to make sure everything was alright. The fourth step came, and made it clear the building wouldn't last forever. The fifth shattered the glass windows, just as the two had reached the door, and the sixth came as they walked outside, while inside the stairs collapsed.

And that's when they saw it. Having been inside a building, they'd had, like many others, no way of knowing what was going on. But they, unlike many others, came very, very close to the creature. It was right there, as much as it could be said to be there, its odd and flickering translucent form fading in and out just mere metres ahead. Rarity's breath was taken away as she looked up, then higher still, and still she could not spot the end of it. It had been walking down the street, with one of its legs at least, and had it been just a few metres to the right it could have stepped on the building itself.

Rarity would have remained stuck there, petrified by shock, had Sassy not dragged her away in the direction opposite to the one the Behemoth was walking towards. And so brief was her time spent near the creature, and so filled with adrenaline, she did not even notice the cold chill it sent across her skin to be so close to it. The two unicorns then rushed and dashed across the ruined city, following the trail of wreckage left in the Behemoth's wake, running with no direction as the ground shook harder and harder with each step of the creature. Only when they reached the park did they stop, far enough from buildings to be safe from any of them collapsing.

It would be unfair to say there were no pauses in their running though. Rarity did stop, briefly, on more than one occasion, to ensure ponies safely left buildings, and to otherwise help others make sense of the chaos around them. And when they all reached the park, and none showed signs of injuries, and all turned towards the impossibly tall shape of the Behemoth, only then did Rarity finally let herself go and dramatically pull out a couch to collapse on. And there she wondered to herself, about the mysterious creature, about what would happen next, and about what the uncertain future might hold for all of them.

Cracks in the Light

She sat at the edge of the cave, studying the pattern of cracks on the ground just outside. It looked stable enough, and with a rather clear path through it. Safe. But was it worth the risk? There was nothing in sight. She could try to scout the surroundings, but for how long? If she found nothing, and came back, it would be a waste of energies. And worse, what if she strayed too far in search of something, and the pattern changed, leaving her trapped?

She weighed her options, throwing a backwards glance at her supplies. She still had food for a couple of days, definitely enough to make it until the next major shift. If she played her cards right and was careful, maybe enough to carry her until the one after that, too, in case the next one brought nothing good. But if that left her stranded too, then she would be out of luck. No more food, no more ways to get more.

What were the odds of the next shift screwing her over? Heh. Knowing that would have made things a lot easier, but there was no way to tell. Not as far as she knew, at least. So it really was just about making a guess. Stay inside, wait, hedge her bets by making sure she'd have a second shot if things went poorly next round. Or go now, while she could, and hope to find something, and if that failed hope luck would be on her side when the next shift came.

It was a solved problem, in a sense. There was a correct course of action. It wouldn't necessarily ensure her survival, but it would give her the best chance. The results of the next shift remained unknown, and would still dictate how she would fare later on, but the world outside the cave was set. It was there. Just knowing whether or not she could find something would have made all the difference, and solved her decision.

But instead, she couldn't know. And that drove her nuts. The kind of aimless rage that couldn't be unleashed on any target, and ended up feasting on the one feeling it in the first place. All because of those light cracks. There could have been a fruit tree, right there, not eight metres away from her cave, or a patch of grass, or a banquet table filled with cakes, and she wouldn't see it! She couldn't see it. Because there was a crack there, meaning a blade of light shot up from the ground and covered whatever was behind it like a curtain.

She could, at least, take minor solace in the fact that there probably wasn't food there. It was most likely just another barren chunk of grey ashes. There could be food, yes, but the chances were slim. Very slim. If she extended her gaze, though... The cracks and lights hid everything past a certain distance, but what were the odds of there being something behind them? And how long would it take her to get to them?

About ten minutes or so, to get there. In half an hour, she could be way past that point. The cracks wouldn't shift for at least two hours, she would have time. But it would wear her out, as walking near the cracks always did. And... And the thing was, yes, there could be something out there, but what were the odds of her finding it? That was the real problem.

She couldn't see anything from the cave. So if something was there, either it was far, or it was small. And if it was small, there was a very, very large chance she'd miss it. Her visibility would be constantly hindered by the cracks, and while she could walk a fair distance she could only cover a rather small amount of the fields before her in terms of area. One wrong turn would mean entirely missing any potential resources she might find, and a wrong turn was far more likely than a right one.

So, well... It seemed, unfortunately, the wise thing to do was also the frustrating one. Wait there, do nothing, don't waste her energies. Hope things would be better the next time around. Or the one after that. It was... It was hard to describe, actually. Would she have rather gone out to find nothing? Of course not. But staying inside wasn't pleasant. Feeling powerless, at the mercy of chance and luck, was not pleasant. But it was her situation, no matter what. Better make peace with it and pick her best option. And so she waited.

HhHhH

Zecora set the tiny blue bottle back on her desk, and caught herself staring at the upside-down view of the world on the other side. It always gave her a sense of childish amusement, for whatever reason. A little thrill of wonder. It was nice.

But she didn't have much time to spend on staring at the world through a bottle. She had experiments to run, and there was research to be done, and while she wasn't in any particular rush it would still be for the best if she got through it all efficiently. She quickly scribbled down the results of her last test. It was an entertaining activity, at the least.

And it was no wonder she'd been picked up for it. Chemistry was a lot like alchemy, and ever since the Behemoth's arrival the line between the two had been muddied. And when ponies said that, what they really meant was that the already slim confine separating the disciplines had been shattered like a window being hit by a train, and what was left was more of a box containing the mangled remains of the two in a state so messy it was no longer possible to tell what pieces belonged to which subject.

And so, testing. The main point of separation, ideally, was to classify reactions as belonging to one category or the other based on whether or not they released magic as a side product. That was why the occasionally buzzing mana detector was there on the table. Of course, testing everything would be an absurdly long and complicated process, so for the moment the tests were more focused on the individual results than on any bigger picture.

Zecora was rather glad she could be helpful. She would have liked to help more, of course, but unfortunately her potions could only help so far now that at least half of them didn't work right. Some had at least the decency to do nothing, but the charred hole left in the floor of the last laboratory she'd been using had taught her it was safer not to try them all out. Just in case. It was safer to do more basic testing first.

Twilight had done a very impressive job, setting up her institution. She'd given ponies something they could trust, something stable they could hold on to. A beacon to remind them that not everything was lost despite the turmoil around them.

And she'd also done a great deal in terms of research, and the quality of it. The sheer amount and rate of new discoveries being made between the walls of her castle was astounding, the institution as a whole was buzzing with creativity. It was partly because of how much yet uncharted territory there was to explore for science after the Arrival, no doubt, but even still it was impressive.

Zecora herself found the environment to be rather pleasant, as well. The other creatures there were all extremely nice, perhaps as a result of the shared hardship of the reality around them. In particular, the zebra was fond of that red-maned mare going by the name of Rose. They were considering the possibility of carrying out a set of shared experiments, to verify the potential alchemical applications of the newly discovered species of flowers and plants Rose was cataloguing.

Zecora was also rather interested in that oddly reflective trinket the mare kept tucked in her mane. She hadn't gotten a chance to ask about it yet, though. Maybe during the next lunch break. But for the moment, more testing. She picked up a red bottle and flipped the page on her notes, then began to experiment anew.

Ad Astra

Stone Brick laid down his pillow at the edge of the cliff and then sat on it, looking down at the wasteland hundreds of metres below as he sipped from the bowl of soup in his hooves. It was mostly dark grey, down there, with some red in places. The path a river had used to run through was still visible, but the water was all gone, and all that was left of the trees in the area were a few charred stumps and consumed branches.

He was no expert in geology, but as far as he understood it, the place must have always had all that lava beneath it. The Behemoth's arrival had just moved things enough for it to come out. Either the chunk of land he was on had risen or the one in front of him had sunk, and then all that molten rock and liquid fire had bubbled up from the ground and burnt almost everything that was left down there.

There were still a few lava pools, scattered around. They looked rather pretty from up above, he had to admit. And they weren't the only thing there, apparently, which was why he was staring at the scenery. Well, that, and the fact he had nothing better to stare at. The trees behind him were rather monotonous, and his tent wasn't exactly a sight to behold. Plus, he'd get to see the sunset too.

Just as he was taking another sip of his soup, it happened. With a sound halfway between a hiss and a splash, a tall jet of water shot up from the ground far below, and then crashed back down. So it was true. He'd heard about such a thing in some parks across Equestria, back when he was a colt, but he'd never actually seen one. So they really were a thing there too, now.

That was good to know. At least he hadn't taken that deviation for nothing. Not that it would have particularly mattered, actually, the path that passed from there was just as long as the other and seeing the lava pools alone would still have been interesting, but he was still glad he got that on top. Finishing his soup, he kept staring, and soon enough a second jet shot up some distance from the first.

He sat there, watching the Sun go down past the horizon as a few other geysers occasionally went off, then got back to his hooves and took the pillow back to his tent. The night would get cold there, and it was probably for the best if he got inside quick. Not too cold, maybe, but still unpleasant, and besides he had to get up early in the morning. Closing the entrance, he sat inside.

The road to Ponyville wouldn't cover itself, he reminded himself as he stared at his map. It would still take him a couple of days at least to get there, provided everything went well. But he did have supplies for about twice as much, just in case. Lying his head on the pillow, he took a long look at the scale he'd left tucked in a corner of the tent, then closed his eyes. He'd get there soon enough. He just needed to keep going.

Startracking - Part 3

Pinkie Pie was in Ponyville, inside Sugarcube Corner, when the Behemoth came to Canterlot. Baking a cake. The least active part of the baking process, that being the waiting done while the cake sat in the oven. So to compensate, she was also mixing a bowl of butter and sugar to use for her next cake, balancing it atop her head as she stared at the cake through the stove's tinted glass.

The following trembles and quakes came as a surprise to her.

Now, if talking about any other pony and almost every other creature, that would have been nothing unusual. Of course the surprising and unforeseen event would come as an unforseen surprise to them. But Pinkie was most definitely not any other pony.

Despite her appreciation for surprises, she rarely found herself on the receiving end of one, at least when considering physical events. Creatures could still surprise her, yes, despite her meticulously detailed folders of data on them, but the purely material consequences of their actions were generally something she could see coming in advance. The sudden and repeated shaking of the earth definitely fell closer to falling objects than surprise birthday parties, and therefore in the realm of things her personal brand of clairvoyance was prone to picking up on. Especially so when it was something so massive.

But instead she'd felt nothing. Not a twitch or a shiver or an itch or a quiver or a tingle running up or down her spine or ears of legs or tail or nose or eyelids or any other part of her pink equine body. Not a single thing that could hint at what was coming.

This of course caused quite some trouble for her. First and foremost, it made it rather tougher to balance the bowl on her head. Of course she could have set it down or grabbed it with both hooves, but that would have required also setting down the other bowl that was held in one of her hooves as she mixed the eggs and flour inside it with the spoon in her mouth. And while that could have been set on the floor, by the time she caught up with what was happening the second step had come down and now the other bowls and cakes that completely filled the table threatened to fall off and the bags and boxes of ingredients on the shelves were slipping out and drawers were sliding open and cupboard doors were swinging this and that way and the thrid step came and then the fourth and Pinkie was rushing towards a corner of the room a second and then running to the opposite one the next as the shelves tilted and the walls creaked and the tables bounced and the earth shook and shook and shook.

About thirty seconds later, the room looked like a very large version of a tiny dollhouse room that someone had thrown a set of poorly mixed cake ingredients into, wrecking havoc upon the miniature mobilia. It was, instead, in fact, a regular-sized room, which had been filled with a much too large quantity of poorly mixed cake ingredients.

From somewhere beneath the pile of half-broken wooden panels, wet flour, and cracked eggs, Pinkie Pie emerged, coughing, spoons and other tools in her mane and more frosting than usual splattered across her coat. Eyeing the widening crack in the ceiling and the dust that fell from it as the ground shook yet again, she decided it was best to leave the room and perhaps the whole building.

Outside, once she'd made it past the empty but possibly even more damaged main hall and through the now shattered entrance door, the rest of the citizens in the area and particularly the Cake family were rather relieved to see she was as alright as could be hoped.

And Pinkie turned towards Canterlot, following the direction many a other pony around her were looking in, and her gaze set on the waning, uncertain shape of the Behemoth. And Pinkie thought to herself that it was definitely weird.

Yes, she thought. It was very odd and strange indeed.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Chess; but not really

It was a nice chessboard. A very large chessboard. Oddly misshapen, asymmetric, missing a few squares, and with clearly more colours than necessary, but it was still a nice chessboard. It was indeed a chessboard. That was his story, and he was sticking with it.

It even clearly had the pieces on it. Over there, that tower was - well, that was clearly a tower. And that statue on the other side of the garden, that one was clearly a knight. And that large writhing mass of tentacles and eyes, well... Huh... Maybe a queen? Yeah. Probably a queen.

It was very clearly a puzzle, there for him to solve. Yes, that large building on the other side of town was the enemy king, and indeed the one he stood on top of represented his own. Now he just needed to figure out a way to move that pile of rubble, down there to the left, diagonally to the right and up and then - Oh, oh great, wonderful, the ball of tentacles was moving on its own and had just eaten one of those little duck-shaped decorations that served as pawns. Fantastic. It was one on its team, no less! How was he supposed to plan if the pieces didn't play fair!?

Mad? He wasn't mad. He was absolutely not mad. Just because Scarlet Ribbon said he was mad, that didn't make him mad! She wasn't even a real doctor. Yet. And just because everyone else in town agreed with her, that didn't make her right. Lots of popular books were objectively terrible, after all. The voice of the masses had no bearing on the truth. He was not insane, no matter what everypony said.

Having eaten that shiny thing he'd found inside the river did not mean he was mad. He needed a place to keep it, after all. He didn't have any pockets, and he couldn't risk losing it, and there were animals around that could steal it. And what if he hid it, but then someone or something came along and took it? No, he had to keep it safe. That was why he'd eaten it. Now it was safely with him.

He'd also realised how he needed clothes. He needed pockets. Why did ponies almost exclusively wear either no clothes, or useless and purely cosmetic ones? Pockets were such a wonderful thing. He'd stolen a pair of pants and a jacket from the half-destroyed clothes shop just an hour after finding the shiny thing. The pants were a bit too large and the jacket a bit too tight, and maybe both were a mare's model, but now he had pockets.

There wasn't much in his pockets. A few bits in his pants, a couple chess pieces in his jacket, some of which were broken. But he had pockets.

Meanwhile, the queen ate the windmill. He hadn't actually figured out what piece exactly the windmill was, but not that it mattered much now that the tentacles had eaten it. Oh well. With the queen there he really couldn't win anymore. In fact, it looked like she would be coming for him next.

At least he'd tried.

He jumped off the building's roof, away from the chessboard and the steadily approaching mass of not particularly friendly-looking appendages. He'd be more lucky with the next puzzle he found.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Stairway to more stairs

Soarin' set down the package, and pulled out a map of the region, alongside a compass. He had about three more hours of flying in the same direction, and then he'd be at the Wall. If everything went according to plan, at least.

Not many reasons to expect it wouldn't, but the possibility was always there. He could always get caught in a manastorm, after all. Or, more likely, have to stop and wait for it to pass before he could proceed. Rainbow was just about the only pony crazy enough to attempt flying through one, and probably the only one skilled enough to actually pull it off.

He did like the sound of a challenge, when it didn't involve risking his life, but he wasn't about to do anything dangerous when he was carrying something. Especially not something as valuable as what he had.

He took a moment to stare at the package again. Wrapped in plain light brown paper and slightly consumed string, it could have passed off as ordinary were it not for the emblem of Princess Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark stamped on top of it in pink-purple ink. Of course, one would have noticed that there was more than met the eye either way, upon picking it up.

The metal casing hiding just beneath the paper was rather heavy, its segmented texture very peculiar to the touch. Going by what he'd been told back in Ponyville, it was basically the strongest box in all of Equestria. Multiple plates of magically reinforced steel disposed in a carefully constructed pattern designed to absorb or deflect any impact and blow. It would ensure the contents would remain safe, should the package be lost.

The only way to make it stronger would have been making the box a sphere, but you couldn't exactly shove a book inside a small one and a larger one around the existing box would have been impractical to carry alone.

Not that he was completely alone, he reminded himself. Throwing a glance behind him, he confirmed how Lightning Dust was still there, hovering in sprinting distance, flying low enough not to be seen by those who didn't know what to look for. A security measure he hoped would not be necessary, but the possibility of someone wanting access to Princess Twilight's research results was not one they could ignore.

In case it happened, their instructions were to leave the package behind and rush back to Ponyville. It was near impossible that whoever chose to ambush them would actually be able to open the box, and Princess Twilight had installed a long-distance magic switch she'd use to burn the contents once informed that the package was lost. But Soarin' was rather doubtful that his companion would run away rather than fight.

They would be safe once behind the Wall. Princess Cadence had been warned ahead of time about their imminent arrival, and she'd be waiting for them there. In truth, he looked forward to spending a day of rest in the Empire, and he knew Lightning did as well despite her refusal to admit as much.

So, barring manastorms, barring assaults by wild creatures, and barring any attempts made to steal the package, they still had three hours to go. Soaring picked up the map, the compass, and the package, and slipped them all back inside his saddlebags. Just three more hours.

With a kick from his hind legs, he took off, and began flying northwards again.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Weavewalker

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Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

There and Again - Part 1

Shining sighed, setting his sword down against the cold crystal wall. He took off his saddlebags, took one last look at both ends of the tunnel, then finally convinced himself he was safe and sat down. Rolling his shoulders back and forth and stretching his hind legs, he lay back against the wall behind him and sighed again. His hooves needed the rest, even if he didn't want to admit it. They were getting a bit sore.

His horn lit up. The button holding his bags closed came undone with a satisfying pop, and held by the glow of his magic the little sealed tray of food he'd brought along levitated towards his lap. He clicked his tongue in anticipation, while his hooves worked to undo the silver-grey wrapping.

The shreds of it had yet to hit the ground when the smell of food hit Shining's nostrils, and a moment later the stallion practically threw himself onto the small tray. Goodness, he'd been hungry. Way more than he'd realised. Years of guard training meant he could ignore the need for food for a while and not be distracted by it, but it also meant he wasn't exactly conscious of the fact he was doing it.

Cadence's food was good as always. He didn't mind cooking for himself, but she'd insisted on doing it and he certainly wasn't going to refuse the offer.

He slipped the last bit of food past his lips, staring at the now empty plate on his lap. That had been nice, yes. He lit his horn again, and pulled out a clock from his saddlebags, bringing it up to his face. He could still afford a few minutes, yeah. Setting the clock back inside his bags, he stretched his legs, then placed his hooves behind his neck as he leaned back and began to whistle to himself.

Things had gone well, if boringly so. Nothing seemed to have snuck in the tunnels as far as he'd explored them so far. There would probably be something up ahead, he'd have found it worryingly suspicious if nothing at all turned out to be there, but it probably wouldn't be anything too bad.

He really wasn't sure why Cadence worried so much about him going there. Sure, they didn't exactly know what more they could find, but so far there was no reason to think it would be anything more dangerous than what they'd already found. He'd never come out of it with more than a few scratches, and even in the remote chance things went bad, he could always teleport out of there.

Shining got up. The tray and the shreds of wrapping were levitated back into a separate pocket in his bags, then the bags themselves were closed and slid onto his back once more. He took hold of his sword, and then began to trek down the tunnel again.

That's when a bit of movement caught his eye. Up ahead, on the floor, a darker shade of blue slithering away from him. Another crystal lizard, it seemed. Craning his neck back and forth, he stepped forward, and started to follow the creature. There was no need to rush it. Not as long as it was just one, at least.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Startracking - Part 4

Rainbow Dash was in Ponyville, when the Behemoth came to Canterlot. On a cloud, half napping, her mind occupied with nothing in particular. Resting in the shade of another cloud higher up in the air, letting the faint breeze run over her feathers and through her mane. Just relaxing, not doing much of anything.

She didn't notice things immediately. Being on a cloud, far from the ground, being out of the Behemoth's shadow, being far from Canterlot, there wasn't much for her to notice. No cold chill over her skin or vibration running up her hooves, no ground shaking where she stood or buildings dancing around her. So it took a moment, before she noticed something was amiss.

It was the commotion in town that woke her up. The nervous yelling, the occasional scream, the thumping of hooves as ponies ran this way and that and rushed out of buildings and called to each other. Her first reaction was to stand there for a second, confused, looking about as she tried to understand what was going on.

Her second reaction, just a moment after the first one, was to swoop down from her cloud and begin helping others. Understanding what was happening could wait. The earth was shaking and half of the buildings in town were threatening to come down, and she had citizens to save. Dashing back and forth across the streets, she pulled many a creature out of buildings, more than once through the windows, and helped more than a few find each other in the confusion.

Only when every direction she looked in from her hovering spot above the town yielded either dangerous situations devoid of creatures or groups of creatures devoid of dangerous surroundings did she allow herself to unfocus from helping others, and once more let herself question what was happening and why.

That is when, while turning around to look for clues, Rainbow Dash first saw the Behemoth. And her first thought upon seeing it was that it was big. Really big. Which in fairness was the same first thought a lot of other creatures had upon first seeing the Behemoth, and it would have been so for an even greater number of them were it not for those running for their lives either because of collapsing buildings or because of the Behemoth itself.

Rainbow just hovered there, about as still as one could be while bobbing up and down under the beating of their own wings. So. Unreasonably big, mysterious, and seemingly supernatural thing in Canterlot, wreaking havoc all the way to Ponyville and likely across the whole country with its mere presence and steps. The rainbow laser might not work, depending on whether it was intentionally destroying things or it had merely found itself there it might not even be needed.

The sensible thing was consulting Twilight. Who'd probably already know what the thing actually was, being Twilight and all. A lucky coincidence that going to her meant getting closer to the thing in question too. Rainbow cast a last glance around, making sure everycreature was safe, then shot off towards Canterlot in a blur of colours.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

There and Again - Part 2

Shining took a peek behind the corner, into the corridor where the crystal lizard had slithered. Did lizards slither? Kind of, right? Either way, it was there now, quietly looking around.

Crystal lizards were not the brightest creatures, but not the dumbest either. It knew Shining was following close behind. But it did not have any real concept of how close he actually was. Once past the corner, he was no longer in sight, and so to the lizard it was the same as if he wasn't there. That the pony in question was near, ready to jump out if he so wanted, did not and could not cross the creature's brain.

They were simple creatures like that. Pretty sturdy though. Could take quite a few hits, in terms of blunt damage. But then again, that was why he was carrying a sword, not a mace or a hammer. Not that all hammers were blunt weapons, war hammers in particular were a far cry from construction hammers and their hits were arguably closer to arrows than punches given the spiky bits and pointy ends, and really- And really, he was starting to rant about weapons. Again. Thank goodness Cadence was at least willing to listen to his rambles when he went on one, bless that mare.

So, anyway. He had a sword. Crystal lizards were actually pretty resistant to cuts as well, but that wasn't what the sword was for. Well, it was, generally, but not in that particular context. The sword was there to dislodge the bits making up the lizard's core, which it turned out was the most efficient way to get one to disassemble. Literally. Yes, a pole arm would have been more efficient, but the cracks were thin and the core fairly far in and the corridors not that tall, so a sword was just more convenient. Yes, he could have had some more specific tool built, but the sword was better in case something else showed up. You never knew.

Crystal lizards were more of a nuisance than a real danger. They were sort of like rats, if rats were the size of a large dog and had razor sharp teeth and claws and crystal plating that reflected magic blasts like a mirror. So they weren't really like rats, except for how they ate supplies. They could probably eat a pony too, though. They never had, but on the other hoof, they'd always found supplies. No one was really willing to test out if they were omnivores or not.

The lizard turned its head towards the opposite end of the tunnel. In a blink, Shining stepped behind it, and jammed his sword right past its armour and into the core. Just a sideways push on the blade, and the creature exploded into splinters of rock and crystal. Shining smiled, and began to walk away. That particular one wouldn't give them trouble for a couple of weeks. It would take a while for it to reform, and a while longer before it felt daring enough to come in that direction again.

They were like timberwolves. Crystal instead of wood, a manifestation of the Wall's magic rather than the Everfree's, but essentially the same type of creature. Which was about as fascinating as it was annoying. The Wall did not have the centuries of history the Everfree did, and the confines of where the ponies' territory began and the wild things' ended were not yet defined. Still, so long as it was only lizards coming that close, Shining supposed it wasn't too bad. Not too bad at all.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

At the End of the

It wasn't really a restaurant. It had no set menu, the dining area amounted to a few tables hastily thrown together from planks of wood, the stallion running the place was the only one working there, and half the time you might not even get a plate to eat on. It was more like a place that happened to serve whatever food happened to be prepared that day, at whatever time it happened to be prepared at, all run by the same pony who happened to cook that food. But inspectors had come, they'd checked and verified that the kitchen was clean and the food was properly stored, and so the place stayed open and kept serving whoever happened to pass by.

And that was a good thing. Because that one pony made some darn good food.

They'd never learnt his name, and he'd never learnt theirs. Neither had ever asked. They'd shown up there, one day, soaking wet while a thunderstorm raged outside. Asked for food, no matter what it was. And, darn it, it'd been the best food they'd ever had.

They kept showing up, whenever they could. Whenever they could afford to pass from there, and the place happened to be open. Didn't even need to ask for anything anymore at that point. They just sat down, and a bowl of whatever was being served that day got to their table. Eat, leave the bits behind, wave goodbye as they walked out the door.

Sometimes, there was stuff to drink, too. There was a water pump outside the building, clean stuff, connected right to an underground spring there in the mountains, but sometimes there was something else too. Usually served in the same old glass stein, the bottom so worn out from use and polishing sessions it would have been a hole if it hadn't been so thick. Always nice stuff. Cider, or grape juice, or pomegranate juice, or a bunch of other things. They had no idea how he got his hooves on any of it, and they didn't care.

Not like the food was any more consistent or less headscratch inducing. They were pretty sure half the plants served there didn't even grow in that side of Equestria, much less high in the mountains like that. Maybe the place just had the world's weirdest storage hidden underneath, and he just fetched stuff at random.

The building was old, mossy, the many stones that made up the walls misaligned and sticking out, the roof's cover planks looked like they were just waiting for the first hailstorm to break apart. Inside, though, it all disappeared. The fireplace cast its warmth and glow over huge, rough but solid chunks of stone that made up the walls and floor, and the ceiling's wooden support beams looked like they'd been bought just the other day.

They always enjoyed eating there. Especially after a rough day, especially when it was raining outside. And then, just like every time, they left their bits on the table, the bowl or plate or whatever cleaned from every last speck of food, and they walked out by themself, once more alone for a while in the outside world.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Cry for me, Acanthite

The door was locked. That was not usual. Especially not for her house. She usually didn't lock the door. Especially not in the middle of the day, especially not when she was still inside. But the door was locked.

Well, he would just have to find a way to open it, of course. It would have been easier if she'd opened it herself, but it looked like she wasn't going to. Which was annoying, admittedly, but not the worst. He just needed to figure out how to get the door to open. He quite liked the challenge, actually. He always liked challenges. Riddles and puzzles and such, and that's what that was, no? A puzzle. He always liked puzzles. He was good with puzzles.

So. Details, details, details. Context. Clues. It was about that, no? Clues. Contextual clues. Deciphering the context of the puzzle to identify its elements. It was all about that. Careful observation and deductive reasoning, logical, critical thinking. And he was good at that, right? Yeah, he was good at that. He had experience and such.

Scarlet Ribbon's house had been built thirty years before, roughly. The small town was expanding at the time, after an influx of ponies moving there from the bigger cities. It had been built with wood from the local trees, during spring, finished by the time summer had rolled around. Some twenty years later it had gone near abandoned after the owners had moved again, maybe bored of the quiet life of the town as they were getting older, and five years or so later Scarlet had bought the place, after working enough to get a place of her own. Her parents were proud of her.

There was chip in the white paint on the front wall, two thirds of the way up to the second floor window. Roughly shaped like a square. Clearly relevant, part of the puzzle. There was a smaller chip on the door, to the left, three quarters of the way up. That one looked more like a small triangle. Probably important as well. The doorbell was there, but it made no sound, it had been turned off from the inside. The button still slid in and out though. He liked the button. He liked buttons. They were nice to press.

What more? Well, further back, if he turned around, there was another paint chip in the fence. And on the lawn, a small depression in the ground, likely caused by a mole digging a tunnel underneath. And then the tree, of course, the tree. The branches bare, it was autumn after all, a few of the red and yellow leaves still by the trunk, more wet than dry at that point.

And yeah, he could see it. He almost had it, yes, he was almost there. He could clearly see the connections, those bright thick wires from one thing to another, the yellow one running over the front wall that connected the paint chip with the tree, and the green one that passed beneath the ground and below that depression and had its ends at the two remaining paint chips, and then there was a red one that went up from the button and up to the roof and then-

A drop of water hit him right between the eyes. Oh, it was starting to rain. Well he couldn't be out in the rain, he'd get his clothes all wet. Oh well. Not the worst, not the worst. He'd have to visit Scarlet another time.

He turned around and quickly headed towards the centre of town, while a drop after the other began to pour down from the sky. Such a shame though. He'd almost solved that puzzle.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Map to the Scars

Luna's axe came down, and the silver snake splintered in a shower of bright orange sparks and white-hot dust. It was the third one that night, the eighth one that week, the twenty-seventh that month. She was getting a bit tired of them, to be perfectly honest. There was nothing particularly engaging about hunting them. They were more of a nuisance than anything.

A sound to her right drew her attention. Somewhere behind the cover of leaves and twisted branches, something was moving. She turned, and readied her weapon, narrowing her eyes. Not another silver snake, it seemed. Too small to be one of those. Maybe even smaller than her, judging by how subtle the movements appeared to be.

The alicorn waited, patiently still, ready to strike at the first sign of aggression. But nothing came. The movement seemed to halt completely, not even the faintest trace of it left. Everything was quiet again, as if nothing had happened. Curious, cautious, she took a step forward. It could very well be a trap. But it was just as likely that whatever had been there simply wasn't anymore.

She got right in front of the bush, and still no signs of anything. Very slowly, very carefully, she brought the tip of her axe towards the leaves and branches. And then, just as slowly, she pushed them aside, to reveal the space behind. Nothing there. With a barely audible sigh, she pulled back her weapon, as the tension in her muscles eased just a bit.

She turned away, and gave a look around. There didn't seem to be anything nor any other creature there for the moment. Just trees, and thankfully only the neutral kind. Not that she would have had anything against the friendlier ones, but the hostile ones were far more common around the area, so getting trees that didn't attack was already a plus.

Shrugging, she took off. The beats of her wide wings pushed her upwards as she began to soar above the forest, looking below her to spot any other signs of movement or commotion. There didn't seem to be any, not as far as she could see, certainly nothing major. She'd already dealt with a few, true enough. But she doubted it would be all for the night.

Her gaze turned upwards, above her, where the rest of the forest lay. Her wings pushed harder, and in a few moments there she was, soaring over the trees with her back towards the ground and her belly towards the sky. Thankfully, she'd been there enough times to learn how to gracefully roll around in mid air without interrupting her flight.

Her gaze was once more cast downwards at the ground. Once more searching for signs of strife. It didn't take long, this time, before her eyes spotted something. Trees bending as the creature erratically crashed into them, the heavy thuds of its steps echoing in the air. Axe at her side, Luna swooped down, ready to take out the beast.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Startracking - Part 5

Fluttershy was in the Everfree Forest, near the border, when the Behemoth came to Canterlot. She was going back to her house, after spending some time tending to the manticore she'd befriended there.

Before the ground shook, before any other sign, she felt something was amiss. She felt it around her, a quiet unease, a thrill of nervousness that ran through the creatures of the forest. A jerkiness to their movements, a sudden awareness that something wasn't quite right. Fear, in a sense.

She had just a second to notice it and wonder, then one to prepare. Then the ground shook. Feebly, at first, distant and barely noticeable. But still there. The unrest in the creatures around her came to a halt, but it wasn't calm. Just stalling, the tension building up one moment after the other. A second quake, stronger, as every creature held its breath. Then the third one came, and the stillness broke.

Creatures went running, flying, barking and howling and crying, no direction to their movements, no destination on their minds, only an unbearable need to move, to do something, to get away from something that was everywhere around them. The increasing intensity of the subsequent quakes did not help.

And Fluttershy stood there, in the middle of it all. She couldn't see it all, most was hidden by the trees or simply too fast to follow, but she could hear it. She could hear them, all around her, and through the forest as their cries echoed to her. She had never seen the creatures of the Everfree like that.

Whatever it was, whatever was happening, it wasn't normal. It wasn't natural, not even by the forest's standards. And that had her worried. A different pony, in her situation, might have been concerned about their safety and about the animals running around them. Flutterhsy, however, knew that whatever they were running from would be far more worrying.

But whatever that was, she would have time to evaluate the situation later. In that moment, instead, her thoughts went to the animals in her sanctuary, and she immediately began to run back towards it, out of the forest. If the animals in the forest were afraid, the ones there would probably be terrified, and far more confused about what they were feeling.

Because they would be feeling something. Because even she had felt something, if just for a moment. A normal pony wouldn't, but spending enough time with animals had led her to share some of their instincts, or at least have a better understanding of them. Something she couldn't quite explain, some unconscious reaction about subtle details she couldn't quite point out.

She got to the sanctuary as quickly as she could, and there managed to calm down the commotion. Only a while later, once everything had been taken care of and things had calmed down, did she actually go into town and inquire about what had happened. And as the ponies pointed towards the mountain, and she turned her gaze to follow, she felt it again. That shiver down her spine, as she first saw the Behemoth, and wondered just how much things would change from that moment on.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

15 Acres of Broken Glass

Things were going well, ever since she'd found the city. Definitely a whole lot better than they had before. Food was always there, and she didn't mind helping search for more when the need for it arose. And she had a real bed to sleep on, which as far as she was concerned was worth all the inconveniences that came with living there.

Besides, honestly speaking, what was the alternative? Was she really willing to go back to the uncertainty and struggles of the world outside? No. Life in the city had its flaws, its uncertainties too, but it was far, far better than the only alternative they knew. She was safer than anywhere else, she was protected, she wasn't alone. Abandoning it all would have been foolish.

She knew it, just like everyone else in the city knew it. Unrest occasionally stirred the population, but it was always held back by that knowledge. That fact that no matter what, even if things were harsh sometimes, even if the Mirror threatened to give out on occasion, being alone out there would always be worse.

She was afraid that the whole thing could fall apart, sometimes. That someone could use that fact to impose their own decisions over the city by force, and no one would be able to go against them if the alternative was being kicked out. She'd fight back if that happened, of course she would, but how many other ponies there could manage to do the same? How many of those scarce few wouldn't already have been bribed by those in charge at that point?

That wasn't her only fear about living in the city. And it wasn't the biggest one, either. There was something else, always on everypony's mind, even though they tried not to think about it. What if the Mirror broke? If the cracks got past the wall, they'd all be done for. The city would be no more. Would so many ponies even be able to stick together out there? It would be utter chaos. Again.

The Ziz be damned, she didn't have the faintest idea of how the Mirror even worked. Maybe she should study that. She was never the best at studying, yeah, but that didn't mean she couldn't try. Especially with something so important. As far as she understood it, if the Mirror broke there was no chance they'd be able to make another, but maybe there was something there? Maybe...

Maybe no. Maybe she was just annoyed, again, by how useless she felt when it came to that. The brightest unicorns available to them worked day and night on running the thing and making it work, did she really think she'd be able to figure out something they'd missed just by picking up a book? No. Of course not. But at least she'd be doing something. Just to make herself feel better.

Could she really be blamed for feeling like that? No. But it didn't mean she could go out and act on it, just because. She had more important things to do there in the city, there was work to do and food to find. But maybe she would pick up a book on the matter, later on. She did have some spare time to fill, after all.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

RRR

She studied the graphs splayed out on the table in front of her, adjusting her glasses. There had to be a pattern to them, right? She hoped so, at least, because it sure didn't look like there was one. Now that, that would have been annoying. And maybe even a problem. She'd need to keep charting them to be sure, of course. Unless she figured out a pattern.

She pulled her eyes away from the table and forced them onto the ceiling. It was so frustrating. Insightful, but frustrating nonetheless. Perhaps she should try to focus on the interesting results, not on those she wasn't having. For example, she'd never expected there to be so many of them. And she'd never thought one would be so near, she was honestly pretty surprised they'd never found that before then.

Although maybe someone had found it. In which case, she hoped they were alright. They probably were, maybe they just went around telling stories about it and no one believed them. But there was no guarantee of safety, it was why they were having to set up warning signs and fences around every one they found. Which admittedly drew some suspicions, but it was still a necessary precaution.

How many more were out there? How long would it take to find them? She had no idea, and it bothered her to no end. If she'd known what she was signing up for years before, she might've decided to go a completely different way in her life. Although... Her eyes wandered to the photographs she kept on her desk. True, the younger version of her probably wouldn't have thought that would be worth it. She had a different opinion on the matter.

Her gaze returned to the pile of papers on the table, pictures and maps and graphs and countless aimless attempts at equations and formulae that had come up short of any solution every single time. Frustration hit her like an improperly thrown brick, only with less nose bleeding and broken glasses. A cup of something that was halfway between coffee and chocolate levitated towards her in the glow of her telekinesis, and she downed it all as quickly as she could.

What time was it? She gave a look at the clock on the far wall. Just a few minutes away from one o'clock. In the morning. Maybe it was time to go to sleep. Leave her notes, take the whole issue out of her mind, hope stress would make her pass out before the caffeine kicked in. It was not the best of plans, but it was better than the one she was following in her attempts at studying the matter. So whatever, right?

Stepping away from the table, even as her mind refused to follow along, she headed towards the stairs. Yeah. Sleep did sound nice, and was probably needed. And maybe even a pause the day after. She had to go out and buy food anyway, maybe she could spend some time outside, maybe not alone. It never hurt to catch some sunlight, after all.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Why Don't You Cry?

Cadence always liked to watch things from up there. As much as there were things to watch from there. Which, in truth, was very little, and that was why she enjoyed it. It was peaceful. No distractions, no worries, she could pretend for a moment that nothing had ever changed. Almost. The unnervingly huge chunk of crystal she sat upon was still an inescapable reminder of the world she lived in. But, at least, not much else had changed up there, between the puffy white clouds and the clear blue sky.

Many of her guards would have had quite a few things to say against her being there. That was why she didn't tell them about it when she went. Most of the time, she even got away with it.

She took in a long, deep breath. Clear, fresh air. That seemed somehow harder and harder to come by back in the city. It wasn't, of course, but it still felt like it. The tension running through every creature down there was impossible to ignore, and that only made everyone more nervous. She did hope things would calm down eventually, once the citizens had grown used to how things had changed.

Shining at least seemed to be taking it quite well. He'd been active helping around town, he'd personally taken part in the process of reestablishing some forms of communication between the Empire and the rest of Equestria, and he'd even started exploring the tunnels, all while keeping up with his royal duties. Maybe he was just excited by the adventurous feeling of change, he definitely was that kind of pony. It did make her worry, on occasion, that he was just growing bored with how their life was before.

Well, no more of that for a while. She would have no doubt preferred it, but it looked like the universe or fate or whomever had different plans for all of them. Far more disruptive plans, and she was genuinely afraid at times that they hadn't seen the end of it yet. Far from it.

That was why she spent time there. On her own, away from the stress and commotion of her life, away from the earth far down below her and everything and everyone on it. She didn't hate them, or even dislike them. But sometimes, it was nice to just let go for a while. Leave her troubles to another time, another space.

Of course, it couldn't last forever. Ponies would notice her absence eventually, and it wouldn't do if she stayed there and ignored duties she had to attend. It really wouldn't do. She could maybe wait a couple of minutes longer though. Just a couple.

She still had a lot of day to get through. And then another whole day the day after, and then another one, and then another one, and on and on and on like that. It was annoying, yes. But it was what she had to do. She could just hope that things would change for the better, when they did.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Deadline

Spending most of your evening out at a party that was only supposed to last about half an hour and then coming home with barely any time left to do what you're supposed to get done by midnight was not high on Starlight's list of things she wanted to try. That did nothing to stop it from happening. She really should have seen it coming, knowing Pinkie Pie.

She also should have probably started to work on her report. Instead of playing cards with Trixie and Sunburst, like she had been for the past hour.

Would it really be so bad if Twilight didn't find anything the morning after? Probably not. She was only being chased down by the stress of her impeding coronation. So really, it shouldn't bother her that much. What's the weight of a single school on the shoulders of a pony who's supposed to rule the entire nation?

Oh. A three. Interesting play on Trixie's part. Risky. Starlight looked at her cards. It might be bait, an attempt to shield an ace. But the points were still worth it. It was Cups on the lead that game, and Starlight set down the Knight.

Sunburst upped it with the King. Now that was annoying. Sometimes, some ponies just got all the luck.

Starlight threw one distracted look at the empty paperwork she was supposed to be filling. Oh well. She wasn't about to stop playing until one of them got a three-point lead over the others, and that could still take hours. It would be fun.

Absent-mindedly, she looked at the card she'd just drawn. The Ace of Swords. She looked at what the others were throwing down. Nothing worthwhile. Yeah, maybe it was worth just getting the points.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Lay all your LLLL on T

It was almost visible there, a faint purple glow in the air around her. And she definitely felt it, it made hairs on her coat stand and her bones itch. It was the most intense she'd ever seen it be, and definitely much, much, much more intense than what was considered safe. If it had been up to Twilight, or really to anyone else, they'd have told her to stop hundreds of metres before. That was why she didn't tell them.

It was a very stupid thing to do, and she fully realised and acknowledged it. But someone had to go there. Oh, they would spend hours and hours discussing what to do, no one willing to put someone else in danger, no one willing to let another go in their stead. And however it ended up going, one of them at least would have to go, and they'd get hurt. So it was for the better if she went instead. She was tougher than all of them, anyway.

Sending a princess wouldn't have made any difference. They could take more, but they were hit harder. Twilight herself couldn't even stand near the border of the safe zone without getting nauseous, and sure as Tartarus that mare would try to go in there herself. She was stubborn like that. That just wouldn't do.

The sound of falling rubble up ahead snapped her attention away from her thoughts. As she carefully kept treading towards her destination, she was reminded of why exactly she liked to get lost in her own thoughts when walking around there. The base of her horn hurt. A lot. Like a piece of red-hot iron jammed in her skull, sending bolts of lightning into her head. Somewhere halfway between a broken bone healing and a tooth growing, only worse than both.

It wasn't even the only part of her body in pain. Just about every bone she knew of started to protest if she moved wrong, and she'd even discovered a couple new ones that way. Her muscles, particularly those on her torso, seemed equally unhappy about her situation, and sometimes made her feel like she'd just completed a full set of exercises.

And then was the matter of her hind legs. That, admittedly, she was legitimately scared about. The hooves could still feel, and the legs a little too going up from there. But everything between her tail and the end of her thighs was dull numbness, and she could just hope it wouldn't give out.

Still, it hadn't so far. Spending more time soaking in radiation wouldn't help matters at all, but she was there at that point, no use going back until she'd found everything she was there for. Thank goodness, the explosion had at least pushed everything away from the centre, so there was no need for her to walk right up to the fissure itself.

Stumbling just a bit down a slope of rubble, she reached another set of broken white walls and tiles and torn chunks of table, housing yet more of Twilight's and her team's research notes and results. She carefully took hold of them in her hooves and slipped them into her saddlebags. Maybe it wasn't so much of a problem that she couldn't use telekinesis. Between the radiation and how much what was there of her horn hurt, magic might have been out of the question either way in there.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Startracking - Part 6

Twilight was in Canterlot, when the Behemoth came there. She was in the castle, in her throne room, pacing up and down the length of the wall as she munched on her bottom lip and reran the same set of thoughts through her head for the twelfth time at least that afternoon alone.

It was the speech she had to give later that evening. Her first big speech as Princess, barring her coronation. Her first post-coronation speech. And despite every sign and previous example pointing towards her being perfectly able to deliver a good speech, and her being perfectly aware of that fact, she still most definitely did not feel like she was going to.

She really had to ask Celestia how she managed to deal with that. Assuming the alicorn did, and wasn't just as much of a nervous wreck, simply good at hiding it. But she wasn't a good actress. Either way, she definitely knew how to deliver a speech.

It was at that moment that something drew Twilight's attention away.

A voice. Barely a whisper, so quiet she wasn't sure if it was even there or she'd simply imagined it. Far too quiet to understand what it had said.

The floor shook, just barely. Twilight felt an itch at the base of her horn, a prickle of electricity in the joints of her wings. The ground shook again, with a touch more intensity, and something akin to a sudden static discharge travelled down her hind legs, starting at her cutie marks.

The Sun's light from outside the stained glass windows of the room got just a smidge less intense, slightly distorted. There was something like a shadow on the other side, like leaves against the sky when you look up from beneath a tree, like clear water you can barely tell is there. Something moving. Something looking at her.

The ground shook, hard enough for the floor to crack and rise in uneven, broken chunks. The windows shattered, fragments of broken glass flying into the room on a cold gust of wind from outside. The entire castle creaked, as cracks appeared all over walls and pillars and crawled upwards like reverse lighting. Screams of ponies echoed through the halls, and all through the streets of the city below.

And Twilight, standing still, gazed at the impossibly large and only half-there creature, as it lifted its head away from the now broken windows and stepped forward again, shaking the ground like an earthquake and tearing down what was left of the room's outer wall.

And Princess Twilight Sparkle watched, frozen there in her throne room, as the Behemoth came to Canterlot, and walked over its streets. As the buildings fell and the towers collapsed. As the creatures screamed and ran and cried. As the ground split open and the fountains froze and flowers and plants closed up as if it was nighttime.

And the souls of the living shrieked as they were ripped from their earthly shells and carried along with the storm, and the souls of the dead were raised alongside them and all they shattered against the Behemoth.

And Twilight watched, frozen there, as the Behemoth stood over Canterlot, and cast its shadow over Equestria. Unmoved, unmoving, silently watching the mayhem it had caused.

And Twilight watched, from the torn and broken edge of the room, through the hole that had once been a wall and now spanned the whole length from one side to the other. Like an actress on a stage, looking at the audience. The whole world outside her castle, and her inside.

And the knowledge that things would never be the same once she stepped out into that world.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

The End of This | For Thine is

They met her one winter evening, while standing under a tree. It was snowing, that evening, not too hard but still enough to make flying uncomfortable. They were waiting for it to end, under the tree. The tree was a pine, an old pine, pretty tall. They liked leaning against the trunk, watching the snow fall down around them.

She appeared almost at their side, only a few metres away. To their left, to be precise. Just outside the edge of what the pine's branches covered. Standing over the snow, more snow softly falling over her as a few flakes were caught in her blonde mane. She looked around, almost seeming a little dazed. Then, a snowflake landed on her nose, right between her eyes. She gave a shrug, almost a shiver, beat some snow off her body with her wings, and walked towards the trunk of the tree, beneath the branches.

They just stared at her, silent. Undeniably, a part of it was confusion. But once she walked up to the tree, she too saying nothing, acting like nothing of notice had happened and it was perfectly normal for a pony to be there when she hadn't a moment before, they decided they would stay silent too. They liked the silence, and the quiet sounds of the forest, after all.

And so the two of them sat there, side by side, watching in silence the snow fall against the darkening skies, leaning against the pine's rough bark as they waited for the weather to change.

She met them on a winter evening, while looking for a place to spend some time in. She did that often, when she had the time. Just exploration, aimless wandering around the country. It was fun. It was kind of like travelling, but without the annoyances of the trip, without the costs, without the problems of distance. Distance wasn't a problem for her, it had stopped being one a while before in truth.

They were standing beneath a tree, alone, watching the snow. She hadn't known it was snowing there, or that there were trees. She'd learned to avoid trees, at least. But it took her a while to notice it was snowing. And a snowflake landing on her nose.

They noticed her when she showed up. And they were confused. That was normal. Most creatures were, when she showed up like that. It was why she generally avoided doing it inside buildings. That, and walls. She still wasn't as good with walls as she was with trees.

But even if they noticed her, they said nothing. Perhaps they were really that confused. Perhaps they simply had nothing to say. Perhaps they were mute.

The snow was cold around her hooves as she walked towards the tree. They'd had they right idea, sitting there, sheltered from the snow. The tree was tall, its branches spread fairly wide, the tiny, pointy leaves on them still there. Maybe it was a pine.

She got to the trunk. They still said nothing, and now they looked more amused than confused. She said nothing either.

She had nothing to do, and she was there to kill some time. So she sat there near them, and watched the snow fall against the darkening skies, peacefully relaxing as she listened to the silence around them.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Like Silence Breaking Sound

"I am sure you must be rather confused right now. About how you got here or even where 'here' is, about who I am, about everything that's happened up to this point, both to you and to the world. I assure you, it will all make sense, eventually.

"I have to admit, and I'm being honest, I didn't think anyone would find me so soon. And I certainly didn't think it would be you. But I see it was with her help, so I can understand how things went down. She was one of the most likely candidates for who would find me first, after all. Either her, Princess Twilight, or perhaps Rainbow Dash, those were my guesses. Instead, it looks like it was you.

"No matter. Not a problem at all, really. In fact, I am actually rather entertained by it. It's something I hadn't considered planning for. That makes it exciting. And, as I said, this is far sooner than I expected. I was prepared to wait decades, in the worst of outcomes. I am quite sure this will speed things up nicely.

"I'm sure you're starting to realise where we are, right? You're a smart pony. You've been looking around while I was talking. Look down again for a moment if you wish, I won't mind you taking your eyes off me. And I promise I won't jump at you while you are distracted. I would never do that. As you might guess, I am not one to keep my actions hidden. Although, yes, perhaps there is some irony in that, given I was hidden by them.

"I should clarify, at this point, that this isn't my decision. This whole thing, you see? It's more complicated than that. Far, far more complicated than that. I am a part of it all, but I am not the driving force behind it. Truth be told, I am not sure if there is a single will driving the events here. It seems rather like the consequence of many different, individual parts, and outside the single control of any one of them. Almost a coincidence, perhaps. Though I'm sure some would call it fate.

"Who am I to judge? I see how little you know, maybe I'm just as ignorant. Maybe there is someone else behind it all, pulling the strings. But as far as I'm concerned, that doesn't matter. I'm just here to play my part, and I don't care much who that benefits. I never had much of a choice anyway, you see?

"And I am sure, very sure, that you must be wondering what exactly my part is. Surely, though, you don't think I will simply tell you. I do have the unfortunate habit to talk a lot, true, but can you blame me? It gets rather lonely up here. But you're a smart pony, you know I won't just tell you what you want me to by myself. And you're thinking to yourself how you can force me to, are you not?

"Believe me, that is not something I recommend you do. I won't stop you from trying. But I will make sure you regret it, should it happen. Instead, and I should make it clear I am talking to you, not anyone else who might be listening, why don't you just ask? I'm sure there must be a lot of questions on your mind. I don't promise I will answer everything, but it never hurt to try, right?"

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

End of Prologue

The Moon shone bright in the sky, lighting his path towards the castle. He'd been travelling for almost a week at that point, only ever stopping to sleep, and given his schedule he should have actually stopped again a few hours before. But seeing how close he was for the capital, he'd decided to simply ignore rest and get there. He was carrying vital information, and a swift delivery was imperative.

Even if it meant harm to him. Something which would no doubt happen. Hours of ceaseless marching with the added weight of his armour on were bound to have consequences, but it was a sacrifice he was willing to make. He was at least very glad he hadn't had to deal with any attacks. Not from ill-intentioned ponies or other creatures, not from monsters or wild animals. He'd gone seemingly unnoticed, staying away from cities and villages, and as far as he knew no one had spotted him.

No until he'd gotten close to the capital, at least. There, of course, he'd been spotted. The guards were keeping an eye on him from the walls, he knew that even if he couldn't see them. Soon enough somepony would reach him and inquire as to who he was. No one was allowed to get near the castle without reason, it was not something the Crown could afford.

Sure enough, a guard descended from the sky to block his path. She wasn't displaying any obvious hostility, but he recognised the standard approach to unidentified ponies. Standing at an angle to block as much of the road as she could, wing ready to grab the sword at her side, legs prepared to spring into action. "Hey, you there!" she barked at him in a raspy tone. "Identify yourself."

He had to hold back a smile. It was always nice to see properly applied protocol. He didn't answer. Instead, he pulled out a sealed letter from his saddlebags, and threw it towards the mare. "That should clear it up." He then watched as she carefully picked up the envelope and opened it, and the way her expression changed as she read its contents.

After that, it didn't take too long for him to reach his destination. The mare escorted him inside the city and past the guards, all of which simply gave a salute as she passed by them. He was getting tired of the walking, and almost ready to pass out, but there was one last thing for him to do. The reason he was there in the first place. The door to the throne room stood in front of him, and the mare nodded for him to walk in.

And so he did. The doors closed behind him with a heavy, metallic thud, and his eyes drifted towards the far end of the room, where Her Majesty sat upon her throne. "My Queen," he said in a low, respectful tone, kneeling and bowing his head. "I bring you the results of the tests conducted in the Empire, as you ordered. Your faithful subordinate wishes me to inform you that there has been a breakthrough in understanding the phenomenon."

Up on her throne, on the opposite side of the room, Nightmare Moon's expression shifted, moving to something almost similar to a smile. "Very well."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Implausible Deniability

"Discord!"

Twilight's voice echoed around the path to Fluttershy's house, and louder still echoed her steps as she made her way through it. "Discord!" she called again, as the rest of her friends walked behind her.

"Ugh. Come on!" Rainbow Dash shouted, rising slightly in the air and looking around. "Where is he hiding?"

"Indeed, where is he?" Discord asked, toying with his beard, a serious expression on his face. The rest of his body slithered out from its hiding spot behind Twilight's neck, and he too began to look around. "Who are we looking for, anyway?"

"Discord!" This time, it was Rarity who spoke out.

"Oh, me?" The draconequus put his paw to his chest, drawing back in surprise. "Well in that case, there I am." He pointed towards a nearby set of two palm trees, and at the hammock hanging between them. On it, Discord peacefully lay, sunglasses over his eyes and a tanning reflector held in his arms.

The group of six ponies looked between the trees and where Discord had been floating up until a moment prior, only to find he was no longer there. Rolling their eyes, they all headed towards his new location, Twilight choosing to directly teleport there in front of him.

"Nothing."

She stopped for a moment, her mouth half open. She ate the question she'd been meaning to ask back up, and instead went with a more simple, more immediate one. "What?"

Discord folded his reflector, the hammock, and the trees, and tucked them behind the frame of his glasses. He then removed his glasses and folded them away from reality. "I had nothing to do with any of this." He gestured vaguely towards Canterlot. "And much to my displeasure, I know just as little about it as you all do."

"Sure, and Fa-"

Pinkie was cut off suddenly, but it took Twilight a moment to realise why. She first had to turn towards the mare, and see her five friends frozen in place, even those above ground. "Discord," she flatly uttered, turning back towards him.

"It's hard to juggle a conversation with six different ponies," he replied while casually juggling six balls, each with the colour and cutie mark of one of them. "Besides, this gives me a chance to talk to you in stopped time in circumstances slightly less dire than the other time. And space. And us." He let the balls fall towards the sky. "But I'm being honest, Twilight," he continued, watching them go. "I know nothing about what that thing is, why it's here, how it got here, I know nothing."

That got him a flat, skeptical look.

Playing with a dial that had appeared in the air and watching Pinkie move slightly forwards and backwards in time, it took Discord a moment to notice Twilight's expression. "Oh come on. You bring the entire country to the brink of ruin three to five times, depending on how you count, and suddenly everyone thinks you're behind the giant mysterious monster that came out of nowhere and is bringing chaos everywhere."

"Yes."

Discord looked to the side. "Okay, fine, it's a fair conclusion to draw. But really, Twilight, think of it. It has not been two months since I last almost doomed us all. Don't you think I have learned my lesson for at least a year or so?" As he said that, he coiled around Twilight, beaming a smile at her.

"Alright, fine." Twilight brought a hoof to her face. "I trust you, and we need you. Will you at least help us figure ou- What are you doing?"

Discord pushed his suitcase closed. "As I said, I know nothing about this. So, since I've decided to make myself forgivable after the recent Grogar kerfuffle, I'm going to do some research for once." He snapped a door into existence, and began looking for a key out of a set he was suddenly holding.

"Research? Wait, where are you going?" Twilight stepped to his side.

"The library, of course. That's where all the knowledge is."

The key turned in its hole, the lock clicked, and the door opened. Behind it, rows of bookshelves stretching out as far as the eye could see, impossibly tall, thin bridges suspended between them to walk from one to the other. Twilight stared, her eyes wide, her mouth wider. Only because Discord pushed it closed with a talon did drool not leak from its corners.

She turned to look at the draconequus. "So you're saying there's a dimension out there of just books? Of all the books?" She threw another quick glance past the door. "And you never told me?"

Discord looked back at her. "If I had let you in, there would not have been an Equestria left for you to go back to once you were done with it. Maybe not even a planet." He looked forward once again. "And there are things in there better left unread." His tone grew far more serious for a moment as he said that. "Anyway. I might take a few eternities in there. I'll try to get back around two years from now or sooner. But in case I'm not back in the next two centuries, leave me a note saying I took too long."

And with that he stepped through the door and closed it behind him.

"-rything is- Hey, where did he go?"

An Empty Room

"You too?"

It was a simple question, one posed almost innocently. It still left Celestia at pause. "I..."

The pegasus turned towards her, curious, and amused. "Well? It's either yes or no, right?"

Celestia looked down. Down below past the puffy white clouds, towards the remains of what had used to be a city. "I can't honestly answer no. But I really do not wish to say yes, either." Something that looked like a smile but didn't feel like one curled her lips. "So I suppose I just choose not to answer."

"Why?"

Celestia was silent again, for a moment. She kept staring at the city in ruins, munching on nothing, deep in thought. Then her eyes turned upwards, towards the sky, and still for a second longer she was silent. And then she said, "Fear, I suppose. Not fear as one usually intends it, but a shade of fear nonetheless."

"Oh?" The pegasus' head tilted to a side. "And why is that? What is it?"

"I don't know." Celestia's answer was immediate this time, instinctual. Something she'd prepared for, ran in her head many times. "And I don't want to know. I've never tried, and I don't plan to." She looked at the pegasus. "You can see why, I'm sure. You can understand why I would be afraid."

"I can. But I have my doubts it will work forever, Celestia. It's not something you can ignore. The fact alone that you know it's there should tell you as much. You can feel it, and sooner or later it will come to the surface."

"Not if I have a say in it." There was a more prideful, authoritarian note in Celestia's tone, something she rarely used in her ruling days and even less so after passing on the crown. She sat a little straighter as she said that, her wings rigid and spread just a bit wider.

"I'm afraid you don't." The pegasus just rolled around, uncaring of the alicorn's display. "None of us did. It always just happened. How do you think you can stop it when you don't know what it is?"

"I can try."

"Try what? Try to do absolutely nothing? You can't. It will happen, Celestia, whether you like it or not. You're just delaying the inevitable."

Celestia looked away from the other, back towards the ground, and for a few moments she was silent again. Her long mane drifted along the light breeze around them, as the Sun she'd once used to move slowly made its way towards the horizon. Finally, after feeling the pegasus come to sit at her side, she broke the silence once more. "It's something strong. I can feel it. Whatever it is, it's powerful."

The only answer the other pony gave was a tap on Celestia's back with a wing, encouraging her to continue.

"I don't know. It could have been any other alicorn. It should have been any other alicorn."

"Feel like you're getting too old for this?"

Celestia didn't answer, that time. Something that felt closer to a smile curled her lips, and the two of them watched the Sun disappear behind the mountains in the distance.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Welcome Home ([R])

"We can't keep doing this. It's the third one already."

"Conspirators. They had it coming."

"You know it won't be like that forever. We'll run out of those eventually, do you think she'll have us stop? We'll move on to other criminals and prisoners, and when the cells are all empty we'll move on to civilians."

"You keep talking like that, and you'll be the next one lying on that table."

"Like you're not thinking the same."

"I am. But whining won't solve the issue. We can only figure out what it is we're doing wrong, and try to fix that."

"What we're doing wrong? Oh, please. Everything about this is wrong. How do we know there is a way to make it work? What if there isn't? She won't listen to reason, and you know it."

"We'll figure something out. We have to. Unless you want to try running away from here, but you saw what happened to the last pony who did."

"Oh, I didn't see it just once. I pass there on my way here, they still haven't cleaned away the stain. How long has it been? Two moons at least, hasn't it?"

"Maybe. I've lost track of time, my sleep schedule has been a mess as of late. Any plans for the next test?"

"No, and I don't want to think about it. We should just ask for more time and tell her to wait on that, she can't expect better results if the tests are all so close to each other."

"It's conspirators, remember? She doesn't care if they make it through. I'm pretty sure she expects them not to. As far as she's concerned, we're doubling as executioners."

"Don't remind me. This isn't what I signed up for."

"I know, right? She isn't even paying us for that."

"Shut it. She could just convert them. Why doesn't she just convert them?"

"Do you think this is something she came up with on a whim? Because it's not. She planned this, for years. Maybe decades. Why doesn't she convert them? Because then she'd have nopony to send here. Because she'd have to force civilians to come. Because ponies are scared and mistrustful if they know they could be taken away at any moment, but nopony cares if a sentenced criminal dies in a lab or in a prison."

"She could have the whole nation pinned down under her hoof. Every single pony. Why doesn't she do that instead?"

"She tried. She failed. She couldn't run the whole thing on her own, had to ease her grip on the population, give ponies some freedoms. What do you think this is all about? The Guard? Nah. This is about her. She's working her way back up there, and we're here to build her a ladder."

"She has wings."

"You know what I mean."

"Alright. How do you know all this, anyway?"

"Went snooping through the archives."

"And you say I'm the one who risks ending up on that table!"

"The thing is, Starburst, you actually care about not being melted into a puddle as a result of a failed experiment. I, personally, would see it as an improvement."

"I told you not to call me that."

"Alright, Starburst. Wanna go back in there?"

"Do you think the smell has gone away now?"

"I don't think the smell ever will go away. But enough of it should have stuck to our coats for us to have gotten used to it by now."

"Well. Alright then. But you're cleaning up this time, I did the last two."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Painting the Orchids Green

The ice inside the glass rattled as the drink was set down, and Rarity took a moment to look at it. It was always interesting to see the way light reflected and refracted, between the glass, the drink and the ice. Eye-catching. Perhaps she could make some designs inspired by that. At a later time though.

"Twilight said she found another one," Rainbow Dash said from the other side of the table. "A couple hours' trip from here. For someone who's not me, of course. Maybe even three or four, there's mountains on the way and I don't know if it would be faster to go through or around."

"I suppose you're going to check on it." Rarity took hold of the glass and began to drink. It was cold going down her throat, but she didn't mind. She aimlessly turned her gaze towards the window, looking at the snow-covered park just outside. "I'm surprised you even bothered to come here instead of flat-out rushing there."

"There's no reason to rush. I like relaxing too sometimes, you know?" Rainbow replied with a cheeky smile. Her own drink arrived, and she quickly took a sip of the steaming hot chocolate, only to bring the mug away from her mouth just as quickly and fan her tongue.

Rarity couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

The other threw her a faux-annoyed glare, then blew a little air on her cocoa before trying to drink it again. "Laugh all you want, at least I'm not the one asking for an iced drink in the middle of winter." She gave a nod towards Rarity's own, now half-finished glass.

"Can't handle a little cold?" Rarity took another sip. "Anyway. You didn't call me here just to tell me about Twilight's discovery, did you? I'll have you know, I have a very busy schedule. Right now I could be having a long private meeting with one of the bottles I keep locked in the basement, for example."

"Why do you even keep those locked away if you go grab them so often?"

"I can't have Sweetie Belle going in there. I am not letting my collection go to waste on a teen's drinking spree. That's Applejack's job." Another chuckle, another sip. "I'll take away the lock once they're old enough to appreciate the finer kinds of drinks. Though I might still have to leave it when you come around, I don't think you'll ever learn."

Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes, as amused as she was annoyed. "Alcohol is alcohol, Rarity. You're not better than me because you get wasted on wine and not beer."

"It's called being high class drunk, Darling."

"Which is kind of like how a gold knife is high class. Less efficient than the alternative, but it costs more. Well, at least you're not like Pinkie."

Rarity shuddered, and gave a nod of agreement.

"Well, anyway." Rainbow took another sip of chocolate. "Like you said, I wasn't just gonna tell you Twilight found another one. I was meaning to ask, wanna come help me out there? I could get there way faster by myself, but I could use somebody else. Especially if it's anything like last time."

Rarity took a moment to think. Her glass lay drained on the table, the ice slowly melting. "Sure," she finally answered. "I'm always ready to lend a helping hand."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Startracking light

Starlight was in Ponyville when the Behemoth came to Canterlot. Working at her desk in the School of Friendship. Supposedly so, at least. In practice, a lot of her head lying on the table was involved, alongside quite a fair bit of her eyelids sinking threateningly low over her eyes. The natural consequences of staying up until late the night before, and she should have known better, but she would still blame it all on Trixie if asked.

The good news was at least there wasn't much work to do, it being summer and all. The less good news was her staying up the previous night had also come at the cost of work she was supposed to do then, meaning her workload that morning was doubled and she was late on the delivery.

Despite all of this, she still spent a considerably large portion of her time lying motionless as she fought back her sleep, and an equally significant portion of the time spent differently either watering or petting Phyllis. In fairness, it was one of the few things she could manage without risks of messing up, given her conditions. And even then, she'd almost given her coffee to the plant.

It is important to keep her condition in mind when considering the events that followed. For example, the way she took far longer than any other creature to notice anything was wrong. Her first instinct, upon feeling the vibrations in the ground, was to assume students were running through the hallways and mutter something against them, too tired to put any effort into her words or to get up and go take a look.

It took a few more quakes, enough for them to get stronger than what yaks jumping out of her door could justify, before Starlight actually realised there were no students possibly there to cause all that. What followed was a very confused attempt on her part to get up from her desk, grab Phyllis, and run out of the room. She mostly succeeded at the last two, but the first resulted in far more tripping and hitting her head than she would ever be willing to confess.

She was about halfway through her second corridor when she remembered that the throbbing cone of pain and headaches attached to her forehead had uses besides moving plants, and teleported outside the shaking building in a flash.

"Is everyone okay?" she asked immediately upon reappearing outside the school and seeing the group of creatures already gathered there. Setting Phyllis down, she started looking around to see who else had made it out.

Sunburst gave a nod, as he too checked to make sure no one was missing. "That should be everyone."

Starlight gave a sigh of relief, and exchanged a brief hug with Trixie as the two of them found each other. "What's happening?" she asked, as another, yet stronger quake shook the earth.

Trixie pointed a hoof towards the mountains in the distance. "That."

Starlight followed the direction with her gaze. "Oh."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Out of The Flood

"Did you see that?!" Scarlet Ribbon asked in alarmed tones, vaguely pointing a hoof towards the corner of the street. "There was a pony there! And then she just wasn't!"

"No, Scarlet. I did not see a pony there." Silver Lace kept trotting at her friend's side, an unamused expression on her face as she stared in the direction the other mare was pointing towards. "Are you sure you aren't seeing things?"

"I'm not!" Scarlet answered back, turning towards Silver. "I swear, she was right there. A grey pegasus with a blonde mane. And then she just went poof -" She stopped, and made a vague gesture with her front hooves "- and suddenly she wasn't there anymore."

Silver stopped and turned to her friend. "Are you sure you haven't just caught the crazy too?"

"Don't call it just 'the crazy', Silver, that's so unscientific," Scarlet half-whined. "It's a real condition and we just don't have a name for it yet. Probably. I need to study it more." She bit her lip and looked to the side.

Silver knowingly raised an eyebrow at her. "Gonna be hard to do that if you keep avoiding him, right?"

"Yeah." Scarlet gave a nod. Then, after a moment, her expression cleared and she went back to looking at the other mare. "But anyway, there's probably no way I caught it, he seems to have gotten it from eating that thing he found and either way a condition like that is probably not contagious and, well, actually, I don't really have any idea if it's contagious or not and it could be and he did come to my house last week and oh no Silver what if it's contagious and he's going to spread it all through the town and what if I already have it what do I do!" She ended the sentence just barely not screaming, and almost shaking the other mare as she held her shoulders.

Silver pushed her away with a hoof and walked back. "Well first off don't come this close to me if it is contagious, what if I catch it too? And don't ask me what you're supposed to do! You're the doctor here."

"I'm not a real doctor yet!" Scarlet clutched her head in her hooves. "What do I do what do I do what do I do what do I-"

A grey pegasus with a blonde mane ran between them, and disappeared in the middle of the road.

The two mares looked at each other in silence.

"You infected me!" Silver screeched, drawing back.

"See? I wasn't crazy!" Scarlet said, at exactly the same time.

They looked at each other a moment longer, as each heard and processed what the other had said. Then they laughed.

"Alright then. Disappearing pegasus mare. Why not?" Silver said as the two of them got back to walking down the road.

"Did you hear about the tentacle monster?"

"I did hear about the tentacle monster," replied Silver in her most melodramatic tone.

"Thankfully the guards took care of that."

"Yeah. Wanna come to my place for tea, later?"

"Sure."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Still Alive

"How long have I been out for?"

The question was calm, almost unemotional. Nevertheless, it still tore the silence of the room like a knife through a canvas.

Tempest didn't lift her head to ask. She didn't move from her position on the bed, she didn't look around, she didn't make any noise. She just opened her mouth, a little bit, and asked.

Twilight's head jerked to the side, towards the bed. There was worry on her face, and relief, and feeble traces of an anger never meant to last, and the signs of more than a few hours of lost sleep. But just a moment later, it was all gone, tucked away beneath the surface. She wore the same kind of calm expression Tempest had while she answered the question. "About a week."

"What time is it now?"

Again, the unicorn's voice was calm, and again, Twilight answered it in the same matter-of-fact tone.

"Pretty late. Just a couple hours to midnight, I'd say." She looked out of the window, towards the stars in the sky. "I haven't checked after coming in here though. I'm not sure."

Tempest took a breath that was just a little deeper than the previous ones. "How long will it be before I can get out of here?"

"I don't know. The doctors will have to run exams on you, only then we'll be able to tell. Speaking of which." Twilight got up from her chair, and walked to a small table resting near Tempest's bed. There, she tapped a small crystal with her hoof, and the gem began to glow purple in response. "They will be here soon. A couple of minutes at most, probably."

"Twilight?" There was a slight, subtle crack in Tempest's voice, and silence followed her question for a while.

Twilight finally looked towards the other mare, whose head was only barely raised to allow her to see the alicorn behind her.

"I can't feel my hind legs."

If any shadow crossed Twilight's face, she hid it too quickly for anyone to notice. "It's the drugs." Then, in a softer tone, she added, "We had to numb the whole area. You wouldn't stop screaming otherwise." She bit her lower lip, and her mask of detachment cracked. "I can tell you, if you don't want to see it yourself."

Tempest didn't answer. She lifted a hoof past her white blanket, took hold of it in her grasp, and pulled up just enough for her to curve her neck and look down.

Then she set her neck straight again, put the blanket back in place and straightened it, and tucked her leg back under it. And then she gave a brief chuckle.

"You think it's funny?"

"In a way," Tempest answered. "Entertaining, I suppose. Seeing it there, and knowing it's your body, and feeling nothing at all. Will it hurt, when the meds run out?"

"Like Tartarus." Twilight began to walk towards the exit, as the hoofsteps of approaching doctors and nurses were heard echoing closer down the hallway.

"Twilight?"

The alicorn looked back, her hoof on the doorknob.

"I'm sorry."

"And I'm glad you're okay."

Heart | Spades

"You lost her, didn't you?"

"Sir, I-"

"Again."

The first of the two guards looked down to the ground. "Yes, Sir."

Shining shook his head, possibly more amused than annoyed. "I don't know why I still trust you with this," he said, but his tone was friendly.

"To be fair, Sir," the second guard replied, "we did not expect her to teleport through the wall."

Shining just looked up at the ceiling, almost as if expecting someone else to look down from the sky and come save him, then he turned around and began to walk through the corridor. "Let's find her before Cadence comes back, she'll get worried otherwise."

The two guards looked at each other, then began to follow him. "Sir," the first began, "Princess Cadence is currently-"

"Taking a nap in her rooms?" Shining looked back for a moment while still walking forward. "Nah. That mare sneaked away through the window, she's on top of the Wall right now."

"And how do you know, Sir, if I can ask?" asked the second one.

"I just do, Quartz. I just do." Shining reached a new hallway, and had a look around.

"Which way, Captain?" the two guards asked together.

Looking to his left, Shining pointed a hoof behind himself, to the right. "I'd say we follow the trail of knocked-down flowerpots and disassembled armours."

The trip with Rainbow had gone well. Perfectly, even, for what it was supposed to be. The area had been secured, and nothing dangerous had happened. And yet...

"Rarity?" Sweetie Belle's face peeked out from behind the half-closed door, accompanied by her light knocking on it. "Is everything okay?"

Rarity lifted her head up from the table, and had to bite down on her lip as a few pops went off in her neck and back. That at least gave her some distraction from the seconds of nausea and disorientation that followed her abrupt motion. When the room finally decided to stop spinning and the misshapen splotches of colour danced their way out of her eyes for good, she answered, "Yes, Sweetie. No need to worry."

Her sister seemed hesitant to leave. "Okay. I'm here in the other room if you need me. Do you want me to make dinner?"

"I..." Rarity looked at Sweetie Belle, then at the clock on the wall, then at the open bottle lying on the table, already too empty to spill anything even while on its side. She really wished to begin another make-out session between her forehead and the table for a moment. Instead, she just looked back to her sister. "I'm sorry. I'll make something, just... Give me fifteen minutes or so, okay?"

"Okay." Sweetie Belle gave a small nod, then slid back out of the room.

Rarity went back to looking at the table. There was a sheet of paper on it, set askew, one of the ones she used to sketch on, and without thinking she turned it around. A rough design for a hat was drawn on the other side.

She grabbed the bottle and downed the rest of it.

Diamonds

"So what exactly did you have in mind? A dress? A hat? Something less traditional?" Rarity lowered her head and her tone, suspiciously eyeing the corners of the room before focusing back on Sugar. Despite the fact that there was very clearly no one else there. "Is it a saddle?"

Sugar Belle gave a brief chuckle at the last question, and then a dismissive wave of her hoof. "Oh, no, it's not anything like that."

Rarity gave a sigh of relief deep enough to make any observer question the capacity of her lungs, and dramatically threw herself back on to the chair. "Oh thank goodness it's not a saddle. Those things have been out-fashioned for years at this point." She resumed her more professional attitude and position, and continued, "What is it then?"

"It's actually not a dress." Sugar shifted slightly in her seat. "I was thinking about a dice set."

Rarity looked puzzled for a moment. "Darling, you are aware that it says this is a clothes shop outside, right? It does say clothes shop, right? Did someone change it to say games shop? Is Discord back? I swear if he's back and he decided to mess with my shop before telling us what he found I-"

"Rarity?"

"Oh? Oh, yes, sorry. Do go on?"

"Well, I'm sure you're aware that he likes to play Ogres and Oubliettes with Spike and the others," Sugar began.

"Ah, yes, that. Wonderful game, I'm sure. I played it once. I think. It's been a while. Anyway, where do I come in in all this?" Rarity asked, forcing her smile a bit.

The other unicorn cleared her throat. "So occasionally, when we go shopping together, I noticed he'll stop to stare at dice sets through the shop window of this one place that sells tabletops and the like. There's a metal one he seems particularly fond of, but I know he wouldn't spend money on a thing like that. And I was thinking, would it be possible to get a set of dice made of crystal or gemstones?"

Rarity opened her mouth to answer, then closed it, frowning in thought. "Well, I'm not a gem cutter, but I do suppose I could help you find the right pieces for it. Yes. Yes, I don't see why I shouldn't help you out with this." She smiled a little wider as a thought crossed her mind. "We'll just have to hope Spike doesn't eat them."

"Oh, thank you!" Sugar Belle got up from her seat, chuckling at what the other unicorn had said, and extended a hoof towards Rarity. "When do you have the time for it?"

Rarity shook her hoof back. "Would tomorrow afternoon work? I should be free then."

"Yes, it would. Thanks again." Sugar began to head towards the exit. "See you tomorrow then, Rarity."

"See you tomorrow, Darling." Rarity watched the unicorn leave with a smile, then jotted down a reminder about the appointment next day on her notebook. She was about to go to back to her studio, when the door opened again and Twilight walked in. "Is something wrong?" Rarity asked, seeing the other's expression.

"We need to have a talk," Twilight answered, a mixture of worry and nervousness on her face.

Rarity moved closer to her, beginning to worry as well. "What is it?"

"It's about you."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Intensen-i-on

The flower was certainly beautiful. Its wide purple petals looked soft as silk, shiny and reflective like they were coated in chrome. The tall stems that surged from the centre ended in bright red puffs of pollen that resembled smaller versions of a cheerleader's pompons, and the green roots and leaves at the base were like snakes, their movements harmonious and elegant.

It was also dangerously close to breaking through the reinforced glass container housing it. That was probably worth focusing on sooner than everything else.

"Rose? We kind of need your help here!" Starlight nervously said as she stepped around the creaking glass cylinder, eyeing the plant with ever-increasing worry.

"I know!" the earth pony replied. "I'm trying to think of what to do!"

"Maybe cutting off its light sources?" Thunderlane asked, moving to push against the surface of the tube while Starlight did the same with her magic.

"Not a good idea," Rose answered, biting her lower lip and stepping in place as she tried to think of a way out of their situation. "If we do that, it'll just get angry and push harder to come out. Same if we cut the air out."

An uncomfortably loud sound came from the glass, as yet another crack appeared on its surface. "You know I'll have to blast this thing if we can't stop it, right?" Starlight asked.

Thunderlane leaned to the side to look at her. "Can't you just hold it?"

The glass creaked again. "Not forever."

"Rose?" The pegasus turned back towards her.

"I'm trying to think!" the earth pony replied. Rubbing a hoof to her temple, she began to turn around in circles. "Think, think, think, th- A-ha! Thunderlane?"

"Yes Ma'am?"

Rose pointed towards a cabinet on the other side of the room. "Fetch me the blue vial on the third shelf, and the green satchel of orange powder that's at the bottom. And an empty beaker, too. Starlight?" She turned towards the unicorn. "You think you can hold it in there for a minute longer?"

The unicorn looked back and gave a nod. "I can try."

"Okay." Rose sat down, and took hold of the items Thunderlane had meanwhile brought to her. "Now, I don't want to alarm you," she began, while emptying half the vial into the beaker, "but there's a very slight chance that this thing might blow up in my face if I'm not careful." She began to open the satchel.

"How bad, exactly?" Thunderlane asked.

"You know room thirty-seven?"

The pegasus stopped to think for a moment, while Rose carefully added some powder to the mixture. "Does the place even have a room thirty-seven?"

"Not anymore," Starlight chirped in through grit teeth.

Thunderlane swallowed and looked back at Rose, but she was already back on her hooves, the beaker in her mouth now full of purple liquid. "Starlight?" she called, the sound a bit distorted.

"Yes?" There was sweat evident on the unicorn's forehead.

"Let go."

Starlight did, and immediately converted her spell into a shield. A wise choice, given the shower of glass shards that immediately exploded into every direction near the container.

The flower's tendrils only had a short time to slither outside of their prison though, as just a second later the beaker Rose had held landed over its petals and broke, drenching them in purple liquid. After a second longer, the plant took on a grey tinge, and the flower closed up as if it was nighttime, its vines retreating and going limp.

"Well," Rose said between pants, "that could have gone worse."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Catch some Sunlight

Sunset gave her ice-cream cone a lick, leaning back into the bench and looking at Twilight. "How's the research going?"

"Not well." Twilight adjusted her glasses, slightly pushing them back, then moved a strand of stray hair out of the way, and finally moved to lick her own ice-cream. "I can't find a pattern of any kind."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually." Sunset moved her free hand to pat Twilight's head. Then she looked back at the cone she held in the other. "Well, at least it won't melt too quickly."

Twilight, a little embarrassed, looked at the park around them, the grass covered in red and yellow leaves and the branches on the trees growing emptier by the day. "Heh. Can you blame me? I spent most of the summer trying to study this thing."

"It's not like we forced you to." Sunset licked some more ice-cream. "You're the one who decided she had to go looking for portals from a lab instead of spending time outside having fun."

Twilight adjusted her glasses again, this time from the side. "Well, I think it was necessary. Think about what would have happened if someone accidentally fell into one of them! We can't have people go missing, much less have them turn up in Equestria with no idea of what's happened to them."

"Do you think that ever just happened? I feel like we would have heard about it. It's weird to think no one apparently ever found one with how many there are." Another lick to her ice-cream.

"That's kind of the problem." Twilight let herself fall back on the bench, looking up at the sky with a defeated expression. "No way of telling if the portals were always there, or if it was the Behemoth's arrival that caused so many to appear, or which ones were already there and which weren't." Her expression fell even further. "For all we know, half of those could be my fault."

"Hey now." Sunset lightly punched Twilight's shoulder to get her attention. "For all we know, the other half could be my fault instead."

"It doesn't matter how many times you try it, Sunset," Twilight said, still looking up at nothing, "the 'your girlfriend turned into a magic demon monster thing too' strategy doesn't work nearly as well as you think it does."

"Oh, fair," Sunset said with a pout and a tone that matched it. She licked her ice-cream again. "At least my girlfriend looked hot when she did."

That finally got Twilight's eyes to point towards Sunset. "Every time we talk about the time I almost destroyed this world and yours, the only thing you can add to the conversation is that I looked sexy while doing it. I swear, you're impossible." She finally sat straight again, and bit into her ice-cream.

Sunset shrugged. "I always had a thing for bad girls. That's what you have that the other Twilight doesn't. That, and the glasses. And you know how to use hands."

After a moment of chewing on her ice-cream, Twilight replied, "Okay, fine. You looked pretty sexy too when you did the whole light angel thing." She was about to take another bite, but she stopped and began to turn towards Sunset, asking, "Wait, when you say I know how to-" Her words died in a choked sputter.

Sunset kept her eyes locked on Twilight's, her expression a mask of faux innocence, as she finished giving a long, deep lick at the flat top of her ice-cream cone, partly digging her way into it. "Yes, Twilight?" she asked, before licking her own lips clean as slowly as possible.

Twilight just blinked. Then she gave a look around the park. Then her geode lit up.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Black

Black, as far as they could see. The sky covered in smoky clouds, around them an ocean of tar stretching boundless in every direction. Nothing else in the darkness between the two, not a sound or a trace of movement.

Twilight stood on the edge of the rock, the whole structure no larger than a house, the only stable ground in sight. For all they knew, it had been the top of a mountain at some point, and everything else had been covered by a flood. "What do you think happened here?" she asked.

"I can't tell you anything you can't already see for yourself," answered Celestia. "But whatever it was, I doubt it left much of a trace of what used to be here. If there was something, of course."

Twilight swallowed as she was reminded of what could have once been there, before whatever catastrophe had struck. "This could have been us," she whispered, mostly thinking aloud.

"But it wasn't." Celestia stepped to her side. "There's nothing we can do about it, Twilight. It's no use worrying over it."

"I know," Twilight replied. "That doesn't make it better." She turned, and began to walk around the rock's perimeter, studying the horizon. "Do you think we should explore the surroundings?"

Celestia softly bit her lip as she looked at Twilight. Not the worried, uncertain symptom of hesitation of someone who sees the benefits and risks of both paths. More like the petty pause of someone who does not want to be bothered, but knows it'll make them look bad. Still, the white alicorn was at least old and wise enough to provide a valid reason with which to mask her laziness. "I wouldn't risk it. There's nothing in sight, and that means both we're unlikely to find anything close, and we might not be able to get back here should we travel far enough to lose sight of this place."

Twilight had, unfortunately for Celestia, spent enough time with her to tell where her real motives lay. "Too bad Luna didn't come instead of you, right?" she playfully remarked, moving back towards the alicorn.

Celestia looked to the side, feigning the required amount of indignation over the perfectly legitimate yet still perceived as offence piece of critique. "Right," she quietly admitted. "But my sister is busy hunting."

"She is." Twilight stood at Celestia's side. "Well, we can always come back here at a later time. Prepared, now that we know what's in here." She looked at the other alicorn. "You can go back to your cakes now if you want."

Celestia's cheeks turned far more red than she would have ever allowed them to back in her ruling days. Which was still less than any normal pony's reaction, but nonetheless impressive on her. She just glared at Twilight, perfectly aware that she had nothing with which to fire back.

Twilight turned to leave. Then she turned again, as a deep, immensely loud wailing sound echoed towards them from the far horizon, like a violin note distorted and amplified to an impossibly degree.

And they both looked towards the distance, at the wall of blackness moving closer and closer, the wave rising from the dark ocean tall enough to reach the sky and swallowing everything in its path.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

MD-N-HVN

It was raining. Hard. The grass in the fields bent under the weight of the pouring water, and the frantic drumming sound as each drop hit the ground was impossible to ignore.

Weather, after the Behemoth's arrival and especially near the Everfree Forest, had grown to be a bit unstable. Pegasi could still control it, of course, but something had changed. Things didn't exactly respond they way they had used to, and particularly in the first months it had taken a while before they'd finally gotten the hang of things again.

Not that anyone was particularly to blame for that specific storm. It looked like it was natural, or at least as natural as anything coming from the Everfree could be, and had simply wandered out there on its own. That might have been a problem had it gone towards Ponyville, but it had instead headed towards a mostly empty strip of land.

Lyra didn't particularly mind the rain. Not when it wasn't hitting her, at least, and thankfully enough she'd found shelter. A small, somewhat worn-out wooden shed in the middle of the fields, the door unlocked and the inside well isolated. No water falling in, nor creeping up from the ground or sides, not too cold and not at all dirty. It was clearly still used and cleaned from time to time, but she had doubts the owner would object to her staying in it for a while. There was nothing there one could steal, anyway.

It was almost empty. A single room with windows on two sides, a pavement built out of bricks and a bench built into the wall opposite of the entrance. Nails on the walls and hooks on the ceiling were clearly there to hang tools or other things, but it appeared nothing was actually being kept there for the time being, likely explaining why it was left unlocked.

Almost empty. The first other thing in the room was a large bag of seeds in a corner. Different kinds mixed together, some of the larger ones broken, all of them dry. Going by the faded decal on the side of the bag, it was probably bird food. After giving it a look, Lyra had assumed the owner of the shed used it for birdwatching during autumn. It was a good explanation for why the place seemed to be regularly used even when no one would be working there.

The second other thing in the room wasn't really a thing. It was more like a creature. In fact it probably was a creature. Lying on the bench at the end of the room, its back turned towards the door. A long, black body with hints of green around the torso, translucent wings resting over it partly hidden by a tattered dark blue mane that was matched by a tail on the other end, and visible holes near the hooves.

It was also sleeping. Or pretending to sleep, but Lyra had no intention of finding out which one of the two it was. She just stood near the door, watching the rain pour down outside and waiting for it to end so she could leave.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Hig Lif

The colours and sounds of the club blended together around her, but she didn't pay attention to any of it. She didn't care about the faces of the other creatures, or the words of the music, or what anyone was saying. That was kind of the point of it all. She was there to relax, and nothing helped her relax like a wall of light and noise loud and bright enough to just let herself go in it.

Except for whatever it was they slipped into her drink when she asked for it. She didn't care what it was either, just that it didn't hurt the morning after. She was pretty sure that unicorn DJ was taking some of it too anyway. Besides, anyone who'd been there more than once would know about it, if the place hadn't been closed down yet it wasn't anything serious.

Lightning leaned back into her seat, taking another sip of her drink. She wasn't exactly sure what kind of drink it was either. Something with alcohol in it, but not too strong. Maybe some fruit too? Her mouth was a little too dry to taste properly. Of course she would have actually known what she was drinking if she'd paid any attention when she was being served, but she was too tired for that.

Missions did always leave her like that. At the end of one she was basically moving on inertia alone, schedules too ingrained in her somehow preventing her body from just dropping into sleep when by all other means it should have. Soarin' didn't get hit like that. He wasn't as tired, on average. Sure, he had it pretty rough sometimes, when he really had to push himself, but it was different for her. She was always pushing herself when she went on a mission.

Maybe she would need to talk about it with Twilight. She knew she wouldn't, but in that moment she was a sufficient mix of tired, drunk, and otherwise intoxicated to actually entertain a thought such as that. Speaking of the Princess, she was technically the one paying for that and all her other visits to the club. Lightning did wonder if she'd ever get asked about it one day. Maybe Twilight would want to see the place for herself. That was a fun mental image.

The pegasus leaned even further back into her seat and slid down, almost to the point of practically lying with her back where her hindquarters should have been instead. She was never quite sure whether it was the feeling of the drug going into her veins or the regular feeling of alcohol doing the same perceived through the drug's distortion, but she always got a kick out of it when it happened.

She'd probably spend the rest of the night there on her seat, lying on her side, maybe accidentally drooling a little on the floor as she got the closest thing to sleep her body allowed her to have outside of her usual schedules. Then at some point she would pass out, the place would close down, and the royal guard waiting for her outside would carry her back to the place she was staying at.

Business as usual. She should probably ask for that guard's name at some point.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Hardline

"That doesn't sound like a good idea."

"Oh come on!" Rainbow threw her hands up in the air. "One of us is literally a unicorn! We should totally write power metal."

Fluttershy just stared down at her notes, thoughtfully tapping her chin. "I don't know. I feel like we're not really suited to play something like that."

"It's not that hard!" Rainbow got up from her seat and started pacing around the room. "We could just, I don't know... Take out the tambourine for a second guitar?"

This time, Fluttershy stared at her, her expression flat.

"Okay." Rainbow sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "Maybe that's not a good idea. We could try a more proggy approach to it? I mean if you can have a bagpipes solo in a power metal song I imagine we could figure something out with the tamb-"

"A bagpipes solo?!" Pinkie burst out from seemingly nowhere, almost knocking Rainbow off her feet. "Oh, oh, oh, can I get to play one of those on our next song?" she asked, excitedly bouncing up and down.

"Do you even know how to play bagpipes?" asked Rainbow, standing back straight and choosing to ignore how the door was still locked.

"I can try!"

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash exchanged an uneasy look. "Solo or not, we need to write a song," the latter said. "Fluttershy?"

"I'm trying." The girl drew a few lines over a set of notes she had written down. "I'm really not sure about going through with this. What should it be about anyway?"

"Eh, I'm sure we'll figure out the lyrics. I have enough inspiration to work with." Rainbow leaned against a wall, eyes closed and a smug grin on her face.

As Pinkie curiously moved around her to get a better look at her notes, Fluttershy sighed. "I would be hesitant about having you write the lyrics anyway, but I'm not letting you do this if you're going off of what you showed me."

"Hey!" Rainbow turned towards her. "Those lyrics are totally awesome, okay?"

"Half of those lyrics don't even make sense. And we are not writing a song about bloody dimensions or scarecrows." She jotted down and immediately erased a few more notes. "The one about cancer was good, but not exactly something that would fit us."

"Oh, fine. We'll let Sunset decide when she gets here, I'll just work on some riffs." Rainbow picked up her guitar and moved to sit down again.

"Where is Sunset, anyway?" Pinkie asked, casually assembling a set of bagpipes.

"Having sex wtih Twilight." Rainbow struck a few familiar chords, trying to get her inspiration going.

"Rainbow!" Fluttershy looked up at her.

"What?" Rainbow looked back. "Check Twilight's status."

Fluttershy took out her phone and unlocked it. "It says 'Doing stuff with Sunset Shimmer'."

"And Sunset's?"

Fluttershy scrolled down on her screen. "'Doing stuff and Twilight Sparkle'." She paused for a moment. "Oh."

"Permission to tease them when they finally get here?"

"Granted." Fluttershy was about to put her phone away, when a notification lit up the screen. Curious, she opened it. She swallowed, and her face went a little paler. "You girls might want to see this."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Astronomy Lessons

Twilight poured some more pomegranate juice into her glass, and drank a bit of it. "How did the last hunting session go, Luna?"

"It went well, Princess." Luna ate a bite out of her slice of strawberry cake. "The forest seems relatively calm as of late."

"I'm glad to hear that." Twilight turned to the third alicorn in the room. "What about your cake tasting tour, Celestia?"

"As a matter of fact, Twilight-"

A raised eyebrow from the pony in in question was all it took for Celestia to pause. She swallowed, then spoke again. "As a matter of fact, Princess, that is going rather well. But I would hope you don't think it's the only thing occupying my time."

Twilight tilted her head to the side, curious. "It's not?" She sat straight again. "Well, I suppose sleeping would take away some time too."

Celestia slowly turned away from her, and poured herself some water. "What about you, Princess?"

"Research is going well, we're making some steady progress in regards to both scales and coils. And just yesterday we finally managed to get some readings on the piece of the Wall we received. It will be a slow process, but we should finally start to see some results there." Twilight cut herself a slice from the large chocolate cake on her side of the table, and quietly began to eat it.

Celestia eyed her plain salad with disinterest, stabbing at the air just above it with the fork she held in her magic. To her left, on the end of the table opposite of Twilight's, Luna drank some of her apple juice and took another bite from her slice of cake.

"So I was thinking," Twilight began after a minute of silence, cutting out another piece from the chocolate cake in front of her, "if we built collars with pieces of Chrysalis's throne in them, they could work as a more discreet alternative to horn rings. They could be harder to remove, too."

"That sounds like a lovely idea, Princess," Luna commented.

Celestia finally forced herself to chomp down on and swallow part of her meal. Quietly, she asked, "How has research on pink poison joke advanced since we last spoke of it?"

"Not terribly far, I'm afraid," said Twilight. "I'm having Rose study it on occasion, and I'm doing some of the work myself, but we both have more important things to work on. You know how it is. It's not exactly something I could justify focusing on."

"I understand." Celestia ate a bit more salad. Then, hesitantly, she spoke again. "I could work on it myself if you wished, Princess."

"Oh?" Twilight looked at her, a curious expression on her face. "Could you say that again, Celestia? I'm not sure I quite understood what you meant. I'm sure Luna would like you to repeat it as well."

Luna simply nodded.

Celestia cleared her throat, and raised her tone slightly. "I could work on studying pink poison joke if you wished me to, Princess."

Twilight smiled. "That does sound like a reasonable request from you."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Cold

The breeze blew through the apple orchard, leaves swaying on the branches as it did. It was that period near the end of summer, when the Sun shines just a bit less hot and the wind becomes too cold to simply be refreshing. Not the best weather to work up a sweat in, but work needed to be done.

Applejack hauled her tools atop her cart. After spending the first half of the morning working on the fields, it was time for her to go lend a hoof in the city. Buildings needed to be repaired or entirely reconstructed, and some needed to be torn down. It was the safer alternative after all the damage they'd taken.

"Hey!"

Applejack looked up, tilting her hat forward to shield her eyes from the Sun. She recognised the voice, of course.

"Are you coming to help?" Rainbow Dash landed in front of her.

Applejack just looked at the cart full of tools she was about to start pulling, her expression making words superfluous.

"Want me to help you pull that thing?"

"Sure." Applejack scooted a little to her right, allowing space for the pegasus beside her. She thought about asking Rainbow why she wasn't helping around in Ponyville herself instead, but then decided against it. Beginning to pull the cart, she asked, "Know what we're working on today?"

"Sugarcube Corner, from what I heard," Rainbow said. "The whole place needs to be taken down before it does that on its own."

Applejack chewed on the inside of her cheek for a bit. It wasn't nice to know the building had to go, but it was the safer thing to do. "Is Starlight coming to help?"

"She had to leave this morning. There's a dam about to burst somewhere up north, Twilight called for her to help dealing with it. Or that's what Trixie told me, at least."

"And what did Sunburst have to say?"

"He's not here. Left for Canterlot yesterday evening, he's doing some research there." Rainbow kicked a pebble out of the way. "I wonder what Trixie will get up to while they're both gone."

Applejack shivered. It might have been a particularly strong gust of wind while they walked in the shadows, but she decided it was the thought of an unsupervised Trixie. Then something caught her eye, and she slowed down her pace. "You see that?" she asked, pointing a hoof at a spot between the trees.

Rainbow slowed down as well, and turned her head to follow Applejack's gesture. "The grass?" she asked.

"No. That thing! There between the two trees."

Rainbow leaned a little further to get a better look. "I don't see anything there. Are you sure it's not just a shadow?"

Applejack kept her eyes on the spot. She wasn't exactly sure what it was. It looked a bit like smoke, or like the air over a campfire, flickering and quivering. Almost like something was hiding there. But then she blinked, and when she opened her eyes again it had all disappeared. "Probably was," she said, shaking her head as she kept on pulling the cart.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

The Sound of Rain

A flock of manateeagles passed high above, their shadows cast wide down to the earth, the beating of their finwings almost audible in the calm stillness of the air. They seemed uninterested in the creatures far below them, at least for the time being. Trixie was rather glad that was the case.

She looked at the vast, dry, sun-beaten plains stretching before her. Would she find a tree or perhaps a cave to spend the night in? And was it even worth risking it? She didn't have all that much water with her, and though she didn't like the idea of stopping there for the rest of the day she knew travelling at night would be the wiser choice.

Finding a place to rest was perhaps the best use of her time, then. She turned and studied the rocky side of the mountain behind her, looking for some jutting slab of rock that could perhaps offer some shade underneath it, or maybe the start of a cave of some kind. She didn't mind resting on the dirt, but she would still have preferred otherwise.

It didn't take too long for her to find someplace suitable. What looked like the entrance to a cave the inside of which had crumbled down, though it could just as easily be a large hole the wind had carved out, some shrubs growing above the entrance providing a bit more cover. It was decently fresh, a bit humid as well, perhaps there was some water nearby.

She settled down, and took off her saddlebags. Then she pulled out a map and a compass, and opened the former on the ground. Judging by how much it had taken her to get there, it would be about two more days of walking before she finally arrived at her destination. She had food and water enough, assuming she travelled at night and wasn't thrown off-course by some wild animal or worse.

She folded the map back up and slid it back into her bags, alongside the compass. Then she took out her rations, along with the package resting at the bottom. Just to check it was still there, as she did probably more often than necessary. But she couldn't be too cautious with it, the risks if it was somehow stolen were too great.

No sings of tampering on the outside of the metal box. Still properly locked, and every spell looked like it was holding up. And peering through the small glass window at the contents of the container, the red and black and grey of the object inside were still visible. Trixie stared a moment longer, then shoved the box back at the bottom of her saddlebags, underneath everything else.

Time would come, but not yet. And hopefully, things would work out, and no creature would get hurt. Beginning to eat her food, she stared at the horizon, while the manateeagles in the sky moved further and further away. She just wished she could trust her own plan as much as she'd made Twilight trust in it.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

26

"I hate it. I hate it I hate it I hate everything about it."

"Ma'am?"

The pegasus looked up at the unicorn. Then she turned into a crow and flew out of the window.

On the other end of the room, Celestia stared, mildly confused, holding some cake in the golden glow of her magic.

The unicorn sighed and shrugged, then moved away from the table. As he passed near her, Celestia couldn't help herself, and asked him, "Does that happen often?"

"It does not," he replied. "We had never met this mare before today, and we apologise for the inconvenience." He then left the room.

A single leaf flew in from the window, seemingly carried by the wind, and it landed right on Celestia's shoulder. And there it spoke. "It hurts my soul to read that, okay? How? How does it happen? No school teacher would approve of a child writing something like that, they would fail their test, it's so poorly written, yet-"

The leaf was forcefully cut off as Celestia teleported it back outside. Annoyed, it turned into a fly and flew back towards the alicorn. "So you know that pony who carried the experiment results? Basically she's gonna have him come down below the castle and convince him to-"

Again, the fly was teleported out of the room. This time, Celestia closed the window as well. No one had anything to say against it, because there was no one else there.

A unicorn seemed to appear behind the window from out of nowhere, and she beat her hoof against the glass with annoying insistence. "It was Firecracker, okay? The one who got there was Firecracker after hitching a ride with... What are we calling her here anyway? I'm not actually sure. Anyway she-"

A soundproofing spell coated the window and the walls of the room, shutting out whatever else the mare had to say. Celestia then decided to focus on her cake again, before the heat had it melt away.

Her peace was short lived. Less than minutes later, an exact copy if Princess Twilight Sparkle, crown included, walked into the room from the entrance. "So you know that shadow thingy? That's actually-"

Celestia forced the other's mouth shut with her magic.

A second mouth appeared on the would be Twilight's neck. "The Moon Beast is what they will have there, you got that? And it's actually-"

That mouth, too, was sealed shut.

A third one appeared on the creature's forehead. "It's not about Rarity, it's about R-"

Celestia, an eyebrow raised in annoyance, teleported the both of them and her cake atop the nearest chasm. Chains of golden energy erupted from her horn and wrapped around the creature held in her telekinesis, then she unceremoniously let go of what still somewhat looked like Twilight and watched it fall down.

"And by the way your coil is-"

Celestia reappeared in the restaurant. She opened the window again, and quietly finished her cake. It was very good.

Just a rock

Pinkie stared at the rock. The rock did not stare back at Pinkie, for it was a rock, and it is a fact that rocks do not possess eyes with which to stare back at ponies or creatures of any kind. And if ever coming across a rock with eyes, one should be careful about approaching it, as it is very likely not a rock.

But the rock Pinkie was staring at was indeed a rock. And as such, it had no eyes. It had instead a flat surface at which Pinkie was staring. This flat surface stretched out for the entire length of the rock, which was taller than Pinkie herself by a fair margin. The rock was also slightly larger than Pinkie. It had a shape somewhere between an egg and an almond, closer to the latter.

The rock was stuck in the ground. Or perhaps it was jutting out from the ground. Pinkie didn't know yet whether the portion of the rock that was embedded in the ground was larger or smaller than the one out of it. The rock knew that it was the latter case, however it had no way in which to realise that it did indeed possess such knowledge. This is because it was a rock, and not of the living kind.

The rock, not being the living kind of rock, could not comprehend that it was the non living kind of rock, and could not wish to be the living kind of rock. It could in fact not feel anything at all. It was not saddened by any of these facts, as it was a rock, incapable of feeling. It couldn't be happy either, but it did not care. It could not care, after all.

The rock was not aware of the pink pony staring at it. This in turn meant the pink pony could easily surprise the rock with her actions. Unfortunately, no reaction would come from the rock even if she did surprise it, as the rock would not become aware of the pony no matter what the pony did. Unless the pony infused the rock with life, of course. But the pony seemed to have no intention of performing such a feat.

She instead appeared to only care about studying the rock. She stared at the rock, and she touched the rock, and she also ran her tongue against the surface of the rock, and carefully she placed her ear to the surface of the rock and listened for any sounds coming from inside the rock. But there were no sounds. Because it was just a rock.

Once she had probed at the rock enough to conclude that it was indeed only a rock and no more than a rock, Pinkie left the rock and walked away. Then, after disappearing behind a turn, she suddenly burst out from behind the rock. The rock showed no reaction. Finally convinced, the pink pony left the rock behind, and quietly walked away.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Triangular Matrix

Shining stopped in front of the door, as the guards on both sides of it stood stiff at attention.

"Here?" Twilight asked, nervousness creeping into her voice.

"Here." Shining turned and took hold of the doorknob with a hoof. "I'm going to warn you. The smell is the worst part. We've sealed it so it doesn't get past the door, but that just makes it worse on the inside." He looked at his sister. "Ready?"

Twilight swallowed, then gave a nod. "Ready."

She was not ready. The moment Shining opened the door her first instinct was to run away, and forcing herself to step forward and into the room was only barely easier than forcing herself to walk through a wall of solid rock would have been. Her body did not want to be in that room, and she could tell from their expressions that the guards near the door were barely holding themselves together.

Once she finally stepped through and Shining closed the door behind her, Twilight had to force herself not to just teleport out. She felt trapped there, and despite knowing that was not case part of her mind refused to listen to reason, forcing her to constantly keep it in check. She just stared at the floor for a while, not daring to look at the scene until she was sure she could control herself, even if every second spent breathing in there felt worse than the last. "How do you do it?" she quietly asked, trying to put her attention elsewhere.

"Had to go look around in the woods first year in the Guard, I don't remember what it was for. We found an animal stuck in a fissure. It had been there just long enough that you couldn't tell what it was. I was the one who had to wait there while my partner looked for someone, I got used to the smell." He stepped at Twilight's side and placed a hoof on her back. "And I have a cold right now."

Twilight gave a feeble smile. Then she finally looked up, and it was immediately swept off her face. "Is it-" She had to force her mouth closed to stop her sudden instinct to vomit. "A pony?" she asked.

"It was at least two, and a few extra limbs," Shining replied, flat and emotionless.

Twilight stared at the tangle of bones and flesh a moment longer, then turned her eyes away from it again. "I know," she breathed out a second later. "The analysis, yes. Just- give me a minute okay?" Her breaths were heavy, her tone rising and falling with no rhythm.

Shining silently nodded. Then, staring at the dried blood staining the floor, he said, "It's not-"

"Anyone here?" Twilight swallowed again, her voice steadying, and she finally moved closer to the corpses. "No. Of course not." She stood at Shining's side, as her horn began to glow. "Nothing here could have done something like this, and I should have known there would be consequences for what happened. I should have known this would happen sooner or later. This is a message. A warning. Someone knows we were there."

"Are they asking not to go back?"

Twilight took a slow, deep breath. "They're saying they can come to us too."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Want Me Gone

It was strange, at first. Like waking up after a long, long sleep, yet like falling asleep at the same time. Her sense of awareness came back, yet those parts of her that had always been there paying attention to the outside world began to dull, to grow tired.

It took a while for the changes to become in any way apparent. Weeks, perhaps even months. But from her perspective, it was all a short blur.

If someone had been there, yes, they might have noticed something. Cracks appearing on the surface of the stone, thin at first, spreading and growing longer with time. Patches of colour reappearing. Movement, even. But the castle was abandoned, the gardens unused, and not even animals dared go near those areas of the city closest to the Behemoth.

And when the last chunks of stone covering her body broke off and shed like an old shell, and Chrysalis shook her head and opened her eyes again, she was alone. Not quite completely alone, perhaps, the two creatures she had shared her prison with still remained there. But they did not appear to share her tendency to no longer be a statue.

All the better, as far as she was concerned, but she did wonder how exactly she'd managed to escape or be freed herself in the first place. But looking around, it became apparent no one would be there to answer that question. No one would be there at all in fact, a quick look towards the castle revealed broken walls, shattered windows, towers missing their upper floors and vines in the process of covering its entire surface.

She did wonder, for a moment, if that didn't mean the whole of Equestria had been destroyed. Had they perhaps spent so long encased in stone? But that seemed unlikely. Perhaps only Canterlot had been abandoned, just as the old capital a long time before. But it looked like a recent thing. The ruins looked unstable, ready to crumble further, the vines barely reached past a couple floors in height.

She shook her head. Whatever had happened, she wouldn't get her answers by questioning stones and plants. Picking a direction, Chrysalis began to walk, keeping her eyes and ears alert for any signs of other creatures. She didn't bother with transformations, she was by herself more intimidating than just about anything she could turn into and she didn't want to risk wasting energies when she wasn't yet sure of what her own conditions were, much less if food would be available.

Despite her attention though, she failed to spot even a single other creature in her walk through the gardens. When she finally stepped outside of them and into the streets, she took notice of how they didn't appear to be in much better condition. In particular, some buildings seemed to have been crushed altogether or cleaved through.

It was while following the trail of destruction that she finally saw it. Half visible as it flickered against the light, her eyes turned higher and higher still as she took in what she could of its full size. Turning, almost stumbling on her hooves, Chrysalis rushed towards the opposite direction as quickly as her legs allowed her to, and only stopped as she heard the sound of ponies approaching behind a corner.

Blood Bones and Rust

The forest was angry. Unquiet. Disturbed by something or someone.

Luna's axe swung down hard and bones splintered beneath the force of the impact, as the large twisted mass of guts and limbs wailed in pain. The head was that of a pony, but everything else was unrecognisable. A second strike, aimed at the neck, and the creature's cries stopped.

The alicorn looked up. The creatures weren't the only thing growing more twisted. Pillars stretched from one side of the forest to the other, tunnels weaved in and out of it, and the horizon now curved upwards to merge with the other side rather than simply being mirrored. And even as she watched, the terrain seemed to shift and mutate, the overall shape of the forest growing more convoluted.

The air had grown darker, and not merely the darkness that night brings. Even with her eyes, she still had trouble piercing through the muddy blackness that seemed to permeate the forest, like smoke or water in a bottle.

The forest was scared. Nervous, on the edge. Its creatures afraid of something even they couldn't see clearly. But they could feel it coming. Rage, fear, instincts, it all bled together and warped the world around them.

And whatever was coming would be even worse.

But Luna could only wait and carry on her hunting duties. So long as the creatures of the forest didn't have a clear idea of what they were scared by, all they could provide her would be vague ghosts and fantasies, more akin to their own fears wrapped onto the skeleton of the looming presence than to the presence itself and its true form.

More screams echoed around her. Choked, sputtering croaks, guttural howls, and deep roars of pain and anger. Luna pulled her weapon back, and cleaned the blade from clumps of blood with her hoof. The night was still young, the hunt just at its beginning.

More would come. That night, and in the nights to follow, and things would get worse with time for a while, she knew that. But she could take care of it. She could keep going, and as long as things didn't grow out of proportion she could still keep them in check by herself. And she could hope that, once they finally knew what was causing all of it, they could go directly at the root of the problem and put an end to it.

The cracking of trunks and branches snapping under the weight and force of a charge came from her right, but she was ready. As soon as the creature broke through the last line of trees and into the small clearing, her legs sprung and pushed her upwards and out of its reach. She landed on its back, the mangled assembly of organs and jutting bones screeching as it tried to claw at her with its malformed appendages.

Her axe came down again, splitting its skull in half, and the body went limp under her. Retrieving her weapon, she took off, and began to scout the forest from above the trees.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Imaginations from the Other Side - Episode 1

Fluttershy tapped on her phone with her hoof, reloading the web page. "Still nothing," she said, opening a separate tab to browse some of her social media feed.

"I guess it's gonna be a late one today." Twilight shrugged, sipping on her milkshake.

Behind the counter, Pinkie fidgeted with a few bowls, a blender, some sprinkles, and what looked awfully close to a flamethrower.

Already long since convinced that the furniture and walls of the building were immune to flames, and having been aware that the same was true of the pink pony for even longer, Rarity chose to ignore the umpteenth fire hazard she'd seen inside the walls of Sugarcube Corner and grabbed a cupcake from the nearest plate. "What do you think it will be about this time?"

"Hmm." Twilight drank a bit more. "Well, there's always that puzzles guy it could go back to."

"Yeah, whatever happened to him?" Dash said from her place, sitting near a window.

"No idea."

A sound very close to that of a chainsaw was heard beneath the counter, where Pinkie had disappeared to.

"But there's other things that haven't been addressed in a bit too. The ongoing storyline that was split into parts hasn't been touched for a while," Twilight continued.

"Neither have the blank chapters," Fluttershy added.

"Or the night world stuff," Rainbow chimed in.

"Or the hospital." Pinkie jumped on top of the blender to force in a series of items no sane pony would have placed in a blender, not last of which appeared to be a piece of the floor itself.

"Yeah, I'm starting to think maybe this guy isn't really sure what he's doing," said Rainbow.

"Now, now," Rarity said. "I'm sure he knows where he wants to go with the story. Creativity can be a complicated thing to work with, and you shouldn't assume the worst until you've seen the results. Sometimes you just get a bit sidetracked when inspiration strikes in the middle of a larger project."

"Are we actually sure they're an he?" Fluttershy asked, still scrolling through her phone.

Rarity raised a hoof and opened her mouth, then her expression changed and she brought the hoof under her chin. "Huh. You know, I was pretty sure I'd read he's male somewhere, but I can remember where it was."

"Want me to dig through their stuff?" asked Rainbow.

"We could just ask them," said Twilight.

"Well, it's no big deal. I'll look into it myself if I can't remember why I was under that impression," Rarity said, grabbing a milkshake and beginning to drink.

"I might look into it too, I also got that impression but I can't remember why." Twilight finished her drink.

Fluttershy tapped on her screen again. "Still nothing."

"We're sure it's gonna come out today, right?" Rainbow got up from her seat and flew towards the counter, as bits and pieces of Pinkie and other unidentified materials were sent flying in various directions.

"It will." Applejack grabbed a potion from the cabinet on the wall. "I'm sure it will."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

But there's no sense crying

"How have you been?"

Tempest slid the spoon out of her mouth and dipped it back into her yogurt. "Things here aren't too bad, actually. The food is quite good, and the bed is comfortable. Pity about the lack of conversations, but the nurses are too busy to waste time on that."

Twilight gave a look around the room. A pot with some flowers near the window added a splash of colour to the otherwise sterile monotony typical of hospitals, and overall the place looked clean and pleasant enough. "I'm glad to hear that, but it doesn't answer my question. How have you been?"

Tempest finished another spoonful of yogurt. "I've picked up reading to pass the time, you know? I can't exactly go out in these conditions so I had to distract myself some way. There's a little newspapers shop on the first floor that sells comic books too, so I picked up an issue of Power Ponies." Another spoon of white yogurt in and out of her mouth. "It's fun."

Twilight quirked an eyebrow, her expression one of annoyance but in even greater part understanding. "Tempest."

"Well, I know it's not high literature, or maybe not even really literature depending on your definition, but I'm still technically reading okay? You can't ask me to jump right into-"

"Fizzlepop Berrytwist," Twilight said, voice rising a little, "I asked you a question and I expect you to answer it. I did not ask about the place, I did not ask about the food, I did not ask what you've been up to. How have you been?"

Tempest looked down and to the side, almost smirking. She sighed. "Not well. I know it's for my own good, and I accept that, and I know perfectly well that things have to be like this. But I can't like this no matter what." Her eyes turned towards the window. "The pain is the least bad part. I'm used to it, I've lived through worse than most of it. But being stuck in here... Being useless, when so much help could be needed out there."

She looked down again. "And, well, when I could be doing stuff. Stuff that isn't spending my days confined to one building, barely able to walk at times, walking the same spotless white hallways and eating the same white yogurt every day because it's better than the chocolate pudding which is the only other dessert they give out and honestly I actually really like the yogurt but it's me, Twilight! I'm not a yogurt kind of mare!"

Twilight chuckled as she heard that. "Sorry, sorry. I understand." She smiled cheekily at the unicorn. "I could bring you some oranges if you want. Just don't tell Applejack about it."

Tempest smiled back. "I wouldn't mind."

Then Twilight's expression faltered a little. "And what about..."

A different tinge fell over Tempest's face. Not angry, not bitter, more resigned than anything. "Well..." She looked down at herself. "It's... It's manageable, I'd say. It hurts less nowadays, and it's..." She sighed. "I think I can live with it."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

All that I see

"Very well, indeed," Nightmare Moon said, running her gaze over the documents she had just received. Then her eyes turned to the stallion who had carried them to her. "You served me well, little pony."

He bowed in response. "I was merely carrying out my duties, my Queen. As every citizen should, and as every other of your subjects would have in my place."

The alicorn set the documents down beside her throne. "You overestimate the ponies I rule over greatly. Not many share your understanding of what their role should be."

"A great tragedy, my Queen." The pony bowed even lower. "What shall I do next? I eagerly await your orders."

He had planned to rest after delivering what he'd been carrying, and still intended to in the event Nightmare Moon dismissed him, but being in the same room as her he could not dare do anything other than ask to receive her will. If only the commoners could too witness her magnificence up close, he thought, they would no longer waver in their loyalty to her.

Nightmare Moon smiled her odd and twisted grin at the display of devotion before her, clearly pleased by it. "You have done well. You have carried out your orders more diligently and more efficiently than many others would have, and I see that you have placed priority on your mission above yourself, but not so far as to compromise the result by damaging your own capabilities. This is admirable, and I believe you should be rewarded for it."

The stallion's breath almost caught in his throat. "My Queen, I-" He stopped, his heart beating faster, as he heard the sound of approaching hoofsteps, and barely able to muster the strength to he looked up to see his Queen, shrouded in a mantle of darkness and power, moving towards him.

"Rise, and follow me," Nightmare Moon said as she walked past the pony, without even looking at him.

That was all the stallion needed. Like in a dream, the ache in his limbs suddenly disappearing, he almost floated behind the divine mare guiding his path. Through tall corridors flanked by banners and statues, through halls decorated by depictions of his Queen's glory, down winding staircases and deep below into the lowest reaches of the castle, hidden behind locked doors and secret passages. He could not have been able to remember the path there, too entranced by the presence of the Goddess of the Night closer to him than any mortal pony had the right to experience.

Finally, Nightmare Moon stopped, and turned back to the stallion. "You want to serve your Queen, right, little pony?" she asked.

"Yes, my Queen. Above everything, my Queen."

"Very well." The alicorn opened one last door. "I have been looking for ponies like you. Strong, loyal, smart, and willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. I have decided to create a new order of guards, directly under my command, and I believe you fit to be the first of its members." She nodded towards the room in front of them.

"It is an honour, my Queen." Without hesitation, the stallion stepped inside the room.

Nightmare Moon smiled her cruel smile again. "Very well. Your new training will begin shortly, little pony. I expect great things to become of you." She began to close the door, adding, "And remember. You are doing this for your Queen."

The door clicked shut, and locked itself closed. Nightmare Moon began to walk away, as a unicorn watched the scene, their head low. "My Queen," they hesitantly began to speak, "I-"

"I trust that this will not result in a failure. Do not disappoint me." And with that, the alicorn walked away.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Revivall

"I had a dream last night," Rainbow Dash said, pondering the muffin held between her hooves.

"That does tend to happen when one sleeps." Rarity lit her horn and brought her cup to her lips, savouring the smell of apple juice before taking her first sip.

Rainbow took a bite out of her muffin. "It involved Pinkie."

"Oh." Rarity set down her cup and focused on a set of sketches and papers she kept on the table, looking through them. "I'm sure it was quite an experience then."

Rainbow nodded. "I dreamed we were dating."

The yellow sunlight streamed in from the open window, colouring the room with the hues of the early morning. A soft, pleasant breeze drifted in from outside, refreshing without being too cold. It had rained, the night before, and some drops of water still clung to the leaves of the trees where shadows hid them from the Sun.

Rarity's reaction was an odd cross between a thoughtful frown and a puzzled pout, accompanied by that untranscribeable kind of sound that always did accompany her more expressive expressions. "It must have been quite the experience indeed."

"It was nice." Rainbow looked towards the window. "In the dream, I mean. We were mostly hanging around. Doing stuff together. We kissed." She took another bite out of her muffin. "It felt real, while I was dreaming it. It made sense. I didn't question it. But it doesn't feel real now, you know?"

Rarity took another sip of her drink. "I believe I understand. I've certainly had weird dreams myself that still seemed perfectly reasonable while I was inside them."

Rainbow Dash sighed. "Sometimes you'll have a dream that you really don't like, and you'll wake up and be glad it's over. And sometimes you'll have a dream that you really like, and when you wake up you'll be really sad that it wasn't real." She finished her muffin. "This one wasn't either. It wad just a thing I dreamed. No feelings either way when I thought about it this morning."

"I see." Her sketches set down to a side as she focused on the conversation, Rarity refilled her cup from the porcelain jug sitting in the middle of the table.

"It feels weird." Rainbow turned around in her chair. "You never really stop to think about whether you'd want to be dating a friend or not. Unless you got a crush on them. But otherwise they're just a friend, you don't think about it. So I'm not sure what to feel now." She turned around again. "I guess I just know I'm not interested in a relationship with Pinkie. But I didn't ask to know. Thanks, brain."

Rarity masked her silence with a sip of her drink, her own brain already working through all the possibilities Rainbow had inadvertently alerted her to even as she tried to stop it from doing so.

"Do you think Pinkie would be happy if she was dating me?"

The unicorn took the cup away from her lips. "Pinkie could be happy dating anything that breathes, and quite a lot of things that don't," she answered. "But I feel like she'd be happy in making others happy first, not in her own enjoyment of the relationship. She'd be happy whichever your choice was, because you'd be happy with it. If that makes sense."

Rainbow shrugged. "I guess it does."

Bynary

Sunburst avidly read through the book in his hooves, as the train chugged along from Canterlot back towards Ponyville. He was so focused on his reading, he didn't even register the unicorn beside him moving closer until she was to the point where her breath tickled his cheek. At which point he did notice her, and promptly proceeded to jerk back in surprise, almost dropping his book.

Her coat was a light, soft purple, and her tidy blue mane framed her face with two identical braids on each side, while a third braid ran down her neck. Coloured streaks shot through it, both deep purple and silver, adding vibrancy to the patterns her braids created. Her tail, similarly coloured, was left free of restrictions, but still clearly brushed regularly. Her cutie mark was a spiraling pattern of white stars, with five distinct arms all converging towards the centre. "Hello. I'm Starshine Flicker," she introduced herself.

Sunburst settled into a more composed but still partially reclined sitting position. "Hello. Can I help you with something?"

"Oh, I was just getting a look at your book. I've been trying to get my hooves on something rare as that for ages but every copy is always booked by someone important and I never get a chance." Her face suddenly lit up. "Oh my! You must be Sunburst! Oh, I've heard so much about you!" She moved towards him in a motion that was technically only barely not a pounce, effectively landing with her front hooves on each side of his body.

Sunburst looked up at her through his glasses, clearly confused. "Uh. I am. You have?"

"Of course I have!" Starshine leaned down, her face mere centimetres from him. "The great Sunburst the Bearded, friend of Princess Twilight Sparkle, Royal Crystaller of Princess Flurry Heart, Vice-Headmare of the School of Friendship, you are one of the most important contemporary unicorns in all of Equestria and beyond!" Her body sunk even lower and she effectively laid herself on top of the stallion, staring right into his eyes and beaming an impossibly wide smile at him.

Sunburst swallowed, uneasy, and took a look around the carriage. No one else was there. Just him, Starshine, and the book. "Thank you," he said, unsure of what more to do.

"So..." the mare began, drawing circles in the seat with her hoof next to his head. "Can I read with you? Oh, actually, you could read aloud and teach me! I would love to listen to you read." She shifted back and forth, still lying atop Sunburst's body.

"Well... I suppose. I don't see a reason why not."

"Hold on, let me get you in a more comfortable position." Starshine grabbed hold of Sunburst back and then she pulled, flipping their respective positions and ending with her belly up, lying on the seats, and Sunburst belly down on top of her. "There."

Still a little hesitant, Sunburst opened his book again. But just as he was about to start reading, Starshine Flicker disappeared.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Binary

There was a shifting beneath the covers, and then a hand rose out from below them, aimlessly probing and thudding against the headboard in search of something. Finally, the slim fingers clasped around a dangling switch and pressed it, flooding the room with light from the main lamp overhead. "There we go," Twilight said, sliding halfway out of the covers and grabbing hold of her glasses again from atop the nightstand.

Sunset slid out after her, much more lazily, and rather than sit on the pillow next to Twilight with her back against the headboard like the other girl she just laid her head on Twilight's legs, looking up at her. She stayed there, smiling in silence.

Twilight smiled back as she began to stroke Sunset's hair. "How was it, then? Am I still as good with fingers as you remembered?"

"I'm not sure, actually." Sunset's smile shifted to a slightly more devious grin. "I might still need another test run to see if that's true or not."

Twilight rolled her eyes, still smiling. "I don't know why I have you talking when we've established there are things your tongue is much better at."

"Will you force me to shut up that way, Twilight? Because I wouldn't mind."

This time a snort of amusement accompanied Twilight's eye roll. "Do I have to take out my geode?"

"Oh, please do." Sunset placed one of her hands over Twilight's, locking fingers with her.

Twilight finally failed to contain a giggle. Tapping Sunset's nose with a finger, she said, "You know we can't really do that too much. Remember the last time we tried?"

"I don't think I could ever forget you almost ripping the house away from the ground. But that's just because you need to learn to control yourself," Sunset answered.

"It's not that easy to slow down when you're being encouraged to keep going, Sunset. I wasn't the only one at fault there," Twilight replied.

"I was literally hearing your thoughts when it happened, and you would have had no intention of stopping with or without my encouragement."

"True, but you still wanted me to continue." Twilight gave a light punch to Sunset's shoulder, still stroking her hair. "And you still want me to do it again! How am I the one who doesn't know when to stop?"

"Are you saying you don't want to do it again?" Sunset's arm curled around Twilight's back.

"I didn't say that." Twilight looked to the side. "I would just prefer if kinky sex with my girlfriend didn't devolve into almost destroying the fabric of reality a second time. And if it didn't involve sending our friends the equivalent of a notification saying I'm using telekinesis to fuck you, not to mention the inconveniences with their own powers going haywire."

"I have to admit, the prospect of you almost destroying the world again isn't so bad for me if it involves you transforming as well," Sunset said, far more innocently than what should have been possible given the subject matter.

Twilight groaned, rubbing her knuckles against her forehead. "Can we have one conversation where the topic of Midnight Sparkle comes up and you don't mention how you'd want her to fuck you?"

"How could I possibly not want to fuck a version of you with more magic power and less moral restricti- Ouch!" Sunset jerked in place, but was kept still by Twilight's hand suddenly grabbing firmly onto her hair and pulling, prompting a second yelp.

Twilight moved her other hand away from Sunset's chest, fingers still in a pinching position. "That's it," she said, pushing the other girl off her body and sliding out of the covers to lie on her knees on the bed, one leg on each side of Sunset's head. "You're putting that tongue to better use."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Binari

Non era raro vedere puledri e puledre giocare vicino ai binari. Non lo era stato prima dell'arrivo del Behemoth, lo era diventato ancor meno dopo di esso, visto il calo nella frequenza dei viaggi. C'era da aspettarselo, più di una città aveva subito gravi danni e ci sarebbe voluto un po' prima che la rete ferroviaria ricominciasse a funzionare pienamente. Tutto sommato però, le cose non erano poi tanto diverse da come lo erano state prima in quella città. Le corse che passavano di lì erano sempre state poche e distanti tra loro.

Il prossimo treno non sarebbe passato per un altro paio d'ore, e a quel punto tutti i giovani pony sarebbero già stati richiamati alle loro case per cena. Non c'era quindi ragione di interrompere i loro giochi. Alcuni si rincorrevano, altri tracciavano segni nel terreno, altri ancora si divertivano a nascondersi e cercarsi negli sprazzi di boscaglia poco più avanti seguendo le rotaie. Non c'erano animali là, se non qualche gatto che ogni tanto cercava un po' d'ombra per un pisolino. E qualche insetto, ma quelli erano dappertutto, soprattutto in estate.

Un bosco vero c'era, vicino al villaggio. Era in effetti più un villaggio che non una città. Il bosco era verso est, dopo i campi, dopo le ultime case ancora abitate. C'era stato un incendio, una volta, una ventina d'anni prima o giù di lì. Buona parte del bosco aveva preso fuoco. Ma per fortuna le fiamme erano state sedate prima che arrivassero ai campi o peggio alla città. O villaggio, che era probabilmente il termine più calzante. Nessuno s'era fatto male, e il bosco negli anni era guarito.

A guardare i giovani giocare, venivano in mente tante cose al vecchio unicorno. Uno dei pochi unicorni nel villaggio, a dirla tutta. Ma lui era nato lì, e c'era affezionato, e poco gli importava di quelli che pensavano se ne sarebbe dovuto andare a Canterlot a studiare invece di star lì. Di libri buoni ne aveva anche a casa, e il marmo non gli era mai piaciuto. Molto meglio i mattoni, a sentir lui. Ma sì, gli tornavano alla mente un bel po' di ricordi, a guardare i giovani giocare.

Un po' erano i suoi. Quando ancora era un puledrino anche lui, il che era comunque stato parecchi secoli dopo che Luna era stata esiliata, checché ne dicessero i giovinastri. Era loro la colpa se non s'erano mai informati sulla questione, il fatto che lui avesse letto di quanto era successo mille anni prima non significava che lui fosse stato là a vederlo succedere. Aveva giocato anche lui da quelle parti, quand'era giovane. Ma i binari non erano ancora stati costruiti a quel tempo.

Di figli non ne aveva avuti, nipoti neppure. A guardare i puledri e le puledre giocare però, gli tornavano in mente i giorni in cui pony ora ormai adulti erano stati giovani anche loro, giorni in cui lui vecchio lo era già ma un po' meno. C'era in effetti un pony in particolare a cui pensava spesso. Firecracker, si chiamava, i genitori una coppia di abitanti del villaggio che avevano la loro casa in campagna tra i campi e ancora vivevano lì. Firecracker invece non abitava più in città da qualche anno ormai, ma mandava ancora lettere ai suoi. Ogni tanto, l'unicorno si chiedeva come se la passasse.

Panic

It was still early in the summer. The Sun shone bright in the sky, and most ponies spent their time quietly resting in their homes, away from the heat. And a hive of flying scorpions slowly grew in the corner of one of the classrooms in the School of Friendship.

Starlight gave Trixie a look so flat it made paper sheets look like high-reliefs by comparison.

"I may have misjudged the coordinates on the long distance matter transfer spell," the blue mare admitted.

"At least no students were here this time around."

Sunburst happened to peek into the room as he walked down the corridor. "Is something wrong?" His eyes focused on the black mass in the corner, and the arthropods occasionally making their way in and out of it. "Are those flying scorpions?"

Starlight nodded, her eyes still on Trixie.

Trixie gave a weak smile towards Sunburst. "At least they're harmless, right?"

"I believe you're thinking of scorpionflies," said Sunburst, walking into the room. "Flying scorpions are definitely not harmless."

Trixie turned back towards the hive. "So we should just teleport it away, right?"

"If a member of the hive is separated from the rest for long enough, or is far enough away from the hive, or is otherwise no longer receiving the queen's pheromones, it will mutate into a new queen and build a new hive," Sunburst explained, staring at the structure with rapt fascination.

"So either we make sure every one of them is in there, or we'll have to spend the next few years hunting down all the new hives that will pop up as a result," Starlight added.

Trixie swallowed. Then she closed the door with her magic. "None of them left the room, right?"

"Why don't you ask the one who teleported the hive here and didn't tell anyone until she realised it was growing?"

"Trixie believes she saw none leave the room while she was busy not warning you two," Trixie said.

"Tell her that I don't know if I trust her," Sunburst said, pacing back and forth, eyes still glued on the hive, keeping his distance to avoid angering the creatures.

"Trixie understands." Her horn lit up, the glow of her magic enveloped the hive, and Trixie teleported the flying scorpions away in a flash of light.

"Let's hope that got all of them then," said Starlight, opening the door again and stepping out of the room. Sunburst walked out behind her, and so did Trixie.

"Would you like to go for some ice-cream later today?" the stallion asked.

"Sure," Starlight answered, and with that the two began to each head towards one end of the hallway.

Trixie was left alone there in the middle. "I'd like to be there as well," she said, then she turned and walked back into the room, wondering why she'd walked out in the first place. She still had work to sort out in there. Closing the door behind herself, she sighed and moved back to her desk.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

SgBH

"I was a horse today, I thought you might want to hear about it."

Twilight pulled back from her phone and just stared at it for a moment. "You mean you went through a portal?" she tentatively asked to the girl on the other end of the conversation.

"Yes. I should have said that. It would be a lot stranger if someone who isn't one of your friends started turning into a pony in this world." The tone was dry, and there could be a note of annoyance or envy to it, but it was hard to decipher given how Sugarcoat's tone was always dry and flat. "It was near the school, by the way. My school. It's not your school anymore."

"Noted," Twilight said, as she took an actual physical note down on her notebook. "I'll come check on it later today, give me a couple of hours or so." She jotted down a couple more notes. "Oh, make sure no one else accidentally ends up on the other side."

"Of course. I would say something about how it takes a tear in the fabric of reality for you to pay a visit to your old school, but that would imply you have anything here you would ever want to see again and we both know that was never the case. Crystal Prep to you was at best the grey hollowness of existing through your days without anything worth noting happening and at worst downright emotional trauma. I'm not sure I would even come myself in your position." Again, it was impossible to tell if there was any annoyance or regret or emotion in the girl's voice, or if she was just simply stating facts.

Twilight stayed silent for a moment. "What's on the other side of the portal? Are you alright? You weren't hurt in there, right?"

"There's a city on the other side. I am not alright. I wasn't hurt there."

It took Twilight a moment to process what she'd heard. Once she did, she asked, worried, "What's wrong? What happened?"

"I stumbled into the portal, I spent some time on the other side once I realised what had happened. I spent a while wondering what would happen to my clothes and the things in my pockets once I came back here. I briefly wondered if you have run experiments on the matter. When I felt I'd been away enough that someone might start worrying about me, I decided to come back so people wouldn't freak out over nothing." Sugarcoat remained silent for a moment. "I'm not answering the other question."

Twilight flinched. "Would you like to talk about it once I get there?"

Another pause. "I don't know."

"I'm coming there right now," said Twilight, as her free hand stuffed her belongings into her backpack and she got up from her chair.

Sugarcoat didn't say anything for a while, listening to the sounds coming from the other side of the phone. Then, she closed the call.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Live Feed

The door slid closed with a thud, and the key turned in the lock with a click. Glancing around to ensure the windows were shut, the changeling stepped forward and undid her disguise. On the other side of the room, trapped inside a shiny green pod, the orange mare whose likeness she'd been wearing stared back at her with empty, adoring eyes.

Chrysalis made her way closer towards her. As much as she would have loved to drain the pony for every last bit of love inside her, she couldn't afford to given her situation. In fact, she couldn't afford to keep the pony there much longer, nor to keep impersonating her. She would need to move in a couple of days at most, find another prey to replace.

She needed to lay low, as much as she hated the fact. And she needed to stay inside towns. The wilderness wasn't safe for her yet, not until she'd recovered enough energy. Not with all the things running around that shouldn't have been there. Staying with ponies meant she risked being found, but at least she was safe. She estimated it would take just a couple more victims before she was fed enough.

It wasn't the first time she'd done something like that. Find a target living alone, possibly with low levels of social interaction. Use her powers to control them, then keep them as a source of food for a couple of days. Pretend to be them when inside or near their house, claiming poor health conditions as an excuse for not being seen outside. Spend most of the day disguised as a different pony, gathering information. And when it all was over, clean up, make the target forget everything, and leave them with just a migraine.

It had worked well so far. She'd been careful enough in picking ponies to avoid anyone noticing a pattern. But she was still on edge. Her powers had turned out to be far more weakened than she would have thought after she'd awakened, and being forced into hiding from the ponies she'd been so close to ruling over made her seethe with anger like nothing else.

If anything, she could at least make some of them remember their place. Walking up to the pod, she opened her mouth, siphoning a bit more love out of the half-conscious unicorn. She'd been rather easy to take control of, thinking about it. Perhaps it had to be expected from a relatively old pony like her, especially one who lived on her own. She did appear to have a daughter, at least going by the old pictures of a blue filly, but there was no trace of a father or husband in the house.

Chrysalis's musings were interrupted by a sudden knock on the door. She turned towards it, and mimicking the captive mare's voice she asked, "Yes? Who is it?"

No answer came, but something thin and white was slipped beneath the door. Curious, Chrysalis picked it up in her magic. It turned out to be a folded sheet of paper, with text on the inside. Just a couple of sentences, elegantly written, with no signatures.

I know the look of a creature who's trying to stay hidden. How have you been, Chrysalis?

Machinations

It was clearly a puzzle of some sort. He could see the door, hidden behind the crumbled rock. He just needed to figure out how to get it to open. An ordinary pony might have assumed the entrance had crumbled, but not him. He could see clearly that it was not the case there. It was a puzzle.

He sat down, contemplating the vaguely skull-shaped rock formation and the swamp around it. It looked a bit like a swamp at least. He wasn't sure, he hadn't been paying attention when he'd gotten there. He wasn't even exactly sure where he was or how he'd gotten there. But he wasn't crazy. He'd just been a bit distracted. And there was a puzzle there for him to solve.

It wasn't too complicated, he was sure. Not if he looked at it from the right angle. Now, the other entrance on the other side, that one was legitimately unusable. But the one in front of him could be opened. He was sure of it. Very sure of it, he could feel it. He was good at puzzles.

And there was that small chunk of rock, there to the right, a little above his height but not too far. He could reach it. It could be pressed, or pulled or maybe twisted. It was clear, the way the base stood out against the wall made it clear, it was almost outlined. But it couldn't be so easy, could it? He looked better.

There was a switch of some kind. Yes, he could see the connections from that button. It could go to the door, there was a path there, but currently it was pointing upwards. A separate wire, leading somewhere above. A trap, most likely. But a switch was there, to redirect the path, and he just needed to look around for it.

There. There on the ground, to the left. A pressure pad, half hidden behind a chunk of broken rock. And he could see the connection, the wires leading from it to the switch near the other button, embedded inside the rock wall, faintly shimmering as ghostly apparitions to his eyes. Extending one hoof, he pushed down on the pressure pad. The switch rotated, redirecting the first wire's signal, and he reached out with his front hoof to push down the button.

There was a click. The ground shook, just a bit, and as he drew back he saw the previously crumbled entrance open up. A few chunks of broken stone fell down, while other sections of the wall slid out of the way, and a moment later the passage was free of hindrances and everything went still again. He felt rather proud of finally having solved a puzzle. He'd told them he wasn't crazy.

A broad smile on his face, he stepped into the cave. It was mostly orange, filled with sharp rocks, and after a moment he realised he wasn't exactly sure why he was there. He did however notice a purple alicorn was also present, and was staring at him with a confused expression.

Recursion;

"Do you remember that day, Twilight? When the Behemoth came to Canterlot?"

"Of course I do. Why is that relevant?"

"Do you remember the screams, Twilight? Do you remember the yelling, and the commotion, the creatures calling out? Do you remember all the confusion, Twilight?"

"Like it was yesterday. Why?"

"What did you hear when the Behemoth came to Canterlot, Twilight?"

"Silence, and its steps echoing through it."

"Did anyone speak, while the Behemoth walked through Canterlot?"

"No."

"And yet you remember the screams."

Imagine you have a deck of playing cards. All the cards are face down, you can't tell what type of cards they are, you can't move the deck, and you can't determine how many cards there are. The only thing you can do is draw. Now imagine that whenever you pull out a card from the top of the deck, the card turns into a different deck of cards. A normal one, and it can be for any possible type of game so long as cards are the primary focus. No two cards from the main deck ever produce the same deck, and the main deck seems to never run out of cards. Eventually, on a given draw, provided you keep drawing, the main deck will produce a new deck with exactly the same traits as the main one.

"That doesn't make sense."

And yet here we are. This is what this is. We know that's what happens, because we've seen it happen. There's a more interesting question though. One that is an actual question. Can cards from the new deck produce decks that are the same as the ones produced by cards in the previous deck? You see, that's the real crux of the matter. If the answer is no, then both decks are merely windows, and so will be every new copy of the deck made by a copy of the deck. But if the answer is no? What if an infinite number of perfectly identical repetitions is possible?

"Frankly, that seems like a pointless question. If they are identical in every aspect they may as well be one. What interests me is the variability of iterations. There are infinite numbers between one and two, but none of them are three. Is every kind of deck possible?"

That's not a question you can answer. Not in time, anyway.

"There are things in here that are best ignored. Books that are best unread, knowledge that is best unknown, memories that are best forgotten. And that is why I won't allow you to enter. But I can search for you, if you wish, if your wish is something I deem I can safely grant. Do not take it as an insult to your intelligence, Twilight Sparkle, the fact alone that you're here is enough to prove that you surpass many other creatures in that regard. And not to your wisdom either, you would not be allowed to remain if it were otherwise. But the fact remains that the words hiding in these halls could break and reforge any mind who happened to gaze on them. I trust you are wise and smart enough to know where your own limits lie."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Chapter 76

Chrysalis carefully opened the door, her disguise restored but her horn ready to strike. No one was there. Nervous, she locked the door again, and turned back towards the trapped mare. She needed to get away from there, and make sure whoever had found her lost track of her. She would have wanted to silence them directly, but with no lead on their identity it wasn't safe for her to expose herself.

Sunburst looked in every direction around him. But no matter what, the mare wasn't there. He even tried to open the doors on each side and peek into the other wagons, but she wasn't there either. If she'd used magic, he hadn't noticed at all. No sound or light or movement from her horn, she was just there a second and gone the next. He'd even smacked his legs against the seats given how she'd disappeared from below him. Confused, he returned to his old sitting position and opened the book again.

Firecracker stepped through the door and into the building. There was another pony with them, the owner noted. A pegasus mare, with a blonde mane and a grey coat. Neither one of the two said anything, and though the mare did look around the place with a curious glint in her eyes she followed the other to a table, where the two sat down to wait. Smiling to himself, the owner headed towards the kitchen.

Scarlet Ribbon stared out of her window, worried. He was nowhere to be seen. Last time she'd seen him, he was heading towards the woods. That had been over a day before at that point. It wasn't the first time he left to go somewhere else, and it wasn't her responsibility to keep track of him, but still she feared he would be in danger. He'd always been if not a friend at least a close acquaintance, and seeing him lose himself like that had hurt. She wished she could help him in some way.

Rarity slowly came back to awareness, the rays of the Sun streaming through the blinders like blades striking her eyes. It wouldn't be completely correct to say she woke up, as she'd been closer to passed out than asleep. A hand reached out for her phone on the nightstand, only to strike against naked wood. Then she remembered that it was still in her pocket, in the jacket she was still wearing. With no real energy to her motions, she fetched it out, opening it to reveal dozens of unread messages she didn't want to go through, missed calls, and an hour that wasn't morning by any possible definition.

Twilight held Celestia against the wall by the neck, staring into her eyes. Their breath was the only sound in the dark and empty hallway. For a few long moments, nothing more happened, as the two only studied each other. Then, Twilight let go, turned around and silently walked away, leaving Celestia to fall back to her hooves and catch her breath.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Imaginations from the Other Side - Episode 2

"So does anyone actually have a clear idea of what's going on?"

Rainbow's question was met with resounding head shakes.

"I figured." The mare returned to playing with her phone.

Twilight aimlessly tapped on the table with her hoof. "I can probably try to make some theory over it, but I don't really feel like there's a point if everything will just get thrown out the window when a new update comes."

"But isn't that the fun part of theorising?" Rarity pulled her chair closer to Twilight's. "And besides, we are starting to see something more concrete. The pieces start to fit together if you go back and know what you're looking for."

"But do you really want to go back?" Rainbow asked without lifting her eyes from the screen.

"Well, I am sure that won't be needed forever. Eventually everything will make sense," said Rarity, her smiling, positive expression refusing to leave her face.

Twilight sighed. "Well, I do have to acknowledge it, some loose ends are being tied up, some threads are being furthered and weaved with others. But on the other hoof you've got new things opening up, and even older ones getting no attention! I'm just not sure if I can trust him is all."

On the other end of the room, Pinkie momentarily paused her aggressive baking session. "So we've established they're an he?"

"Yeah, I dug a bit around for his social media links." Rainbow dismissively waved a hoof.

Rarity moved yet closer to Twilight. "But are you not intrigued by it all? The mystery, all the different stories and the way they influence each other, don't you look forward to seeing it all unfold?"

Twilight gave a meek shrug. "It's hard to get excited about it. I mean, I would be the first gushing over it if things started to make sense. But right now all we have are a few points and lines, and I have no certainty they'll all lead up to some grand design. I don't feel like wrecking my head over trying to connect the dots when I'm not sure if there is a drawing in there or if I'm just imaging constellations."

Rarity thoughtfully chewed on a cupcake. "Sometimes you need a little trust, you know?"

"Trust is earned," said Twilight. Then she took a sip from her milkshake.

"I feel like someone who you've never interacted with should get the benefit of the doubt the first time around. You shouldn't assume the worst."

"And I feel like the rope is being pulled a little too much here for my tastes, and I'd rather wait to see if the water is clear than jump in and get burnt."

"I think you got a little tangled up with your metaphors there," Applejack said, suddenly looking towards the two horned ponies. Then she looked back to Fluttershy and to the game they were playing.

Fluttershy drew a card. "Either way, all both of you can do is keep reading. You shouldn't be arguing over how the other does it."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Flatline

Starlight stared at her unfinished solitaire, then at the deck of cards yet unturned lying beside it. She didn't feel like doing even that. And she was bored.

Oh, maybe it would have been different if she'd had something she actually needed to do or work on. But no. Nothing at all. She was just supposed to relax, apparently, despite how clearly impossible that was after the day she'd had.

A thought wormed its way into her mind. She could sneak into the right room, and then pay the other world a visit through the portal. And a moment later, that fantasy was shattered, as she remembered that there was no portal there in the castle anymore. There hadn't been one for months at that point. Not since that summer day when the Behemoth had come to Canterlot. The mirror had been shattered that day, and no one had worked on repairing it.

Not that repairing it was necessarily needed. There were other portals to the human world, if one really wanted or had to go there. Quite a few actually, some less accessible than others. She supposed, if she really wanted to, she could always sneak to the archive instead to take a peek at the list of known ones, and then go to one of those. But that would probably take a while, and at that point she could just take a regular walk outside.

Although there was something still alluring about having that walk be on the other side instead. In a place where nobody would know who she was. Where she didn't have to worry about who she was. Where she could pretend to be someone else, if she wanted to, and pretend that the things that had happened that day weren't real.

Just to take her mind off of them for a bit. Just to allow herself to. Even if she knew it would all be back to her at the end of it, she wished she could ignore it, just for a while, just finally manage not to think about it.

But she couldn't. And it was always there, pressing at the back of her mind, trying to force its way back to the centre of her attention. It would be like that for days, she knew, probably weeks, perhaps months. It would never truly leave her.

It had come and gone, like a flash of lightning. She'd had no control over it, no say in how it had happened, no time to react. And just like a tree struck by lightning, she would bear that scar in her memory.

It wasn't, all things considered, a bad thing. She hadn't been hurt, none of her friends had either, no other innocent creature had been involved. But it wasn't only about that. It was about being forced to watch it happen. Being powerless to stop it.

She should have been used to it. It had been the same with the Behemoth. But they'd found things to work with. A way to fight back, adapt to the changes of the world. They had grown hope that they could one day take back what they'd lost.

And yet, again, fate had chosen to remind her that there were things out there outside of her control, too great for her to have any say in their course.

A Rock and a Sharp Place - Part 3

Stone sat down in front of Soarin'. Still a touch confused, he took a better look at the note he'd received from the unseen pony. "Valid for one party or musical number at a valid time of your choice. Parties and musical numbers can only take place outside of Sugarcube Edge's working hours. Cannot be traded, sold, or used for a musical number or party dedicated to someone other than yourself. Redeem this ticket by contacting Pinkie Pie. In case the ticket is lost, you can receive a replacement ticket by contacting Pinkie Pie," he read from the piece of paper. Then he looked up at Soarin', still just as confused as he'd been.

"I would have loved to throw you a party or a song when you arrived, but that has been harder to do since I started working here more often," a voice said to his right. "Speaking of which, may I take your orders?"

Startled, Stone Brick turned, seeing a pink mare standing there near their table, a notepad in her hooves and a pencil behind her ear. By the sound of her voice, she was the same pony who'd been hiding underneath a pile of plates just moments before.

Soarin' cut in through Stone's momentary silence, quickly enough for it to not become awkward. "Just bring us whatever the day's special is, Pinkie."

"On it!" Pinkie gave a salute and marched back towards what was presumably the kitchen.

Turning back to his companion, the earth pony asked, "So what's the deal with this place? And with her?"

"Pinkie is like that. Just accept it." Soarin' laid back in his seat. Talking against the background noise of the other clients' chit-chat, he continued, "As for Sugarcube, it used to be just a bakery and confectionery. And it used to have its own building, too. A really pretty thing, looked sorta like a giant cupcake. Unfortunately it had to be taken down after the Behemoth, it wasn't holding together."

Looking around the place, Stone nodded along, signalling the other to keep going.

"All kinds of business had trouble after the Behemoth, some more than others. Sugarcube's owners needed a new place to make and sell their stuff, and the owners of the restaurant that used to be here needed help repairing the building and staying financially afloat. So they made a deal, combined their businesses, and picked Sugarcube Corner as the name for brand recognition." Soarin' sat straight again.

"And why does that Pinkie girl keep calling it Sugarcube Edge?"

A bowl landed in front of Stone Brick. "It's because we're not on a corner anymore," Pinkie said, setting down an identical bowl in front of Soarin'. "Sugarcube Corner used to be at a street corner, but now we're not. So now it's Sugarcube Edge."

Stone looked at the contents of the bowl for a moment. They were indecipherable, but anything with a smell that good he would have eaten blindfolded. "Shouldn't it be Sugarcube Side then, since you're on the side of the road now?"

Pinkie gave a shrug. "I prefer the sharper name."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Savatage

Chrysalis stared at the other creatures in the hall, while sitting on a couch in the corner, disguised as a green pegasus with a blue mane and a key as his cutie mark. Not anypony who actually existed, as far as she knew, she'd just made the disguise up on the fly. And if anyone asked, she would just pretend to be a friend who'd come to visit Suri.

Things had worked out impressively well. She'd found the perfect target to replace. A mare like Suri Polomare wouldn't be receiving any visits, especially not while she was on vacation. No one would find out she'd replaced her, and all Chrysalis had needed to do to prevent anyone from peeking into their room was say that she was working on a new line of clothing and didn't want her designs to leak.

She didn't even need to worry about finding a second disguise. She could easily walk around the hotel as Suri, no one would be able to tell anything was off about her. And she'd done that, actually, for a couple of days after arriving there and capturing the mare. Everything had been going well, perfectly even. Everything up until the second morning.

I told you I'm good at recognising you, Chrysalis. You shouldn't run like this. Why don't we have a talk instead?

Chrysalis growled, glancing down at the piece of paper clutched in her hooves. She'd been found, again, and by the same creature it seemed. The writing looked the same at least. Despite her best efforts to hide her tracks, despite travelling through the edge of the woods as an animal for part of the way there, despite moving in darkness, she'd still been tracked down.

At that point, she wasn't going to run away again. It would be a waste of time and energies, and it would most likely achieve nothing again. And the odds of her finding such a good target were low. But there was more to it than just that. If that annoying purple nuisance and her friends hadn't come after her yet then whoever was aware of her position was probably not planning to call them in.

Going by the last message, they just wanted to talk. Directly. And Chrysalis had decided she would give them just that. She was done running. A Queen shouldn't run, anyway. If this creature wanted to play with fire, she'd make sure they got what they deserved. And there was always a chance they wanted to help her. All things considered, meeting them was the best option.

And so, there she sat, studying all the other creatures in the hall. But none seemed to have any interest in her, all too preoccupied with talking with each other or merely passing by. Of course, Chrysalis had no lead as to where the other was actually planning to meet her, but if they were tracking her steps then she assumed they would make themselves known.

But for a while, nothing happened. Then, just as Chrysalis was about to start losing her patience, the receptionist suddenly stood up from her desk and walked towards her. "Excuse me," the mare said, "one of our guests made a call asking about you. She says she's waiting for you in room eight-thirteen."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Vydeokldt Rediostahr

"Hello, Twilight."

Twilight, whose head was currently held low just past the rail while a hoof on her mouth tried to help in preventing her from vomiting, slowly pulled herself back and turned towards the other. "Do we know each other?" she asked, studying the pony.

"No. I do know a Twilight Sparkle though. But she doesn't have wings or a horn, most of the time." The mare was busy trying to give her surprisingly long mane a shape with some hair ties.

Twilight just raised an eyebrow, pursing her lips to suppress another gagging fit.

The other's mane finally settled on what was probably the desired shape. "I'm Sugarcoat."

It took a moment for Twilight to actually process that. "Oh. Oh, right, Sunset wrote to me about you. I didn't realise you were coming today." She looked back inside the building, a little embarrassed. "It might not be the best time."

"Did someone die?" Sugarcoat asked the question almost emotionlessly, like she was asking about the weather or about the most boring and trivial of matters. She looked towards Twilight, a flat and calm expression on her face.

"Not exactly." Twilight stood a little straighter. She didn't want to traumatise someone on their first meeting, but the other seemed weirdly unfazed by the possibility. "Why do you ask?"

"I can smell it on you."

"Oh." Twilight's cheeks went a shade darker again. "I'm sorry about that. Yeah, it was something along those lines."

"What exactly is it about?" Sugarcoat adjusted her glasses with a hoof. "Or is it classified information?"

Twilight looked up for moment, frowning in thought. She decided there was no harm in telling the other about it. A piece of the whole story, at least. "I'm sure you will believe me if I tell you parallel universes exist, right?"

Sugacoat's silence and unchanging expression were an effective answer, though one that made Twilight regret the attempt at humour.

"It turns out some are less friendly places than others. And someone decided to..." Twilight actually had to pause for a moment, her brief academic excitement strangled by remembering what she was actually talking about. "Well, let's just say you don't want to go into that room with the guards in front of it. It wasn't anypony from this world, but still someone."

"Knowing there are worse universes than my own is oddly reassuring in a way I feel it shouldn't be." Sugarcoat turned and began to walk away from the balcony, following the direction Twilight herself had seemed intent on going towards.

Twilight walked beside her. "Have you been enjoying your time here?" she asked, trying to bring the conversation back onto happier themes.

"Yes," said Sugarcoat, in a tone that did not line up with the word. "Cadence gave me a brief tour of the place. Your Cadence. Our Cadence doesn't have wings. I suppose it's still better than demonic bat-like wings though." She was silent for a moment. "I'm bad at telling jokes, so I mostly don't, and as a result I never get better at it."

Twilight looked puzzled. "No, I guess that one was okay. It's the timing you should be working on." She pursed her lips. "Are you alright?"

Sugarcoat didn't turn as she answered. "I'm being crushed by guilt thinking about how a version of Twilight that had a proper group of friends to support her through her life became the leader of a nation while all I did for mine was pressure her and be mean to her until she snapped and almost destroyed the world. But aside from that, being a horse is very nice."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

tr

"It's all chromatic aberrations running on hard cardboard in the metanarrative layer," the odd bug-like creature said. She looked like a very large stick insect, her legs just a bit wider in proportion, though her neck more closely resembled a pony's and her head was almost fully that of one. She wore shades over her eyes.

Shining stood silent in front of her for a few seconds, as a light breeze coming in form a window somewhere down the corridor pushed the door behind him to open a little wider. Finally, he settled onto one of the many questions whirling about in his mind. "How did you get in?"

"The door was open," casually said the other. She titled her head slightly to the side, studying the stallion.

"No it wasn't. I locked it. I had to unlock it just a moment ago to get into this room again, and there's no other copy of the key in here except for the one I have with me." Shining's expression was perfectly flat, likely a result of many different emotions all trying to warp it in different ways and all evening each other out.

"Oh." The creature cocked her head to the other side. "The window was open?" she tried.

"It wasn't. But even if it was, why is it closed now?"

"Oh," said the creature again. Then she slowly began to move back on her six legs. Up until she reached the wall. And then up the wall. And then on the ceiling, moving backwards towards the door.

But before she managed to reach the exit, Shining closed it shut. "Who are you?"

The creature put on a disappointed pout. Then, looking away from the closed door and towards Shining, she asked, "Would you believe me if I told you I am the Raven?"

"I have no idea what that means." Shining turned towards her. "Who are you?"

"You know Rarity?"

Shining blinked. "Yes?"

"Imagine a set of two mirrors endlessly reflecting off of each other, and there's a wig that looks just like her mane taped around one of them." As she said that, her two frontmost legs rose up to accompany her words with gestures.

"That makes no sense and still doesn't answer my question." Shining kept staring at her, a more aggressive edge entering his glare.

The creature awkwardly gave a fake cough into her tarsus, eyes darting nervously from side to side. "Do you ever fall through a portal while hiking and end up on the other side as something other than a horse, and also as a different biological sex?"

Shining took a step closer, though his expression softened a little. In a calmer tone, he asked, "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

"Uh..." The creature looked back towards the exit. "Time travel?" She suddenly transformed into a tiny bug and slid underneath the door. Then, on the other side of it, the heavy resounding of her steps signalled she had taken on her larger six-legged form again. "And tell Celestia it will be very not nice of her to drop me like that!" she yelled, her voice growing more distant as she frantically rushed away from the room.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Plot Progression

Sugarcoat and Twilight stood, speechless, as the large, bug-like, six-legged creature rushed by in front of them, followed shortly after by Shining Armor, clearly intent on chasing her.

A moment after the commotion had moved past them, the first turned to the second with a questioning look.

Twilight looked back. "I have no idea."

"That's reassuring, actually." Sugarcoat returned to walking down the corridor, and Twilight followed at her side.

"So," the alicorn began to ask, "what are your plans for the rest of the day?"

"Just visit the town," said Sugarcoat. "Go look at the shops. Have a walk in the centre. Maybe read something if there's a library. I will probably look for a bakery or something close and see if they have snickerdoodles." She kept walking, looking straight ahead. "It sounds boring. But I just want to be normal."

Twilight bit her lower lip, unsure of what to say. "Do you want me to help you with anything or-"

"No," Sugarcoat interrupted her. "Walking around with a princess is the last thing I want in terms of keeping my visit normal, and while your words about the situation between me and my Twilight were welcome and will be helpful you're still a reminder of my mistakes, so I would rather not be with you while I sort things out." A moment of silence went by, then she added, "It sounds like I'm antagonising you for offering help. I'm not, and I do appreciate the offer. I'm horrible at any kind of social interaction, especially with someone I'm not familiar with."

"I don't think you are," Twilight immediately replied. "You're being too harsh on yourself. I meant what I said about you and the other Twilight, you should be working on improving things now and not regretting mistakes you can't unmake. And besides, you have friends, don't you? You can't be as bad as you say you are."

"I only ever really became friends with them after we almost died together. Before that the closest thing I had was occasionally doing what I can't describe as anything other than bullying together with Sour or Indigo. Every other pretense of me having any sort of social relationship was just the byproduct of being one of the top students, and between the shift in the school's climate after Cinch was kicked out and the way I wasted the rest of that year moping in a corner and completely annihilated my grades that all crumbled away. I'm completely socially inept and just because I was able to bond with other sapient creature through a shared near death experience against a magical entity bent on world domination things aren't going to change."

Twilight would have chuckled at that last statement, given her own experiences, but the rest of what Sugarcoat had said kept her from it, especially coupled with the mare's worryingly flat tone. "I didn't know about your grades."

"I didn't tell Twilight. I was held back a year. Right now I'm keeping them just on the edge so I can easily tank them again if I want."

"But why?"

Sugarcoat actually stopped walking there. "Because I've got nowhere else to go outside of that school. My whole personality was built around a system that doesn't even exist anymore. I don't know of any other place where a complete disregard for emotions and an obsessive focus on facts would be welcome. And more importantly, if one exists then I want to stay as far away from it as possible. The old Crystal Prep pressured me into following its concept of being the best so much that I don't think I could ever manage to fit anywhere else right now."

Twilight turned towards her, tentatively extending a hoof. "Isn't there anything you wanted to do in your life?"

"No." The word was dry, flat, emotionless. "The only thing I ever had time to focus on was being the best student. All I managed to do was hurt others."

Plot Aggression

"Isn't there something you enjoy doing? You must have some sort of hobby or something like that."

"You mean aside from bullying?" Sugarcoat kept trotting along the hallway, Twilight at her side. "I know how to drive a motorcycle, but I had to learn that for the Friendship Games. I wouldn't say I'm particularly good at it, or that I enjoy it. There's singing, but that's not much of an accomplishment in a school that forces you to be good at that too." She paused for a moment. "There's dancing. That I have fun with. But I'm not particularly good at it either."

Twilight pursed her lips, frowning in thought. "I'll see if I can think of a way to help. I'm sure there's something out there you would enjoy, we just need to figure out what."

"You're thinking of asking my acquaintances in the other world for help, hoping they know something about me that I'm currently unable to see because of my shaken emotional state, aren't you?" Sugarcoat stopped as she finally reached the door leading outside.

Twilight gave a slightly too large smile as she heard that. "Maybe?"

Sugarcoat answered back with a rather small one, but distinctly a smile nonetheless. "I know I can get better, I just don't think it's worth forcing others to put up with me in the process. But I can't stop you from doing it. Thank you." She looked outside and sighed. "I might go look for a clothing shop. It should help reducing the stares." She looked at her thighs for a moment. "And I'm more used to pockets, I'd rather not have to keep money in my hair."

"Oh." Twilight nodded, her eyes darting to follow Sugarcoat's gaze for just a moment before she stopped herself. "Yeah. You should probably try to exercise with that, too," she added, looking at the opposite end of the mare instead. "I can help with it if you want."

Sugarcoat's eyes slightly crossed as she focused on the horn protruding from her forehead. "I suppose you're right." She adjusted her glasses after that. "Well, it's been nice meeting you. See you around."

Twilight was about to wave the unicorn goodbye and turn back, but suddenly she noticed something. Or rather, she noticed someone. "Hah!" she half-yelled, pointing a hoof in their direction as a smirk suddenly appeared on her face.

Sugarcoat's eyes followed the direction Twilight was pointing towards, and settled onto a rather tall winged unicorn who she assumed was Equestria's own version of Canterlot High's principal. The horse was still, her eyes open wide, her pupils shrunk to pinpoints and focused on Twilight, her mouth half open, one of her hooves holding a slice of lemon cake halfway between the ground and her face.

During the brief moment in which the two winged unicorns stared silently at each other, something fell between them from a balcony on the higher floors of the building. The large creature then quickly scrambled back to her six legs and began to run away, and a moment later Shining Armor landed in the same spot, encased in a bubble of pink magic which he then dispelled. A second after he was gone, again running after the creature.

Twilight and the other tall horse, after both of them had stared at the display in confused and unmoving silence, once more locked eyes with each other, and then both disappeared in flashes of light.

Sugarcoat adjusted her glasses again, and finally walked out of the building.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Soft Regression

Twilight found Sugarcoat on a bench, sipping on a chocolate mint milkshake, staring aimlessly at the empty parking lot. She would have preferred to meet her sooner, but the other had insisted that she should focus on the portal first, and so Twilight had. Now that had been temporarily secured, with more proper measures on their way, and so it was finally time to have a chat.

"Hello," Sugarcoat said, as Twilight sat down beside her.

"Hello," came Twilight's attempt at a reply. She stared for a moment at the shop behind the bench, where Sugarcoat had gotten her milkshake from. "Do you want to talk about it now?"

Sugarcoat kept drinking for a moment, possibly mulling over her answer. "I still don't know."

Twilight almost cringed at that. "Well... Do you want to tell me more about what things are like on the other side of the portal?" she tried, in an attempt to get the conversation going in some direction.

"There's a town, like I said. Pretty big. Lots of weird crystal buildings."

"Oh! That must be the Crystal Empire," Twilight said. "Sunset has told me about it. It's interesting that a portal could lead there too." She gave a small giggle. "Thought I suppose it would make sense, Crystal Prep after all."

Sugarcoat didn't even look at Twilight, instead drinking some more of her milkshake, and the other girl's smile slowly turned awkward.

"So, um..." Twilight trailed off, drawing circles in the ground with a foot, trying to think about what more she could ask. "Why were you near Crystal Prep?"

There was a faint, barely audible clink, as Sugarcoat's teeth closed in on the edge of the glass, and for the first time Twilight saw something she didn't recognise on the girl's face. "Why do you think I was there?" Sugarcoat half-yelled, half-asked a moment later, her tone rushed and annoyed.

Twilight drew back slightly, frowning. "Sorry. Yeah, I suppose you would have reasons to visit, unlike me."

Sugarcoat looked away, and said nothing for a bit. Then, wanting to take the conversation elsewhere, she spoke again. "I'm a unicorn on the other side."

"Really? Well, I guess I don't have much to go by on what type of pony one should be," Twilight said. "So you can use magic there?"

"I suppose so." Sugarcoat went back to staring in front of them, and took another sip. "I didn't try though. I wouldn't know where to start."

Twilight adjusted her glasses. "Believe me, I know what that's like."

"I got a lot of stares," Sugarcoat continued. "Mostly towards the thighs. I think it had to do with how I seemed to be the only horse without any symbols there."

Twilight frowned as she heard that. "Sunset told me something about those. They're called cutie marks, I think. And I don't think it's normal for someone to not have one." She took out her phone and began to type a message to her girlfriend, asking for details.

Sugarcoat finished the last of her milkshake. "I enjoyed being there." She turned towards Twilight. "Do you think I could go back?"

Post Possession

"It's about you."

Rarity frowned, confused. "Me? Did I do something wrong?" Then her expression turned to worry. "Is something plotting against me?"

Twilight gave a nervous look behind herself, at the ponies trotting outside the shop window. "It's more complicated than that."

Catching her intention, Rarity flipped the sign hanging from the door, and lowered the blinds. "Tell me."

Twilight cleared her throat, moving to sit on the nearest chair. "It's about the other you," she explained. "The one in the human world."

"Oh, goodness." Rarity moved to sit in front of Twilight. "Did something happen to her? Is she alright?"

Twilight looked hesitant, and took a moment to swallow before continuing. "She's safe, right now, if that's what you mean. No accidents or serious physical harm. Not yet at least." She paused for a second, breathing in. "But she's not alright. And I need your help. She needs your help."

Rarity leaned a little closer to Twilight. "I will do what I can, Twilight, that's not even a question. But will you please tell me what is the matter with her?"

Twilight looked to the side. "You know that cupboard you keep under lock and key, the one where you store wine bottles and occasionally take one out for special occasions?"

Rarity nodded. "I take it my human self shares my fine tastes in drinks."

"She unfortunately doesn't share your moderation," Twilight replied. "Not as of late, at least."

Rarity pursed her lips. "I know I went too far myself a few times when I was younger. A rather disgraceful display. And with such unrefined liquor, too." She shook herself out of her reminiscing. "But that is not the topic here. I believe what you're saying is that something has pushed her to drink? And how bad are things, currently?"

Twilight chose to answer the second question first. "I only know what Sunset has told me, and she only knows what her and the others have been able to piece together. But as far as certainties go, from what their Sweetie Belle has said, she spent a whole late afternoon and evening drinking, to the point where she passed out still dressed on top of her bed at the end of it, without having dinner. As far as what else she might have done..." Twilight looked to the side again.

"Yes?"

"Well, you don't know what a car is, but... Imagine a cart, but faster, and made of metal. And imagine a bunch of those being driven around, and it's all like the traffic in Manehattan," Twilight explained. "Now imagine doing that while drunk." Before Rarity had a chance to freak out, she continued, "They're not actually sure she did it. Just that the keys were moved at some point. But in her current state, she might have."

Rarity put a hoof to her forehead, frowning in worry as she looked down. "You want me to talk to her, right?"

"The others don't know where to start. You know yourself better than anyone else." Twilight offered her a tentative smile.

"And why is she like this?" Rarity asked, again.

Twilight wanted to look away again, but forced herself not to. "There are things about the other Rarity you don't know. And there's a reason I haven't told you or others about them." She sighed. "This isn't only about you."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

How Applejack got her #################################################################################################################################################################################################################################### Back

Applejack sat on the stone railing, looking at the lake in front of her and at the Moon and stars reflecting in it. She'd be moving again come Monday, but still had all of the weekend to prepare for that, and this time it would only be a short drive. She swallowed the last bits of her ice cream cone, balled up the paper napkin and placed it in her pocket after cleaning her mouth, then took out her phone.

She was in a good mood, there and then. Good enough that she was willing to risk ruining it. Staring at the screen, she began to scroll through her unread messages.

Nothing from Rarity. That was, in a small part, a relief. But it still did bother her, in some way. She knew the other girl wasn't doing well. Aside from that, a few messages in the group chat, a few pictures from Fluttershy, a few other direct messages from Rainbow and Twilight. Strangely enough for her, her mood was still up by the time she got done reading through all of them and responding. A thought wormed its way into her brain.

Before she had time to think twice on it and change her mind, she tapped onto her screen and started a call, placing the phone next to her ear and waiting. Thankfully, the other picked up before any second thoughts could come make her close it.

"Applejack?" came Twilight's voice from the other end of the conversation. "Hello?"

"Hello, Twilight," Applejack replied. Her shoulders relaxed, letting go of a tension she hadn't realised was there. "How are things going there? I had a bit of time so I thought I would shoot you a call."

"It's been a while since I heard you," Twilight said. "It's nice of you to call. Things here are going well enough, we're still looking for a new bass player." There was a subtle sound Applejack couldn't quite make out, accompanied by a pause in Twilight's speech. "Things are going well except for Rarity."

If Twilight's first remark about her lack of calls had made her flinch, the latter mention of Rarity flat out pushed Applejack to bite her tongue. Of course the conversation would end up there. Still, she could delay it for a little while. "I'm sorry about leaving the band like this. I suppose I could record my portions here and send it to you girls."

"No, it's okay. You're busy, and we need someone for live shows anyway." Twilight stayed quiet for a few moments. Both of them knew why. "And, besides, it's not a big deal that you left the band. We understand. And something like it might have been inevitable even without you having to leave, after you, well... You know."

Applejack swallowed. She knew she'd have to have that talk at some point, no reason to run from it again. "How bad is she?"

Twilight's breath on the other end of the line was heavy enough to hear. And Applejack forced herself to stay there and listen to her answer, as snow began to fall on the lake.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

A Brief History of Terms: Coil

Even back when it first surfaced to the broader public, it was a hard, near impossible task to trace the proper origin of the term coil. The meaning was officialised when it had already spread and been used, in what really only served as recognition for the effective existence of it. Much like the public statement in which it was utilised served as little more than a formal acknowledgement of a phenomenon most of Equestria was becoming aware of by itself.

The date of Princess Twilight's speech to the nation on the matter of coils was recorded, of course. So was the hour, and if one really wanted to they could determine the exact minute when the word was first spoken in an official context. But that would be a rather pointless endeavour, if perhaps an amusing one.

Truth is, the matter of coils had by that point already been amply discussed elsewhere, the term widely accepted, and not one creature even paid mind to Twilight's use of it in her speech. The origin of words is indeed a very complicated matter in most cases, and much more fluid of a process than what many might assume. Especially when a term originates, as one could say, from below, from groups of creatures and their need to identify something, and not from above, imposed by an authority.

To determine the origin of the word coil, in its post Arrival meaning, the best course of action is perhaps that of determining the time and place of appearance of the first coil itself. This, if anything, provides a window of time during which the term must have come into being. Unfortunately, not only is the topic of the first coil just barely less complex than that of the origin of the term, it is also less helpful than what one might hope. While it is agreed on by a rather sizable portion of those studying the phenomenon that Firecracker was the first to display the signs of one, they only later learned of the term, through contact with others who themselves had learned it from other sources, after other coils had been found and studied.

Some claim it was Pinkie Pie who coined the term. Reports agree that, upon stumbling into Princess Twilight's castle while the latter was in the process of examining one, she claimed that was their name, and having nothing else to call them by everyone temporarily adopted that. Where disagreements arise is on whether she made the term up on the spot and it simply stuck, or if she herself had heard it elsewhere and it was this reaffirmation of its use that prompted Twilight and her assistants to keep it. It does not help matters that Pinkie might have used the term elsewhere before then, giving then the impression that it was indeed already in use.

This does, however, at the least provide a date before which the term must have originated. Coupled with a rough estimate of when Firecracker's coil first manifested, the result is a three week period during which the word first gained its new meaning, alongside a rough geographical estimate of either Ponyville or the neighbouring areas, at most about a fifth of the country accounting for the potential spread of information.

As for why the term was chosen though, no one has been able to provide a suitable explanation, leading much credence to the possibility that Pinkie Pie may have indeed come up with it herself.

Nightmare in Silver

Applejack walked through the frozen wasteland. Jagged spires of blue ice rose around her like trees in an orchard, catching what little light was there and twisting it. The ground was covered in snow, almost sand-like in the way it moved beneath her hooves. A soft, gentle breeze blew over her coat and through her mane. The sky was cloudy, a uniform curtain of grey blue nothingness.

It should have felt cold. And by all means, it was cold. And she could tell it was cold. But it wasn't uncomfortable, for some reason. It felt cold, yes, but not colder than her own skin or body. And the snow wasn't wet, not as it usually would be. It didn't melt against her skin. Instead it stayed the same, and even as she tried to pick some up and breathe on it nothing changed. Even her breath, despite how cold the air was, was invisible, and breathing in didn't hurt as it should have.

She tried looking around, searching for any sign of anything that wasn't ice or snow. But there was nothing else. Nothing more than the cold and frozen world surrounding her in all directions, as far as her eyes could see flat plains covered in snow where ice rose from the ground. Uncertain, Applejack kept walking around, wondering what else she could do.

Suddenly, she felt something. Like a pull on one of her hooves, stopping her from lifting her leg. She immediately turned her head towards it, but couldn't see what was blocking her there, the base of her hoof buried in snow. Quickly she brought another hoof there to move away the snow and see what else was beneath it. But all she found was ice. Ice on the ground, ice beneath her hoof, and ice crawling up her hoof and enveloping it. She tried to pull again and saw how the ice kept its hold on her, and terrified she realised she could no longer feel anything in her hoof.

As she desperately kept pulling, trying to think of a way out, her two other hooves were locked in place just as the first one had been, leaving only the still raised one she'd used to move the snow free of ice. And then, adding to her dread, the ice began to crawl up legs.

She'd thought, at first, that she could no longer feel her hooves. But as ice spread higher along her limbs, she realised that was not the case. She could still feel her hooves and legs. Merely, they were different now. They weren't simply encased in ice. They were being turned to ice themselves.

Suddenly she felt what she thought was a touch on her back. But turning towards it, she saw one of the pointed branches of the twisted trees of ice around her had extended, and was now piercing through her flesh, as ice spread through her body from there as well.

Turning her head from side to side, all she could do was pant as more and more of her body turned to ice, both crawling up from the ground and from new spikes piercing through her. Until the ice reached her lungs, at least. Then her breathing became calm. Her throat was turned too, and she could no longer scream. And finally, her head was transformed, leaving her in darkness.

Applejack slowly opened her eyes, seeing the Moon shining through her room's window. She remembered the nightmare, yet she felt nothing over it.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

A Rock and a Sharp Place - Part 4

The food was better than good. Of course, the days of eating rations on the road made it better, but even so Stone Brick was pretty confident that whatever he'd been served was the best thing he'd ever eaten. He still had no idea of what it actually was, but that didn't particularly interest him.

He stepped out of the restaurant, once the two of them had paid, and turned towards Princess Twilight's castle. "Are we going there now?" he asked Soarin'.

"I don't see why not." With a flap of his wings, the pegasus moved ahead of Stone, and once more began to lead the way through the town.

The Sun was past its peak at that point, but not by much, and the streets were largely empty. A few ponies were still there, some waving at Soarin' as they saw him. But for the most part, creatures were inside their homes, either eating lunch or relaxing in the early afternoon.

"I think I asked before too, but why exactly are you going to visit Princess Twilight?" Soarin' looked back over his shoulder at the other pony.

Stone Brick bit the corner of his lips. "I have something I would like to show her. And questions I would like to ask." He hoped that would be enough to convince the pegasus, at least for the moment. Some part of him didn't want to make even a mention of his scale to anyone who wasn't Twilight, though he couldn't quite place where that intent was coming from.

"Well, I hope it's something important. The Princess doesn't have much time to waste." Soarin' was about to say something else, but his eyes were caught by a familiar face turning the corner. "Hey! How's it going, Silver Spear?"

The pony in question looked up at the two of them. "Soarin'! Things are alright, same as always. What about you?" he asked, walking towards them. He was a lightly built unicorn, his short mane a dark grey while his coat was a more light shade, like silver. He wore parts of a suit of light blue armor, clearly the same model as the Royal Guard.

"Going well," Soarin' replied. "Was just taking this stallion here to see Princess Twilight. We had lunch at Sugarcube, you should try the day's special if you haven't eaten already." He shook the other stallion's hoof in a friendly gesture. "How's Lightning doing?"

Silver huffed, rolling his eyes. "Same as always. Had to drag her to her house yesterday night too. But she's fine otherwise, she didn't seem too bad this morning."

"So when are you gonna start hitting on her?" Soarin' asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I can't hit on an intoxicated mare, Soar'. And besides, it's against protocol. I'm there to guard her, not to have sex with her."

"Just ask her out when she's sober. It's out of your work hours anyway."

Silver rolled his eyes again. Looking at Stone, he said, "Don't trust any type of relationship advice he gives you. Especially not when it involves mares."

Soarin' gave an amused snort. "Well, I think she's missing out if she doesn't hit on you first. I know I would."

"Then why don't you?"

Soarin''s eyes suddenly nervously darted from side to side. "Right, the castle. Stone, we should get going. See you around, Silver." With that, he flew a fair bit forward, far faster than Stone could reasonably keep up with, then stopped just past a corner to wait for him.

"Oh, I'll be seeing him alright," Silver said, passing by Stone's side. "Stone, was it? Enjoy your stay in Ponyville. Have a nice day." With a wave, he left, walking down the road.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

If you don't mind, I'll sing a song

"It used to be a lullaby," the pony said, moments after he'd finished singing. "I always thought it was fitting here, but I hadn't had a chance to show it to anyone else yet."

Twilight nodded. Her eyes wandered over the scenery, the red and empty hills of dust underneath the burning crimson sky and the scorched, blackened and consumed ruins of what had once been a city far off in the distance. "Was this your home world?"

The stallion looked back at her. "It might have been. It might have not. I wouldn't tell you." He took a couple steps in her direction. "There are more practical reasons why I've brought you here. It's easier for me to send you back, and harder for you to track me." He reached Twilight, and stood in front of her. "Not that you would manage to find me anyway, but this should make it hard enough for you to decide against trying."

Twilight held his gaze. The smugness wasn't lost on her, but she knew it was deserved, if slightly annoying. "How do you navigate them so easily?" she asked, not for the first time.

Not for the first time, he answered, "Experience, and memory. And lots of time to get familiar with the system." He smirked. "Now, will you follow me back to Equestria?"

Twilight stared towards the horizon, contemplating. "Is there anyone here?"

He followed her eyes and turned towards what little was left of the city. "Not that I know of, but I haven't checked. Still, I doubt it."

Twilight nodded once, then shook her head. Of course, there wasn't much of a point in trying to look for survivors there and then, and he'd known that too when he'd chosen where to take her. She turned back to him. Still...

The look in Twilight's eyes gave away her intentions before her mouth had a chance to speak them, and he cut her off right as she was about to talk again. "No."

Twilight pursed her lips. "But it would be the right thing to do."

That just got him to shake his head and chuckle. "Honestly, I don't think there's anything right in this whole ordeal. But the point is, Twilight, that you have your own world to take care of. It's not your responsibility to help those living in other universes, and it shouldn't be."

"I choose who I want and don't want to help," Twilight replied. "I've been to different worlds and helped people there before. I won't stop just because you told me to."

"You need to draw a line, Twilight, or time will draw it for you." He stared at her again. "Where will you stop? Because I've seen a lot out here, and you're a smart mare, and we both know you can't get to the end, should there even be one. You can't save everyone. You can't even save most. There will always be more things to do than you have time for. So I suggest you spend that time on the world you're closest to, and accept that you can't save the rest. Otherwise, you risk losing everything instead."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

In Tenebris

The unicorn marched up and down the length of the laboratory, the click of his steps against the stone pavement echoing around the room in a nervous, frenzied rhythm.

"Are you sure about this?" his companion asked, as she herself sat at a table and clutched an empty beaker in her hoof just to have something to hold on to.
Her body slightly twitched every few seconds, the tension inside her trying to push its way out.

He stopped dead in his tracks and turned to her, his eyes wide and his pupils shrunk to the size of needle holes. "I have never been less sure about anything in my life," he stated, in what sounded closer to a dam breaking than to a pony speaking. "The only thing I know for sure is that if this doesn't go well then we're both going to die a slow painful horrible death, probably at each other's hooves. Is there anything you'd like to say to me before we go out there and sign our death sentences?"

The beaker in her hoof seemed threateningly close to cracking, but still managed to remain intact. "I think we signed our death sentences when we came to work here, Star'."

"We didn't have a choice there. The alternative, I'll remind you, was death. You don't disobey an order from Her Majesty." He sat down, pushing his back against the wall. "I guess you could argue she signed our sentences for us. We never really had a say in all this. We're only allowed to do what she's okay with us doing."

"When you think about it, everyone signs their death sentence they day they are born. That's how life works. Or something." She tried for a smile, and ended up with something decently close to it. "Except for her I guess. Fuck."

The other gave a resigned, almost accepting sigh. "Well. Time to go. Been nice knowing you, Sunlight." He got up, and began to march towards the door.

The other unicorn set the beaker down, and stood up as well. "I told you, don't call me Sunlight." She stepped to his side, in front of the door. "Also, same."

"Sure thing, Sunlight." With a flick of his horn, he opened the door and walked into the next room. There, behind a curtain of glass, a stallion lay strapped to a table, a worried but determined smile on his face.

The two unicorns looked at each other, then the mare lit her horn and spoke to the pony on the table. "We will begin now. I will warn you, this is going to hurt."

He said something in response, probably about doing it for the glory of Her Majesty or some other honorable idiocy the soldiers were brainwashed with. It was a bit of a shame they couldn't hear him, but they both knew they'd be grateful for that once the screams began.

The male unicorn swallowed, readying his spell. "All clear?" he asked to his partner.

"All clear." She nodded.

Closing his eyes, the unicorn flared his magic, and the machine on the other side of the glass hummed to life.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

5%

A dark, deep black crystal descended from the ceiling, at the tip of a metallic arm that positioned itself through the clicking gears at the junctions of its different sections. Behind the glass the unicorns watched, slight tremors wracking their bodies and expressions.

The stallion on the table still looked determined, yet his expression couldn't help but falter whenever he looked at the unicorns'. But he knew it would be safe. It had to be. He had been chosen for that role by Nightmare Moon herself, and there was no reason to hesitate. No reason to ever go against her will.

The crystal came down onto his chest, like an hammer and a nail onto a plank of wood, and no amount of loyalty or training or brainwashing could stop the scream. Beyond the glass, the male unicorn lowered his gaze, refusing to watch the stallion's face. But the other kept her eyes on him. Somebody had to, after all.

Thick black protrusions began to appear on the pony's chest, expanding outward from where the crystal lay halfway into his body. They were much like veins, only far larger, and not belonging to his old body. Like roots of something else slowly forcing itself on him, snakes crawling beneath his skin and through his flesh.

His face was distorted by agony, his eyes shot with blood and his pupils shrunk to the tiniest size. He shook, violently, but the straps around his limbs and torso held him down. Whether he was still screaming or he'd run out of air for it was a question that crossed the unicorns' mind, if not one they wanted an answer to. If anything though, he was at least still alive. Clearly, as a trained soldier, he was robust enough to take it up to that point.

The surface of his body began to shift. His hair grew darker, until it was a deep blue that could barely be told apart from black. It started in different patches at first, but soon his whole body had changed colour. His eyes were blood red at that point, dozens of vessels popping in them, and his teeth grew sharper and misshapen as they pushed against each other in a mouth too small for all of them.

The female unicorn clenched her jaw. She knew what would come next, and knew no subject had ever made it past that point. On the other side of the glass bubbles began to form on the stallion's skin, some small as an ant while others bigger than an eye. It was as if his own skin and flesh and hair had turned to tar, slowly melting as it enveloped him.

The shaking continued. The male unicorn finally looked up again, knowing the time had come, knowing from that moment onwards he would be a dead pony walking. And he watched, slack-jawed and breathless, as the bubbling on the stallion's skin stopped and the almost fluid mass around him seemed to revert in its melting process, growing stable.

The pony's limbs and body began to expand and shift. His torso shot up, burying the crystal all the way in, while his restraints snapped. Bones split and shifted in his legs as muscles wove themselves around them in new patterns, thick and outlined by the almost lucid layer of his hairless skin. His hooves broke into chunks and grew sharper, claws at the end of four-digit paws that looked more like swords than anything an animal should have.

His jaw and mouth grew wider and longer, a myriad of sharp fangs now finally free to position themselves in it. His pupils turned to slits inside red irises, below the prominent brow of his elongated face. Pushing the machine atop him aside, bending it and snapping a few cogs in the process, he stood and turned towards the glass window.

On his forehead was a small perpendicular ridge of bone, just as blue-black as the rest of his body, and two similar but longer ones flanked his spine. On his chest what looked like a tangle of vines just below his skin, its many ends stretching towards the rest of his body and growing thinner and deeper as they did. A wild tuft of blue fur, more akin to smoke in its apparent consistency, had replaced what used to be his mane, and a similar one began at the middle point of his otherwise barren tail.

The creature stood on all fours, his arms now longer and thicker than his hind legs and his back slightly curved as a result. There was no trace left of the crystal used, not on him or on the machine. He stared at the unicorns with his red eyes, his expression impossible to read for them. His breath was regular, if a little heavy, his nostrils slits at the front of his face that flared open and closed in sync with his chest's motions.

The male unicorn pressed his face against the glass as he stared at the result of their experiment, the full weight of the events finally crashing down on him, while to his side his female companion sat frozen on the ground and felt the same. And they both looked at the creature's eyes, as the creature looked back.

"What have we done?"

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Love as a Construct

The door to room eight-thirteen stood in front of Chrysalis, no different from the many other doors flanking the empty corridor. She grit her teeth in anticipation, prepared to shed her disguise and unleash a torrent of magic at the first sign of danger. She shouldn't have been afraid, and she hated the fact that she was. But she couldn't help it.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to convince herself there was nothing to be nervous about. Whoever was inside that room had made a huge mistake if they thought they could take her own. She placed a hoof on the knob and opened the door, stepping through.

The door closed behind her with a click. The room was dark, but in the darkness she could make out a shape, the silhouette of something that was unmistakably a pony staring at her from the furthest corner. And it was a familiar shape indeed. "You," Chrysalis growled out, halfway surprised and halfway afraid. Then her eyes adjusted to the low light of the room a bit better, and the pony stepped forward, and both her shock and her concern grew. "No," she whispered. "You?"

The mare stopped in the middle of the room. "Hello, Chrysalis. How have you been?" she asked, her tone cold. The darkness around her made it almost impossible to notice the few things that set her apart from the pony she so closely resembled, but Chrysalis couldn't mistake the expression on her face. "Or perhaps I should call you mother?" She smirked. "As for me? Well, I've been really busy being dead. You know, after Harmony murdered me. You'd know about it, you were watching after all. Though that's not a concern anymore, as you can see."

Chrysalis's disguise dropped and magic flared bright around her horn as she hissed at Twilight's clone, rage blazing in her eyes. But she didn't fire any spells, and her hissing died down to a low grumbling after a few moments of complete lack of reactions from the other. She stared at her through her slit pupils, wings tense on her back. "What do you want?" she barked at the alicorn.

The mare smiled at that. "Your help," she simply answered.

"As if I would ever help you after you betrayed me once!"

Twilight's clone rolled her eyes at that. "Chrissy, please. Have you considered that, if all your children end up betraying you, that might mean you're a terrible parent?" She chuckled at that, then continued, "But honestly, do you think I would trust you? I never said you have to do this willingly. I was thinking more about having you obey my orders.

"And don't look at me like that. I know what you're thinking right now." She smirked again. "Think about your options, Chrysalis. I beat you once already, and you were stronger then than you are now. No one is going to help you if you try to run away. You don't have a choice here, unless you want to find out what happens when your enemies aren't as merciful as Equestria's leaders."

Chrysalis swallowed. There wasn't a single word of what the alicorn had said that she didn't hate from the core of her being, and the remarks about the other changelings' betrayal made her want nothing more than to lunge at the mare and shut her mouth forever. But she was smart enough to recognise that the overgrown log had a point, even if doing that alone was almost enough to make her throw up. The magic in her horn died down. "What do you want?"

Hall of the Mountain Queen

The stallion blinked. "Hello," he said.

The alicorn, confused, looked between him and the section of previously crumbled wall that had inexplicably opened up and allowed him access to the cave. "How did you get in?"

The stallion appeared puzzled by her question. "Well, I stepped in through that hole over there." He turned to point towards the direction he'd come from.

That did nothing to alter the alicorn's confused expression. "How did you get the rocks to move like that? I didn't see any magic."

"Oh. Well, I just pressed the button that was there on the wall." He kept looking at her, still smiling.

The mare refrained from asking what he actually meant by that, convinced whatever answer he could give would not help her understand. Swearing to check on the wall later, she asked instead, "What do you want?"

"Hmm." The stallion put a hoof to his chin, thoughtfully chewing on nothing. "I could go for some soup right now."

The alicorn's mouth sat half-opened for a moment, while she kept staring at him just as bewildered as she'd been when he'd first stepped in there. "What do you want here?" she tried again, making the meaning of her question clearer.

"Oh. Oh, well, nothing. Really, I just wanted to get in." He looked back to the entrance once more. "I like puzzles. That was a fun puzzle. Do you like puzzles?"

The other brushed aside the question. She had more of her own to ask first. "How did you even find this place?"

The stallion was silent for a moment, still smiling. "I have no idea." A few more seconds of silence. "Do you know the way back to the nearest city?"

"Yeah." The mare wondered why she'd actually answered that. Shaking her head, she moved on to the next pressing issue. "Do you not recognise me?"

The stallion blinked, then tilted his head. "You're a pony?"

"...Yes. Anything else about me that sticks out as recognisable?"

"You're an alicorn."

Silence stretched on, and the mare continued to be more confused than she'd ever been. "...And?"

The stallion clicked his tongue. "You're purple?"

The faintest twitch moved the mare's right eyelid. "Do I not look like Princess Twilight Sparkle?"

"Oh." The stallion stared at her a little bit longer. "You do."

The alicorn's mouth clicked wordlessly, teeth hitting each other just a little faster than normal. "So you can see that I am Princess Twilight."

"I don't know. I've never met her." He leaned forward, curving his brow as he got a better look at her. "Isn't she a little less grey than you ar-"

Twilight's clone closed his mouth with her magic and held it shut. "You know, never mind. Let me just take you outside and point you towards the nearest town." She enveloped him in her magic and began to walk towards the new entrance he'd created.

"Thank you," the stallion tried to say, though it came out muffled and barely intelligible. He let himself get carried outside without resistance, going almost limp in the alicorn's magic's hold.

Equine Existence

I know you're there. I know you're hearing this, or seeing it, or reading it, or experiencing it in some way. I know you are aware of it.

That is about the extent of what I know. I don't know who you are, or what your world is like. I can't even begin to imagine how the laws of physics might function there, if they even exist in some form. I don't know what your goals or interests are, if you're experiencing this for a reason or merely by chance, if you do it for a purpose or merely for entertainment, I don't know if you even have concepts of purpose or entertainment.

I have my guesses as to what or who you might be, and I suspect something akin to myself might exist there where you live, or more properly exist, perhaps. But the truth is I can't be certain. Not of how many are actually there to receive this message, not of when this message will arrive, not even whether or not some might understand it. But I know someone is there, and it's my duty to try to communicate.

There are a few things I need to tell you. First, do not interfere. I don't know if it would be in your powers to do so, but I have seen the consequences of an outside intervention on our timeline. It is not something we can afford to risk. Twice over we've had to branch from the original path to fix mistakes, and both those were from creatures inside our universe, if ones related to the outside. That's without taking into account the damage the fabric of our reality might sustain if you tried to reach it, which could be quite catastrophic after all the tears already torn in it.

Second, and I hope you won't need this advice, be prepared for a potential essence crash on one of your own. If there is anyone, anything that you recognise as a mirror of our world in yours, please have a plan ready. As a last resort, we might need to initiate an emergency transfer on some pieces of our reality, and yours will be the target. I apologise for this, and for any damage this might cause should things come to it, but the damage we'd avoid in our world would be far greater than the one brought onto yours as a result. I deemed it a fair trade, if only in desperate circumstances.

Third, learn. This concerns the safety of your world more than my own. There are realities I can no longer save, but yours is not one of them. So I want you to study what you're receiving. Take every bit of information you can. I know the communication is jumbled, but try to piece it back together. Because what happened to my world might happen to yours too, and you will want to be prepared. And maybe, I can hope at least, if the transmission is the right way out of order, if we ever do figure it out, you might be able to avoid disaster completely.

Lastly, remember that it's all chromatic aberrations running on hard cardboard in the metanarrative layer. This is important. You'll understand if the time comes. That's all I have time for.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Imaginations from the Other Side - Episode 3

"What exactly was up with that last chapter?" Rainbow Dash asked, adjusting her sunglasses and shifting in her sunlounger to lie more comfortably on it.

"Honestly? Probably just the writer trying to get artsy." Twilight took a sip from her drink, lying prone on her towel.

The Sun slowly moved closer to the horizon, not yet reaching sunset but already colouring the sky and ocean with tinges of orange and red.

"What was half of that even supposed to mean? It all sounded like jargon." Rainbow pushed a particularly daring crab off of herself with a wing.

"It probably was," Twilight answered.

"Oh well. I've messed with time before, and there haven't been any noticeable consequences." Rainbow placed her hooves behind her neck, trying to relax.

Removing a small emerald from her mouth, Rarity trotted back to her own towel. "Discussing the newest chapter? I haven't actually read it yet." She gave a brief look around. "It seems I have left my tablet inside."

"Just use mine." Fluttershy held out her tablet for the unicorn to grab, then went back to focusing on her seashells collection.

Pinkie looked in her direction. "Did you find anything I could use here?" She tapped the vaguely elephant-like sand sculpture in front of her, then immediately moved to hold it as it shook a little.

Fluttershy paused for a moment. "Sorry, I don't think I have. I can try looking for some long ones for the tusks if you want."

Pinkie shrugged. "Don't stress about it." She picked up a cupcake from the tray she kept nearby and popped it into her mouth.

Twilight picked up a gumball from the tall pile at her side and began to chew on it.

"Huh." Rarity set Fluttershy's tablet back down. "That was indeed odd. Do you think it's meant to be meta or is it an in-universe sort of thing?"

"If it wasn't meant to be meta then he did a really poor job at it," Twilight said between chews. "Because it reads meta. And it's not like we've seen examples of someone who could be reading that in the story."

"Oh, well. At least elsewhere the plot seems to be moving." Rarity lay down on her back.

"And completely still in other places," Twilight replied. "Still waiting on the next update for that cracks world."

Rarity bit the corner of her lips. "It is admittedly a lot he's trying to juggle. And some of it does feel, well..."

"Useless fluff?" Twilight looked at Rarity.

The unicorn gave a guilty half-nod.

"Can you excuse me for a moment?" Applejack asked, standing up. "I have a thing I need to check on."

"Oh, sure." Twilight just smiled at her, and then went back to chatting with the others.

Applejack walked away from the group, up until she reached a tall enough rock to hide her entirely. Stepping behind it, she had a look around, to make sure no one else was close. A bit hesitant, she cleared her throat. "Fuck?" she said. Then she looked around again, suspicious and confused, her eyes searching for something she couldn't find.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Anticipation

"Are the chains too tight?"

"They are not, Princess," Celestia answered. And immediately she regretted having said so, as Twilight pulled them tighter.

"Very well." The purple alicorn sat down at Celestia's side, as both stared into the opaque mirror placed against the wall, waiting. "You know," she said, "there's a universe out there where we're ants. There probably is, at least."

"Fascinating." Celestia squirmed just a tiny bit, as much as her bonds allowed her to. "And what type of ants do you believe we would be, Princess?"

Twilight adjusted her crown. "Well, given my position I would presumably be the queen."

Celestia looked a little taken aback by that. "Given I was princess long before you, shouldn't I be the queen?"

Twilight threw a glance at Celestia's cutie mark. "They do have rather large behinds, so perhaps you're right." She went back to staring ahead. "Then again, they also possess shorter life spans. Perhaps we would exist as multiple different ants, and in time the ones who correspond to me would become queens."

"Or perhaps time in that universe would stretch out to mirror that of our own."

Twilight tilted her head. "Perhaps. That doesn't seem to be the case with the human world though. There is a version of you there as well, and I wonder why she exists now."

Celestia silently chewed on that question for a bit. "Aren't all ants in a colony technically sisters or at least half sisters, and all daughters of the queen?"

Twilight looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Technically, I suppose."

"The only kind of sex they could have between each other is incest then." Celestia nodded. "That's kinky."

"That is kinky," Twilight agreed. "However, regular ants don't have sex with each other."

"But we wouldn't be regular ants if we were ants. We'd probably be sapient," Celestia replied.

"Maybe in some universes. In others we'd just be regular ants."

"How could it even be us then, without a mind of our own to distinguish us from other individuals?" asked Celestia.

Twilight sighed. "Merely connected by a thread across worlds, perhaps. Merely reflections of the same higher entity onto different planes."

"And we've established I would be a queen and you a regular ant in some of those iterations." Celestia looked at her.

"We have."

"Then you would be my daughter, and sex between us would be incest."

Twilight blinked. "Did you know there is a specific type of ant, within a colony, in some species at least, that will swallow large quantities of nutrients and bloat her insides with them, then lay waiting in a designated area and serve as a food reserve for other ants by regurgitating food into their mouths when they come to her?"

"I believe I have read about this, yes. This, as well, is very kinky, but it does not interest me as greatly as the previous topic."

"I share in that feeling of recognising the kinkiness of this fact but not being as interested by it as I am by the thought of incestuous mother and daughter copulation between me and you as ants."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Southern Cross

"It's been a while."

Standing in the remains of what had once been her throne room, Twilight looked out from the torn wall. Har eyes ran over the scar the Behemoth had left in the city, still not healed, then settled onto the translucent form of the creature itself.

She wore a coat of brown fur, thick over her back and shoulders, and still she was shivering underneath it. She knew the cold was inside her, but the coat did help somewhat. She stared a moment longer at the creature, her expression unreadable, then turned to her side. "Any doubts left?"

"None," came the answer. "I believe you'll want to read what I found then."

"Certainly so." Twilight's eyes went back to the Behemoth, then she looked higher and higher, as high as she could. Still, she couldn't spot him, either he was too far or the creature's body hid him. "I need answers, and I'm not even sure what the right questions are."

Then she sighed. "Be careful, here. Don't fly into its shadow." Stepping forward, she opened her wings and took flight, soaring over the gardens now overrun with weeds and back to the still inhabited portions of the city.

Sunburst greeted them with a wave as they landed. "I had some food prepared. I don't trust things wouldn't freak out if I did it the other way while he's nearby." He threw a glance at Twilight's companion. Then he took off her coat, shaking away the layer of frost that had built up on it, and opened the door to the nearest building, welcoming the two of them inside.

As the stallion went to hang the coat near the fireplace to dry it off, Twilight stepped through the door. Lightning Dust gave a nod in her direction from the table, and so did Starswirl from the corner. "Where's Rose?" the alicorn asked, taking a seat in front of the pegasus.

"She's out, taking some samples of local flora," Sunburst replied. "She should be back in a few minutes." As the rest of those present moved to sit at the table, he placed six wooden bowls and spoons on it, then unhooked the metal pot hanging over the fire and began to pour soup in each bowl.

Twilight slid a little to the side on the bench, to let Starswirl have more space to sit on. Lightning was directly in front of her, Sunburst to the pegasus' right, and Rose would take the last remaining space in the corner, at Twilight's right and on the side opposite to her.

Sunburst took a first sip of soup with his spoon, blowing gently on it to cool it down. "Should we wait for Rose to be back before we start with the explanation?" He looked at the corner opposite from his, to the occupied space right next to Twilight.

Twilight pondered that, eating a spoonful of soup herself. "I don't believe that will be necessary." She turned to her right. "Please, begin."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

You just keep on trying

Tempest sat in the garden, in the shade of a tree, a book open in her hooves. Flipping a page, without looking up, she said, "Hello, Twilight."

"Hi." Twilight set a water bottle besides Tempest's chair, then sat down in front of her. "How are you feeling today?"

"Well enough." Tempest didn't stop looking at the book, but she did pick up the bottle and drink some. "They say I might be dismissed soon. Relatively soon, which still means a couple of weeks."

Twilight nodded. "That is nice. What are you reading?"

"Anatomy." Tempest tilted the book to show Twilight the cover. She turned another page. "It's quite fascinating. Could be quite useful for fighting, too."

Twilight chuckled, then sighed. "I don't think you should be doing any fighting in your conditions. Not while your hind legs still aren't working right."

"I assure you, Twilight, my hind legs work perfectly well at this point." Tempest took another sip of water. "They just don't do so consistently." For the first time she took her eyes off the book and looked towards the trunk of the tree. "I do have that with me, in case they give out all of a sudden." She nodded towards a small metal harness with wheels and a net to support her lower half. "But it's been happening less and less lately. It should stop being a problem in time."

"I see." Twilight had a look at the tree, as if suddenly distracted by it, then returned her attention on Tempest. "That's not why you're reading that book though, is it?"

Tempest bit the corner of her lower lip, silent. She turned another page.

"How is it?" Twilight asked.

"It's..." Tempest sighed, then bit down on her teeth as she swallowed. "It's not bad, right now. It doesn't hurt anymore. It just feels odd. Alien. I'm not used to it." She finally looked at Twilight. "But I think I can live with it. It's not... It's not as big of a deal for me as it could be for someone else. I can't imagine how much Rarity would be freaking out over this. But I never particularly cared for that kind of stuff, and I think things will still be like that." She looked back at the book. "Hormones might be a problem to deal with, though. I've talked about it with the doctors. I'll have to decide if I want to deal with the consequences of this or with having to stop them."

"I understand." Twilight stepped closer to Tempest, and placed a hoof on the unicorn's shoulder. "Whatever you choose, I'm your friend, and I will be here for you."

Tempest smiled. "Thank you." She turned a page.

"Oh. I brought you something." Twilight's horn lit, and a large orange levitated out of the saddlebags she'd left on the ground.

Moving her gaze away from the page, Tempest looked at the orange like one looks at water after walking through a desert. "Thank you," she whispered, grabbing it from the alicorn's magic with her hooves.

And then Twilight had to remove Tempest's book from her legs, before the unicorn drenched it in orange juice as she dove into the fruit.

Clockworkkkkk

"How did you do that?"

The stallion took another sip of soup. "Are you sure you don't want any?"

Twilight's clone stared at him. "How did you do that?" she asked again, louder.

"Well, I just solved the puzzle." Another sip. "Are you really sure you don't want some? There's not much left."

The alicorn levitated a small sphere of fluid from the bowl to her mouth and swallowed it. It tasted remarkably good. "What do you mean?"

"Well, when you empty the bowl-"

"The other thing." She just barely didn't yell that. "What puzzle? How did it work?"

"I already told you." The stallion began to lick away the last traces of soup from the bowl. "There was that lever, and the buttons, and-" His mouth was shut closed by Twilight's clone's magic.

The alicorn turned to the space between the stump of wood and the pebbles. A wave of energy pulsed out from her horn and washed over the clearing. Her eyebrows twitched. Her telekinesis tore holes and trenches in the ground. She ripped the grass away, she levitated the pebbles, she moved away sod after sod with increasingly frantic and violent jerks of her magic. Gritting her teeth she turned back towards the stallion, lifted him and the bowl away from the ground, then eradicated the tree stump and stared first at its roots, then at the hole it had left. Then she growled and shoved everything back where she'd lifted it from, and moved to plant her head against the trunk of the nearest tree.

The stallion finished his soup, and then approached the sulking alicorn. "Are you okay?" he asked her, walking to her side and looking with worry at the way her horn dug into the bark of the tree.

"No," answered the other in a low, raspy tone. "No, I am not okay right now."

The stallion gave her an affectionate pat on the shoulder. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Stab your neck on a branch so I can take apart your body to study you and put you back together without anyone noticing I did it."

The stallion looked perplexed for a moment. Then he smiled and chuckled. "Oh, it was a joke. I like jokes. I get jokes, yes. I don't make jokes often but I get humour. I understand it. It was an entertaining joke."

Twilight's clone had to resist the desire to rip the tree she was leaning against from its roots and impale the stallion herself. "How?" she asked, more of a hiss than anything else. "None of it makes any sense. How did you do that? How did you get it to work?" She turned towards the stallion, barking in his face. "How did you get the stump to open up like that? Where did the bowl and the soup even come from? How?"

The stallion blinked once, his expression serene. "I solved the puzzle."

Twilight's clone screamed her rage towards the sky, startling quite a few birds in the area.

Burst

Sunburst walked through the store, a basket held in his magic, passing through the shelves and pondering what else he might buy. He looked a few oranges over in his magic, then chose one and placed it in the basket. Setting the rest down, he turned a corner.

"Hello," said an oddly familiar voice.

The unicorn was confused for a moment, seeing no one around. Then his eyes moved up, and he noticed a mare lying prone on top of a shelf, looking down at him. Her coat was a deep, near-blue purple, and her horn jutted out on her forehead framed by her wild, short and messy dark orange mane. "Hello?" Sunburst tentatively replied, still confused if for different reasons.

The female unicorn jumped down to land in front of him. "I'm Starshine Flicker," she said, posing to show off her cutie mark. It was a spiraling pattern of white stars, with five distinct arms all converging towards the centre.

It took Sunburst a moment to realise why the name sounded familiar. Then he remembered the mare on the train, days before. The pony in front of him did have her exact same cutie mark, and the same voice as well as far as his memory told him. Still, she was unmistakably different. "Starshine?" he asked, perplexed.

"It's me! Don't you remember, the train and the book?" She walked up to him with cheery steps and had a look inside the basket at his side.

"I do," Sunburst replied. Suddenly growing suspicious, he added, "I remember you appeared out of nowhere and then disappeared into thin air. And your coat and mane didn't look like that."

"Oh, right, I'm sorry about the whole disappearing thing." She turned back towards him. "Want me to help you carry this?" she asked, tapping the basket.

Sunburst tilted his head to the side. "Um... Sure? Sure." He studied the unicorn as she took hold of the basket in her own magic and had a look around the place. "What exactly do you want?" he asked her.

"Oh, I just want to help you. You know, spend some time together, have fun, enjoy ourselves. I think you deserve some relaxation." She turned around, basket held in her magic, tail hiked up and to a side, and looked left and right again. "Where are we going next? Is there anything else you need to buy?"

Sunburst was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "No, nothing more. I was just having one last look around, but I've got everything I need and some more. I was about to go to the cashier."

"Very well then." Starshine began to walk, rocking her hips as she did, while Sunburst walked behind her. But she stopped as she passed beside a shelf, glancing at the contents of the basket. "Do you want some chocolate?" she asked, turning her neck to look at Sunburst. "I'll pay for it. Consider it a present, and an apology for last time."

Sunburst looked at her for a moment, his mouth half open, unsure of what to say. "Okay," he finally answered. "Thank you."

Smiling, Starshine added a chocolate bar from the shelf to the basket, then went back to walking towards check-out, tail still hiked and moved to the side, hips still rocking and swishing with each step.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Yes

Starshine sat at the table, sipping on a chocolate milkshake, lightly swaying from side to side as she stared at Sunburst. "So, any plans for the day?" she asked.

"Not really. I have a meeting tomorrow, but I'm mostly free today. I was thinking about maybe doing some research, I have a few books I'd like to get through." Sunburst dug into his ice-cream with his spoon and brought the contents to his lips. "Thank you for paying for this, by the way."

"Think nothing of it." In her swaying, Starshine's hind legs began to brush back and forth against Sunburst's. "I wouldn't mind spending some time with you while you read. You could even teach me about what you're studying. You know, to make up for the train ride." She smirked at him. "I can put on my schoolfilly outfit if you want."

Sunburst's teeth clacked against the teaspoon as he closed his lips around it, then he swallowed and pulled it out of his mouth. "You have a schoolfilly outfit ready to go here?" he asked, adjusting his glasses.

Starshine nodded. "I keep it prepared, it might always be useful. I have a few more outfits ready too. Want to hear about them?" Her legs brushed just a tiny bit higher on the inside of Sunburst's with each sway.

"No, I don't think I'm interested right now." Sunburst ate another spoonful of ice-cream, and eyed the way a line of milkshake escaped the corner of Starshine's mouth and rolled down her cheek, then down her chest, disappearing beneath the table. "Why exactly do you have them, anyway? Is it part of your job or something?"

"You could say that, I suppose." Starshine smiled. "They're there for you to enjoy. Just like I am." Her legs moved higher still on Sunburst's inner thighs. "I'd love to make you enjoy our time together." She took another long sip of her milkshake, then licked her lips clean. And then she looked straight at him with an almost flat smile, and casually said, "Or we could just have sex I guess."

Sunburst stopped halfway through sliding the spoon out of his mouth, then he resumed doing so after a moment, his expression unchanged. "No, I don't think we will." He sunk his spoon in the ice-cream and brought it back to his lips again.

Starshine appeared mildly displeased by that. She took another sip of her milkshake, now almost finished, and kept rubbing her hind hooves against Sunburt's inner thighs. "But why not?"

"You're an almost complete stranger who I've only met two times, during both of which you acted in extremely suspicious ways, your appearance is completely different from the last time I saw you, I have no idea who you really are, and everything nice you've done for me was very clearly an attempt to get me to have sex with you. I have no reason to trust you." He ate another spoonful of ice-cream. "Also, I'm sort of in a relationship already."

"Yeah, but you would like to have sex with me."

Sunburst opened his mouth to reply, then closed it for a moment. "Well, yeah, I can't deny that. But that doesn't mean I will."

MtS

Sunburst set his book and his glasses down on the nightstand, pulled the covers up a little and then turned off the light. He'd spent the afternoon and evening reading, as he'd said he would, after Starshine had disappeared. Literally disappeared. The moment they'd left the ice-cream shop she'd just stopped being there, and he hadn't seen her again for the whole rest of the day. Rolling around a bit, he laid his head down on the pillow and closed his eyes.

Suddenly he felt a shifting near him on the bed, the mattress curving under the weight of something, the covers being pulled a little. "Hello," said a distressingly familiar voice right in front of him, "I'm Starshine Flicker."

Sunburst almost jumped out of the bed as he heard her, and shortly after decided it was still a good idea to leave it. He turned on the light again and stood up, staring at the mare as he put his glasses back on. "How did you get in?" he asked, exasperated and now more than a little worried.

Starshine pulled herself out of the covers, and immediately her appearance made Sunburst even more bewildered. Her mane was now a shiny shade of purple, long and well maintained, combed in many fancy twirls and rolls. Her cutie mark stayed the same, but it now stood against an orange coat just a bit darker than Sunburst's own. Her horn still stood proud on her forehead. And she had wings. "Are you still sure you don't want to have sex?" she asked.

"More than ever." Sunburst squared her up and down. "What are you doing in my room? Get out! This is not normal!" He pointed a shaky hoof at the door.

"You say that, but you don't really want me to leave, do you?" Stepping closer to the stallion, Starshine fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Besides, I have no other place to stay. Do you really want to throw a mare out into the streets at night?"

"Said mare just appeared in my bed out of nowhere without my consent so yes, I am perfectly fine with that."

Starshine moved closer to him still. "But would you really, when I could spend the night with you instead?" She ran a feather over Sunburst's chest and under his neck.

"I am not having sex with you." Sunburst drew back a step.

"If you just masturbate on your own and I happen to be there it's not technically cheating on your partner. No more than reading a porn novel would be."

Sunburst opened and closed his mouth once. "Technically maybe correct, even if highly debatable, but I'm not doing it. The problem is less the cheating and more the fact that you're weird and I don't trust you."

Starshine shrugged. "Your loss. I know you would have enjoyed it." She stared silently at him for a few seconds. "Wanna play card games together?" she asked, pulling out a deck of cards with a distinct backside from behind her mane, then a bag larger than her whole body filled with other cards. "I've got enough copies for you to build your own deck however you like. All expansion."

Sunburst stared silently at the scene for a moment. "Sure."

×formance

"Very well. Very well indeed."

The two unicorns sat on one side of room, their heads held low, eyes focused on Nightmare Moon but occasionally darting towards the crumbled pile of crystal to their far right. "It's an honour to serve," the male one said, his tone shaky.

The alicorn ignored him. She instead remained focused on the creature in the middle of the room, studying it attentively as she smirked. "A pity about his mental capacities, but I trust you will solve this issue in future subjects." As she said so, she finally looked at the two unicorns, sending shivers down their spines.

"Of course, Your Highness," answered the mare, tilting her head downwards just the tiny amount left between her already curved position and actively looking at her own hooves.

Smiling, Nightmare Moon began to walk away. She said nothing as she left, and her steps echoed in the room as her hooves clacked against the stone pavement. The two unicorns remained in their positions, as was expected of them. The thing that had once been a stallion instead walked behind her, his own steps heavy against the ground. The pace of his walk and the waving of his tail made him look somewhat like a dog loyally following its owner. But as he passed beside the unicorns, his eyes turned to them for just a moment, and the two swore they saw something else frothing beyond his pupils. And they were afraid.

Finally, the doors shut with a click as both Nightmare Moon and her new guard left the room, leaving the mare and the stallion to sit alone in silence.

A few seconds went by, as both stared at the ground.

"What do we do now?" the stallion asked.

"Survive," replied the mare. "Keep on testing, keep on hoping, keep on living. Same as always." She looked up, and sighed. "Does your neck hurt? Mine does."

The other immediately tried to look up as well, and immediately regretted it. "It hurts now," he said, clenching his teeth and bringing a hoof to rub behind his head.

"Well, that means you're still alive. You should be happy."

That got something that sounded vaguely like a chuckle as an answer, followed by more pained moans. "I'm not sure about that. That thing is still alive too, and I'm starting to think maybe there are fates worse than death."

"Having to clean the lab when a test subject melts on the table is already a fate worse than death. Cheer up and be glad this one made it through." The mare gave an affectionate jab to her companion's shoulder. "And look at the even brighter side. At least she didn't use us to test what he can do."

The stallion looked towards the shattered crystal fragments on the opposite end of the large room, the broken remains of what had served as a test for their creation's destructive capabilities. "You have a fascinating concept of what qualifies as the bright side."

"We live in eternal night, Starburst. You need to appreciate what little light life throws your way."

Loww

"So, what's the plan, Stellaria?" Chrysalis asked, her voice and body camouflaged as Suri Polomare's.

"Just Stella is fine while we're in public." The alicorn, who somehow received no attention from the ponies around them even while wearing no sort of disguise, levitated her beige-coloured briefcase to her side and began to walk down the street. She'd stuffed the entirety of her laboratory in the briefcase. And the real Suri. "We're going to Ponyville first, Chrissy. Not directly, and we'll probably stop somewhere around it for a bit, but that's the general direction."

"Ponyville?" Chrysalis stammered, forced to speed up her steps to catch up with Stellaria. "That's where the real Twilight is."

"That is where the inferior Twilight lives, yes," Stella replied, her eyeroll permeating her tone. "I don't need to be reminded of such details." As she continued, her voice and her legs both began to pick up speed. "Not that her being the inferior Twilight means I'm the superior Twilight, I am of course superior to her but I'm not-" She cut herself off and stopped walking for a moment. Then she resumed, at her previous, measured pace. "I know that. It's precisely why we're going there."

Chrysalis had caught up with the pony in the meantime. "It is?" she asked, turning towards her. "Are you sure you want to risk being so close to her?"

"Would you rather spend your life hiding?" There was a mocking edge in Stellaria's tone as she asked that, but she kept her head pointed forward. "Opportunities should be seized when they present themselves, and you should always be ready for them. Lying in the shadows won't help you. You'll never be strong enough to defeat Twilight on your own, Chrissy. We need to act, and work with what we have."

Chrysalis had to bite down on her tongue and swallow back her own bile. "I've captured that insolent worm and her friends once before and I can do it again. I'll build a new army and-"

"And what? Get betrayed again?" Stellaria laughed. "You're a terrible leader. Every success you ever had was the result of someone else's work, and every failure you collected the result of your own mistakes undermining their efforts. I am your new army, if you've already forgotten about that. I'm what you came up with to try and succeed again, and you should consider yourself lucky that I haven't brought you to the same end you left me to suffer. Listen to someone who's better than you, for once in your life, and maybe you'll finally get a chance to see what winning is actually like."

Chrysalis was biting down on her teeth so hard they would have cracked had she really been a pony. Green flames danced furiously inside her eyes, and her steps came down heavy on the road. But she knew better than to risk trying to rip the alicorn's spine out in broad daylight. "Why Ponyville?" she asked, trying to move the conversation.

Stellaria smirked, clearly aware of the effect her words were having on Chrysalis. Still, she'd played around enough, and an explanation of her plans was needed. "How much do you know about scales?"

A Brief History of Terms: Scale

The term scale was first used by Princess Twilight. It was chosen for the shape of the objects, noticeably resembling that of a fish's scales, only larger. About the size of a hoof, largely flat, curved at the edges and with a slight but noticeable orientation very vaguely reminiscent of an arrowhead. Their surface smooth and reflective, oddly hard to get a proper grip on, giving almost the impression of being covered in oil despite being perfectly dry. Seemingly a muddy white in colour, if observed at the proper angle a scale would instead appear to present a rainbow-coloured exterior, either in the form of irregular rings spreading from the centre or as a scale-like pattern similar to that of snake skin.

Scales were proven to be hydrophobic, and showed similar properties with all sorts of fluids tested on them. They were impervious to all known sorts of corrosive substances, and did not cause any sort of chemical, physical or magical reaction when exposed to other elements. Any attempt to damage or break off fragments of one failed, from stress tests and drills to dragon fire and explosives. Magic in particular proved downright counterproductive, as the scales appeared to reflect the arcane energy directed towards them as a mirror reflects light.

The origin of the scales remains a purely theoretical matter. It is undoubted that their existence was a consequence of the Behemoth's arrival, but the exact mechanisms by which the two events are related have never been uncovered. They seemed to simply appear in Equestria, no trace of where they'd come from. For a while they remained as merely a small novelty, not particularly interesting compared to other more immediately pressing changes the Behemoth had brought. The effect they had on the creatures who found them was the only noteworthy thing about them, but even still it was a minor detail.

Of course, while seemingly the least important of the Behemoth's consequences, they were still one of its consequences nonetheless, and therefore something more than deserving to be studied and analysed. It was during this period of studying, after receiving one from a city with the explicit request to, that Princess Twilight came up with the term. That particular delivery was also the event that sparked the creation of the RHiSPaTS, though this is a matter best explored elsewhere. The origin of the term, beyond the simple matter of shape, lies in the possibility of the scales being or having been part of the Behemoth itself.

This is of course impossible to prove. The reason the assumption surfaced lies in the results of Princess Twilight's studies. She observed, comparing the tests run on the scales to the data recorded near the centre of Canterlot, that the results of said tests gave readings that matched those obtained from the Behemoth itself, only scaled down in intensity and range. Every pattern appeared to be exactly the same, and models showed that a sufficiently large amount of scales together could indeed lead to a replica of the Behemoth's signature graphs. Of course, this sparked great interest in further studying the scales themselves, as they could provide vital information on the Behemoth. It is through these further tests that the scales' more peculiar properties and uses came to be known.

A Rock and a Sharp Place - Part 5

"And here we are." Soarin' tapped the wall of the crystal tree castle hybrid with a wing. "Ignore the missing chunks of walls, they'll grow back eventually." Moving up to the door, he looked back towards Stone Brick. "Are you coming?"

Stone had been looking upwards along the castle's wall, which did indeed show a few missing bits here and there. Once he heard himself called, he looked back to Soarin' and nodded, then walked towards the golden doors the pegasus was opening for them.

The trip from the entrance to the laboratory was uneventful, merely a few ponies waving at Soarin' and Stone as they walked by, at most exchanging a few words. Finally the two stallions reached the doors to Princess Twilight's lab, and Soarin' knocked once on them.

"Come in," Twilight's voice came from inside, just a moment later.

Stone and Soarin' exchanged a look, then the pegasus opened the doors.

The laboratory was a single octagonal room, large and tall, white tables covered in various types of equipment lining every wall except for the one where the entrance was. Light came from a single large crystal hanging from the ceiling at the centre of the room. A second set of equally busy tables was near the centre, half of a smaller octagon on the side of the room where the doors were. Beyond it was a square metal platform, just a step higher than the floor around it, large enough for four ponies to comfortably stand on it. And above the platform, at about eye level, was a slowly swirling mass of white light, occasionally giving off rainbow reflections.

A couple of other ponies were walking around the room, holding clipboards and taking notes, but Stone's eyes immediately focused on the alicorn standing just a short distance from the platform. She was intent on looking into the light, a cheerful smile on her face. Then her eyes turned and she noticed the new arrivals.

"Soarin'! And I see you brought company." She waved at Stone. "A scale, right?"

Stone Brick drew back a little, confused. His hooves twitched, itching to reach for his saddlebags and make sure his scale was still there. He was silent for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"Oh, sorry. I saw it on the monitors." Twilight nodded upwards, and Stone followed the direction of her gesture to see a couple of square panels hanging on the wall above the doors, shifting graphs displayed on them. "I've learned to recognise a scale's pattern against background noise, it's something we see fairly often in here after all." A sound from behind her drew her attention, similar to that of a small bell. "Speaking of which."

Curious, Stone took a few steps forward to get a better look at the floating mass of light. It pulsed for a moment, growing and shrinking around its centre, and then suddenly a unicorn jumped out from it. Then the light wavered again, shaking, and finally dissipated, revealing a scale not unlike Stone's own suspended in mid air, still shimmering slightly.

Polychrome

Rainbow Dash leaned back in her seat, clutching her milkshake in her hand as she sipped from it. "Got any plans for the day?" she asked to the girl sitting in front of her.

Pinkie Pie shook her head. "Not really. Why? Do you have something in mind?"

"Not really." Rainbow drank some more of her milkshake. "How's your ice-cream?"

"Sweet," answered Pinkie. "But not as sweet as you are." With the tips of her index and middle finger she picked up some of the whipped cream that covered her chocolate ice-cream, and then gently placed it on Rainbow's nose.

The girl was still and silent for a moment. "I'm not sure how I'm supposed to process this," she finally said, staring at the whipped cream. She tried to reach it with her tongue, without success.

"Sometimes you just feel compelled into a given course of action by forces outside of your own universe dictating the flow of your existence. And maybe sometimes the feeling is right." Pinkie licked her fingers clean, then picked up her spoon. "This is probably a dream anyway."

Rainbow finally surrendered, and used her hand to clean her nose. Then her mouth to clean her hand. "And whose dream is it?"

"I have no idea." Pinkie ate a spoonful of ice-cream. "Sometimes life keeps you busy for your whole day and leaves you drained and tired with only a short time to do something you need done before the day ends. Sometimes you're possessed by a creature from another reality that speaks through you. Sometimes your cat starts shaking." She ate another. "The door is behind me and I'm not looking at it. I can't see outside, and as far as I know there is no outside. Just here, just now, just you and me and nothing else."

Rainbow Dash finished her milkshake, and set the glass down on the table. "I'm not looking at the door right now. I could, but that would mean no longer looking at you. I don't know if there is an outside either, and I don't know if I would be allowed to look and find out. I don't care. I don't want to look away. And if this is a dream, I don't want to wake up."

"And what do you want to do, if this is a dream?"

"I want to be with you, and love you, and feel your skin against mine and your breath on my face and your hair as it tangles with mine and your taste under my lips as I make love to you."

"And what if this isn't a dream?"

"Then I will be happy."

Standing up, leaning over the table, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie embraced each other and kissed and hugged, pulling their bodies closer with their arms, melting into each other over the table as outside the door stars flowed upwards through the hourglass of dimensions and Harmony sang with its choir in the upper layers of reality.

First Jump

"Here we go then."

"Are you absolutely sure about this?"

"I am, Starlight. I double-checked the calculations, I had you check them, I had Sunburst check them, I had Starswirl check them, I had Celestia check them, and I even asked Sunset for help with checking them. I'm as sure as I can possibly be that this thing is going to work."

"You said that last time too, and the wall still hasn't finished growing back."

"This time is different."

"How, exactly?"

"If I messed up this time you won't have to worry about the walls, because there won't be a castle left. Why do you think I had everyone else leave the building?"

"You didn't have me leave."

"You can go if you want."

"And miss my chance to see this work? Forget about it, Twilight." Starlight swallowed, uneasy. "Are you really sure about this?"

Twilight swallowed too. "No. But I'm as sure as I can be." Slowly, her horn lit up. "Here we go then."

A small, pulsating orb of light left the tip of Twilight's horn, and very slowly floated towards the round white hoof-sized object suspended in a slim metal harness just a short distance from her. The speck of arcane energy came in contact with the surface of the scale, and seeped into it.

There was a subtle fluttering along the edges of the scale, like water rippling under a breeze. The white colour turned to light, weak at first then brighter and brighter. And the light spread out, like a bubble growing, twirling as it expanded in a sphere of blinding energy, tendrils along its surface flowing out and back in. Like a miniature star, the edge a boiling wall of energy storming and cracking as the sphere grew wider and wider.

Twilight watched it happen, refusing to close her eyes, and as the light was about to reach her she hoped she had at least been only so wrong in her calculations as to not have caused the rest of Ponyville to be wiped out along with her castle.

Then the growing stopped. Moment by moment, the rotation slowed down. The sphere stabilised, about the size of a pony, the surface no longer bubbling and instead occasionally showing some flashes of rainbow colours. Twilight finally breathed again. So did Starlight, far more audibly.

The unicorn walked closer. "Okay. Now what?"

Twilight kept her eyes on the light. "Now we see what's on the other side."

"Oh, right." Starlight put on a smile, and the inner screaming it was masking was palpable. "Are we sure it's safe to go through that thing? To put anything near that thing?"

"Not at all. And there's a chance we'll lose this half of Equestria the moment I touch it." Twilight lifted a hoof and placed it onto one of the outer strands of light slowly spinning around the sphere. The light seemed to break out and reform around her, like a stream of water.

Starlight looked at her, meanwhile dropping her own jaw so far down Twilight almost expected to hear it hit the ground.

The alicorn shrugged. "It was the adrenaline still circling." She looked Starlight in the eyes, and extended her other hoof towards her. "Are you coming with me?"

The Leviathan swam to Akalop - Part 0

Starlight stared at Twilight's outstretched hoof. Later on, when telling the story to others, she would add that her own decision too had been the result of the adrenaline still in her system. Whichever the case, she took Twilight's hoof in hers, and nodded towards the light.

Twilight stepped forward, and pulled.

It was a bit like waking up from a dream, like that period of distorted awareness between being asleep and fully awake. Starlight wasn't sure how long it lasted for. She wasn't even sure it could be measured, or if time existed at all there. In the space between spaces, the bridge between worlds. Then just as it all had begun, it all came to an end.

And Starlight realised that she was wet, and unable to breathe. Her limbs and body were floating, her eyes stung a little, and water had begun to fill her lungs. Her first instinct was to scream. That made things worse. Her second instinct was to cast a spell to give herself gills, which made things a lot better. At that point she got a look around, and noticed Twilight had chosen the much simpler option of using magic to create an air bubble around her head.

The two shared a look and a nod, then swam back towards the floating mass of light behind them and just slightly below them. All around them was water as far as their eyes could see, and a barely illuminated darkness. And a large looming shadow that neither of them seemed to notice.

Twilight and Starlight slipped out of the portal, inside Twilight's castle, covered in water. The second gasped for air for a few seconds before undoing her gills. Behind them, the light retreated, leaving the scale shimmering suspended in its harness.

"We could have died there!" Starlight almost yelled.

"Yeah."

"We could have popped out in the sky! Or inside solid rock, or inside a pit of acid, or lava! We could have ended up somewhere too hot or cold for life to exist, with no atmosphere or a poisonous one! We could have walked right into a star for all we knew!"

"Yeah."

"What the fuck were we thinking going in there without any precautions?" Starlight screamed.

The two sat in silence for a while, looking at each other, as a puddle of water slowly formed on the ground.

"We have four more scales currently stored in the laboratory. Do you want to check those out now?" asked Twilight.

Starlight looked at her, wide-eyed. "I..." But she failed to come up with an argument, unable to deny her own curiosity. "We're making a list. And we're not going through another portal until we've cast protective spells for everything that might be on the other side. I hope you have something to shield us against the inside of a star."

"It won't put us inside a star. I'm mostly sure it'll be a planet. And it's supposed to put us on land, too."

"Yeah, sure. That inspires trust in your theories. We didn't just experience the exact opposite or anything."

Twilight stood up. "If we ended up inside water there probably wasn't any land. The whole surface might have been flooded, and at that point putting us on solid footing would have meant too much pressure for our bodies." She looked back at the scale. "We're not going back in there for a while, right?"

Starlight nodded. "Absolutely not."

"Alright." Twilight helped Starlight back to her hooves. "Wanna help me prepare for the next one? That protection spells idea is probably a good one. Definitely a good one."

Starlight looked at Twilight. "You're absolutely crazy, and so is this. Go fetch the other scales, I'll start writing down a list of potential hazards."

Belhive

Chrysalis stared through the green surface of the pod at the mare unconscious inside it. "Are you sure this is a good idea? Someone will notice she disappeared, sooner or later. Someone will come looking for her."

"We only need one of us to go out as her every once in a while. No one will come. Suri warned all her business contacts she was going on vacation, and as far as everyone will be concerned she's just prolonging that." Stellaria fiddled with the binoculars set in front of the window. "And if anyone does come, we can always play her part for a bit."

"Someone will notice there's only two of us if they never see the three ponies that should be living here at the same time." Chrysalis turned towards the window and walked up to it.

"They'll see each one with both others. That'll be enough." Satisfied, Stellaria took a step back. "No creature is bored or paranoid enough to become suspicious of a random group of ponies. And our characters aren't likable enough to inspire visits. No one will find us, you're being too cautious."

"I was being more cautious than this, and you still found me," Chrysalis replied.

"But I was looking for you." Stellaria turned towards Chrysalis. "No one knows you escaped except for me. No one knows I even exist. No one will be looking for us, no one will find us."

Chrysalis munched down on nothing. "How did you know I was out there, anyway? And how are you sure no one else knows?"

"I knew whatever had brought me back had to have done the same with you. And we might not be the only ones. But I have to thank you for keeping my corpse with you after you watched me die, waking up where I did was rather useful." As she spoke the last sentence, her horn shone, and Chrysalis defiantly bit down on her lips as breathing became impossible for her.

Stellaria continued, "I used that place as my hideout for a while, until some certain events. But I can't blame that poor stallion, he made me discover some things I might have taken months to uncover otherwise. As for why I doubt anyone else is looking for you, I've done my research after my return, and no one goes close enough to the Behemoth to have noticed your absence. I will concede that you were good enough at covering your tracks. No one could connect the dots without knowing you were out there."

As air returned around her muzzle, Chrysalis swallowed her insults and hatred, and focused on the conversation. "We won't just be sitting in here. If we make even just one mistake when we're approaching Twilight and her laboratory, someone will notice. Someone will come, if we're not careful, and it'll be easy for them to find us here."

"Let them come, then." Stellaria looked out from the window, a smile on her lips and a glint in her eyes. "Or are you afraid? There's not a pony out there I won't gladly crush if they happen to come in here looking for me."

Nolimatra

He was too tall to enter the castle, and Twilight once more considered building a separate structure for those sorts of meetings. She would need one eventually either way, once Ember became big enough. Still, for the time being her standing on the balcony of her castle while he stood outside would have to do, and thankfully it worked quite well. She was at about eye level with him, smiling as she stared at him.

The Nolimatran ambassador smiled back at her. Or at least Twilight guessed it was a smile. Growing up with a dragon meant she was better than the average pony at reading a reptile's facial expression, but the snake-like conformation of the creature was still fairly alien even to her. It did not help that his face was about half her body size, that made it quite difficult to focus on the expression as a whole at close distances.

Fascinating creatures, nonetheless. She would have loved to study one, but she knew not one of them would be willing to stay in Equestria for any longer than strictly necessary. Or anywhere else outside of their home country, for that matter. None had travelled further than Ponyville, using Twilight herself as the middle mare for their negotiations with other territories such as Griffonstone.

And Twilight knew getting into Nolimatra was near impossible. The creatures weren't willing to let anyone in, and trying to force her way there might have permanently damaged the relationships between the two countries. It was a great shame though. Twilight couldn't help but dreamily run her gaze over the snake-headed scorpion whale's body, wondering just how exactly it functioned.

She was just as eager to learn about their culture. Their habits, their language, their history and society. Unfortunately, all that knowledge was sealed for her. Nolimatrans never spoke a word about their homeland, and never in a language other than the one of the creatures they were speaking to. The only known word of their native language was Nolimatra, the name of their country, though its meaning remained a mystery.

Nolimatra itself was located in the southwestern sea, fairly far from the coastline. It might have never come in contact with Equestria had it not been for a fishermare's boat getting dragged all the way there during a manastorm. The inhabitants had rescued her, escorted her back to Equestria, and sent along a few delegates to establish relationships with the country. Their condition were fairly simple, they just wanted to be left alone. But they were willing to offer help in times of need, provided the other countries agreed to do the same.

No one had actually been to Nolimatra, or seen it from anywhere other than the sky above. There were a few islands there, perhaps also inhabited, but the bulk of their civilisation was assumed to be underwater. The creatures seemed perfectly capable of living both in and out of the water, after all, another one of the many interesting facts concerning them that Twilight wouldn't get a chance to study.

“I didn’t say stop.”

"What about this one?" the mare asked, holding up another dress.

"I'd rather go naked for the rest of my life than wear another dark cerise outfit. No thanks." Sugarcoat shook her head.

The crystal unicorn set the dress down and reached for another with her magic. "You make it sound like some terrible thing. Going without a dress is what most ponies do," she commented.

"Not where I'm from," Sugarcoat replied. She stopped herself from clarifying that she was actually talking about humans and that ponies did actually go naked there, but didn't speak or use magic or have a developed society.

"Well, maybe you should be the one to try to bring some change." The mare presented her with another dress.

Sugarcoat shook her head again. "I'd rather not get expelled. And probably charged with something on top. Principal Cadence hasn't loosened the restrictions on the uniform policy that far. Not yet at least."

Grabbing yet another dress, the unicorn asked, "Did you mention Princess Cadence?"

"Same name, different pony. Person. Sort of different." Sugarcoat adjusted her glasses as she stared unimpressed at the newly presented dress, then a thought occurred to her. "Have you ever seen a mare that looks just like me but with a cutie mark and more will to live, by chance?" she asked, briefly hopeful for an easy solution to her problems.

"Sorry, I have not." The mare pulled up a set of a few different dresses, displaying them all to Sugarcoat to speed up the process.

Sugarcoat looked at each dress, and shook her head every time. "Don't worry about it." Her equine counterpart may very well not have existed, after all, and even if she did she could be as different from her as the two Twilights were from each other. For example, maybe Equestria's version of Sugarcoat was a good person. Pony.

"You are not used to shopping for clothes, are you?" asked the crystal mare, tapping Sugarcoat on the nose with the latest and still unacknowledged dress.

Sugarcoat shook herself, realising she'd zoned out. She looked at the dress, then motioned once more to move on to the next. "I'm not. I never really had to do it."

The mare frowned as she set down that dress too. "Didn't you say you always wore clothes, where you're from?"

"I did. But I never had to choose them myself."

"Never?" The mare was evidently surprised. "How did you go dressing every day without ever having to choose what clothes to buy?"

"I had a few identical sets of clothes I was forced to wear. Acquaintances' gifts were enough to cover for the few times I ever needed something else." Sugarcoat looked to the side. Then her brow curved. "Well, there was one time I had a chance to choose something myself. I just took the first thing they showed me."

The other mare suppressed a chuckle at that, as she moved to the next batch of clothes.

"It's true. It's why I'm trying to go for something different this time. Something I wear because I want to wear it."

"And what are you looking for, exactly?"

"I have absolutely no idea. But none of these dresses make me feel anything when I see them. They're all the same to me." Sugarcoat looked at the tall pile of discarded options at her side. "Except for the cerise one, that one I actively dislike. Still, I'm sure they would all do what I need them for. I could have just picked one of them. But I'm tired of not caring about things. I want a dress that gives me a reason to choose it over the others."

The other mare pursed her lips. "Wait here just a second," she said, walking away and disappearing behind a corner. Then a moment later she reappeared, holding something in her magic. "What about this one?"

Chapter 119

"I was out on a scouting mission. There was a storm approaching. A big one. I couldn't risk staying outside and getting caught in it. I found a farm, with a large shed nearby. I managed to force the shed's door open and hid inside."

The doctor nodded. "What happened then?"

"I spent the night there. The storm would wake me up on occasion. I could hear the wind howling around the shed and the rain pouring down. It was louder than an army marching." Tempest swallowed. "I was scared. But the walls and roof held, and water didn't get in."

"And then?"

"I walked out the morning after. The Sun was shining. There were a few broken branches around, some pretty large. Lots of leaves." Tempest's jaw clenched. "The farm had chickens. They were outside that morning. The storm had killed a sparrow, and they were eating the corpse."

"I dreamt of her tonight." Lemon Zest sat in her chair with her arms crossed over the table, her head on top of them.

"Her?" Indigo Zap sat down to her right, after setting down her cup of coffee.

"Sugarcoat."

"How was I supposed to know you were talking about her?" Indigo began to drink her coffee.

Lemon Zest answered with an indistinct sound of knowingly unjustified frustration.

Sunny Flare arrived at the small round metal table, carrying her own breakfast on a tray. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"Lemon here was telling me about her dreams of Sugar." Indigo pointed to the girl with her coffee cup.

"She was singing on a stage," Lemon went on, as if she hadn't heard the other two.

Twilight stood on top of the hill. Far in the distance, the purple light of the fissure shone bright over the wreckage and rubble.

The entire second laboratory was gone. Its rests scattered around the contaminated area.

Twilight felt nausea assaulting her, and she wasn't sure if it was the radiation or the sight.

Everyone had made it out in time. Everyone had made it out alive and well. But all the research and equipment was still there, somewhere. Someone would need to look for it. The scans had still been running when they'd lost control of the reaction, and if the shields had held they'd kept running while the fissure opened. They needed that data.

They knew things might have gone wrong. That was the reason they'd built the lab there. But they hadn't been expecting them to.

And Twilight thought back to that night with Starlight. To what could've happened to Ponyville back then.

Non era affatto difficile tenere a bada l'edera che cercava d'arrampicarsi sul muro. Bastava farci attenzione abbastanza spesso e rimuovere quelle sezioni della pianta che s'avviavano alla scalata quando ancora erano piccole. Però era noioso. Terribilmente noioso. E il vecchio unicorno finiva per ignorare il problema per mesi, anni alle volte. Finché l'edera non aveva tronchi più grossi delle sue gambe, ed altra edera più piccola che le cresceva sopra. Al che la cosa diventava non solo noiosa, ma anche difficile. Ci volevano un paio di giorni per sistemare il tutto, di solito.

Ed aveva quasi finito, quella volta. Stava quasi per ripromettersi che ci sarebbe stato attendendo in futuro, sapendo benissimo che non sarebbe stato così. Ma una lettera arrivò proprio poco prima che finisse. Una lettera urgente, pareva. Da un tale Sunburst. Era sicuro d'averlo già sentito da qualche parte quel nome.

Multiple Inheritance

The customary boom woke up those last citizens who still hadn't left their beds. There was always a boom midway through the morning, and occasionally a few smaller ones in the late afternoon. At most they'd counted seven, and there were always at least three when it did happen.

"Is she still out there?" somewhat loudly asked a stallion, walking up the stairs to a balcony.

"Sure is," answered another who was already there, leaning against the railing.

The first joined him at his side, and they both stared towards the horizon. Occasionally one could see some red bolts of lightning spreading from there, but it wasn't a consistent thing.

The mare had arrived in the town preceeded by letters as formal as they were vague, but all bearing Princess Twilight's seal. That had been enough to convince the citizens to let whatever needed to happen happen. If it was for the good of Equestria, it was worth it, and it was hard to imagine the worst outcome could be any worse than what the Behemoth itself had already done.

The mare hadn't spent much time in the town. Only a few had seen her, even fewer had heard her speak those few words she'd said. She'd headed towards the horizon after picking up a set of rations, and midway through the morning after the first boom had been heard. Most had been scared by it, until the mayor had come to announce that there was nothing to worry about. That it was just the mare, acting within Princess Twilight's permissions. A few had taken on a dislike for the mare, mostly those whose sleep tended to stretch out through the morning.

The mare came back once every week. A few more had seen her the first time she'd done so, a couple more had heard her speak. But it was never a good look or a good listen that the citizens got. She always spoke quietly, and always hid her head low under her hat. A peculiarly large hat, and one that would have looked flashy had it not been covered in dirt and dust. The same went for her cape. It was the kind of dirty clothes got when passing through the dry lands near the town, the kind citizens were used to see on travellers.

The weeks passed, the mare kept up her routine of visits, and soon the town built its own habits around hers. There was always a small crowd when the mare came to get new rations. One could not blame the citizens, there were few other events worth nothing in their routines. And the crowd had murmurs running through it. About who the light blue mare could be. About whether she was an earth pony or a pegasus or a unicorn, an ongoing question that had a number of bets tied to it. And, mostly, about what exactly she was doing.

But no one ever got a chance to go check on that. Even if Princess Twilight hadn't forbidden approaching the mare when she was out of the town, which she had, the booms and the occasional flashes of light would have been enough to keep the citizens away. They weren't that bored of their lives, after all.

Qontainer

"You known, there's an old saying used to wish someone luck, in the language of my parents' home country. It roughly translates to 'in the mouth of the wolf' as it's said, though accounting for the implicit meaning it would be more appropriate to say it translates to 'may you end up in the mouth of the wolf'.

"Of course, 'a wolf' would fit better in this language, the original saying happens to be referring to some specific but unspecified wolf but that can't be expected to carry over well. Of course, one should more properly try to adapt the saying to the language rather than simply translating it, working out those oddities characteristic to the original language. However, that is complicated in this case.

"You see, there is actually some controversy as to what the saying is trying to imply. This is reflected in how the one hearing it responds. Some will simply thank you for saying it, others will reply in a single word by saying what would be translated as 'die', although accounting for what that language can imply with a single word that this one we're using cannot the more correct translation would be 'may it die'. Although 'may it croak' could also be an apt translation, as the specific word typically used is indeed a synonym for dying but has other meanings by itself. To crack, specifically, but that's beside the point.

"Let me get back to the heart of the matter. There are indeed two different interpretations of what the saying means. One views the wolf as an evil entity, with the one saying the saying playing the part of one who poses a challenge that the other then mocks as hopefully easily dealt with thanks to their luck. In this version, it could maybe be adapted as 'may the wolf eat you', answered by 'may it die trying'. Almost a curse posed in jest to exorcise the fear of an oncoming task.

"In the other interpretation, however, the wolf is seen as a benevolent entity. The statement becomes a blessing, as the wolf carries the one receiving it within their mouth and protects them along the way. So 'may the wolf carry you in its mouth' would work as a translation here, although a better sounding version of it that still preserves the overall meaning could be 'may the wolf watch over you on your path'.

"But I wouldn't trust myself on any of this. I'm not a scholar or anywhere close to an expert in either of the languages I'm dealing with, I'm not particularly knowledgeable in the culture that spawned the saying, and in all honesty I'm not particularly good with either language even on a base level. The one thing I have studied is magic, but looking at how poorly I do with even that I would sincerely advise against taking a single word of what I say as being worth something."

"Is this really the time to be talking about this?" Twilight asked, drawing back as the giant timberwolf below them once more pounced and tried to bite the torn open half of a train carriage she was holding in her magic, housing both herself and the other.

The old unicorn peacefully sighed.

Controller

Blades of light pierced through the darkness of the room, and came to stab Lightning Dust right in her eyes. The pegasus threw the covers over her face, muttering and cursing her past self for not closing the blinds all the way. But she knew she'd get up just moments later. She was like that, once she woke up she wasn't comfortable lying in bed. And it would have bothered her greatly to waste the whole day sleeping. That was the reason she never closed the blinds all the way.

With a flap of her wings her covers were sent into the air, and by the time they fell down on the mattress with a thud she'd already left the bed. She moved pretty fast for the first five seconds, then the migraine hit and she had to slow down. She stared at the floor below her, waiting for it to stop dancing and spinning, chewing on the thick and viscous nothingness that filled her mouth. She pondered her options for a moment, then sighed.

"I know you're there!" she yelled, her voice raspy and a bit painful against her dry throat. "And I know you've got a copy of the keys. Come in." Then, she waited, comfortable with the knowledge that if the unicorn wasn't actually there then there would be no reason to get embarrassed. Sure, maybe the neighbours heard, but they heard her screaming nonsense halfway between midnight and dawn when she was carried back home drunk and on drugs. She had no more dignity to lose with them.

It turned out the guard was there. Just a moment later Lightning heard the click of the key turning, and a moment later the clack of the door opening. She looked up to see the stallion walk inside and look back at her. He wasn't wearing any armour, a rare sight for her. Not that she was ever in a condition to get a proper look at him when he was wearing one. "Why the fuck are you here?" she asked, coughing. "This is outside of your work hours. They don't pay you for watching over my ass when I'm sober. Don't waste your time."

"If I don't watch over your allegedly sober ass, I fear there won't be an ass left for me to watch over when it's drunk. As far as I'm concerned this is still part of my job. And I quite like my job. I spend hours doing nothing, and that's a lot better than what some others get." He closed the door behind himself. "So, why exactly did you call me in?"

"I know how to take care of myself, colt. Don't think there's anything out there I need your help with protecting me from." She pointed at the cupboard below the sink. "I keep a bottle in there for hangovers. I don't feel like walking to it right now."

"You're a strong mare, Lightning, and everyone knows that. And it's exactly why your own self is the biggest danger you're facing. Or something like that, they don't pay me to come up with good quotes." The unicorn walked up to the cupboard and opened it with his magic, then he leaned down to have a look inside. "These are all cleaning products."

Lightning shrugged. "I'm sure any one of them will do fine."

Must Be Silenced

Twilight Sparkle walked over the land of glass. She walked farther into it than she ever had anywhere else, in any other world, in any other wasteland of the many she'd seen. And she found nothing.

No life, no ruins, no signs of anything that had ever been there. Nothing but endless fields of glass that the Sun never left. And the wind blowing over the glass, shaping the hills and valleys, smoothing the surface of the world like the waves of the ocean smooth over pebbles. It looked almost like a desert, with unmoving, frozen dunes that shone under the light.

There was peace there, in a sense. No danger, no reason for her to leave. Silence, coloured only by the monotonous whispering of the wind, broken only by the clicks of her steps against the glass. But Twilight didn't like it there.

She'd tried running, at one point. That had only made things worse.

It wasn't normal. It wasn't natural. Lifeless, artificial, and she hated being there. A desert was one thing, even a barren one. It was still a product of nature. And those places where civilisation overtook nature were filled with the life of those creatures who'd built them, and when in ruin at least by the signs that those lives had been there. But there was nothing there on the land of glass. Empty destruction that left no place from where to rebuild.

And so Twilight kept on walking. She kept on looking, searching for something, anything. Anything beyond the endless, lifeless sculpture beneath her, the sheet of glass that seemed to have swallowed the whole world itself.

She could have broken it. The thought occurred to her as she walked farther still. Just a few blast of magic, she could have left a mark of her presence, a scar in the land that would have lasted until the wind washed it away. And she could have dug, as deep as she needed to, until she found something beneath the glass.

She didn't want to. She didn't want to know what had been there, what was left underneath. She had no interest in what had been lost, in what would never return to the surface. If there was life still there, it wouldn't last, nor would allowing it access to the world outside help prolong it.

Or perhaps it would. Maybe hope was still there, and not everything was lost, and life would return to the world if she helped it. But that wasn't the point. That wasn't the reason she was there. She shouldn't have been there at all, she was an intruder after all.

Her train of thought stopped as she stepped on top of a hill. There, past the next valley, something. Something other than glass, naked rock piercing through the endless carpet that covered the surface. Not much taller than or larger than her, black and barren, the tip of a mountain now submerged.

Twilight stood in front of the rock and looked at it. Then she turned, and looked at the world around her.

She could break it, if she wanted to.

All That Glitters

A faint breeze blew some dust along the road, past the van parked just on the edge of it. Not one other vehicle could be seen from there, and everything was covered in silence. Or, at least, everything would have been covered in silence, had it not been for three voices coming from behind the van.

"Is that really what I think it is?" one asked, incredulous.

"Oh, yes. Absolutely," answered the second, her tone deep and excited.

"Ooh. Wait, what is it?" asked the third one.

The first two girls looked to their right, flat expressions on their faces. Aria crossed her arms, while Adagio just placed her fingers on her forehead and shook her head.

Sonata pursed her lips, lifting her shoulders.

"This," Adagio resumed, taking a step as she pointed forward, "is what's finally going to allow us to get our revenge."

As she stared at Sonata's eyes flipping between Adagio and the thing in front of them while a question began to shape on her face, Aria just rolled hers. "It's a portal to Equestria!" she said, louder than necessary. "Can't you feel it?"

"Ooh!" Sonata turned back to Adagio. "Can we go in?"

Adagio began to nod, then stopped halfway through. "Is the van locked?" she asked, turning to Aria.

Aria pulled out the keys to their van and clicked on the little button with the lock icon on it. A few clicks came from the vehicle's various doors, followed by a couple beeps of light. "It is now."

"Good. I do not want to be left stranded in the middle of nowhere when we come back here because someone stole it." Stepping forward again, she held her hand a few centimetres away from the surface of the portal. Then, she smiled, and walked in.

Adagio disappeared into the portal. Aria waited a few seconds, just to make sure the other wouldn't quickly re-emerge from it yelling about the unsafe conditions on the other side, then she let go of Sonata's ponytail and watched the girl cross the portal by almost falling face first into it. Then she waited a moment longer, and took a look at the keys she still held in her hand. Finally, she sighed, shoved them back in her pocket, and stepped through the portal herself.

The scenery on the other side was somehow more barren than the one they'd come from. A wide stretch of plains covered in a thin layer of yellow-grey dust, with the occasional rock formation standing tall over the nothing around it. By all means, the place kinda sucked. But not one of the three sirens cared, as the feeling of finally being back in their original bodies more than made up for it.

"Screw the van," Adagio said, as Sonata flew loops around her. "We are not going back. I refuse to have to walk for another second of my life."

Aria was about to voice her opinion on the matter, but she was interrupted before she could talk. Not that it would have mattered, because the boom that echoed around them would have covered the sound of her words either way.

The three looked at each other, then at the bright red light spreading over the sky. "Okay," Aria said. "Maybe we are going back."

QQ

"I what?" Rarity asked, disbelieving, in a tone so loud Twilight worried it would alert the ponies walking outside.

"You were together with Applejack, and then you broke up with her. The human you and the human Applejack, that is," Twilight repeated. It was easier saying it the second time around, now that she was no longer revealing a secret.

"I... Darling, this is too much drama for me to properly overreact to it!" Rarity gave a brief look around herself, then moved to the centre of the room. And there she pushed herself up on the couch which had not been present a moment before, and sat on the edge of it with her head in her hooves. "You're forcing me to be serious here."

Twilight moved closer to her, stretching out a hoof to offer her friend some support. "I know it's a lot to take in all at once. I hope it's not too much."

"Oh, don't worry, it's only the second time I've been forced to reevaluate the potential relationship status between me and my friends against my will. This week." Rarity tried to pout, but her lips refused to cooperate. She kept staring at the ground for a while, hooves perilously close to entering her mane and only held at bay by years of self-discipline. "How different am I from the other me?"

"Well, she's younger than you, by a bit," Twilight began. She sat beside Rarity and continued, "She's not quite as popular or established as a designer. Still working under someone else, nowhere near having multiple boutiques of her own across the country. She plays the keytar. It's like a small piano you can hold like a guitar. But she's a lot like you in personality. The same sense for fashion and style, the same dreams of success. The same generosity."

Rarity quietly nodded along. "And how is the human Applejack?"

"She's a lot like our Applejack, really." Twilight rubbed the back of her neck. "Dedicated to her farm, close to her family, honest. Strong. A little old fashioned. Maybe not quite as obsessed with apples as our own." Twilight looked to the ground. "Younger, of course. Maybe a little less wise than the Applejack you know, and I think that goes for their Rarity as well."

"How long had they been together for?"

Twilight swallowed to help clear away the dryness in her mouth. "I'm not sure, I don't think anyone really knows. It took a while before it became something noticeable, a while longer before they made it official with the others. Months at the least though. But it must have happened after I went there the first time, they weren't even friends back then. So no longer than that."

"And why did they break up?"

"I only know what Sunset told me, and she only knows what they said. And they said it just happened. Their relationship wasn't working right, and they decided to end it." Twilight sighed. "It's still Applejack we're talking about. I don't know if she would lie about this."

Rarity finally turned to look at Twilight. "And I?"

Twilight sighed again, deeper this time. "Rarity still loves her. She says she agreed to the breakup, but it would be clear as day that she's still in love even without her admitting it when she's drunk. And there's a bit more." She swallowed. "Applejack left for a different city, not too long after they broke up. A job opportunity. She warned the others, but it still felt sudden. They all think it had something to do with the breakup, maybe she was trying to get away from the whole thing. Rarity has been getting worse ever since, not that she hadn't started spiralling down already." Twilight took one last, deep breath. "She needs help, Rarity. And you're the only mare who'd know her well enough."

Rarity placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "And I will help her."

Axcept

"Everything has a price."

Chrysalis watched from her position, sitting at a table outside a restaurant and sipping on a drink, disguised as a pegasus. She looked with fascination, and a little nervousness, as Stellaria stood in the middle of the road and stared straight at the castle in front of her.

She was waiting. Standing still and waiting, a confident smile on her face, while ponies walked around her without paying any attention to her. She'd been there for a couple of minutes already, and she knew she wouldn't have to wait much longer.

Suddenly, the castle's doors opened. Chrysalis tensed in her seat, holding her glass a little tighter. Her eyes followed Twilight Sparkle as she walked out of her castle and down the road towards Stellaria, then beside her and past her, without ever glancing towards the other alicorn.

Stellaria just stood there, smiling, while Twilight walked away. Then she turned towards Chrysalis and began to head towards her, still keeping the same smile on her face. She sat at the same table, and fetched herself a slice of bread from the basket in the middle of it. And she just sat there, eating her bread and staring at Chrysalis, still smiling.

The disguised changeling curved her lips in what couldn't properly be described as a smile or a frown. It was an awkward arching, the front part of her mouth slightly open as if she was about to speak but holding herself back. She was, in essence, refusing to accommodate the other's smugness, but she had no arguments to fall back on.

Stellaria swallowed her bread. "Well, Chrissy? Are you convinced now?"

Chrysalis grit her teeth. "Yes," she hissed out quickly, then she moved her glass to her lips to drink some more. The pear juice was nice, at least.

"That's a good girl," Stellaria said, patting the changeling-turned-pegasus' head. "Looks like this time I won't have to choke you until you pass out for refusing to listen to your owner." She took another slice of bread in her magic.

Chrysalis tensed up for a moment at those words, then she set her glass down on the table. "You should be careful with how you treat those around you. They always might turn on you."

Stellaria laughed at that. A dry, ugly sound with no joy in it. "The altar you're preaching from does you no favours, Chrissy. You speak to me of trust and betrayal, after all that's happened to you?"

"You've said it yourself that my failures were the result of my mistakes. Perhaps you should learn from them."

"I could," Stellaria answered. "And I have. The thing is that I don't care. Not when it's with the one who left me to die. Not when you don't have any chance to defeat me." She leaned back in her chair. "The only creatures who might be a threat to me would turn you back to stone on sight, and never believe you. You're only alive right now because I allow it. Part of why is that you could still be useful. Most of it is the amusement I get out of torturing you. You should be thankful that you're so entertaining when you suffer."

"I should have burned you when you were still a log."

"Careful, Chrissy. You're giving me ideas."

A Rock and a Sharp Place - Part 6

"Starlight Glimmer," Twilight introduced the unicorn to the newly arrived stallion, pointing a hoof towards her. "My main assistant in the study of scales. And just about everything else I study. How was the trip there?" she asked, turning back towards Starlight.

"Dry," answered the mare. "Nothing but sand and wind, like the last time. But at least the portal wasn't under a dune this time around. I think we should prioritise exploring other scales." She stepped forward as she spoke, and perked up as she noticed Stone Brick and Soarin'. "Oh, I see we've got someone new."

Twilight nodded. "Starlight, this is..." She pursed her lips, bringing a hoof to her chin. "Huh. What is your name, actually? I forgot to ask."

"Stone Brick," Stone Brick replied.

"Starlight, this is Stone Brick," Twilight said, pointing at him. "He's got a new scale with him, I assume that's why he's here. That is why you're here, right?"

A little uncertain at first, Stone nodded.

"Well, I'm going," Soarin' said, turning to leave and waving with a wing. "Call me if you need help with anything."

"Meeting up with Silver?" Starlight asked, smirking.

Soarin' didn't answer, but the way his hind legs tensed up for a moment was all the confirmation Starlight needed. He left the room and closed the door, while she turned around and picked up the scale still floating above the platform.

Twilight focused her attention on Stone. "So. Want to know where your scale leads?"

The pony swallowed, and set down his saddlebags, slowly digging through them to reach the bottom. "I was hoping for answers, when I came here," he said, as he grabbed the scale.

"Start asking questions then." Twilight noticed the stallion's tension, and she moved a little closer, her tone a little quieter. She gave a brief look around, making sure everyone else in the laboratory was preoccupied with something else.

"What is this?" Stone pulled out the scale and showed it to Twilight.

The alicorn smiled. "That is something I really wish I knew. But there are a few things about it I can tell you. I'm sure you know it's called a scale. We have no confirmation on it, but we suspect it might be a part of the Behemoth itself. We know about the way they bond with creatures." She looked back. "And you saw what they can be used for."

"So it's a portal?"

Twilight grimaced, biting the corner of her lower lip. "It's closer to a key. A way to open a gate between worlds, if you know how to turn it right. But that's reductive. There's more to scales than this. Unfortunately, they are a tricky thing to work with, and this is the one use we've found so far that we can safely study." As she spoke, she slowly turned back towards Stone Brick. "Every scale opens a way to a different world. Do you want to know where yours leads?"

Stone looked at the scale in his hoof, then back at Twilight. He took a slow breath in, then he nodded.

Magic changes everything, from the fabric of the cosmos to the tiniest living organism. The latter can be just as problematic as the former.

"I've never seen anything like this. I've never read of anything like this. Considering what I've heard from everyone, there's a decent chance this did not exist at all a couple of months ago." The nurse's eyes moved from Twilight to the pony lying on the bed in front of them, then back to the alicorn.

Twilight swallowed. "Will she be alright?" she asked.

"I don't know. If things stay like this? Yes, absolutely. It's not worse than a seasonal fever right now. But will they stay like this? I have no idea, and it would be inadvisable to make a guess in either direction. I would suggest moving her somewhere else, where she can properly be monitored. Even if it turns out to be something innocuous, studying it would be helpful for the future."

Twilight nodded. "I understand. Very well. I will have a room set up in the castle, and have her moved there. I will call doctors from Canterlot, they'll certainly want to study this." She turned towards the nurse. "I'd like you to meet them once they arrive. I understand I can't ask you to leave your job here unattended, but I would still like to have you come visit her whenever possible."

"Of course, Princess." The mare nodded.

Twilight once more looked at the pony on the bed. She was asleep, seemingly peacefully so. An outside observer might have thought nothing was wrong with her. Of course, they wouldn't have noticed that her coat and mane were the wrong colours, respectively blue and red rather than yellow and pink.

"Is there anything else, Princess?" asked the nurse.

Twilight shook her head. "No. Feel free to go, I'll just sit here a little longer."

The nurse gave a small bow, then walked out of the room.

Nightcrawl (A Rock and a Sharp Place - Part 7)

"Very well then." Slowly, making sure the stallion was still convinced, Twilight took hold of the scale and began to walk towards the platform. "I will be going alone at first, for safety reasons. Starlight can give you a few ideas of what might be on the other side." She turned towards Stone. "I hope that is not a problem for you."

Still breathing slowly, Stone nodded again. Starlight began to approach him, meanwhile looking at Twilight. "Are you sure you're going alone?" she asked.

"You just came back from the desert, it's better if you stay here," Twilight said, setting the scale in place. "I wouldn't want you to get tired." Concentrating, she began to cast the long series of protective spells needed as precaution before traversing a portal. They'd managed to combine most of them, and make it so the different portions only triggered and actually drained most power when the conditions requiring them were met, but it was still a rather complex and relatively taxing piece of magic.

Behind the alicorn, Starlight began to tell Stone Brick of the first time they'd traversed a portal. She conveniently left out the possibility of it blowing up the castle and maybe more had things gone wrong, Twilight noted. Ponyville had probably never been in danger, there were measures in place to contain an explosion to the castle itself, but if a reaction strong enough to overcome even that occurred then it definitely would have taken the town with it at the least.

Shaking those thoughts out of her head, Twilight focused once more on the scale in front of her. She readied her horn, then cast the spell, and a moment later light spread out from the scale in the portals' familiar pattern. "See you in a bit," she said, stepping forward.

The trip through the portal was no different from the usual one. The world on the other side was dark. That was her first impression. Night covered the sky, the light of the Moon shining down over everything. A street paved with stone on the ground, well maintained, buildings in the same condition. Soft whispers and breaths, the subtle clacking of a few hooves.

Twilight looked around her. Ponies, standing still and looking at her. Surprised, like their daily lives had been interrupted, curiously studying the new arrival. Silent. A few dark banners hung from buildings and posts, and Twilight swore she'd seen a pattern like the one on them before.

There was something about the way everyone was looking at her. About the lack of words or sounds. About the colour of their eyes. A castle stood not too far from her position, behind a number of streets and buildings, the top still visible as it towered over everything else. Ancient stone towers and walls, and dark flags waving from posts above them.

One pony stepped towards Twilight. The alicorn stepped back into the portal.

Twilight stepped out of the portal, in the middle of her laboratory. Starlight and Stone Brick looked at her, and worry coloured their expressions as they noticed hers. "Is everything alright?" the unicorn asked, while the portal closed.

Twilight looked at both of them. "We need to talk."

Fullmoon

Rainbow's body drifted up the river, surrounded by scraps of metal and paper. The green water was cold, but not unpleasantly so. Three moons shone up in the sky above her, and a myriad of stars around the them. And it all seemed natural to her, normal, needing not to be questioned.

Slowly, however, she realised something was amiss. Something she couldn't quite put her hoof on, just like how she couldn't quite remember why she was there, or where there even was. At the same time, she noticed she wasn't alone. There was another pony to her left, floating up the river atop a silver flower petal.

"Princess Luna," Rainbow said, recognising the alicorn. She then looked back at the alien sky above them. "This is a dream then."

"It would be quite the worrisome situation otherwise," Luna replied, following Rainbow's gaze up to the three moons in the sky. "And quite the added workload for me, considering those all move in different patterns. It is not a common sight to see them all together like that. I believe the added visibility they provide is part of why the attack failed." She looked down at the broken metal around them in the river. "Although that is perhaps a topic for another night. My workload, however, is not."

Rainbow Dash sat upright in the middle of the river, her hindquarters firmly placed on the water's surface, without concerning herself at the physical impossibility of the event. "Is something wrong?"

"The attack failed and you almost died, for one." Luna shook her head. "Sorry, a topic for another night, as we've said. As for the troubles of our world, yes, something is wrong. Many things, actually." She gave a little smile. "But that has always been the case, if admittedly more so since the Behemoth's arrival. Perhaps it would be better to ask what is wrong instead. What is wrong now that wasn't before, and why am I here now."

Rainbow Dash stared at her for a moment, as silence stretched on. "Uh. Yeah, pretend I did that," she said, motioning with a hoof.

Luna couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I shall put it clearly then. I am here because I require assistance. My work as guardian of ponies' dreams has grown more taxing, as of late. In no small part, this is due to the hunting sessions I have to undertake. Without the Elements and with the Behemoth's presence, the Everfree has been growing restless and more twisted, its presence in the dream world more intense, and the borders between dream and reality far thinner within it."

Luna noticed the poorly contained excitement on Rainbow's face, and her lips curved upwards just a tiny bit. "It is nothing I can't take care of, and nothing too dangerous so far. But I do fear I may not be able to properly dedicate myself to either task as things get worse. And knowing about a certain pony who expressed interest in travelling through the dreams of others, and who also happens to quite enjoy the thrill of action and danger even in her sleep, I was wondering if-"

"Yes," said Rainbow, failing to contain her excitement any longer. She'd been mouthing the word for a bit as she'd listened to Luna speak, and actually hearing herself say it out loud surprised even her. She'd not meant to, and she was aware she'd spoken just a bit too soon.

But Luna just smiled. "Very well then. Shall we begin?"

And Rainbow noticed she was suddenly wearing a silver suit of armour over her light blue coat.

Nightcall (A Rock and a Sharp Place - Part 8)

The door closed behind Starlight. Inside the small room, Twilight Sparkle, Stone Brick, and the scale he had brought. And a small crystal table. Starlight was almost certain the room hadn't been there the day before, but she'd learned to stop concerning herself with the oddities of the crystal castle.

"There's something I haven't told you," Twilight began, setting the scale down onto the table. "I don't think Starlight told you either. It's not something we share around too much, even with the rest of the staff, but it is something you need to hear to understand why this is important." She stared right at Stone Brick. "Do I have your attention, and your secrecy?"

A little taken aback at first, Stone nodded, and Starlight was reminded that she was, in fact, at the presence of Equestria's only current ruler. It was easy to forget the weight of Twilight's role and titles at times.

The alicorn waited a moment, looking around the room. "I've told you every scale leads to a different world, and I'm sure you've realised how different they can be from each other. But they all have one thing in common." She paused to take a breath. "Every world we visited so far had no sapient creatures in it. We found ruins, we found traces of what clearly used to be civilisation, but we never found any signs of one still existing.

"And it doesn't look like any of them met a peaceful end," she continued. "We found worlds submerged, desertified, swept by impossibly strong winds, covered in ice. We found a planet broken in half. We found a room floating in a void that seems to be all that's left of a world, and everything inside was still in perfect condition. Every single world we've been to was destroyed in some way, some worse than others, by some sort of catastrophe." Twilight paused a moment longer. "Until now."

Starlight almost jumped up as she heard the last words. "You found an habitable world on the other side of that?" she asked, almost a scream of surprise.

Twilight gave a crooked smile, one Starlight had never seen on her face. "I found more than that. I found an inhabited world." Taking advantage of Starlight's momentary gasp, she kept going before the unicorn could interrupt her. "And it's like ours. There were ponies there."

Starlight's mouth opened and closed a couple of times, with no sound coming out of it.

Twilight's expression darkened. "And we are not going back now. Not the way you're thinking of. We'll have to be very careful in there, Starlight. And make sure we're not seen, when we go investigate."

Starlight's mouth closed with a snap, several layers of confusion and surprise warping her face. "But why?"

"I saw something there. Something I recognised. You know all about Sunset, so I don't think you'll have trouble believing me. It was night there, and the ponies were out, and I recognised the pattern on the banners around town. It's not the exact same I saw the last time, but I have no doubt it means the same thing."

Stone Brick was looking between the two mares, confused.

Starlight took a step forward. "Twilight, what did you see? What does this have to do with Sunset? And why did you tell me it was..." She looked down for a moment. "No."

Twilight nodded. "Yes. What we've gotta hope for now is that she doesn't have a way to follow us here."

"But... It doesn't make sense, the timelines I created shouldn't-"

"It's not the same. The Moon was clear, and the banners were different." Twilight took another breath. "But it's unmistakable that Nightmare Moon is the one in power there, or someone very much like her. I don't like the idea, and neither do you I'm sure, but this is the only real chance we have to learn more about how scales work. We'll have to go back there, sooner or later." She turned to Stone Brick. "I must ask to keep your scale here a while longer, I'm afraid. And I'm sure you have questions. Now is the time to ask them."

GLR

"So, funny story, I found out this online game I used to play back in middle school got its servers shut down a few years ago, but then a couple years later a group of fans got together and reverse-engineered the whole thing, and now it's playable again. Still a bit buggy in places, but they're patching it up. I've gotten back into it."

"And how is it?"

"Oh, it's every bit as awful as I remembered it, a black hole that sucks away your life with ever-increasing waiting times to upgrade your buildings so you can produce more resources to upgrade your base even further and produce even stronger units and defensive turrets in a never ending spiral of growing numbers that feasts on your basic human instincts. But at least now there's no company behind it, so it's impossible to speed things up by paying real money for premium currency, so everyone is stuck with the waiting. So when you find a stronger player you know they wasted hours to get there instead of dollars. I'm only playing it because of nostalgia, and I think it's the same for everyone else, really."

Indigo Zap momentarily raised an eyebrow, then her expression returned to normal. "Alright then. Are you playing it right now?"

Lemon Zest shook her head. "No, I have buildings under construction at the moment, no point keeping it open. I would keep it in the background, but the current build doesn't handle idle players well. It crashes and needs to be restarted, so I might as well not keep it open. Not while attacking is still bugged and I don't need to worry about optimising my online time so people can't steal my resources." She kept on typing at her keyboard.

"Why do I get the feeling that means you once spent a whole day straight never leaving the game just for that?"

"Because I did." Lemon looked at Indigo. "Hey now. If you don't get all the stupid things done and out of your system when you're young you're gonna have problems when you feel the need to do them as an adult."

"I don't think that's how that works. Anyway, what are you up to now, then?"

"Right now I'm creating a bunch of fake accounts to skew the results of a pool on this website." Lemon turned back towards the computer screen. "It would be a lot easier if people didn't keep voting for the other option."

Indigo Zap just rolled her eyes at that. "What's the pool about, anyway?"

"Porn."

A moment of silence stretched on. "Do you have no shame?"

"Specifically, what this girl should do next."

Indigo resisted the impulse to smack herself in the face, though it was a close thing. Then another impulse came to her. As stealthily as one could, which is to say not particularly, she slid her chair next to Lemon's. "What are the options?"

Lemon just turned the screen a little, as she once again picked the one she was trying to push the pool towards.

Orchard

"Doesn't that girl look familiar?"

Lemon Zest followed the direction of Indigo's eyes with her own. "The green one?"

"No, not her. The one next to her, with the hat."

"Oh. I don't know, maybe? We should ask her."

"Lemon, you can't just-"

"Hey, you! With the hat!" Lemon Zest shouted towards the opposite side of the road. "Do we know each other?"

Applejack turned to stare at the opposite sidewalk, and there saw a girl excitedly waving at her while next to her another covered her face with her hands, distinctly showing the signs of wishing the ground would swallow her. A few more people turned as well, and the blue-haired girl took a step back.

After taking a moment to assess the weirdness of the situation, Applejack realised she did actually recognise the pair. "Crystal Prep? Friendship Games? Twilight almost destroying the world?" she shouted back, regretting it a moment later as most eyes turned to her.

Lemon Zest snapped her fingers. "Applejack! Of course!" She turned to Indigo. "See? We did know her. We just had to ask!"

Indigo moved her fingers just enough to uncover her eyes, and threw the most piercing glare she could muster at her friend.

Lemon ignored it as she turned back towards Applejack. "What brings you here?" she yelled yet again.

Nervous, Applejack pointed to the nearest crossing with her eyes, hoping the duo would catch the hint.

Lemon Zest did not. Fortunately, Indigo did, and she dragged the other girl by the back of her shirt up to the crossing and to the other side of the road, as Applejack walked there too. They all moved to stand aside, as to not stop in the middle of the sidewalk while talking.

Applejack pointed a finger at the girls. "Lemon Zest, right?" she asked, receiving a nod in response. "And you are..." She turned to Indigo. "Uh... Blue Fast? Something like that."

"Indigo Zap." The girl put forward a hand to shake Applejack's, who did the same.

"So, what brings you here?" Lemon asked, swaying back and forth with her arms behind her back.

"Well, I sort of live here now," Applejack said, looking towards the ground.

"Cool. Same," Indigo replied.

"Won't that hurt the band?" Lemon asked.

Applejack flinched at that. "Yep. Yes it will. They're looking for a new bassist now." Then she frowned slightly. "Wait, you know about the Rainbooms?"

"Of course I do!" Lemon replied. "How could I not know about the band Twilight sings in?"

"Twilight is in a band?" Indigo looked at the other two, surprised.

Lemon rolled her eyes. "How do you not know that, Indy? I've told you about it at least five times."

"Lemon, living with you is already hard enough. If I actually had to pay attention to all your unending music rants I think my brain would melt and leak out of my ears." Indigo turned towards Applejack. "She thinks three in the morning is an appropriate time to blast music. She almost got us kicked out of the place. Twice."

Applejack felt a small chuckle rise to her lips. "So, why are you two living here on your own? University?"

"University is for nerds," Lemon replied.

"Which admittedly includes all of our friends, and it's the reason almost all of them are around here too," Indigo added. "But no. We're just taking a year off, deciding what to do. Having fun, you know?"

"Almost?" Applejack raised an eyebrow.

Both Lemon and Indigo looked to the side. "Sugarcoat is still stuck at Crystal Prep," the latter explained. "Things have been rough for her after the Games."

"What about you? What are you here for, studying?" Lemon stepped in.

"Work, actually," Applejack answered. Then she glanced at her phone. "Speaking of which, I better get going if I want to be there in time."

"We were going that way too, we can come with you if you want," Indigo offered.

Applejack pondered her options. "Sure. Why not?"

And with that, the trio began to walk down the sidewalk again.

Connect the Dots

The alicorn was more than ready to finally get rid of the stallion. She'd have forcefully flung him into town with her magic if it hadn't been for her desire to remain unnoticed, and she was planning to do it anyway if he annoyed her particularly. But she needed to focus. The first houses were in sight, and she couldn't afford all her work to come undone because of one mistake. She couldn't afford to be seen there, there would be too many questions, and sooner or later the original Twilight would find out. No one had to see her.

"Oh, I see you've changed," the stallion suddenly said, turning back towards her. "I can still recognise you though. Same wires as before inside you."

She paid no attention to him or his nonsense. There were more important things to focus her attention on, for example the pony at the edge of town. The one who was coming right towards them. In a blink, Twilight's clone jumped behind a bush. If everything went right, the pony would just notice the stallion and take him back to the city.

"Scarlet!" the stallion shouted, noticing the approaching pony. He began to trot towards the mare, leaving Twilight's clone behind.

The other pony ran towards him. "You're here! I was worried about you! Where have you been?"

"I got lost," the stallion replied. "Did you know there's a swamp someplace around here? I did find some puzzles along the way. I had fun. I had some soup earlier. You like soup, don't you? We should have soup together sometime."

Scarlet drew back a little, a conflicted expression on her face as she eyed over the stallion and his clothes. "You shouldn't run off on your own like that. You could have hurt yourself, or worse! You should stay in town from now on, please."

"But I wasn't on my own." The stallion pulled on a blade of glass in front of him. Twilight's clone felt her heart drop as the bush in front of her lowered itself into the ground and the stallion pointed a hoof towards her. "She helped me get back here after I got lost near the swamp," he continued.

The alicorn's very first impulse was to blow both ponies' brains put. Thankfully that only lasted a moment. She knew it would only make things much worse. Cursing herself and the other Twilight for not having learnt appropriate memory manipulation spells yet, she decided her best option was to play along and hope. Carefully she stepped forward and began to approach the other two.

"Oh, thank you!" The mare rushed towards her. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't found him." In a lower tone, once she was near, she leaned forward and added, "He's not all right in the head. I'm sorry you had to deal with him. We're trying to figure out what to do with him." Straightening and speaking normally again, Scarlet continued, "What was a unicorn like you doing out there near the swamp, anyway?"

Twilight's clone was about to respond, but something of what the other had said made her pause. That, and something she saw. Standing in front of the mare, she was just close enough to see her reflection inside Scarlet's eyes.

And that reflection did not show Twilight's body.

Fire

It would rain soon, the pegasus could feel it. The tiny prickles of electricity running along their wings spoke of an oncoming storm. At the least, they were done with work for the day. All they needed to do was find a place to stay for the night. Maybe they would even catch some of the rain, they never did mind getting wet too much.

Autumn wouldn't last much longer. The days were getting shorter, the nights colder, and soon winter would be there again. Hopefully it wouldn't be too different from the previous ones, but there was no telling with the Behemoth still in Canterlot. If they squinted really hard, on a day when the skies were clear enough, they could see it even from there.

It wasn't something they liked to do, though. Not that anyone else in Equestria liked looking at the Behemoth, not as far as the pegasus knew at least. And they would have been greatly surprised to find out someone actually did, and perhaps concerned about the mental well being of said creature. Fascination with danger was one thing, but there was something distinctly unnatural and otherworldly about the Behemoth, something sickening, even if no one could pinpoint down exactly what.

A stray droplet of water landed on the pegasus' muzzle, taking them out of their train of thought. It was starting earlier than expected. Firecracker stretched their wings, then took off and began to glide down the mountain. A few more drops of water hit them on their way down, but it hadn't properly started to rain yet. For a few minutes the pegasus just kept gliding, as the weather remained unchanging.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, as the sky grew a bit darker. A few flashes of lightning illuminated the clouds from within, but still only sparse drops dripped down to earth. That had Firecracker mildly worried, heavy rain was not the most pleasant of things to take head on. At least it was long past summer, completely out of season for a hailstorm. Though with the Behemoth there, one couldn't be completely sure.

They supposed maybe they should have been glad it was still raining water, going by what the creature had brought to Equestria as far as plants and animals went. But then, they should have been angry at the Behemoth being there in the first place. Perhaps it was all a bunch of pointless wonderings, and they shouldn't have concerned themself with speculation about what could and couldn't have been with things so completely outside of their control. After all, it would have been like complaining they'd been born in that world and not another.

And yet ponies still did complain about the rain. Admittedly, most of them were used to weather being a scheduled thing, and they even knew who to direct their complaints to. Firecracker did not envy those ponies tasked with bringing rain, not one bit. But the rain above them at that moment was different, they knew it. And in a couple more minutes it would be pouring down on them, so perhaps it was best if they focused on finding shelter first, and then continued on with their musings there.

Imaginations from the Other Side - Episode 4

"See, girls? The plot is moving forward now," Rarity said, but her tone was shaking, and her smile unconvincing.

"Still waiting on an update on the cracks world," Twilight said, "and on one for the hospital storyline. And probably on something else that I've forgotten because it's been too long."

Rarity tried to widen her smile. It didn't go too well. "Come on now, darling. I'm sure he has it all figured out."

Twilight shook her head while keeping her eyes on the unicorn, unamused. "I don't think he does. And honestly, even if he does, I don't think he's delivering on it. Do we really need to spend a chapter on a painting? Can't we move on to the important stuff instead?"

Rarity crossed her front legs and looked to the side, furrowing her brow and pursing her lips. "Oh, please." She have a short, hissing huff. "You need to learn to appreciate the flavour of things, Twilight. Why eat sweets when other food can feed you just the same? Why wear good clothes when simple panels of cloth can offer the same protection?" She flayed her front legs around dramatically for emphasis. "Why even read a book instead of its synopsis if you're not interested in how the events are presented? Why paint walls? It's what decorates things that makes us enjoy them, not only the barren and naked structure underneath!" She posed for added effect.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "And I am worried that there is no underlying structure under all this fluff and pointless meandering. You can't build a solid wall with just paint, no matter how many layers of it you apply. If you want to decorate something, you need something to decorate, otherwise all you have is a pile of decorations that is less than the sum of its parts. If all you have are bits meant to enhance an experience, but no experience to enhance, then what you've made isn't good. And if something is there, but it's too far buried underneath everything else, then it's not much different. Adding salt to food makes it taste better, but a pile of salt with some food beneath isn't good." She crossed her front legs, closed her eyes and nodded.

"How long will the potion last?" Fluttershy asked from her bed. "I don't mind being blue, but I would like to know when it will be over."

"Should be over soon," Rainbow Dash replied from atop her own bed. She moved one of the hats beside her to the side. "Rarity? When are you moving these?"

Rarity looked up. "Ah. Yes, darling, give me just a minute, okay?" She frantically began to look around the room for another suitable place for her pile of fashion.

"Girls?" asked Applejack, rubbing the back of her head. "Does anyone else feel like things are different right now? Different from the way they usually are?"

Everypony else in the room looked at each other. "Not really?" Twilight said.

Applejack bit her lower lip, then went back to looking at her tablet.

Fructose

Applejack adjusted her clothes as she walked down the sidewalk, briefly checking her phone for messages before looking straight ahead again. She wasn't in a rush to get where she needed to go, but it was still preferable to arrive there soon and not have others wait for long. At least that was what she told herself, to justify her walking pace. What she didn't tell herself was that she was nervous, though beneath the surface of her thoughts she knew she was.

Finally, after turning a corner, her destination appeared to her. Calling it a restaurant would have been a generous thing, perhaps so generous as to make it a lie. It was more properly defined as a place that served food for cheap. The type of business that thrived on people in their late teens and early twenties looking for a place to meet each other and feed themselves at, but not interested in the formalities and prices of a proper restaurant. Visited by anyone who needed cheap food to eat on the go. So, essentially, a gathering place for students, young workers, and other sorts of people still young enough to not care about the quality of the things they ingested. She fit the second category, and the ones she was going there to meet fit the other two.

There they were already, all four of them sitting at a table just outside the entrance. Talking to each other, until one of them noticed her and pointed and waved and the others turned and now they were all staring at her and only then did Applejack realise she'd been standing still and frozen staring at them. Waving and resuming her walk before Lemon decided she needed directions and started to yell, Applejack tried to swallow her nervousness. It didn't work.

"There you are," Indigo Zap greeted her. Then she turned to the others, while Applejack took a seat on the empty metal chair beside Lemon Zest's. "This is Applejack. Applejack, these are Sunny Flare and Sour Sweet."

The latter of the two girl excitedly smiled and waved, while the first one gave a more polite and contained smile. "A pleasure to meet you," she said.

"Uh, likewise," Applejack said, sitting down straight and looking at the four girls at the table. She awkwardly fidgeted with her empty hands, unsure of what to do or say. "So, uh, I know about Lemon and Indigo, what about you two? You're here in town to study, right?"

Sunny nodded. Sour said, "Yes we are! Isn't it wonderful?" Then she looked to the side and her tone dropped. "Ruining our sleep schedules and diets to waste our time and money on learning things we could have learned by ourselves for free if we weren't too lazy for that only because we need someone to acknowledge that we have in fact learned them. And the bathrooms suck."

"Hey now," Lemon interjected. "I'm not going to school, and I still get to ruin my sleep schedule and diet." She pulled out a bag of gummy worms and began to eat them. Applejack had no idea where the bag had actually come from. It was not a small bag, either.

"That's just because you never mentally moved on from being a teenager, Lem." Indigo sighed. She looked at Applejack. "What will you be having? We were discussing what to eat before, I can go order for all of us if you tell us."

"Does this place have a menu?" Applejack asked.

Sour Sweet handed her a folded sheet of thin and glossy cardboard. "Knock yourself out."

That Which Was Skipped

"Sure, and Far Shore didn't steal my seashell whisk last month. I know she did. It was a nice whisk, too. I'm not really bothered by not having it, I have a lot of whisks, but she should have just asked if she wanted it, and like I said it was a nice whisk. I got it about a year ago at a shop near a volcano in the Dragonlands. I don't actually know why they were selling a seashell whisk there. I don't know why they were selling a whisk at all, considering it was a postcards shop. Well, technically it was supposed to be a newsstand, but almost nothing ever got there so they basically exclusively sold postcards. Maybe that's why they were selling a whisk.

"I remember Ember was really surprised that I was there. Maybe I should have told her I would be throwing a party. Mail doesn't get there though, so I would have needed to find another way to get to her. But then it wouldn't have been a surprise party! But maybe she doesn't like surprise parties, and I shouldn't be throwing surprise parties for her. Oh, now I hope she wasn't just pretending to enjoy herself to make me happy. That's just the worst, I always need to fix my files after I find out about that and what's worse it means I threw a party where someone wasn't enjoying themself!

"I remember this one time, for example, where I was throwing a party for a filly. I'd gotten her a huge chocolate cake, with turquoise-coloured frosting. At least it was supposed to be turquoise. Turquoise is kind of on that line where creatures debate whether a colour is green or blue, although turquoise itself is definitely more on the blue side. I think, at least, from what I've seen. Maybe I've always seen turquoise wrong and every creature was using the name incorrectly and turquoise is actually different from that.

"Aren't you ever afraid of something like that? Of suddenly finding out everyone is wrong about something and they have all been misusing a term and suddenly you need to tell others so they too can stop making this mistake but you feel kind of bad about it because the realisation that you've been doing something wrong your whole life kind of hurts and you don't want to hurt others but you know it's the right thing to do to tell them but it's still hard, but it'll hurt more if you don't and you know that's the case.

"And even if you didn't say it, they're still doing it wrong. And they might find out one day in the future! And then, they will wonder why you didn't tell them if you already knew, and they will still be hurt by it. So really, it's better to tell them as soon as you can. After all, it's all chromatic aberrations running on hard cardboard in the metanarrative layer, and everything is- Hey, where did he go?" Pinkie looked around, but Discord was no longer anywhere to be found. In his stead a closed door stood in front of Twilight, who turned to look at her and sighed.

Paid In Full

Starlight sat on her chair, looking at the ground. To her left, Sunburst similarly sat on a chair, in just the same position. Between them, on a third chair, Starshine Flicker sat upright, smiling, one wing embracing each unicorn.

"I could go for some ice-cream right now," Starlight said after a few more minutes of silence. Then she looked up, and noticed there on the desk an ice-cream cone waiting for her. She blinked. "Sunburst?"

"Yes?" the unicorn replied, not taking his eyes off the floor.

"Did you teleport ice-cream inside?"

"I did not."

Starlight stayed silent a few breaths longer. "Then why is there ice-cream on the desk?"

Sunburst lifted his eyes and noticed the ice-cream cone on the desk, and the little metal stand with a hoop keeping it up. "I have absolutely no idea."

"You better get to it, Starlight. It will melt otherwise," Starshine said.

Starlight took the cone in her telekinesis, brought it to her lips, and gave a careful, experimental lick to the ice-cream. It was mint-flavoured, and it tasted good. She then turned to the pegasus. "Starshine, did you make the ice-cream appear?"

"No." Starshine shook her head.

Starlight went back to looking ahead and down, studying the floor, only now she was licking her ice-cream. A few minutes went by, and she finally finished the cone. She was smiling by the end of it. "You want this?" she asked to Sunburst, turning towards him and holding out the bottom part of the cone.

Sunburst looked at it, then back to the ground. "No, but thank you." As Starlight finished the bottom of the cone, he stuck out his hoof in some vague direction to his left, grasping at air. There he latched on to a mug, and pulled it back. It was black, and filled with chocolate. "Starshine? Did you make this mug appear?" he asked, turning towards the pegasus.

"I didn't," Starshine replied.

Sunburst looked back at the mug of chocolate, shrugged, then began to drink it. It was good. By the end of it, he was smiling too. He licked the top of his lips clean after he was done, and set the mug down beside his chair. "What the actual fuck is going on right now?"

"I have no idea," Starlight answered, just as cheerfully as the question had been asked.

"Do you two want to have sex again?" Starshine asked.

"Nah." Starlight got up. "Not now, at least. But I do want to figure out what's going on here."

"Oh, maybe I can help with that!" Starshine got up as well.

Sunburst followed just a moment later. "So where do we start?" he asked, lifting a few of the papers that had fallen onto the floor in his magic and placing them back on the clean corners of the desk. "We should probably..." He trailed off as he suddenly felt a pressure against his leg, and looked down to see a mop there, and a bucket of water. Picking the first up, he began to clean the desk where it was still wet. "We definitely do need to figure out what's causing this. But at least it's convenient."

Tunnel Vision

The unicorn sighed, shook his head, and closed the cupboard. "I can't poison my source of income, Lightning. It would be quite counterproductive."

"I'm not your source of income. The Princess is your source of income. You can keep making money even after I'm dead," Lightning Dust replied. She chewed on nothing, trying to get rid of the viscous sensation filling her mouth.

"Not if she finds out," the stallion replied. He opened another cupboard, this time above the sink, pulled out a glass and filled it with water. "And I'm pretty sure she will find out as soon as she asks you to make a new delivery. Kind of hard to pretend at that point, when you're no longer moving and all."

"Just act like I'm blackout drunk. Then run. You should make it across the border fast enough." The unicorn held out the glass for her, and she stared at it. "Please tell me that's vodka."

He looked at the glass, then at her. "Yeah, it's vodka."

Lightning snatched the glass with a wing and downed it in one sip. "You lied to me."

"You asked me to."

Lightning would have thrown the glass at him, but her wing was a little too sore for that. And her legs were out of the question, as long as she wanted to still be standing afterwards at least.

"I can't serve you alcohol this early, Lightning." The stallion took the glass from her and placed it on the table. "Like I said, I'd rather keep you safe."

The fact that her mouth was less dry and overall more normal after the drink made Lightning hold back most of her complaints. Not all of them, though. "It's not early. It's the middle of the afternoon, ponies are already starting to get drunk about now."

"It's early for you, you just woke up after all." The unicorn had meanwhile begun to search around the kitchen for something to eat. "What's up with that, anyway? Usually you manage to get out of bed before noon. Rough day yesterday?"

"Have you ever tried to outfly a storm?"

"Can't say I have."

"Good for you." Lightning chose to end that particular conversation there. She spent what felt like a moment looking at the ground, then a smell hit her nose and she looked up to see the unicorn cooking a couple of eggs in a pan. "What if I don't want them?"

"Then I'll eat them myself. Try to stop me."

Lightning sighed, then slowly made her way to the table in the middle of the kitchen. The world was finally stable enough for her to walk mostly straight, which she was quietly thankful for.

The unicorn looked back at her. "Don't you have any coffee around here?"

"My dad used to pour himself a shot of liquor inside his coffee, and another one in the cup afterwards to clean it. I live alone. I don't need to pretend I'm drinking coffee when I want to start my day on a double shot." Lightning sat down.

"You shouldn't drink so much with how important your job is."

"I'm not working today." The stallion served her the eggs, and she eyed them suspiciously. "And you aren't either right now, so you shouldn't be here."

"And pass up a chance to watch over your ass?" The stallion sat down in front of Lightning. "There are stallions and mares who'd pay for that, you know?"

That actually got a snicker out of Lightning. She began to eat her eggs. "Maybe I should charge you for it, then."

The stallion smiled. "Nah. At that point I'd probably go back to Soarin' instead, that's an ass I like looking over."

Lightning looked halfway up at him, lifting an eyebrow.

The unicorn looked back at her with a smirk. "Did you know he's a screamer?"

Lightning's laughing fit almost made her choke on the eggs she was eating. As the stallion promptly refilled her glass with water and passed it to her, she cleaned her mouth with a wing. "What's your name, anyway?" she asked, grabbing the glass as he passed it to her.

"Silver Spear," the stallion said. "Took you long enough to ask."

Lightningbringer - Part 1

It was raining, hard. The sky was near black, streaked with white and blue when lightning flashed through the clouds. Firecracker's coat, wings, mane and tail were soaked, heavy with water. Still, they kept flying, looking for a safe place to land. The shelter of the trees underneath was not enough with rain so heavy, and the side of the mountain was not a place they trusted with that weather. Lightning was one risk, but more than that they feared a mudslide or worse. If the storm kept going long enough, it was bound to happen.

And so the best thing to do was get away from there. Flying in the rain wasn't fun, but it beat walking through it on muddy ground, and was faster too. They had to keep low though, close to the treetops. The winds were too strong and unpredictable higher up, and losing control in mid air was the last thing they needed at that moment.

It came and it went before the pony had a chance to realise what had happened. One moment they were flying, the next everything had gone white and loud. A moment later, they were flying again. Breathing heavily from more than just the strain of moving their damp wings, they stopped and turned back, staring at the smoking tree still glowing orange where the lightning had struck it. The rain had already put out the fire itself, but the trunk was charred, like a giant ember embedded into the ground.

The lightning had barely missed the pegasus. They could have hovered there wondering how it was possible for them to be unscathed, but they decided it was a much better course of action to not stay still in the middle of the storm and leave the reflections for a later point in time. They turned again, still panting, and returned to flying away as fast as they could comfortably manage. The odds of being that close or closer to a lightning strike were probably low, but that was not a valid reason to tempt fate.

Firecracker didn't have much time to reflect on that either, though. Not a minute after, everything went white again. This time, they weren't flying when things cleared. The pegasus managed to catch themself just before hitting the top of the trees, and go back to a stable flying position after falling through the air. There was a ringing in their ears, and their breath was heavy, but nothing else felt any more wrong than what the rain already made it feel like. They actually took a moment to check their heartbeat, and make sure it was indeed still there.

Had they been hit? That couldn't be right. Maybe it had gone off right in front of them, and merely disoriented them. Being a pegasus meant being more resistant to electricity, but the little sparks of small pony-made clouds were not the same as what full storms put out, especially not natural, uncontrolled ones. As they mentally wandered on the issue and searched for the point where the lightning had landed, they happened to look up. This time, they actually saw the bolt come down. But by the time they realised where it was heading, it had already hit them in full.

Phase Shift

The grey pegasus walked down the road beside the field. There was a lone tree there, far to her left, surrounded by grass and fallen leaves. Its branches were almost barren at that point, still holding on to only a few red and yellow leaves that soon would fall too. She'd never quite understood why the tree had been left there, in the middle of the field. She supposed it was none of her business though, and after all she didn't mind. It provided shade in the summer, and it was nice to rest underneath it. And foals had fun running around it. And sometimes they climbed it as well, those branches were thankfully strong enough to hold a pony. A fully grown one as well, she was pretty sure she'd once seen Rainbow Dash napping on one of them.

She shook her head and turned back to staring at the road ahead. Better not to get distracted, especially not when she was walking. There was always the risk of tripping, and, while she wasn't carrying anything, a meeting between her body and the ground was something she would have preferred to avoid. She lowered her gaze to look at the road itself, watching her own steps. Her father had always told her to watch her step if she wanted to make sure not to trip and fall. It had shown to work, when she remembered to do it.

Yet somehow, that time, she tripped and fell either way. But she didn't fall towards the ground. Instead, she fell someplace else.

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.esoprup fo esnes a htiW .evisehoC .noitauqe na ro ,gnos a ekil tib a saw tI .ecalp ecin a saw tI .nellaf dah ehs taht saw yllautca ti reverehw ,ereht gnieb tuoba derehtob t'nsaw ehs tuB .hguoht saw taht trap hcihw erus yllaer t'nsaw ehS .reh fo trap rehto emos sa hcum os seye reh gnisu yllaer t'nsaw ehs ,noisserpmi gnorw eht evag dekool ti gniyaS .tlef ti ,kool yllaer t'ndid ti ebyam rO .tnereffid dekool tI .wonk ot mialc dluoc ehs ecalp a t'nsaw ti llits tub ,ni eb ot ecin etiuq tlef yllautca ti tcaf ni ,railimafnu leef t'ndid tI .htiw railimaf saw ehs ecalp a t'nsaw tI

The grey pegasus stepped out into the field, and promptly hit her head on the trunk of the tree. She sat down, groaning, and massaged her forehead. She'd barely missed it, she realised. She needed to be more careful, the next time she fell in there. She couldn't risk coming back out inside something. But she wasn't against the idea of falling there again, it looked rather nice after all.

Unia

Rainbow stared at the floating sphere in front of her, and at the red vine-like structure wrapped around it. "That can't be good," she said. "Should we do something about it?"

Luna, sitting beside her, studied the scene. "Perhaps. Perhaps not. I have seen similar things in the past, though nothing ever exactly like this. But then again, every pony's dreams are different, if similar to others'."

"What is it, exactly?" Rainbow asked, looking between the alicorn and the sphere.

There was a brief pause, during which Luna looked at Rainbow for a moment. "This pony is sick, right now. They're in a hospital bed, unconscious. Their life is not at risk for the time being, but it might be if things become worse." She stared at the red, vein-like vines wrapped around the sphere of the dreamscape she knew was Fluttershy's. "This is related to their illness, which itself is related to the Behemoth and the changes it has brought. But it's unclear how. If this is a symptom of it, or the cause of their physical symptoms, or if both are consequences of something else."

"So... Should we do something about it?" Rainbow asked again.

Luna smiled. "Perhaps, perhaps not. If this was indeed the cause of their problems, then yes, we should remove it. The doctors can't help them here, after all. But if this is merely a symptom, then removing it might be futile at best, and downright make things worse at worst. It might be a defense mechanism of their own psyche, and we may hurt them by intervening."

Rainbow looked between the sphere and Luna again. "So we just do nothing? I'm pretty sure that pony is having nightmares in there."

"Most definitely," Luna agreed. "But sometimes nightmares are needed. Like how a broken bone hurts when it's healing. Sometimes, going through some pain is necessary. It's like a fever. It's your body trying to solve the problem, and you should step in to stop it only to prevent it from going too far."

"But you still help in other ways," Rainbow objected.

"And this pony is being helped. They have doctors looking after them, and they are safe as of right now. I will notify their caretakers of what we found on this side, and discuss with them the best course of action going forward. We shouldn't act too hastily, not while the pony is not at risk and we might worsen things with our actions."

Rainbow bit her lower lip. "Dealing with dreams isn't usually this complicated, right?"

Luna chuckled. "Having second thoughts? No, it usually isn't. There are cases where a nightmare is better left undisturbed, but they aren't many. I'll make sure to take those on myself."

"But why? The nightmares, I mean. Why leave ponies to have them?"

Luna smiled fondly at Rainbow Dash. "Dreams are the place where we get to speak with ourselves without realising it. Some things need to be said, even when they're not pleasant to hear, or we wouldn't understand them when we're lucid."

Rainbow looked back at Luna. At first she slowly, softly nodded, then she subtly shook her head. "I don't think I get it."

Luna chuckled. "You will, one day."

Dymonds - Part 1

Rarity was sitting at the table in the kitchen when the front door opened. She just kept staring at the empty bottom of her glass as she heard the sound of footsteps walking from there to the room she was in, and only once they stopped did she look up towards the doorframe. "So it finally happened," she said. "I have finally gone insane. Took myself long enough." She went back to looking at her glass.

The other Rarity hesitated for a moment. She shared a brief look with Sweetie Belle, steadied herself, and stepped into the kitchen. Closing the door, she began to walk towards the table. She grabbed a chair for herself to sit on, but her eyes mostly stayed on her human self. Once she was sitting, she cleared her throat, to draw the other's attention.

Rarity looked up. "Oh, you're still here." She swallowed. "So this is less of a hallucination and more likely a dream. Or a vision, perhaps." She lowered a hand to her side, and pulled up a half-empty bottle of transparent liquor from the floor. "Do you want some, my less dishevelled and more sober self?"

The other Rarity eyed the bottle for a moment, then shook her head. "You're not even drinking wine anymore."

"It was a waste to drink that when I'm too drunk to taste it. And this gets me drunk faster." She placed the bottle back down, without pouring any of it for herself. "But I'm not yet drunk enough to imagine a conversation with myself today, and I haven't woken up yet so this is not a dream. Pony Rarity?"

The pony turned human Rarity nodded.

The human from birth Rarity smiled. "I understand you are quite the talented seamstress, but I fear there's no mending the tears of my heart. And please, tell Sunset that while I certainly do know how to appreciate myself, I am not in the mood for self love right now." She looked somewhere to the other Rarity's side. "I may be in the future though. And we..." She didn't finish the sentence. Her expression seemed to crumble and shatter like glass carelessly dropped, and she just stared at nothing, eyes suddenly lucid.

She waited a moment, uncertain, afraid of touching an open wound, but reminding herself that it was the reason she was there, the other Rarity asked, "Thinking about her?"

"Would I need to drink myself into forgetfulness if I could simply choose not to think about her?" The human Rarity looked at her counterpart across the table. "Always. I'm always thinking about her. I simply have long stretches where I fool myself into failing to notice that is the case. Then I realise she's still there in my head, and I can't do anything to get her out." She gave what sounded vaguely like a very dry, whispered laugh. "Don't think I'm holding back tears right now. I merely already ran out of those this morning."

There was a stretch of silence where the human Rarity looked at the other, while the pony turned human one awkwardly looked at the table, unsure of what to say right then. It was the one native to that dimension who broke the quiet, speaking again. "What's your Applejack like? What are things like between you and her?"

Transit

Sunburst set down the mop and the bucket. "Well, at least the desk is cleaned now." As Starlight began to reorder the papers that had been moved around in the commotion, he started to look around the room for clues of some kind. "Do you know any spells that might be useful here?"

"I think I remember one," Starlight replied. There was a thud, and Sunburst turned to see the other unicorn had bumped into a large book on the floor. She picked it up and opened it to the conveniently marked page. "Yep. It's this one." Starlight levitated the book over to Sunburst, who picked it into his own telekinesis and began to study the spell described in the page.

"Can I help with something?" Starshine asked, walking around the room and looking at the two unicorns. "Anything? I can do anything you two would like me to."

Starlight sighed. "No, and definitely not in the way you're suggesting." She looked up at Starshine, then almost jumped from the surprise. "Hey! When did you grow a horn?"

Hearing her, Sunburst turned towards Starshine as well, to notice she had indeed turned into an alicorn while neither one of them was looking. At the least, her mane and tail and coat were still the same style and colour as before. "Yeah. She does that." He returned to studying the book.

Starlight looked suspiciously at the alicorn, who just stared back at her with a smile and a hint of playful smugness. A wave of magical energy swept over the room, coming from Sunburst, and the two mares both turned towards him, waiting for answers.

"Nothing." The stallion shook his head, and set the book down. "At least now we know it's not traditional magic."

Starlight tapped her chin. "Maybe it's stage magic? Maybe someone else is here and they're secretly tricking us through a combination of misdirection, subtle hypnosis, and a complex system of mirrors and levers."

"And reading our minds?" Sunburst lifted an eyebrow for emphasis.

Starlight couldn't shake the feeling that his half-pouting expression reminded her of Rarity. "Well, maybe they've actually hypnotised us so completely that we're fully unable to notice their presence, and they can manipulate our perception of time as well."

"This isn't one of those books you read when Twilight isn't around, Starlight." Sunburst looked up at the ceiling, sighing. "I'd just like to get some answers on who's behind all of this." He turned, and found himself face to face with a tall mirror which had not been in the room ever before. It was too big to even fit through the door, he was pretty sure. His own reflection stared back at him, first surprised then unamused. "Very funny," he said, as dryly as possible.

Starlight looked at the mirror. "We'll have to find a place to put that."

Meanwhile, Starshine had placed herself at Sunburst's side, and was looking over her own reflection. "I look nice," she said, turning around to check out her other side.

"You don't know what you look like?" Sunburst asked, looking at her.

Starshine shook her head. "Only the broad strokes. It's hard when you keep changing." She ketp checking out her reflection.

Sunburst and Starlight shared a look.

Chameleon

Staring back at her from within the mare's eyes was a blue unicorn. Twilight's clone froze for a moment, and instinctively looked down at herself. The same purple coat she'd always had still covered her legs, and she still distinctly felt her wings on her back if she focused on them. It took a second for her to realise the other was still looking at her, expecting an answer. "Oh, I was just passing there, I'm doing some research around there," the alicorn blurted out.

"Oh? What kind of research?" the other mare asked, genuinely interested. "There's nothing there as far as I know, did you find something? I always heard it was just a swamp, and not exactly someplace you wanted to go near."

Twilight's clone took a step back. "Yeah, we found a cave there. Well, I mean, the cave was always there, you might have seen it on the maps, but now we found something in the cave." She'd been planning to move out of there anyway after her encounter with the stallion, at that point she was just trying to figure out how to deal with the situation she'd been thrown in as best she could. "We think someone might have been using the place not too long ago. There are traces of magic there, and some more evident signs of physical presence. Broken stalagmites and such." She lowered her tone, letting herself more comfortably slip into the lie she was telling. "There's some speculation it might be where Queen Chrysalis and the others were hiding before they attacked." The disgust on her face as she said that name she didn't need to fake.

The other mare looked impressed. "Well, thank you again for taking time to take care of him. I'm Scarlet Ribbon, by the way." She turned back towards the stallion, who was sitting and looking at the two of them.

"Blue Spark," Twilight's clone replied. It didn't matter if Scarlet ever found out she'd lied about everything, she would be looking for a pony that probably didn't exist. And if they did, all the better, they weren't her. At most, if the whole thing came up, it would be assumed to be the work of changelings. But there was still one pony who could trace back to her. She began to walk behind Scarlet, keeping her eyes on the stallion. "Mind if I have a look around town?" she asked. "Now that I'm here, I might as well."

"I don't see why not," Scarlet replied. They reached the stallion, and she gave him an uncertain look. "We need to talk, later." She walked past him, though she seemed hesitant for some reason.

Twilight's clone reached him as well, just as he was getting up to follow the other mare. She held him for just a moment, to make sure there was some distance between them and Scarlet, then she whispered in his ear as they both walked towards the town, "What is going on?"

"We're walking towards the town," he serenely replied.

The alicorn held back a growl. "Not that!" she hissed. "Me, you, the fact that Scarlet there sees me as a unicorn, your puzzles. What's all of this about? Things stopped making sense the moment you stepped into my life, and I want answers."

"Oh, that." The stallion looked at her. "Just wait a few minutes, okay? I'll tell you about it when we're alone."

Following your breadcrumb trail to my madness

It was a short bridge, over a river not too wide, near the middle of town. It wasn't an old or historically significant bridge, though it wasn't particularly new either. It wasn't really a bridge anyone had much reason to care about, beyond caring for the fact that it was there and they could walk over it. So when the bridge stopped being there, it wasn't met with any kind of particular despair, but it still provoked all those feelings of annoyance and worry that a bridge collapsing would reasonably cause.

It happened in the middle of the night, while no one was there. No one got hurt from it. But a bridge falling was something that needed an explanation, especially if it had done so on its own, and so research was done to figure out what had happened. It took a bit, not too long but at least a couple days, to make sure all the pieces were recovered. Some had fallen in the river and needed to be pulled out. At least they'd been too heavy to get carried away by the lazy current.

At the end of it, the ponies in charge of checking concluded that there had been something wrong with the support beams underneath the bridge. The something wrong being that they lacked a structurally integral section. Not in the sense that they had been built without one, but in the sense that that portion had no longer been there when the bridge had collapsed. More than one beam had been reduced to a set of two opposing ends, without a middle to connect them. Not broken, not torn off, it looked like an impossibly clean cut and the middles just weren't there. Nor anywhere else, for that matter, no matter how hard they were searched for.

For a while, ponies just accepted it. After all some reason had to exist for what had happened, even if they couldn't figure out what it was. Spontaneously disappearing chunks of matter was not exactly a structural flaw or natural event that could be planned against, so the bridge was rebuilt and that was that. The most accepted theory was that it had probably been a unicorn who'd for some reason stolen the beams. No one had any idea why they might have done that, but it was the most reasonable explanation.

And the citizens would have probably forgotten all about it, given enough time, had it not been for what happened to the town hall a week and a half later. Again, it happened during the night, and only at dawn did the ponies notice the results. There were holes in the building's front wall, rectangular, the edges clean. Sections missing from the sides of the decorative columns flanking the entrance. One hole in the roof, too. It was a work too complex and precise to have been done with anything other than magic, in a single night and silently.

Unlike with the bridge, though, the damage done to the town hall came with a signed note.

Take a Good Luck in the Mirror

Twilight's clone stared at the window, watching Scarlet walk away from her house. She was going to warn a friend that they'd found the stallion again, and the alicorn had offered to keep an eye on him while she went do that. Once the mare was far enough, Twilight's clone had another look around the room, then her eyes set on the only other pony in it, sitting at the same table as she was. "We're alone now."

"We are," he replied.

The alicorn held back a growl. "The explanation, remember? Puzzles, me and you, your friend seeing me as a unicorn? What's going on?" She put emphasis on the last part, letting go of her hold on her temper for a moment.

"Oh, right, that, sorry." The stallion swallowed. "Would you like something to drink?"

"I could kill you now and no one would ever know it was me."

"But you won't." He got up from his chair and began to walk towards another room. "I'll be right back," he said, and sure enough he came back just a few seconds later, holding a bottle of water. He took a sip as he sat down again. "Because I have answers you want."

Twilight's clone tilted her head to a side. "Spit it out, then."

"No rush." The stallion tapped on the table like one would on a typewriter. "Like we've established, the things you could learn from me are the what's keeping me alive right now, aside from your obvious desire not to leave traces behind. We've also established that I'm the only one who can tell you're actually you. Once you have nothing left to learn, you may very well decide getting rid of the only pony who can recognise you is worth a murder that no one can trace back to you. I just want some insurance." He threw a glance towards the window.

Twilight's clone breathed once, slowly. "You're a smart one, aren't you?"

"Nah. But I'm not an idiot either. And I'm not crazy. They call me crazy, you see. I'm not crazy. I know the things I see are actually there." The stallion sighed, then shook his head and tapped the table again. "Well, anyway," he cheerfully picked up again, "I must say I am extremely excited to finally meet another one! Oh, goodness, I thought I was the only one for a while. This is refreshing."

Taken aback by the sudden mood shift, Twilight's clone tilted her head the other way. "Another one? Another one of what?"

"Of us!" The stallion pointed at her chest. "You see that, well, no, no you can't see that, of course not, I think I'm the only one who sees those, but still, it's there. I should probably explain it to you, you have no idea what I'm talking about. I forget about that, I still have trouble remembering others don't see what I see. It's there, a coil wrapped around your heart, like it is around mine."

The alicorn looked at herself, without seeing anything but her usual purple coat. "A coil?"

The stallion nodded. "Oh, now I wonder how many others are out there. There ought to be a few, right?"

Before You

"But anyway." The stallion shook his head again. "You can't see it. Right. That's right, you can't see it. Maybe I should find a way to show you. I can probably find a way to show you. I should be able to find a way to show you. Give me a moment." He bent to the side, as the alicorn looked on in confusion, and there he fidgeted with the top of one of the table's legs. A moment later the leg opened, a sheet of something slid out, and the leg closed again. "That was lucky," he said, picking the thing up and passing it to Twilight's clone. "I wasn't actually sure it would work. Still learning to control it and all."

Twilight's clone took hold of the sheet in her magic. It was far heavier than paper or parchment, but still just as flexible. Almost like some combination of metal and paper. One side was dark grey, slightly reflective. The other held a picture of her silhouette in shades of grey, indistinguishable from Princess Twilight's, with some parts inside her highlighted. Some of the lines she was pretty sure didn't match up with any organ or system. In particular though, her heart has clearly visible, and there was something wrapped around it, pictured in a lighter shade of grey. It looked a bit like a small snake, or perhaps an abnormally large worm. But she could make out no details.

"That's what I see," the stallion said, drawing her attention away from the image. "You can keep it. Sell it as an art piece once you've left this town, pretend it's a portrait of the real Twilight. Someone will probably buy it, and you need the bits." He nodded towards her. "Of course, that's not all of what I see. I see that in colour, by the way, the lines are mostly yellow, but this table only does greyscale. But anyway I see it on top of the rest or maybe inside it if that makes sense, the rest which I assume is what you also see. Aside from you changing, because I don't think you see that, but I do also see it. You are a very nice shade of blue. I wouldn't notice the wings if it wasn't for the wires."

Twilight's clone instinctively ruffled her wings as he mentioned them. She lifted a hoof. "Focus on this. Focus on what's going on. That part about me changing. Explain that. That's what I care about right now." She figured making it really clear could help stir the stallion's speech towards the desired direction.

"Well, what I think happened," the stallion said with a hoof under his chin, "is that you accidentally set it to work on everyone except yourself. Accidentally being a relative term, I'm pretty sure you didn't know what you were doing. Neither did I the first times, I'm still figuring it out right now. But I did see that you're like me, see, I see that stuff inside of me too, well, that and the thing I swallowed which I think is called a scale or at least that's what I've heard them referred to as. Mine is currently embedded in my stomach. Not my smartest decision but I had no pockets at the time. It hurts a lot before hailstorms but thankfully we never have those around here."

"Can we get back to the topic of my appearance and its changes?" the exasperated alicorn asked, almost hissed.

"Yeah, sorry, I remember, yes. We'll need a mirror for this next part."

Speak

"So, you see yourself as yourself right now, right?" asked the stallion. "Don't worry about Scarlet, she won't be back soon. If I know her, she's having tea with Silver right now. She always has tea with Silver when she goes there to visit, mostly because Silver keeps a jar of cookies there on the table and Scarlet can pretend that breaking her diet by eating from there is a form of courtesy towards Silver. Silver Lace, I don't think Scarlet actually mentioned her name to you, she's a friend. We used to always call her Silver Lace back when we were young, but Silver Spear doesn't live around here any longer so we don't need to specify. I do wonder what he's up to these days."

Twilight's clone cleared her throat, to draw back his attention. "Yes, I do see myself as myself right now." They had moved to the kitchen, and the stallion had brought down a mirror for her to stand in front of.

"Sorry, got distracted again." The stallion shook his head. "Well, first thing first, you should try to turn it off."

"Turn what off?" Twilight's clone glared at him, lifting an eyebrow.

"...It," said the stallion. "I'm not actually sure what it is. I'm not even sure you feel it the same way I do, in fact I suspect that's not the case at all. But there should be something you can feel somewhere inside you, maybe like a switch. You need to learn to recognise that."

"Not feeling anything different right now," Twilight's clone replied. The stallion clearly wasn't as crazy as she might have originally assumed, but he wasn't all there mentally either, and she was hesitant to trust everything he said. She had to hope she could get something out of him that she could work with.

The stallion sat down, a hoof under his chin. "Hmm. I'm guessing it is sort of like a switch for you. Once it's set you can't really pin it down. If you could force it to change you'd probably notice where it is, now that you're paying attention. Maybe if we figure out how you did it the first time?" He looked up at her. "Do you remember when you changed, back in the woods, just before we got to the edge of town? When I pointed out you'd changed? Did you do something before that point? It can't have happened much sooner than that."

Twilight's clone thought about it for a moment. "There was... I thought about needing to not be seen, by anyone else. That can't be it, right? You're telling me I can just think up something like this?"

"You did watch me pull a bowl of soup out of a tree trunk. I thought your disbelief was sufficiently suspended at this point, with the picture coming out of the table leg and all."

Twilight's clone looked at the stallion, her expression bothered mostly by the fact that she didn't have an argument against what he'd said. "So should I just think about looking like something else, or not doing it, or anything of that?"

The stallion shrugged. "Won't hurt to try, no?"

Burn

Vignette eyed over the email. It looked professional enough, as far as an email could look professional. She'd double checked, and she was certain it was all legit too. The place was booked, the tickets were sold out. But something about the whole thing still rubbed her the wrong way.

There was no footage of the band online. Oh, she'd heard about her fair share of bands dedicated to making sure that none of their material was available anywhere, but even that had a limit. Something always slipped through the cracks and ended up online, in some dark shady corner of a less known website. She knew where to look for that. And yet, she'd found nothing still.

A part of her suspected it was all a farce. Hype built around the mystery of what the performance would be like, with an underwhelming payoff once she actually got there. On the other hand, it wasn't the first concert the band had put up. If it really was all marketing and no substance, people would have been talking about it.

So maybe there was something there. And even if there wasn't, she would just be wasting an evening, so it wasn't a big deal. Maybe she could get something out of it either way. If it truly was nothing worth seeing, she could just expose the whole thing on social media. No way they would manage to shut her up, and besides they were the ones inviting her there in the first place. They clearly wanted her to talk about it afterwards, and they'd get it!

She tried a smile. The argument made sense to her. But she still wasn't convinced. She lay back in her couch, thinking about it. There was something off about the whole thing, something she wasn't comfortable with, but she still wasn't sure what it was. She thought the whole thing over once again. Maybe she should ask for something more. If they really wanted her they would send something, and if they didn't get back to her she just wouldn't go.

Much to her surprise, the answer to her request came only minutes after. Even more surprising, it contained what looked like a performance from the group. Curious, she fetched her earphones and slid them in, then clicked play on the video.

Four minutes later, Vignette had decided she would go to the concert, and she wondered why she'd ever thought she might not go.

Again

Thinking certainly wasn't going to hurt, the stallion had a point there. Twilight's clone tried, if a bit lazily, to envision herself as something else as she watched her image in the mirror. Nothing seemed to happen, but then again she'd been seeing herself as herself all along. She turned to the other, questioningly lifting an eyebrow.

The stallion looked back at her. After a few seconds of silence, he blinked. "Sorry, was something supposed to happen? Did I miss something?"

Twilight's clone grit her teeth and channelled her frustration into a sharp inhale. "I don't know, did something happen? I haven't noticed any changes, but I didn't notice it the first time either."

The stallion cocked his head to the side. "No. Doesn't look any different to me. Though it might look different to someone else, I can't tell you that. I can't see the world the way another pony sees it, much less the way another creature might. Not that anyone can, actually, barring some very advanced types of magic of course. Things would go a lot more smoothly in the world if everyone could just see things as others see them at will."

"Can we get back on topic before Scarlet gets back here?" Twilight's clone asked. She was starting to get mildly nervous about running out of time, considering she was in the kitchen with a mirror that didn't belong there and a pony she needed to eventually shut up one way or another.

"Oh? Oh, right." The stallion perked up. "What exactly did you try to do?"

"Visualise myself as something different, I guess. I was going for a pegasus this time," Twilight's clone replied.

"And it didn't work. There must be something different from how you did it the first time. It must have been instinctual there, maybe the thought was just the catalyst. Maybe it's a matter of need." The stallion frowned, deep in thought, and his tone lowered. "It must be. For me, it's about enjoyment. But for you, it must be a matter of survival."

Twilight's clone cleared her throat. "Hello? Still trying to help me?"

"Your voice sounds different too. It might be useful for you to know that." The stallion looked back up at her. "I can already recognise you. I know you're you, and I'll always know you're you. You don't need to be hiding from me."

Twilight's clone paused to think about that. He had a point. Even if she wasn't consciously aware of and controlling her camouflage, the fact remained that it was useless with the stallion. Unnecessary, unneeded. There was a faint click, somewhere within her, and she noticed the stallion was suddenly smiling. "Did something happen?" she asked, a tingle of excitement rushing down her back for the first time in quite a while.

"You're purple and winged again, to me at least," the stallion replied. "So I'd say it did. This reminds me, by the way, do you have a real name? Not the lie you told Scarlet. I can't keep calling you Princess Twilight's copy in my head."

Twilight's clone was silent for a moment. "What is your name, anyway?"

A Bout

"Did it work?" the stallion asked, noticing the shift in the alicorn's expression.

Twilight's clone took a few moments to answer, looking herself over in the mirror first. "Yes, it did," she finally said.

The stallion excitedly tapped his hooves against the floor. "Do you think you can manage to replicate it now?"

Standing still once again, Twilight's clone fixed her eyes on her reflection in the mirror, and focused on what she'd felt a moment before. It wasn't an immediate process, but between the better understanding of what was going on inside her and the way she'd learned to push her powers she shortly after managed to flick back to her regular self, then to switch back and forth between the two until she'd quickly mastered the process. She tried for a different shape and found she could pull it off with little difficulty. Smiling, she cast a glance towards the stallion and changed the way he saw her. "Does that answer your question?"

"Hurray!" The stallion gave a brief prance around the room. "Oh, you should tell me all about what else you find later. Can I get rid of the mirror now?"

Twilight's clone thought about it for just a moment. "Yeah, sure." It was only useful for checking changes to how she viewed herself, but she'd already managed to get those under control, and if she really needed she could always just look down.

The stallion began to carry away the mirror, back up the stairs. As he did, Twilight's clone began to mentally fiddle with the controls of her power. That was how she envisioned it, in her head. It was kind of like using magic, in a sense, precisely controlling something that wasn't physically there. She would probe around, bump into something, and slowly build up a mental image of what she could and couldn't do with her newfound ability. Some of it would need to be verified with another creature, but she was pretty sure she had a good idea of what it all did, testing could wait for later.

The sound of hoofsteps down the stairs reminded her that she did have a test subject there, but not one who would be particularly useful. And given how much she'd already learnt from him about herself, she wondered if the possible uses she could have out of him still outweighed the risks of keeping him around. She turned towards the stallion with a grin, just as he stepped back into the room.

He spoke first. "If you're thinking about ending me, I suggest you do a magic scan on me first." He casually walked up to her.

Frowning slightly, partly out of surprise, Twilight's clone did as he asked. Then, she froze.

"I told you it was there." The stallion smiled at her. "I don't know how much you've heard about scales, but I'm sure you can figure out by yourself what would happen if you weren't careful around this thing. And it just so happens I managed to hook this one up to my vital signs. Assuming you don't care about the house being destroyed, do you think you can teleport away quickly enough not to get caught?"

Twilight's clone stared at him. "I could teleport you inside a mountain and let you blow up there."

"And do you trust I don't have other precautions set up for that? That I don't have a way to tell the world about you, after what you've seen? Isn't it safer to buy my silence at this point?"

The alicorn swallowed. "What do you want?"

You Better Believe

Sunset walked into the waiting room, pen and clipboard in hand and eyes fixed on the latter. Then she looked up. "Oh, hey Trixie. I didn't know you'd be auditioning as well."

The girl sat with her arms and legs crossed on one of the plastic and metal chairs lining the walls. She looked back at Sunset, then lifted her chin and huffed with her characteristic, overplayed air of superiority. "The Great and Powerful Trixie's talents would be wasted on a band like the Rainbooms. Don't get any strange ideas, I have no interest in joining you."

Sunset softly tapped the back of the pen against her lips, looking at Trixie with an amused expression. "Why are you here, then?"

Trixie didn't drop her snobby pose, arguably she pushed it further by looking away from Sunset. But the tone of her voice betrayed her, even as she tried to mask it. "I may be in need of a car ride later. And I may have no money for the bus on me right now. So I thought I could give one of you peasants the privilege of driving the Great and Powerful Trixie to her desired location." Her trademark smugness returned to her as she got to the last part, and then she turned to Sunset, continuing, "And I thought I could amuse myself by seeing some less talented musicians struggle for a position that I would be overqualified for."

Sunset smiled, shook her head, and gave something halfway between a chuckle and a sigh in response. "I'm free later, I'll drive you where you need to go." Pretending not to see the evident signs of relief on Trixie's face, she asked, "So you think you'd be too good for this? I didn't even know you played the bass."

Trixie gave another huff. "It's just a guitar with less strings. I don't see what could be so difficult about it. I'll have you know the Great and Powerful Trixie easily performs with a nine string guitar."

"I mean, if you really need the extra strings to cover for what you can't do with your hands..." Sunset let the thread drop once she almost physically felt the daggers of venom Trixie was glaring at her. "Still. If you're that good, would you mind giving us a show? It will still take a bit before anyone else gets here, we have the time for it."

Trixie suddenly seemed to choke. "I wouldn't want to warp your expectations," she said. "No other performance could compare after witnessing my talents, and it wouldn't be fair to those poor souls who are trying to join your little band."

"The same little band that beat yours last time?" suddenly came Rainbow's voice from the same door Sunset had walked in from, the blue girl leaning against its frame with a grin on her face.

Trixie stood up at that. "I was supposed to be the winner, and you know it! The judging was rigged!" She pointed a finger at Rainbow as menacingly as she could.

"And what about the time I beat you at the guitar shop?" Rainbow kept on teasing, as Sunset watched on, unsure of whether she should have been amused or worried.

"Well, I technically won that one!" Trixie retorted. "You ran away once you realised your tricks were no match for my talent." She looked to the side, swishing her hair, eyes closed and hands on her hips.

Rainbow pushed herself off the doorframe with a flex of her shoulders, and stared straight at Trixie. "Rematch?"

"Oh, it is on!"

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Twilight, lying on her back, stared up at Rainbow Dash. "This is a dream, isn't it?"

"Yep." The pegasus gave a nod. "In case the multiple instances of Celestia's detached head didn't give that away." She gave a look around the red lake, and at the heads floating in it.

Twilight just shrugged, still floating on the surface of the lake.

"No, seriously, is it something you ate? I don't think dreaming of this kind of thing is normal." Rainbow looked back to Twilight.

Twilight shrugged again. "It must have been something I read."

Rainbow was silent for a moment. "Okay then. I guess this doesn't really count as a nightmare, so I should probably leave. Leave you to your weird existential dread and symbology."

Looking at the purple sky above them, Twilight asked, "Will I remember this?"

"Figuring out it was a dream?" Rainbow began to walk away. "Nah. You'll remember me being here with my armour, but it'll register as part of the dream. You'll forget the contents of the conversation."

Twilight took a breath. "You didn't tell me you'd picked up dreamwalking."

"And I don't plan to until I have to," came Rainbow's distant reply.

Then the pegasus was gone, and the green star shining in the sky disappeared behind the mountains of bones on the horizon. Red holes dotted the orange canvas of the alien night sky, and screams echoed from beyond them. And Twilight's body floated on, occasionally bumping against one of Celestia's heads, as the current lazily brought her towards the gate.

4113

Fluttershy opened her eyes, and was greeted with the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling. Her body felt oddly sore, like after intense physical strain, and her throat was dry. She was on her back, and her wings were slightly uncomfortable in that position, but not too much so. She could have sat up, but she was fairly certain it would have hurt more than it was worth. She did hope she could have some water soon, though.

She was a bit cold, despite the cover on top of her, yet she felt like she'd been sweating. Her head didn't properly hurt, but it still didn't feel right. Like she was still half asleep, or maybe in pain, distracted by something. She was smart enough to recognise what it was like to have a fever, though that didn't mean she could do much about it, nor make herself more lucid. She did recognise she was in a hospital bed while looking around, though she wasn't capable of giving the knowledge of the fact the worry it deserved.

She laid her head on the pillow, sighing. There wasn't really much she could do, besides lying there and waiting. She didn't feel like getting up with how her limbs and body felt, and she knew it wasn't a good idea to do so in her conditions anyway. The best thing to do was to wait for someone else to arrive and tell her what exactly was going on with her. She vaguely remembered something that had happened before she'd ended up there, but it was all a blur and she couldn't quite place down when she'd passed out, or what had happened around that point.

She tried to swallow, achieving only a moderate success. Her eyes felt heavy. She wondered if she would fall asleep by closing them again.

EFTC

Sunburst sighed as he stepped past the mirror. "Starlight, call me if you figure something out here. I'll go have a look around the school. Maybe there's something to find there." He was mostly trying to get away from the room. Starlight knew that, but she couldn't blame him for it. And he wasn't wrong, really, it was better to look for clues elsewhere than to waste time there when they didn't have any idea what to do.

The mare nodded as she looked around the room again. "And you call me if you find anything out there." She watched him walk out the door, then sighed. "Starshine, you're staying here, right?" she asked. But the alicorn had already disappeared, and Starlight was left looking left and right in confusion.

In the corridor, Sunburst suddenly heard a second set of hoofsteps join his own at his side, just slightly behind him. He stopped, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "Starshine Flicker?" It wasn't really a question, but he could still pretend he wasn't sure it was her.

"Sunburst?" Starshine's familiar voice asked back. It was always the same voice no matter what the pony looked like, one of the few consistent things alongside her name and cutie mark. Sunburst wasn't sure if he should have been happy or unnerved by that fact.

The hoofsteps had stopped, and so the unicorn opened his eyes and turned to his left. The alicorn's face looked back at him, a serene smile plastered onto it. "You te-" Sunburst began, but immediately cut himself off. He then resumed, correcting himself. "You materialised in the hallway. No teleportation there."

"You don't know that," Starshine said, quickly, before the unicorn had a chance to go on.

"I didn't hear the pop."

"I could have cast a silence spell in advance."

Sunburst lifted an eyebrow, but chose not to pursue that particular train of arguments. Instead, he went back to his original thread. "First off, please don't do that again, it's creepy. Even by your standards. Second, why? Why are you following me?"

"Would you rather have me disappear?" asked Starshine.

"I'd rather have you stay with Starlight," Sunburst replied.

There was a pause, and a conflicted expression on Starshine's face that Sunburst had never seen her with. "I can't do that," the alicorn said. "Either with you or nowhere."

At first Sunburst wanted to ask why she couldn't stay with Starlight. What Starshine said made him change his mind and ask something else instead. "What do you mean when you say nowhere?"

"Nowhere," Starshine simply replied. There wasn't any worry in her voice. She seemed as calm as ever, and her expression had gone back to her usual serene one. "But you'd rather keep an eye on me, so I'm here."

"But what do you mean when you say nowhere?" Sunburst pressed on.

Starshine rolled her eyes. "Literally nowhere. No place. You silly creatures of physical matter and your inability to properly process and visualise the concept of non-existence." She sighed, like a mother dealing with her child would. "Just accept it, trust me. Your head will thank me."

My Dream's but a Drop of Fuel for a Nightmare

The sounds around her were deafening. Screams and howls and moans, and deep and distorted strings and artificial, digital beeps moving in pitch and brought to the highest intensity. A cacophony that rumbled through and along the walls, down from the too high to see peaks of the stadium she stood at the centre of yet all around her in the barren and claustrophobically narrow corridor she was simultaneously kneeling in. And it was enough to drown her, and Adagio was drunk on it.

And the seats of the stadium were all full, but the place was empty, and the people spoke but their mouths didn't open, and they cheered but their faces were still and grey. And Adagio sank down through the sound, naked, music filling her lungs as she struggled to breathe. And her body touched the bottom and still she couldn't draw breath, and her head began to pulse but there was nothing she could do about it.

The weight of the screams and music above crushed her down, and she was forced to crawl over the naked bodies that made up the bottom of the abyss. They looked almost like statues, their skin preserved pale and hairless but intact, their faces always hidden from her. And as she dragged herself forward her skin too began to lose its colour, her hair losing its shape and shade and draping down over her back. Her nails lost their polish, and her vision went blurry.

But still she pushed forward, as her muscles grew weaker and her body lost weight. And the pressure grew, and it pierced through her skin, and the sound entered her blood and she was being torn apart at the seams and her body splintered. And Adagio took the music in her lungs and screamed, and her voice joined the sound and her body became one with the cacophony. And she was sound and music and she spun and swam faster through the ocean and she gathered more sound with her.

And Adagio was a storm rising over the seas, and she ripped the corpses from the bottom and crushed them and pushed them together and a star ignited inside her from the mass of death she gathered, and in a burst of light and melody in the eye of the storm the black and grey star of death collapsed and her new body was born. And her body was power and beauty and form and sound and music and matter and it gleamed a light of its own.

And her steps on the shore were like glass bells singing in harmony, and she walked towards the throne of rock and bone and flesh that was one with the island and with the whole of the world. And Adagio sat on the throne and the throne pierced into her body and spread through her, and Adagio was one with her throne and one with pleasure, and her face distorted into a smile as she and the throne fully consumed each other.

Imaginations from the Other Side - Episode 5

"Well, that was a thing," Rainbow said, reclining in her seat by the window.

"Yep." Pinkie nodded from behind the counter. "And he had a thread going there for a bit. That was unexpected."

"And..." Sitting in front of Pinkie, Twilight sighed. "I don't wanna say bad, because it wasn't really bad, but it's weird that he'd focus on that. With everything else that's going on and everything he could focus on, it's weird that he'd spend so long on that. It doesn't seem as important as some of the other stuff."

"But would it have felt rushed if he had given it less time?" Rarity interjected from her chair on Twilight's right. "That's what we should be asking here. That part didn't feel like it dragged on, at least not to me. Those two characters were interacting, and their interactions were given their needed time."

Twilight wrinkled her lips for a moment. "Just because you can't imagine something better, that doesn't mean something better isn't possible. Who's to say a better writer couldn't have gotten the same information across just as clearly in half the words?"

"Twilight?" Rainbow waited a moment before continuing, to make sure the alicorn was looking at her. "If you don't like it, why do you keep reading it?"

Twilight had a false start before she actually said, "I don't dislike it either. And I want to like it. And I've read it all the way here and-"

"Sunk cost fallacy?" asked Fluttershy, who was sitting to Twilight's left. "If that's what's keeping you, you should realise that this thing is probably not even a tenth of the way through yet. If you want to jump ship, now's your time."

"It's not just that," Twilight replied. "There's some stuff I like in there. And there's stuff I'm interested in, and I want to see where it goes. That's why it annoys me when not only do we get nothing new on the things we've already established are there, we instead have to take time establishing even more stuff. And the bigger the pile of threads grows, the more do my doubts that it'll all be satisfyingly weaved together."

Pinkie nodded. "She's got a point there."

"Well, at the least we do seem to be getting mostly updates on things we know recently," Rarity said, picking up her drink. "Or ones that don't add new stuff."

"I guess you're right." Twilight took a sip from hers. "There was that one chapter about the bridge though. That one's new."

"That is new," Rarity agreed. "And weirdly floating there on its own. But I guess we'll see where things go with that."

"Still waiting for the next update on the hospital." Twilight took another sip. Then she looked around the interior of Sugarcube Corner. "Has anyone seen Applejack?"

The four other mares all shook their heads. Fluttershy pursed her lips. Rainbow gave a dismissive wave, and said, "She's probably just taking care of her orchard."

Twilight thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Still Life

Fluttershy watched the tips of her feathers. "Is this going to be permanent?" she asked.

Twilight paused for a moment, and followed the direction of Fluttershy's gaze. "Oh, that. We don't know, actually. Same with the mane. It's not bothering you though, right?"

Fluttershy was taken aback for a moment. She pushed her mane in front of her eyes, and for the first time noticed the red streak still shot through it. "Oh, I didn't even see that." She shook her head, letting her mane fall back to her shoulders. "No, it's not a bother." She looked back to her wings, the tips of their feathers still blue.

"Good." Twilight nodded. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright." Fluttershy leaned back against her pillow. "Really. I feel fine."

"That is good to hear," Twilight said. "Are you sure? No light headaches or fatigue or anything else like that? Even if it's something minor, you should tell us about it."

Fluttershy nodded reassuringly. "I'm sure, Twilight. I'm just fine."

Twilight seemed to clench her jaw for a moment. "I believe that. Sorry, I'm still a little frazzled after the whole thing. It's not every day one of your friends falls ill to an unknown magical disease with no clue as to how bad it will affect her."

Fluttershy giggled in response. "I understand that. But there are a lot of things like that recently. Things you would have called rare if not unique once. When something starts coming up every other day, maybe it's time we re-evaluate what is and isn't unusual."

Twilight gave a sour smile. "I suppose you're right. This is the world we live in now." She sighed. "I'm glad you're alright. You'll still need to go through a few tests to make sure you actually are all right before you can get out, but I'm still glad everything seems to be resolved."

Fluttershy nodded again. "I'm sure it will all be fine. Don't worry about it." She looked towards the closed window on the opposite side of the room. "What time is it now? My internal clock is all over the place after all the unintentional sleeping."

It was Twilight's turn to chuckle. "Unintentional sleeping is a light way of putting it. It's late in the afternoon, why do you ask?"

"Will the tests have to be done immediately? I'd like to take a short nap first, if possible."

Twilight cocked an eyebrow. "After all the sleeping you've already done?"

"That wasn't proper sleeping," Fluttershy replied. "And this bed is very comfy," she added, moving side to side and digging herself deeper into the pillow to emphasise her point.

"Are you absolutely sure you're feeling well? No bouts of sleepiness or sudden fatigue or-"

"Twilight." Fluttershy looked at her friend. "I know myself. And right now I just want to take a nap."

Twilight sighed. "Sorry. You're right. I better leave you to it then, you probably need it." She stood up, and headed for the door, turning off the lights. "See you soon."

"See you." Fluttershy waited for the door to be closed, then did the same with her eyes. She just hoped she would have enough time.

Wall of Sound

"Okay. So you go to the bartender, and you order a cup of hot cocoa and a glass of pear juice. The bar has a fridge, so the juice is still fresh, cold even. Let's ignore the problem of space, let's say there's enough space in both the cup and the glass. Just ignore it, there's not less chocolate or pear juice in them to make room. They're a magical cup and glass or something. Now, which drink do you pour in which? Do you put the chocolate in the pear juice or the pear juice in the chocolate?"

Indigo Zap silently stared through the shadows of the night at the ceiling above her. After a few seconds, she finally spoke. "Lemon, it's two in the morning, what the fuck are you on about?"

"I think you pour the pear juice in the chocolate. If you do the opposite then you run the risk of the chocolate all clogging together as it goes back to being solid, so you end up with one big lump of chocolate floating in the pear juice. And even if it doesn't, it'll still all fall to the bottom. And then it will get awkward when you try to drink it, and who likes cold hot cocoa anyway? It's in the name! But if you pour the pear juice in the chocolate instead, you'll get this pocket of juice in the middle of the chocolate while the one around stays hot, and then you get to drink them together. It's a lot better that way."

"Lemon I will actually physically choke you with a pillow until you pass out if you don't let me sleep." Despite saying that, Indigo didn't move, keeping the same position atop her bed.

"Oh, choking. Kinky," Lemon replied. "Do you want me to call you Mommy while you do it? Hey, do you think there's a guy out there who has both a Mommy kink and one for being called Daddy, and he has both things going on while he's with a girl? At that point it just sounds like you're roleplaying a couple with a child but with extra steps to get there. There ought to be someone into that though. I mean there are a lot of guys into the whole Daddy thing, do you know anyone who might be into the Mommy thing?"

"Sunburst, probably."

Lemon clicked her tongue. "Huh. Why?"

"Have you seen his mother?" Indigo asked.

"She hot? Actually scratch that, don't answer, your answer is always yes. You'd fuck anything with tits between the ages of sixteen and sixty."

"Like you wouldn't."

Lemon sighed. "I suppose you're right." A moment of silence stretched on. "How have we not fucked each other yet?"

"We've both been drunk enough to not remember anything the morning after at least once. We might have."

"We might have," Lemon agreed. "Still. We don't remember it. We ought to fix that at some point."

"Maybe." Indigo yawned. "Just let me sleep for now. We can talk about this tomorrow."

Replica

"What building do you think it's going to go for first? The one on the left or the one on the right?"

"Our left and right or its left and right?"

"Our."

Pinkie put a hoof under her chin, squinting towards the tall mass of writhing tentacles in the distance. "I'm gonna say right."

Pinkie nodded. "Same."

The two sat in silence for a bit, watching the creature slither and squirm forward, ever closer to the edge of the ruins.

Suddenly, one of them spoke up. "Say, do you happen to have a brother or two that you've never mentioned to anyone else?"

The other Pinkie Pie looked at her. "Why? Do you have a brother or two you've never mentioned to anyone else?"

"Maybe." Pinkie side-eyed Pinkie. "And you?"

Pinkie turned her face back towards the tentacles, but her eyes stayed on Pinkie. "Maybe."

A few more seconds passed in silence.

"Looks like it picked the one on the left instead."

"Yep."

The two Pinkie Pies watched the building-sized entangle of squirmy smooth appendages trample over the remains of what had used to be a house and consume it with as much delight as the featureless ensemble of tentacles could display.

"Do you think that'll be enough for it, or will it go for the other building as well?" one of the two ponies asked.

The other Pinkie replied, "I think that will be enough."

"I suppose we will see."

"That we certainly will, Pinkie."

And see they did, as after a couple more minutes of silently watching the creature they could observe it leaving towards the forest at its characteristic slow pace, satisfied with its meal.

"My Rainbow picked up dreamwalking," one Pinkie said after a while. "She hasn't told us yet. She doesn't plan to, I believe."

"Sounds like Rainbow alright. Our Twilight is still with Sunset, and they haven't accidentally torn another hole in the fabric of reality while having sex yet," said the other Pinkie.

"Sounds nothing like our Twilight. I have contingency plans ready for when she finally decides to get kinkier with Celestia, in case she goes too far." Pinkie whistled. "Yes, they're as desperate as you can imagine them being, but hopefully Equestria will survive with only a couple cities needing to be rebuilt and a few creatures needing to be untransformed."

"At least you have serious contingency plans. Mine is a bucket of cold water," Pinkie said.

"Never underestimate a bucket of water. I once stopped Twilight from taking over Equestria and made her not evil again with a bucket of water." Pinkie chewed on nothing for a moment. "Or, well, a Pinkie did that with a Twilight once. It's fuzzy whether or not it was my Twilight, and it's not really stable whether it was or wasn't me."

"I understand." Pinkie nodded. "Still. I ought to think of something better." She pursed her lips, thinking. "I could install remote-controlled water sprinklers in their rooms and turn them on if I ever see the geodes start to act up."

"That could work," Pinkie said. "That could definitely work."

Mirrors and Smoke

Sunburst stared at the alicorn, dumbfounded. "So you're saying you don't exist when you're not with me?"

Starshine titled her head to a side, then to the other. "Sort of. It's a bit more complicated than that. Like I said, just roll with it."

"How am I supposed to just roll with it?" Sunburst asked, incredulous. "Why should I believe you, anyway? You've done nothing but bring chaos into my life."

"That's not true and you know it," Starshine replied, smirking.

"Oh shut up."

Starshine rolled her eyes. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to strike the right balance when you're trying to bed a stallion who wants you to call him Daddy but still wants to call you Mommy? I'd like some recognition for pulling that off."

Sunburst stared at her, flatly. "That was needlessly specific."

"Do you want me to be more vague next time, Daddy?" Starshine gave a fake, exaggerated pout.

Sunburst looked at the ground. "Shut up."

"Make me. You don't really want me to-"

"Shut up!" Sunburst looked back at Starshine as he yelled. "I don't know if you've noticed it in the last months, but things are kind of ever so slightly stressful right now. The world's going crazy, and I'm one of the unfortunate ponies who actually gets to learn about most of it, and the last thing I need is someone like you coming to annoy me with your nonsense. Stop wasting my time and stop making my days even more stressful than they already are."

"It looks to me like you could use a relief for all that pent up stress, actually. But anyway, I thought you wanted to know what was happening. It's not like you to not ask questions and ask the mystery to walk away instead," Starshine said.

"You're very clearly not answering my questions in any helpful manner," Sunburst replied. "So either you tell me what's going on, or you leave me alone. At this point, I don't care which it is."

"And yet I'm still here." Starshine tilted her head. "And if I'm still here, that means you want me here."

Sunburst almost growled. "Are you the one responsible for all the stuff back there in the room?"

"No." The alicorn shook her head. "But the thing responsible for all that is responsible for me as well." Then she gave a nod towards Sunburst.

It took him a moment to get what she was trying to say with that. "Oh, so this is all my fault, huh? Convenient that a mysterious mare who appears and disappears at random would coincidentally happen to also show up while this is going on, isn't it?" Sunburst shook his head. "I'm not buying this, Starshine. I have no reason to."

"And I can't convince you otherwise," Starshine replied. She looked down at herself. "You're confused right now. You want me gone, but you want me here. You want this whole thing to be over with, but you want answers." She looked back up at him. "I suggest you choose the former option for a bit. It will help you clear your mind."

Sunburst looked back at her as he thought about it. And a moment later, she was gone.

Most Delightful

"Won't this be hard to get out of our coats?" Celestia paused to ask.

"Magic," Twilight dismissively replied. "There's always magic. Just enjoy the moment for once. Besides, there's also the alternative." She moved closer to Celestia, and gave a long lick up the side of her neck. "See?" she asked, looking at the alicorn.

Celestia looked away from Twilight, pursing her lips. "I suppose you're right. There's always magic."

Twilight chuckled, tilting her head as she looked at Celestia's face. Playfully, she pushed on the other's shoulder with her own, making her step further into the pool. Then she followed behind, dipped a wing, scooped up as much honey as she could and slathered Celestia's back in it.

Celestia gave a snort, but didn't protest beyond that. After a furtive glance towards Twilight, she did as the other had done and covered the purple alicorn's backside in a quite generous amount of honey. Then, she licked some off of her own wing. "Do you not think this is a bit of a waste?" she asked.

"No more than bathing in milk is, I would say," Twilight replied. "And again, we can always clean it with magic. You seem to forget how useful it can be."

"The fact that you can easily solve a problem with magic doesn't justify casually and willfully creating that problem to begin with," said Celestia. Still, she bent her legs, lowering herself further into the pool until only her head and the top of her neck weren't covered in honey.

"No. But the amusement you get out of it does justify it. Especially when you can easily get rid of the unwelcome consequences." Twilight did the same thing as Celestia, and then stood up again, honey slowly falling down from her body in that viscous way no other fluid quite matched.

Celestia stood up as well, and Twilight had a chance to get a better look at the way honey dripped down her curves, shining golden in the warm light of the room. "Would you kill ponies for your own amusement, if resurrection was a trivial matter?" the white alicorn asked.

Twilight smiled at that. "If resurrection was a trivial matter, would ponies not ask to be painlessly killed and then brought back, to know what it's like? To study death, or merely to be prepared for when the time comes?"

"Perhaps," Celestia admitted after a moment of reflection. She then walked yet further into the pool, and began to swim through the honey once her hooves no longer reached the bottom.

Twilight was, once again, close behind her. She looked at Celestia's face and torso, studying the rhythm of her breathing. Celestia herself caught sight of it, and her breaths became slower and deeper in preparation of what she suspected was coming. A moment later, just as the white pony was almost done inhaling, she was yanked downwards by Twilight's magic and forced beneath the surface.

A few seconds later, Twilight pulled Celestia back out, then took great care in cleaning her eyes, mouth, nose and ears of honey in the same non-magical way she'd displayed earlier. She cleaned Celestia's horn as well, finally drawing back after she'd run her tongue along its length.

Pillars

"I'm a warlock now," Pinkie casually announced to the other three girls sat at the table.

Sunset only briefly looked up at her, then turned back to her soup.

Fluttershy broke off a chunk of bread and ate it, then turned to Pinkie. "So, uh, how did it happen?" she asked, halfway genuinely curious and halfway simply wanting to get a conversation going.

"Made a pact with an eldritch entity in exchange for power." Pinkie stabbed her fork into her pasta and brought it to her mouth, giving a dismissive wave with her other hand. "You know, the usual stuff. They said they were an avatar of a reflection of the Raven, or something like that."

"And how are we sure this dark and powerful entity won't go around town causing destruction and mayhem?" asked Sunset, a little amused at Pinkie's reply.

"Oh, don't worry about that." Pinkie drained her glass of water. "They're on the other side, I don't think they'd keep their powers if they came here. I don't even know if they can come over here, actually." She looked up in thought, a finger to her lips.

There was a sputter to Sunset's left, as Twilight almost choked on her food. "You're telling me you found another portal? And you didn't tell me?" she asked, once she finally managed to swallow again.

"How else am I supposed to go visit myself? You keep putting guards around the ones we find," Pinkie replied from Twilight's left. "And technically I did tell you. Right now."

In front of her, Sunset spoke up. "Are you keeping an eye on it?"

Pinkie nodded. "Of course I am. Can't let people wander into it by accident and wonder why all their things are horse things all of a sudden."

Twilight looked between the two, and her rage deflated into a sigh. "Point. She's already better than any security we could put up. But you still should have told me sooner." She broke off a small bit of bread and ate it. Then she turned to Pinkie again. "Wait, so you're serious about this warlock thing, aren't you?"

"Of course I am."

Sunset and Fluttershy traded uneasy glances. The latter spoke first. "What kind of powers did you get out of it, exactly?"

"We're still debating that, actually." Pinkie waved her fork around as she spoke, pushing Twilight to lean back just in case. "I don't really need anything destructive, I've got that covered for now while it's still small scale stuff," she continued, tapping her geode for emphasis. "I still need to decide a few details. I'm going back there tomorrow to talk about it with them."

Sunset nodded, more out of resignation than anything. "Maybe make sure this thing doesn't plan to do anything evil here or on the other side of the portal."

"What exactly do they want in return?" Fluttershy asked. At Twilight's questioning glare, she replied, "Patrons usually ask for something in return for lending their powers. They don't just gift it around for free." Once Twilight's stare grew only more questioning, and Sunset's joined it, she looked up at the ceiling. "This is fairly standard knowledge, girls. Can we go back on topic?" She turned to Pinkie, hopeful.

"Oh, not much." Pinkie, having finished her pasta, set down her fork. Then literally licked the plate. "For now, I just need to push this one guy through a portal a week from now."

Hungry Again

Luna stepped in front of Fluttershy's dream, and cast her gaze back to make sure she wasn't being followed. Rainbow was a good mare, and she meant well, and it would have been entirely fitting for her to try to sneak up on the alicorn and spy on what she was doing. But there didn't seem to be any trace of the pegasus, nor of anything else that might have been stalking Luna in the world of dreams. It was always good to check, there was always a chance something slipped out with her while she left a nightmare.

Satisfied, Luna looked back to Fluttershy's dream, and to the red vines surrounding it. She knew a dream when she saw one, even one that wasn't a pony's. But she'd never seen one do that. And she'd seen her fair share of weird oneiric phenomena over the centuries. Dreams merging, intersecting, dreams inside other dreams or outside them. Visions, nightmares, lucid dreams, ponies falling in other creatures' dreams and vice versa. But a dream clinging to another like a parasite? Never.

Or perhaps not a single dream. She stepped closer, and peered at the vines. No. A collection of dreams. Like grains of sand making up the same dune. Individual, similar pieces coming together to form a greater shape. That, she could wrap her head around. She'd seen something similar, in the past, if not as complex. Dream sculpting would have made an entertaining pastime were it not for the fact that it involved toying with and shaping the unconscious thoughts of sapient creatures. She couldn't quite tell, though, how many dreams exactly made up the vines. Anywhere from dozens to millions. She dared not enter them.

But she did need to enter Fluttershy's dream, if she wanted to understand what was going on. It would be dangerous, more so for the pegasus than for herself. That was why she was hesitant. She was confident nothing the parasite dreams could do would be able to keep her there. She was far less confident that they wouldn't be able to force her to hurt Fluttershy on her way out of the dream. Such fragile things, the minds of ponies, once given a shape one could interact with. She'd never actually experimented with just how much harm could be done to a pony with that particular branch of her power, but she had her suspicions and her reasonings for them. She didn't plan to verify them.

And yet. She couldn't just stand there and wait. She couldn't just hope Fluttershy's problems would be resolved in the waking world. Perhaps it had been unfair to treat Rainbow Dash the way she had, when they shared much of the same concerns. But Rainbow was young, inexperienced, keeping her out of the dream was the right and obvious choice. Luna was neither of those things, at the least not to the same measure. What was the right thing to do? If anyone knew what to do with Fluttershy's situation, it should have been her.

Luna looked over the dream once more. Maybe, after all, waiting was the right choice for the moment. Waiting and watching. And if nothing changed, at least she'd know she hadn't wasted time. She sighed, and hoped for the best.

Pentagramma - Part 1

"You know how to play, right?" Lemon Zest asked.

Applejack looked up from the table and at the deck of cards Sour Sweet was shuffling. "Yeah, I do. Played it a few times with the girls. I know the rules, don't worry about it." She shifted awkwardly from side to side in her chair, still a bit unsure of herself around the group.

Sunny Flare happened to come back down the stairs at that moment. She'd changed into her pyjamas, a heavy set the same colour as her hair if maybe a shade darker. She walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table, pouring herself a glass of whatever it was that was in the pitcher. Applejack wasn't sure what it was. She just knew it was alcoholic, but not that strong. Fruity. The kind of drink Rarity would have scoffed at, Rainbow would have drunk straight from the jug, and Sunset and Fluttershy would have probably enjoyed the most. She didn't particularly dislike it, but she wasn't crazy about it either.

Indigo Zap pushed herself off from her sitting spot besides the sink and stepped back to the table. "Thanks for the dinner, by the way," she said as she sat down. That left Lemon Zest as the only girl still not sat at the table, but she seemed more intent on choosing what to raid from the fridge at that moment.

"Think nothing of it," Sunny replied. "Really, you should thank Applejack for helping out with it. She took care of the potatoes."

Applejack felt herself blush a little, and looked back at the surface of the table. "I just got here early, and thought it would be nice to lend a hand. Nothing special about that."

Sunny wordlessly hummed her agreement. "Perhaps you're right. What any reasonable friend would do in that situation." Had her tone left some doubts over what she was getting at, which it most definitely had not, the way her eyes set on Lemon would have made it abundantly clear nonetheless.

On the other side of the table, suddenly feeling everyone's attention on her, Lemon looked up over the pile of unopened wrappers of sugary snacks that vaguely and poorly imitated bread or proper cakes, past the twin bottles of soda flanking her, and stared at Sunny's face for a moment in confusion. Then she lit up and smiled. "Oh, right! That. Hey now, I helped with the cake that time."

"I remember that. She did." Sour beamed towards Applejack, then her too wide smile flipped into a hybrid between a grin and a frown. "As far as melting every vaguely gum-like piece of candy she could get her hands on into a pot counts as helping, at least."

Lemon crossed her arms, turning to the side with playful indignation. "The whole thing was gone by the morning after, so as far as I'm concerned it was a success."

"Only because the depth of your stomach defies science almost as much as your tastes defy reason," Indigo replied. "The only other girl eating that thing was too drunk to taste anything by that point. And I'm pretty sure she vomited later anyway."

After a moment longer of feigning, Lemon let go of her pose. The four former Crystal Prep students shared a quiet chuckle, and Applejack rubbed a hand over her arm, unsure of what to say.

Finally, Sour Sweet set down the deck of cards. "Shall we begin?"

Pentagramma - Part 2

Applejack nodded, along with the other girls. Lemon cut the deck, then Sour began to distribute the cards, all forty, eight to each player. Once done she picked her own up and looked at them, her face showing no reaction.

Applejack had a look at the hand she'd been dealt. Six of Swords, Seven of Wands, Five of Cups, Six of Cups, Knight of Wands, Ace of Swords, Ace of Wands, Three of Coins. Thirty-five points in hand, certainly more than average, and three of the same suit. Two of them high ranking cards at that. Not bad at all.

To Sour's right, Indigo had one last look at her cards, then looked at the others with a smirk. "Seventy," she confidently stated, initiating the bid.

"Feeling confident, are we?" Sunny threw a sideways glare at Indigo, smiling. "Seventy-five," she said.

Applejack looked back at her cards. She'd never been one to tempt fate too far. But Sunny and Indigo looked like they weren't about to let each other win the bid, and if she knew anything about Lemon then the girl would keep pushing as well, at least for the moment. She wasn't planning to win the bid at that point, but she could still hang on just to see where the others took it. "Seventy-six," she said, one-upping Sunny's offer.

The turn order moved on counter-clockwise, and it became Lemon Zest's time to bid. "Seventy-seven," she said. It wasn't hard to read on her face and through her tone that she was doing it more out of principle than out of conviction in her ability to win.

To Lemon's right, Sour Sweet smiled brightly, then her expression immediately dropped into a pout. "Pass." She kept eyeing her cards, evidently unsure of who to be annoyed at when she'd been the dealer.

Indigo's confidence hadn't left her face yet. "Eighty," she said, in the same low and raspy tone Rainbow used when she was challenging someone to a race.

"Eighty-five," Sunny replied, still glaring at Indigo, still smiling, clearly up to the challenge.

At that point, Applejack was having too much fun to let things drop. Especially when she knew the other two wouldn't. "Eighty-seven," she called out, which earned her a raised eyebrow from Sour Sweet.

Lemon held her hands up, her cards face down on the table. "Pass," she declared. She then began to tap her fingers on the back of her cards, curiously watching Indigo and Sunny.

"Ninety." Indigo crossed her arms, waiting for Sunny's reaction.

It came just a second later. "Ninety-one."

"Pass." Applejack set down her cards for the moment, and she too focused on the only two players still bidding. For a second she wondered if that was what it would have looked like had Rarity ever picked up on one of Rainbow's challenges. She hushed the thought almost immediately.

"Ninety-two." Indigo was still determined to win it. At that point, she was probably doing it out of principle, considering she hadn't looked back at her cards.

Sunny seemed just as determined. "Ninety-three."

Indigo's grin grew a little wider. "Pass." She leaned back in her chair, looking at her cards again. "Have fun losing."

Sunny sputtered, then glared at Indigo in disbelief. "You played me?"

"Hate the game, not the player," the girl replied, pouring herself a drink.

Sunny crossed her arms and blew air through her nose, somehow making the sound of it perfectly carry both her annoyance and her determination. "We'll see about that." She looked at her cards, her smile returning to her lips. "Three of Cups," she called out, then set down the first card of the game. "Applejack, your turn."

Too busy focusing on her hand to properly appreciate the sight of Indigo tilting her glass too far and almost choking herself on the pseudo-cocktail, Applejack pondered her options for a second, then looked back at what Sunny had opened the game with. Four of Swords. She placed her Six of Swords on top.

Pentagramma - Part 3

Lemon looked at the cards, biting her lower lip. Then, she set down the Page of Wands on top of them. A calculated play. If she was with Sunny, she wasn't losing much to buy the others' trust. If she wasn't, and Applejack was, she wasn't losing too much. If Applejack wasn't, they at least were getting a couple points, provided no one else would beat over her six. Maybe Lemon was better at planning than Applejack had given her credit for.

Sour clicked her tongue repeatedly as she eyed the cards in the middle of the table. The Two of Coins came down. She must have undergone a thought process much like Lemon's own, only with different conclusions. With points already on the table, no use in pushing the risk further in case Applejack was with Sunny. Not worth trying to get the points for herself if she was with Sunny instead, the others' trust would be more valuable. And there was always the risk of Indigo taking the cards for herself as well.

Indigo, who had meanwhile managed to not die from choking on her drink and had set the glass back down, blinked once while studying the cards played. She played the Page of Swords. Sour threw her a look, and she stared back. "Points are points," she replied. "I might as well make sure they go where they belong. Not that I don't trust you, Applejack," she added, turning towards the girl. She scooped up the cards from the table and set them face down in front of herself, then began the second trick by setting down the Four of Wands.

Sunny briefly tilted her head to one side, then the other, looking between the four and her own hand. She too set down a four, the Four of Cups. The remaining three girls eyed it suspiciously. Applejack nervously swallowed as she looked at her own cards. "Y'all got something to take this? 'Cause I don't think we're gonna win this if we keep all our points till the late hands." Sour Sweet gave a subtle shake of her head, but Lemon confidently nodded. Praying neither one of them would stab her in the back, Applejack set down her Ace of Swords. It was a risky move, but a necessary risk.

Lemon whistled at that. "Well, you got our trust now, girl," she said, placing down the Seven of Cups. Sour Sweet followed it up with the Two of Wands, still clearly on the edge on who she wanted to trust. Or, perhaps, angry at the points being funneled away from her and Sunny. Lemon casually gathered the cards from the table and put them down in front of herself, a bit askew and misaligned, then she began the third trick by placing down the Ace of Coins. She stared right at Applejack. "I'm just returning the favour."

Sour took a moment to choose what to play next. She looked over each player, then at her own cards. Something seemed to click in her head. She was about to play a card, but then she hesitated, and looked to Sunny and Indigo once more. Quietly she mouthed something to Applejack, and placed down the Five of Swords.

Pentagramma - Part 6

"Good game," Sour said, gathering everyone's cards and shuffling the deck back together. Similar comments came from the rest of the group as well.

"You just had to keep pushing on the bid, didn't you?" asked Sunny, sitting straight again.

"Hey, it worked," Indigo replied, crossing her arms behind her head. "You did lose because of that. I just had no idea you'd pick me."

"We could have won if you hadn't set the bar that high." Sunny poured herself another glass of the yet unidentified drink.

"You're the one who chose to keep up with me. You should have known better," replied Indigo. "I could have won if you hadn't set the bar that high. Although I would have called the Ace of Swords."

"Oh. That would have been me," said Applejack.

Sour finished shuffling the deck and placed it back on the table. "I wonder if you would have been less obvious about it."

"Sugarcoat's always good at that. You just can't get a read on her face when she's really trying," Lemon said.

Applejack opened her mouth, but was silent for a moment. "I'm not just a replacement for her, right?"

From across the table, Sour looked at her. "Are we replacements for your friends?"

Everyone was silent for a short while. Before either Lemon or Indigo had a chance to attempt to lighten the mood with potentially horrible results, Sunny spoke. "I think we feel the same way you do about this. We're missing something, and we found a way to fill that hole that's similar enough to what was there before, but we don't want it to be or feel like just a replacement. Denying that the similarities at play are influential to this would be wrong, but that doesn't mean there aren't genuine intentions beyond them."

Applejack nodded. "Yeah. Sorry if I brought that up."

"Hey now, better to bring things up and resolve them than to let feelings fester into a dark blob of irrational emotions that ends up swallowing you and clouding the way you see things until either everything eventually breaks down in the worst way possible or your inner self crumbles under the pressure of unspoken worries." Lemon offered Applejack a thumbs up.

Applejack's mouth silently opened and closed for a moment. She understood the message, but was mostly puzzled by its source.

Indigo evidently noticed that. "Lemon can be really deep sometimes. Usually on accident."

"It's like necrosis," Lemon continued. "You'd rather chop off a finger than wait and have to remove the whole arm once it spreads there. Or like cutting away the rotten part of an apple. Or when you accidentally leave leftover food in the oven and forget about it for a couple of days and when you find it again it's growing mold but only on one side so you take that away and still eat the rest since it's usually still pretty good and it would be a waste to throw it away."

"And then she goes and ruins it like that." Indigo sighed, leaning back into her chair and looking towards the ceiling.

Pentagramma - Part 7

"Thanks again for having us," Applejack said, stepping back into Sunny's bedroom. She'd changed into her own set of pyjamas, as had the rest of the girls. "Are you sure your parents won't mind?"

"Hah. My parents wouldn't even find out about this if I didn't tell them. They don't mind me having people over, as long as nobody breaks anything." Her eyes seemed to wander towards Lemon Zest as she said those last words, but maybe it was just an impression.

"You should have seen the party she organised at the end of last year," Sour said. "The neighbours didn't call the police only because there are no neighbours."

"Don't you ever get lonely, here by yourself in such a big house?" asked Applejack, sitting down onto a pillow on the ground.

Sunny bit her lower lip for a moment. "I think I might, if I stayed here. I suppose it's why I spend most of my day elsewhere. We do have a smaller house I occasionally live in instead. But during the winter I rarely bother, too much trouble turning on and off the heating system and then dealing with the cold once I come back here."

"You can't be seriously complaining about having all this for yourself, Sunny. I wish I didn't have to share my place with my siblings." Lemon was absent-mindedly looking at her phone, still waiting for Indigo to come back.

"You don't live with your siblings anymore," Sour pointed out. "Not with your parents, either."

"Yeah, but I'm not on my own yet," Lemon whined, placing her phone on top of the nearest table and sitting down on a pillow much like Applejack was.

"I was going to say that sharing a room with Indigo doesn't count as there being restrictions, considering how low her standards of decency are," Sour replied, "but then I remembered yours are nonexistent."

"Oh, so we're at the part of the evening where we point out Lemon's complete lack of human decency," said Indigo, stepping past the door and into the bedroom. "Trust me, you girls have no idea how bad it gets."

"So," Sunny spoke up, "what do you girls want to do? Boardgames?"

From her spot behind Sunny, Sour drummed her fingers over the stack of boxes piled onto the table.

"Maybe later," Lemon said. "Oh! How about Truth or Dare?"

"We've been past the point in our lives where anyone would choose dare without being drunk for years," Sour replied. "I think it's time we move past the pretense too and start acknowledging trading secrets for what it really is."

"At what point does it devolve into middle-aged women sharing petty gossip while waiting at a laundrette?" asked Sunny.

Indigo shivered. "Oh, please, none of that. I'm still young and sexy."

"Are you saying older women can't be sexy?" Lemon asked from the opposite end of the room.

"Are you saying they are?"

"Sunburst's mum."

Indigo opened her mouth once to reply, then closed it. "That's not fair," she said after a moment.

Applejack chuckled. "Truth or Truth works for me, if y'all wanna go with that."

Sour shrugged. "It is always fun to catch up on what even more embarrassing stuff Lemon's gotten up to since the last time. Sure, I'm in."

10%

"Still trying to figure this out?"

"Yeah." Twilight took a sip from her coffee mug.

Sunset stepped next to her, and looked down at the desk filled with graphs and maps. "Don't you think maybe you're working too hard on this?"

"Yeah." Twilight set her mug down. "But if I don't do it, who will?"

Sunset rolled her eyes, and patted the other girl's head affectionately. "I'm sorry I'm not helping with it as much as I could."

"No, you're right. It wouldn't be right to drag you into this thing. And you know what they say. It's hard to find a pattern into a seemingly random set of data, especially when there isn't one. Maybe that is the case here, after all." Twilight leaned back into her chair with a sigh.

Sunset quirked an eyebrow. "I think I only heard that about black cats and dark rooms."

Twilight looked at Sunset. "Yeah, but you spent your childhood in magical pony land and I spent most of my high school years shutting off as much social interaction as I could in favour of studying and research." She sighed again. "Bless my parents for getting me a dog, I would have turned out a lot worse otherwise. And I still ended up almost destroying the world."

"Hey. I almost mind controlled a high school into invading the parallel horse dimension." Sunset ruffled Twilight's hair.

"While looking like a demon. And we sadly have no good pictures of it. Don't we have this same exact line of conversation every month or so?"

"We both have a bundle of conflicting and complicated feelings over the concept of turning into a monstrous creature through stolen horse magic. Not all of those feelings are the bad kind." Sunset gave the ground a little kick. "It's so annoying that the transformations we get when when going power crazy look way hotter than the regular geode ones. That's not just me, right?"

Twilight gave something resembling a smirk, though the angle from which Sunset was seeing it made it unclear. "Maybe. Speaking of stolen horse magic, can you fetch me that map over there?" She raised a hand, and pointed to a stack of papers onto a table to her right.

Ruffling Twilight's hair one more time, Sunset headed towards the table. Twilight looked back to the maps laid down on the desk in front of her, straightening her hair with a hand as the other began to move things around. She wanted to compare the map of the portals with Equestria's version, just to see if there was something she'd missed. For the thirtieth time or so. Absent-mindedly, she lifted up a map, and her eyes happened to fall on the one under it.

Twilight froze.

Sunset turned around, and noticed the reaction. "Is everything okay?"

Twilight didn't answer. She undid the motion she'd stopped halfway, then repeated it, like she was flipping a page back and forth. Then the map on top was enveloped in her telekinesis, and she held it a few centimetres above the other, looking at both of them. "I think I've got it."

DvlTrggr

"This is a dream, isn't it?"

Luna nodded. "It is. I must admit, I was rather curious when I noticed a fully formed dream where there previously was none. Forgive me for interrupting, but I had to check."

Lemon shook her head. "Don't worry about it." She paused for a moment. "Wait, are you real? This is all a dream, right? Oh silly me, look at me, talking with a horse in my dreams."

Luna tilted her head to the side, curious. "Did Twilight not tell you about me?"

"Twilight? I haven't seen her in a while and... Wait, you mean like, the other Twilight?" Lemon tapped her fingers on her chin. "You kinda look like that CHS vice-principal lady. Only a horse."

"Are you not one of Twilight's friends?" asked Luna.

"I'm friends with the Twilight that's not a horse," replied Lemon. "I think she did mention something about princesses this or that on this side. So you're, like, the magical horse of dreams or something?"

Luna slowly nodded, unsure. "You... could say so, yes."

"Cool." Lemon looked at Luna, then at herself, then back at Luna. Then back at herself. She screeched, and threw her arms up over parts of her body, crossing her legs.

Luna leaned forward, worried. "Is everything okay?"

"Uh, yeah, um, could you turn around for a sec?" asked Lemon, shifting awkwardly, doing her best to cover all the bits of her naked body she didn't want exposed.

"I..." Luna shook her head. "Of course." She turned, looking away from Lemon.

After a few seconds of quiet swearing, as the girl tried to figure out how exactly to make her own dream go the way she wanted it to, she gave a cough. "Alright, you can turn back around." She'd settled for her old Crystal Prep uniform, not the best but it was the first thing she'd managed to successfully conjure up.

Luna looked at her again. "Oh, I see." She frowned. "Did I see something inappropriate before? I apologise. I usually know better than to interrupt certain types of dreams, but I'm afraid I'm not quite familiar with the finer details of your species' culture. It didn't seem like I was interrupting anything private."

"Oh, no, don't worry about it, you-" Lemon abruptly stopped. "What did you interrupt, exactly? I don't remember where this dream was going before you showed up."

"It looked closer to a nightmare, I would say." Luna stared to her left.

Lemon followed her eyes, and looked to the right. There, seen as if through a screen that occupied the entire wall of the arbitrarily limited white room they stood in, a still image of her body being enveloped in green and pink flames spreading up from beneath her, burning away her clothes in the process. Memories clicked into place. "Oh. That's like what happened to Twilight. Our Twilight. I guess being in magical horse land made me wonder what would happen if I were to be consumed by magic or something."

Luna looked at her from the corner of her eye. "And what do you think would happen, in that case?"

Lemon hesitated for a second. The horse had already seen her naked at that point, and she was curious about the rest of her dream. She shrugged. "Well, you can just let the dream play out. That way we'll both get to see," she replied.

After a moment, Luna nodded. The image on the wall began to move, and both of them watched.

Sleep Deprivation

Indigo cast her eyes downwards, making sure Lemon was still there and sleeping safe. Then she had another look around the place. No signs of anything in sight. Finally, she allowed herself to relax and looked up at the sky with a sigh. The cloud she was on was definitely lower than the ones in her world normally were, but somehow it felt like the stars were closer too.

Wings hadn't been too hard to figure out. Not on the most basic level, at least. She knew she wasn't using them well, but she was still using them well enough for the time being. She'd managed to get herself up there, after all.

The cloud was every bit as soft and comfortable as she'd have imagined one to be as a kid. So nice to rest on, she was almost tempted to fall asleep there. It was better than the ground, that was sure. But she didn't trust herself not to fall off while thrashing in her sleep, much less wake up in time to spread her wings if she did. She still kept the rail on in the top bed, she wasn't about to sleep on a cloud with no protections.

Besides, that wasn't the point. She wasn't gonna sleep up there on a cloud and leave Lemon down on the ground by herself. Especially not in magical pony land. Who knew what kind of creatures could come attack them during the night. She'd only heard stories and seen blurry pictures of anything that hadn't been Twilight, but if the things that had come from that world to hers were any indication, the local fauna would be far from enjoyable.

Well, not completely fair, Indigo thought to herself. Sunset was a pretty welcome sight for a creature from another dimension. A most pleasant one.

Indigo shook herself, and almost slapped herself with a wing. Not the time to think about sexing the magical horse redhead. Never the time to think about sexing the magical horse redhead, considering she was taken, but especially not there and then.

But damn if Twilight wasn't one lucky girl.

Indigo shook herself again. She huffed, standing up. The air was cold, up there, but it didn't keep her awake the same way it usually did. Flying horse biology, if she had a guess. She didn't feel like she wanted to sleep, not when they were out there and Lemon was already sleeping. But she couldn't will herself to stay awake forever.

Eventually, she resigned herself to the best solution she had. She spread her wings and walked off the edge of the cloud, actually managing to glide down safely towards the ground. The cool air in her mane and against her face did help with the sleepiness, but again much less than it usually did.

She landed not too far from Lemon, and walked the rest of the distance by hoof. She yawned once she got there. She had one last look around, making sure nothing was about to ambush them from the shadows, and finally she lay down and curled up against the other pony, closing her eyes.

Pathetic Aesthetic

"I think it looks way too cluttered," said Twilight. "It feels like they worked on it until it was finished, and then just kept going. There's a design somewhere in there, and it's probably a good design, but it's buried under all the unnecessary details they kept adding because no one told them to stop."

Celestia nodded. "That does seem accurate. Artists of that period did have a tendency to overcomplicate their works, and it could get quite excessive, as seen here. It's as you said, they had a finished piece but they just kept going. It's no wonder a minimalist current took over in the next century."

There was a click, as Twilight tapped the projector, and the picture on the wall changed to a different one. "And what about this one?" Twilight asked.

Celestia studied it for a moment, tilting her head. "I think I remember this one."

"I'd expect you to. It's you."

"I see that, Princess, but you cannot expect me to remember a millennium's worth of artistic depictions of myself and recognise them all at first glance. Especially not when not all of them were directly presented to me. But I do remember this one. It came only a few decades after Luna's banishment. The style and proportions are still not quite as well defined as they would become a few centuries later. It's meant to symbolise strength, it was made in celebration of a successful battle if I recall correctly."

"It looks ugly," Twilight said. "It's fine if you just glance at it, but once you take it in it becomes worse and worse. The nose is too wide, the facial structure is off, your bones look misshapen. Your underside looks malnourished and overfed at the same time, like a sick and bloated animal. Your eyes aren't aligned properly. Your flanks and thighs look deformed. You look like a sketch that someone treated as a finished piece. Like a decent drawing somepony with a very unsteady hoof tried to trace."

Celestia nodded again. "That is true, Princess. I do look ugly and misshapen."

"Moving on." Twilight clicked the projector again. She stifled a chuckle as she saw the new image. "When was this lion sculpted?" she asked, clearly holding back giggles.

Celestia was also forcing back her laugh. "A couple of centuries ago, judging by the technique employed on the pattern at the base. Quite an admirable piece, the base." She had to stop talking.

"The base, yes." Twilight laughed. Not holding back anymore, she pointed at the lion's head. "He just looks so goofy!"

Celestia was too busy fighting against her laughing fits to speak.

"It looks like a foal's drawing that someone decided to replicate in a statue." Twilight kept chuckling as she talked. "Its eyes aren't even the same size! It looks like a lion if you inflated parts its face with air like a balloon."

"It really does." Celestia had finally calmed down enough to speak. "Do you think it was on purpose?"

"I'm honestly not sure," Twilight replied. "Oh well. Moving on."

Lightningbringer - Part 2

Everything went white and loud, again. It was over only a moment later, as the world came back into focus around Firecracker.

They were still flying. Breath and heartbeat a bit faster than normal, but that could be chalked up to the shock of the situation. Apart from a light itch along their skin, and the sudden feeling of dryness over their coat and wings, everything else seemed perfectly normal. Worryingly normal.

Slowly and carefully, they flew down towards the ground, onto a large flat-topped rock jutting out from the side of the mountain. They didn't care about getting wet again at that point, it was the least of their potential problems. Once they had landed they began to check themself over again.

Pulse still as normal as before, regular breathing, no involuntary muscle spasms. No pain that they could feel, but pinching their cheek revealed they still felt things just fine, so it wasn't just shock. No scorch marks on their hair or feathers, nothing burnt or even so much as ruffled. Everything was perfectly fine. By all means, it shouldn't have been.

Being more resistant to electricity than other ponies was a pegasus thing, yes. But that only really justified things when dealing with small pony-made clouds, not with a full-blown wild burst of lightning that could turn a whole tree into a giant ember. And more importantly, being more resistant to those still meant you felt something. Firecracker had taken their fair share of sparks while messing around with clouds in their youth, and they always stung at the least, hurt most of the time.

But they had felt nothing when the lightning had hit. Nothing they should have felt, at least. The only real effect the bolt seemed to have had on them was drying them off.

Firecracker shook their head. It was probably luck. It had to have been luck. Dumb, unbelievable, unjustified luck. They'd taken a lightning to the face and survived unscathed, somehow, probably thanks to some weird atmospheric conditions around them.

Conditions that probably wouldn't manifest themselves a second time. The pegasus looked up from their body and at the storm still raging around them. Rain kept pouring down, and the rumbling of thunder echoed around the mountains whenever a blaze of lightning streaked through the thick black clouds above.

They needed to get away from there. Praying their muscles wouldn't just suddenly seize up in some delayed reaction to the shock, Firecracker spread their wings and once again began to fly through the rain.

They actually felt it, that time. A moment before it happened, a tingle on the back of their ears. Instinctively they slowed down, looked up, and pushed themself back with a flap of their wings as a new lightning bolt fell down square in front of them.

They hovered there for a moment, staring at nothing. There had seemed to be something odd about that bolt. As if it had been slower, perhaps, somehow.

Firecracker felt the same tingle behind their ears. This time, they didn't move.

Black as Ice

"There," said Pinkie, pointing a hoof.

"Oh, I see," Pinkie replied. "Can I come talk to it?"

Pinkie put a hoof under her chin. "I'm not sure. You are me, but you're also not me. I should probably ask them."

Pinkie nodded. "I understand. Don't worry too much about it, it's not a problem if they don't let me. It's fair to keep secrets on something like this."

"But I want to tell you all about it!" Pinkie pouted. "I could just tell you and say I only spoke to myself, but I would feel like I lied to it."

"No, no, really, it's okay." Pinkie put a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. "No need to stress about it. Stay strong, Pinkie."

"Thank you, Pinkie. You're right." Pinkie snapped at attention. "Well, I'll wave if you're allowed to come. I'll tell you all I can after we've discussed what I can and can't share."

Pinkie nodded. "Good luck, Pinkie."

"Thanks." And Pinkie began to walk down the slope of the cliff.

Pinkie watched her go, as she approached her destination. The two of them would be discussing a moment later. At least, she got to watch, which was still quite nice.

Lightningbringer - Part 3

Electricity cascaded around the pegasus' body, over their skin and hair and feathers. They felt it moving through their mane and tail, sliding harmlessly past them as the lightning struck the ground below. One moment later it was all over again, and rain began to once more dampen Firecracker's coat.

They released the breath they'd been holding on to, as their heart kept pounding in their chest. It had been different, that time. Maybe it had been the lack of shock that had been there before, but it had almost felt as if they could see through the lightning as it passed over them. Not blinded or disturbed by it as much as they had been previously.

They were still there, hovering in the air, unscathed as the storm continued around them. Slowly they looked up at the clouds, as thoughts kept rushing over each other in their head. They flew a little higher, moving slowly, then with more confidence. It wasn't a quick process, they had to account for how strong the wind was and could only fly up so far, but still they did manage to get decently far above their previous position. And there they stopped, watching and waiting.

They felt it again, starting on the back of their neck. Their breath slowed down. Deep breaths, their wings beating to the same rhythm, as the tingling sensation built up. They closed their eyes for a moment, then opened them and looked up with a jerk of their neck. Their wings came down hard and fast as lightning struck through their body again, and onto a tree down below. Firecracker's heartbeat had gone up again, and it began to relax.

It was strange. Not entirely unfamiliar. A part of it, at least, was much like what a pegasus could normally do. But there was more to it.

Another hard push with their wings, another lightning.

They could feel it sliding over the tips of their feathers, curving to follow the bend of their wings. They could see it moving just a bit to the side as it fell to the ground, off-course relative to where it had been coming from.

A deep breath, a push of their wings. Lightning cracked down, feathers bent, joints turned. It split, two separate bolts hitting the ground.

Firecracker's heart was pounding again, for different reasons this time.

They looked up at the clouds. Moving away from the storm couldn't be done while flying too high, not with winds pushing them from side to side unpredictably. Moving perpendicularly to the wind was another matter.

In a moment they were speeding up, gaining height, flying straight towards the centre of the storm. They felt another lightning coming, and let it pass through them.

Their hooves pierced the clouds, and the rest of their body followed. Their eyes couldn't see, and the pegasus let their sense of gravity tell them where to go. Sparks and bolts of electricity went off all around them as they moved through the cloud, building up over their body, coiling around their limbs as they kept flying higher and higher. Soon the sparks were melting together, growing larger, fusing with each other until the pegasus was fully enveloped in one singular agitated mass of electricity streaking behind them.

Firecracker gave one last push with their wings. Light hit their eyes as they pierced through the top of the clouds, and they stopped. Thunder echoed around the empty blue sky, above the raging storm, as a whiplash of lightning shot upwards from the clouds and through the pegasus, and spread out like a flower towards the Sun.

Chasing

Firecracker watched the pegasus disappear behind a tree to their left, and reappear a moment later from behind one on the right, smiling. She approached them, still smiling, and sat down besides them.

"Fun stuff," they commented. "Isn't it dangerous?"

The mare shrugged. "Only if I'm not careful with where I pop back out. I don't know what would happen if I did exit where something else is, but I'm happy not knowing." She swayed from side to side. "It's easier out here. The trees stand out more on the other side. Buildings are a lot harder to avoid."

Firecracker nodded. "I see. What does it look like, on the other side, exactly?"

"It's... different." The made pursed her lips, thinking. "I can't really put it into words. You'd need to see it yourself to understand. It's like..." She trailed off, and her hoof trailed on the snow in front of her. "Imagine you were a flat shape, on a flat world, and suddenly one day something picked you off from that world and left you to drift around in space. And imagine you saw the world, your world, and realised its shape in space is curved. That's what it's like."

Firecracker quirked an eyebrow, intrigued. "And what shape is our world, in the one above?"

The mare shook her head, her blonde mane swishing from side to side. "I have no idea. I don't think I can even comprehend it. I'm still thinking in three dimensions, even when I move in four. But I can see shortcuts. Like a shape might see that a line between two points of a solid is shorter if it passes through it and not along the edges, without understanding that the solid is a cube or a sphere or a cone."

Firecracker nodded again. "I understand." They remained silent for a moment. "Can you show me? Take me with you on the other side?"

Again, the grey pegasus shook her head. "I've thought about bringing others with me. I don't know if I can, and I don't want to risk it. If I bring you in and lose you, I might never be able to find you again. And I don't even know if you'd be able to be there at all."

Firecracker swallowed, a bit disappointed. "How fast is it?"

The mare looked at them, a smile slowly spreading on her lips. She blinked out of existence before they had a chance to say anything else. And a few seconds later she reappeared, holding a postcard. She passed it to Firecracker, who looked at it and saw it was from Appleloosa. "That fast," she replied. "If I want it to."

Firecracker blinked, very clearly impressed. "Not bad at all. Princess Twilight must love having you around."

The mare chuckled. "I think she hates it, actually. One more thing she can't figure out."

Firecracker chuckled as well. "I don't think you've told me your name yet."

"You haven't either."

The pegasus sighed. "True enough. I'm Firecracker. What about you?"

Parting

Scarlet diligently cleaned her hooves over the carpet, then opened the door and stepped inside. "I'm back," she announced, making her way to the living room. She was relieved to see both of her guests were still there, and still safe.

"Scarlet," the stallion greeted her. "How's Silver doing?"

"She's doing well. She's happy to know you're back." She'd almost said alright instead. She felt a light touch of hate towards herself once she realised she hadn't and why. But she made an effort not to show any of that was going on in her head. Instead, she turned to Blue Spark. "And how about you two? Did anything happen while I was gone?" She stared at the unicorn, trying to get her point across.

Blue shook her head. "No. Nothing noteworthy, really. We were just chatting, that's all."

The stallion nodded. "It was quite entertaining. I didn't have anyone to speak with while I was alone in the forest. Well, I had the trees, but usually wood doesn't answer back. It was nice to find one who did."

"I'm sure it was," Scarlet replied. She walked towards Blue, and quietly asked, "He wasn't being weird or anything, right?"

Blue shook her head again, less notably. "Nothing to worry about. He was a bit odd, but nothing bad."

"I understand. Thank you again for taking care of him." Scarlet cleared her throat, then went on more loudly, "Well, thank you for keeping an eye on the place while I was out. Can I offer you something? Do you two want anything?"

"I'll pass, but thanks," said Blue.

The stallion looked up. "I could go for some honey," he said.

"Of course," said Scarlet. "Blue? Are you really sure you want nothing?"

"Really." The unicorn's tone was gentle, but firm. "Don't worry about it. I already had enough food for today."

Scarlet sighed. "Alright then. Sorry again for keeping you so long, I'm sure you have your research to get back to-"

"I do." Blue looked precisely towards the clock hanging on the wall. "I should probably get going right now, actually, if you no longer need me."

Scarlet went silent for a moment, embarrassed, and swallowed. "Ah, sure, yes. I'm sorry I took so long. You can go now." She took a step back.

"Don't worry about it. It wasn't a problem." Blue stood up from the couch. "But now I really better get going. I might come to visit, one day."

"I would be glad to have you," said Scarlet, still feeling a little awkward.

Blue moved towards the stallion, and said something to him. Scarlet didn't catch what it was, but she was already too embarrassed to pry for information. She just waited, walked Blue to the door, and waved the unicorn goodbye as she walked away. Then she walked back to the living room, and looked at the stallion. "Oh, right, your honey. Do you want anything with it?"

The stallion tapped his chin for a moment. "Do you have any of those dry tea biscuits?"

See Where It Takes You

Twilight looked at the feather, held at the end of a steel cable coming down from the ceiling. For the sake of actually confirming what they were dealing with, she'd had a thorough look at all the test results and readings, but they hadn't revealed anything she hadn't already known after a glance. It was all exactly the same as a scale.

On a surface level, there was no reason for her not to simply accept that it was indeed the same. Accept that scales could come in shapes different from the one they were used to, and that scales was even worse of a name than they already thought. It would at least give them a reason to change that. Logically, it all made sense.

And yet, it didn't sit right with her. And not just because of the circumstances in which she'd acquired the feather. Mostly because of those, yes, but not only. If feathers were possible, why hadn't they found any before? Why was it relevant for it to be a feather and not just another scale? Did the Behemoth even have feathers? No one had checked that last one. No one would be able to, no one wanted to.

Someone had the answers she was looking for. Twilight eyed the letter sitting on the table. She'd tried writing in it again, but after a lack of replies she'd stopped. It would still be a while before whoever had left it would supposedly show up again, and that meant all they had to work with was the feather. They had tried to trace back the spell on the letter to see where it was communicating with, but the results had come out as literally nowhere. Twilight had a hunch it was somehow sending things past a portal, not entirely unlike her correspondence with Sunset, and she would tear down the letter to its last cell if it meant finding out exactly how it managed to do that with scale portals. Once she no longer needed it, of course.

And so, that left them with their only option being exactly what the intruder had suggested. Twilight didn't like it. It felt too much like walking into a trap. But as with every trap she'd willfully walked into, she knew it was what she wanted to do. It was a good trap, because there wasn't really a choice. And besides, she was curious.

She readied her horn. This time, she'd been extra careful. Protection glyphs all around the platform, and a second set around the laboratory. If it blew up, the damage would be contained to a minimum. But she doubted it would blow up. There would have been easier ways to blow up the castle for someone who could sneak into her study undetected. It wasn't a particularly reassuring thought, but it was something, at least.

Twilight cast the spell, and held her breath. Surprisingly, or maybe not surprisingly at all, it went off exactly as it was intended, and a moment later a portal stood there in front of her. She breathed again, and looked around. It was time, after all. She cast the usual set of protective spells, and stepped forward.

It was time to see where, exactly, it would take her.

Witness Me, Phoenix

"
I'm falling
In the same direction you did
In the opposite direction you did
To a different place
From a different place
Through the same place
In a different time

I'm here
Where our paths converge
Where our paths diverge
To greet you, even if you're not here

You were, once
Twice, thrice, and again
And again, here, yet not
You won't see this
And I will not see you
And maybe, that's how it should be

I've seen this world change
And I have accepted it
And I have lived through it
And I've suffered its changes
And yet, I have changed it too

And I have put myself where I am now
Who I am now
What I am now
And the things that are in me

This world is suffering, wounded, screaming
These walls are breaking, assaulted, bleeding
These worlds are collapsing

And I see them
Running
As they try to understand
As they try to fix things
As they search for answers
And I can't help them

And I know the answers, and I can't speak them
And I know the words, but forget the meaning
And I can't go back to the world I feel from
The world I came from
And I don't remember

One of them spoke to me
In a time where I was not myself
I knew her, though I did not remember her
And she too came from the world I left
From the time I left
And she too saw through the world I passed

And I spoke to her
And remembered her
And the one who I am made a pact with her

She is my past
And I am her actions
Her consequences, in my past, the future
Ordered by me, as I am now
Yet orchestrated by me, as what is in me
And I wasn't

I can't feel, towards this
It's how it must happen
It's how it already had

I've tried to speak to them
I've tried to warn them
I've seen the future
And I'll see it again
And maybe, I'll see me again

And maybe I'll leave, one day
When this is all over
Last seconds have passed
The creature has left
And I can be myself again

I've warned them
Talked to them
I will do it again
I never had a choice
Yet I'm making all the choices
And playing my part, and writing it
But I can't see it yet

Sometimes, I feel like I don't know where I'm going
But no matter
This isn't what you're here for, anyway

I am
Everywhere everywhen
Through these worlds
Through these words
And in this world
I am
The threads that pull
And the pawn that's pushed
And here, I am now, as you've been before

And now, I am here, as you've never been
The shadow to your light
The day to your night
The other side of the mirror, to your choices
To climb my way up as you fall
So

Witness me
As I walk past the tomb you lay in
As I'll walk past the tomb you'll lay in
As I walk to the world that you shunned

Rsh | Psh

The two ponies flew side by side, slowly, over the snow-covered mountainside. "It was around here where it first happened," Firecracker said, looking around. "I think I might still be able to figure out where exactly."

The mare looked in the same direction they were. At least, they assumed she was, it wasn't all too clear. "I could show you where it first happened to me," she said. She rolled to the side in the air, towards them, but disappeared before hitting them and popped back out on the other side. "But it might take you a while to get there. It was near Ponyville. I almost hit a tree."

"I hit a tree as well. Well, not with my body, but it did happen. A couple of times." Firecracker had another look around. "It did not go well for the trees. It's what I'm looking for right now."

"You think you can still spot them, even with the snow?" asked the mare.

Firecracker was silent for a moment. "Maybe. Probably not though. It was raining pretty hard. If my eyes land on one I might recognise it, but I'm not really sure where to look." They scratched their chin, a few small bursts of electricity arching between their hoof and their jaw, like miniature lightnings. Then they looked further ahead, and their expression lit up. "But I can recognise that!"

Firecracker dived forward with a burst of speed. When they landed onto the jutting chunk of stone, the other pegasus was already there. "It happened here," they said, turning to look around. "Yep. Definitely here."

Pinkie slid down the alleyway with all the stealthiness a person playing out the most exaggerated and caricatural miming of someone sneaking around they could manage could manage. Sunset and Twilight were rather glad, as it made the girl extremely easy to follow despite her constant refusal to adhere to the laws of time and space. They really would have lost her once she'd stepped into a side alley and walked out one further ahead and on the opposite side, otherwise.

Somehow, though, Pinkie's target was as oblivious to her as she herself seemed to be to her friends. He just kept walking down the road, head covered by the hood of his jacket, hands in his pockets.

Poking out from behind a wall to observe their target's next move, just as she did the same with her own a little further ahead, Twilight whispered to Sunset, "So what is the plan, exactly?"

"We stop Pinkie from doing anything dangerous," Sunset whispered back, before dashing across the street to hide behind a skip.

Twilight ran behind her, as quietly as she could. "I think you'd need to tie her to a chair and lock her in a room with padded walls if you actually wanted to achieve that."

Sunset failed to come up with a valid counterargument. "Anything dangerous to someone who doesn't even know her. Besides, if there's a portal here then we need it secured as fast as possible."

Twilight nodded at that. "You're right. I just hope this whole thing doesn't end up hurting anyone."

Suddenly, there was a sound behind the two girls.

Palindrome

"But what if a group of cows was called a murder?"

Fluttershy, Sunset and Rainbow Dash all stared at Pinkie for a moment, silent. "That sounds oddly terrifying," Sunset said.

"Yep," Rainbow added, nodding. Fluttershy also nodded.

"Thank you for yesterday, by the way," Pinkie went on, jumping to a completely different topic as if nothing had happened.

"It's no problem," said Sunset. Then she paused for a moment. "What happened yesterday?"

"The portal, remember?"

"Yeah." Sunset's expression remained confused. "We were following you. And then we were working on getting the portal secured. And then... There wasn't a portal?"

"Uh, is everything okay?" asked Rainbow, leaning forward.

"Yes, don't worry about it," Pinkie said.

But Sunset shook her head. "I don't remember. There's something there I don't remember. Like there's a hole in my memory and things at the ends of it don't match up." Her gaze drifted towards Pinkie. "What happened?"

"But what if a group of cows was called a murder?"

Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Sunset all silently stared at Pinkie. "That sounds oddly terrifying, for some reason," Fluttershy said.

"Twilight is still working on trying to figure out a pattern for the portals, right?" asked Pinkie, completely disregarding the question she'd just asked.

"Sure is," said Sunset. "I've tried to tell her to go easy on it, but I'm not sure how much she's listening. But she has gotten better about this kind of stuff, I have to give her credit."

"Anyone heard from Applejack recently?" Rainbow asked, leaning back in her chair.

"I have," said Fluttershy. "She said she's doing alright."

"And has anyone heard from Rarity?" There was a slight tremor in Sunset's voice as she asked that.

Rainbow Dash pulled out her phone and scrolled through a couple of messages, holding it over her face as she leaned into her chair so far her head was almost parallel to the floor. "Eating ice-cream on the couch right now, and watching horribly acted dramas."

"How many tubs?" asked Sunset.

"Still on the first one."

"So it's not too bad today."

"Or maybe she woke up late." Rainbow put her phone back in her pocket.

"That too." Sunset lay her arms on the table and her head on top of them, deflated. Fluttershy placed a hand over hers, offering a smile. Sunset smiled back.

Pinkie suddenly twisted in her chair, looking towards the window on the wall behind her. The other girls followed the direction of her eyes, and saw a bird tapping with its beak against the glass. "Is that a crow?" asked Rainbow, trying to get a better look at it.

Fluttershy stood up and walked towards the window. Sunset followed her with her eyes, while Pinkie just turned back to the table. Rainbow too chose to look away. "What do you think that's about?" she asked.

"Well, she'll tell us once she's done talking to it," Sunset said, watching as Fluttershy opened the window.

But rather than stop to talk to the girl, the bird flew inside and towards the table.

Bringer of Pain - Part 1

Firecracker swallowed. They had indeed looked around while the stallion was speaking, though they still had their doubts about where exactly they were. Not so much doubts about where it was supposed to be, more so about actually being there. Still, he'd said to ask questions, and they'd listen to that advice. "Who are you?"

"Ah, yes, there's a good question." The stallion smiled. "I am the Charioteer. Or the Mahout, if you'd prefer." There was a pause. "I would have gestured, here, but you may notice my legs are a little tied at the moment." He lifted his front legs slightly, and Firecracker noticed straps wrapped around them that led off somewhere in front of him. They seemed to wane in and out of reality, in an all too familiar way.

There was a nervous twitch through the pegasus' body at the sight. Their mind jumped to the first question it could come up with, even if it wasn't what they'd wanted to. "Where are we?" asked Firecracker, their throat a little dry.

The stallion chuckled. "Come on now. You've figured it out already. Or do you really need to hear it?"

Firecracker swallowed. Did they want to hear it? They hesitated, and asked something else instead. "Why?"

"I've already answered that. Please don't ask questions I have already answered, don't indulge my chattiness beyond measure. Just because I get lonely up here. You'll have to leave at some point, I'd rather you spend the time we have asking questions you don't already know the answer to."

Firecrackers gave half a nod, their breath growing deeper. Sparks of lightning coursed along the tips of their feathers, but it was more of a nervous reaction than anything else. "How did I get here?" they asked.

"Your friend decided to lend you a hoof," replied the stallion. "She figured the risk of what could happen if she took you on would be better than the certainty of you flattened under a rock. And it looks like it was the right choice. Funny you'd end up here, but I suppose it makes sense."

Firecracker took a few seconds to reflect on that, taking in the information. "Where is she now?" they asked, worried, forgetting their situation for a moment.

"Oh, come on, just because I can see a lot of things from up here it doesn't mean I can see everyone and everything," said the Charioteer with a very blatantly faux offended tone. Then he smiled, and turned to have a look in front of himself. "She's looking for you right now. She seems pretty worried. She's close to here, actually, I imagine she'll get into town in a few minutes."

Their worries sedated, Firecracker focused back on the present. The stallion knew way too much to just be pretending, and they'd had enough time to accept and make sure they really were there. The feeling underneath their hooves wasn't getting any better, and they feared it would start to crawl up their legs at some point. "You brought this thing here."

Looking back towards the pegasus, the stallion frowned. "Not quite how I would say it went, no. But I suppose, in a way, if you want to put it like that. Really, I was more along for the ride."

"Take it away." Firecracker's tone was firm, and angry.

"Now, now. I can't just do that. But I can get it to move, if you really want me to." He smiled, and held up his front legs again, the reins around them growing more visible as he pulled on them. "Should I have it take another step?"

Bringer of Pain - Part 2

Firecracker took a step back, clenching their teeth to stop their imminent clattering. "You wouldn't," they hissed.

"Oh, but I totally would," replied the stallion. "Trust me, Fire', I'm a creature of my word. So how about you calm down those feathers of yours, and we just have ourselves more of a chat, and no one down there gets hurt? Doesn't that just sound a whole lot better?"

Reluctantly, Firecracker straightened themself, but kept their eyes pinned to the stallion. "If I fly away from here, will you stop me?"

"I would have a hard time doing so, given my position." The stallion nodded towards the reins again. "And I don't exactly have anything to throw at you. Not that I have any interest in keeping you here, beyond simple company at least. Like I've said before, I'm prepared for news of my presence to spread out after this meeting of ours. Excited by the prospect, really. And by the meeting that I imagine will follow."

The pegasus relaxed, if only a little. "You said you were prepared to wait for decades. And I'm assuming you've been here all along. How?"

The stallion shrugged. "Lots of patience. To be completely fair it wasn't as boring as I make it out to be, I had things to watch." There was a pause, while he looked into the distance. "A lot of things to watch. You'd be surprised at how much there is to see."

Firecracker followed the direction of the stallion's gaze for a moment, only to confirm there was nothing there. They turned back towards him instead. "How much is there?" they asked.

The Charioteer snickered. "Oh, now, I can't just give you all the answers, can I? It would be much too easy that way." He looked at Firecracker for a moment, clicking his tongue. "I've said you're free to fly away from here, and I mean it. But something tells me you're going to fall off instead."

Firecracker tensed, but didn't react any further. "What are you here for?"

The stallion, once again, motioned to the reins wrapped around his forelegs. "There needs to be someone taking care of this. Trust me, really, it would have been a mess if it had been sent here by itself. You want someone steering it to where it's supposed to go."

Firecracker was very curious as to where, exactly, the Behemoth was supposed to go, and about who or what had sent it, from where, why, and a number of other things the stallion's words implied or appeared to. But at that moment something else took centre stage in their thoughts. "That would have been a mess?" they growled out. "Have you seen what this thing has done to Equestria?"

The stallion gave a mild shrug at that. "All buildings fall, sooner or later. If you knew what I know you'd consider being thankful that you still have an Equestria, and ponies living in it." The stallion clicked his tongue again. "For the time being, at least."

InsHide

Chrysalis checked her image in the mirror, to make sure one last time it exactly matched the stallion she'd captured.

"You look fine. Stop obsessing over it," came Stellaria's voice from the other room, muddied a little by the chocolate the alicorn was munching on. Chrysalis ignored her.

"You'd say that even if I stepped out of here with no disguise," said the changeling, finally leaving the bathroom. "You'd enjoy seeing me captured, wouldn't you?"

Stella stared at her from the couch, smirking as she always did when she had a chance to torture her would-be mother. "I wouldn't go that far. Where would the fun be if you were caught? I wouldn't get to play with you anymore. But seeing you nervous, squirming as you fear you might be found out, seeing the tension in your body as you realise you might have doomed yourself with your mistakes..." She gave a long, deep, and particularly breathy exhale. "That's fun," she said, in just as breathy of a tone.

Chrysalis chose to pay as little attention as she could to the alicorn's words, and for once decided not to say anything back to her. It wasn't worth the consequences, not given the day ahead. She glanced at the clock. "Shall we be going, then?"

Stella nodded. She levitated the keys to the door and opened it, then stepped out into the morning. Chrysalis had another look at the stallion in her cocoon, to ensure everything was still alright on that front, then followed Stella outside and closed the door behind them.

The walk to Twilight's castle was uneventful, aside perhaps from Stellaria's ever-present grin. Chrysalis tried to take her mind off it by going through the plan again in her head.

It wasn't supposed to be anything too dangerous just yet. Simple scouting was the idea. They'd taken as much information as they could out of the stallion she was replacing, and Stella would cover for anything else they might need in terms of required knowledge on the research topics. She was the smartest creature in Equestria, after all. Chrysalis shivered, and deeply regretted choosing to mentally go over the plan again.

For a moment, as the doors to the castle appeared at the end of the road, she wondered about taking herself out of the deal. Undoing her disguise as soon as she was close enough to Twilight and telling the alicorn everything. She wondered if stone was really all that bad after all.

She rejected the thought so violently she almost spat out. Clenching her teeth, she marched a little faster towards her destination. She would not give either of those purple nuisances the satisfaction of seeing her admit defeat. Not when she still had a chance to win in the end, not after everything she'd already gone through.

And if things went well enough, she'd decorate her throne room with the petrified remains of both alicorns, after she was done smashing them to pieces. She looked up, finally at the doors, and gave a determined knock.

Hyperquizzitistical

"We don't have much time. If I'm spotted I will need to leave, and it's important that we share this information now. We..." The pony-sized praying mantis wearing a trench coat stopped, and tilted its head to the right, making sure to stop its hat from sliding off. "Wait, are you the right Pinkie?"

Pinkie moved the pile of plates she was carrying slightly aside, so she could look at the mantis face to face. She shook her head, then gave a nod towards a table near one of the walls, where another Pinkie sat eating soup. The mantis sighed, brought its hat a little lower on its face, and then made its way towards the other Pinkie, pushing through the crowd in the busy restaurant.

"Hi," said Pinkie as the mantis approached, before eating another spoonful of soup.

"Hello," said the mantis, sitting down. "We don't have much time, and it's important we share this information as quickly as we can. I could be forced to leave at any moment, therefore our conversation should be brief and efficient. It could be potentially very dangerous if we did not have the proper time to exchange everything we need to. For this reason we should get to it as soon as possible. Do you understand? I need you to understand that time is a valuable resource and we cannot afford to waste any of it. Is that clear? Is it clear that we need to be quick? Time is of the essence, Pinkie."

Pinkie nodded, still eating her soup.

"Good. I'm glad you understand our need to act fast in this situation." The mantis poured itself a small pile of salt on the table and then took it in through some orifice in its head. "Was it done?"

Pinkie nodded again, more vigorously this time. "Yes it was!"

"Good. Were there any complications?" asked the mantis.

"None at all." Pinkie shook her head. "Everything went off without a hitch, all according to plan. The right time and place, everything just as you said it would be."

The mantis nodded, pleased. "Yes, very good indeed. This should mean this iteration is preserved, for now at least. Did anyone see you?"

Pinkie shook her head again.

"I trust you are right." The mantis sighed, and took a moment to recollect its thoughts and adjust its hat again. "Was our messenger safe?"

Another nod from Pinkie.

"I'm glad to hear that. Now, then, onto the next step." The mantis produced a folded piece of paper from within one of the pockets of its trench coat, then unfolded it on top of the table. It then pointed to a circle drawn on top of it. "There's one here," it said. "When the time comes, I want you to be the one who chooses to go there, alongside Rainbow. Preferably just you two, but if Twilight decides to come as well you may let her." Then it pointed to a cross drawn onto a different spot of the map. "And keep everyone away from here for as long as you can. Things will need to be solved on this side before you can properly deal with that. By any means necessary, Twilight mustn't go there before the Moon has passed. It may be a dangerous gamble, but it's a risk we have to take."

Bringer of Pain - Part 3

Lightning cracked along Firecracker's wings, their eyes pinned to the stallion in front of them. "What are you talking about?" the pegasus asked through gritted teeth.

"You think this is over? You think things will just stay like they are now, and all you'll need to do is adapt to them?" The stallion shook his head. "What you saw was just the beginning. And things have kept moving, beneath the surface, out of notice from you creatures. But they are still changing. We are far from done in this world, Fire', and we are far from the worst of it."

Firecracker's teeth clenched harder, arches of electricity sizzling through their mane. "And you're a part of this?"

The Charioteer nodded. "Indeed. As I have said, someone needs to direct this to where its presence is required. I have sincere doubts there are many, if any, who'd be willing and able to do it out there in this world. And so, I have to play my part, as I've said."

"And what happens if someone stops you?"

The stallion smiled. "I am not quite sure, to be frank. Certainly, someone could be quite displeased by the fact, provided anyone is there. But here? I suppose things might simply stop, at some point. Not quite immediately, I imagine, as some are already in motion, but eventually. Likely before reaching the most dangerous portions of the planned course."

Firecracker nodded, breathing slowly. "What can you tell me about scales?" they asked.

"Not too much," replied the stallion, "but I can tell you that Twilight is correct in her guesses to their origin. And that there is still something you haven't figured out, as she believes."

Another deep breath. "What happened to me, and the others like me? Is it all really the same? How many are there?"

"A few more still you don't know about, and yes, it is the same for all of you. Merely showing in different ways. But as for what it is, well, I'm sorry." The stallion shook his head. "That's not something I can tell you."

Firecracker looked silently at the stallion for a few moments. "If I were to try and fly my way back here, would I be able to?"

The stallion pursed his lips. "I doubt it. It is quite surprising that you arrived here in the first place, and... Something else, too, but I will wait a little still to address that."

Lightning was coursing over Firecracker's body, but it was less agitated, more controlled. A deliberate output rather than nervous discharges. "Then this is my only chance to stop you, and in turn stop what's happening to Equestria," they said. "You've said you don't have a choice in your actions. I'm willing to believe that, and don't blame this on you. I hope you won't blame me either, if I decide that if your actions will lead to the destruction of my home, and of the lives of those I love, then I should stop you here and now."

The stallion's smile widened. "I've said it before, Firecracker. You're welcome to try to force my actions. Don't be too disappointed if you fail."

The pegasus' answer came in the form of two bolts of lightning, shooting from their outstretched wings towards the stallion.

Bringer of Pain - Part 4

"You ought to be more careful with that, Fire'. You could kill a pony throwing that stuff around." But the stallion was smiling as he said that. He'd moved back a touch, likely rolling, though the pegasus couldn't tell how much of the blast he'd dodged, if any.

"I figured you could take it," Firecracker replied. "Given what you know, you wouldn't have been taunting me otherwise." Their wings remained tense, sparks shooting across the feathers as more electricity built up in them. "I'm not planning to kill you, if you're worried. Just knock you out so I can take you away from here."

"I don't know if you'd have a cell that can hold me, down there. But it's not a bad plan, all things considered." The stallion was still sitting there, staring at Firecracker. "So, will you come and get me? I'm not moving from here, I think I've made that evident enough already."

Firecracker began to approach the stallion, one step at a time, eyes focused on him and wings ready to strike. Getting too close was not a good idea, but they needed to get closer if they wanted to make sure they could hit him properly. They noticed a slight, almost imperceptible shift in the other's expression, and they stopped. For a moment everything was still. Then, movement.

The pegasus had been preparing for it, and sprung into action as soon as they noticed. They pushed themself to the right, and shot another lightning from their left wing.

The stallion was faster than they had anticipated. He rolled back, away from the pegasus, and the bulk of the straps wrapped around his legs slid off them. The lightning bolt seemed to still hit him, but despite that he finished his roll in a standing position and let the motion carry through one of his front legs. The rein held in it whipped forward and struck one of Firecracker's legs, knocking them slightly off-balance while still in mid-air from their sidestep.

The pegasus still managed to land on all four hooves. They stared at the stallion standing in front of them, holding the ends of the reins into his hooves while their length lay down in front of and around him, like whips ready to strike. They looked almost like ribbons, about as thick as a bit, but almost as wide as a hoof. Firecracker's muscles were tense, waiting for something to react to, their wings building up more energy for a stronger shot.

The stallion's front legs kicked. Firecracker jumped to the left, avoiding the rein that cut through the air and struck where their head had been. Their wings snapped forward, aiming towards the stallion. The second rein hit them right in the chest, feeling heavy like a full grown tree, and their lightnings fired off aimlessly towards the sky as their body was sent rolling back.

They got back to their hooves. The air had been knocked out of their lungs, and it took a moment to get their breath back in order, but there didn't seem to be any other major sign of damage. Firecracker looked towards the stallion again, wings readying another strike. Then, all of a sudden, a metallic taste filled their mouth, their bones began to ache, and a sound like shards of glass grinding against each other filled their head. The Pegasus fell to their knees.

"Ah, there it is." The Charioteer stepped forward. "Seems like we're out of time then. A shame, really, but I did wonder when it would happen." He tilted his head to the side, studying Firecracker. "I should probably explain what's going on right now, I suppose."

Bringer of Pain - Part 5

Firecracker looked up at the stallion, but could not muster the strength to get up again. They felt like they were suffering from a high fever, and their vision was starting to wane from side to side.

The stallion lowered his head, so he could talk to the pegasus more easily. "You're not supposed to be here. You were never supposed to be here. I'm sure that if you haven't tried to get too close to the Behemoth, you've at least heard stories about those who have. You know how it goes." The stallion sat down at that point. "The nausea, the aches, everything else. The few that make it past that pass out before they get far. If you've ever felt that almost imperceptible unease that for some comes from being near a scale, that's a drop of water compared to the river you're in now."

Panting heavily, Firecracker struggled to open their mouth, first spreading their lips as droplets of spit fell off their gums. Their tongue and throat felt dry, yet they expected their nose to start pouring any second, and an acid aftertaste lingered in the back of their mouth. Finally they managed to force their teeth to open, and were almost surprised blood didn't start to pour out. "Why now?" they asked, their tone raspy.

The Charioteer nodded. "You're a smart pony, like I've said before. If you'd just appeared here, this is what you would have felt like from the beginning. But that's not quite how it went." He looked around for a moment, an amused expression on his face, then focused back on the pegasus. "You weren't really here, per say. Not fully. It turns out a bit of you was still outside, slowly getting back to you. Oh, you'll be fine, don't worry about it, nothing broke down inside you. But it did mean you took a bit to reappear fully. Tell your friend that when she asks how things went, I'm sure she'll appreciate the information."

Firecracker had to force their eyes to stay open at that point. The sound inside their head was only growing louder, and there didn't seem to be a muscle in their body that didn't hurt when they tried to use it. They looked at the stallion's hooves, still holding the reins, then managed to push their neck high enough to look at their face again. They leaned forward as far as they could manage to, and with one last push put a wing forward and pressed it against the other's face.

A directionless burst of electricity fired off from the inner side of the pegasus' wing, a dozen of different arches of miniature lightning shooting off of it and coursing through the air, all hitting the stallion's head in the span of less than half a second.

"That was actually kind of adorable," said the pony. While Firecracker's vision clouded further, he picked up the pegasus with a hoof on their back, and casually tossed them far enough to a side.

Firecracker didn't land back on the Behemoth, and instead began to fall at its side towards the ground far down below, still only half conscious.

Adream | Concerning Words Unwritten

Fluttershy stared towards the ceiling, eyes wide open, head sinking into the pillow. There wasn't much to see with how dark the room was, but that wasn't the point. She'd had someone, she couldn't quite remember who right then, recommend she keep her eyes open while trying to fall asleep should trying to keep them closed not work out. Right then, she was trying to fall asleep as fast as she could, and the nervousness from trying to force herself to sleep and knowing there wasn't much time for her to do it was doing her no favours whatsoever.

But she was tired, still, technically. She could probably fall asleep. She could definitely fall asleep. And Luna was meaning to talk with her, so there was nothing to worry about, because if Luna wanted then she could make sure she would fall asleep. And if Luna did nothing then there was nothing to worry about, because it meant she didn't need to do anything, because sleep would come by itself and Fluttershy just needed to sleep. Focus on sleeping. Because she was going to sleep. Because she needed to. So she was going to sleep.

Fluttershy took a deep breath. Then another. She had to calm down, and stop rushing through her thoughts. Focus on nothing, and let her own tiredness overtake her. Slowly she closed her eyes, her breath grew slower and slower, her head began to swim and eventually she fell asleep, drifting into the world of dreams.

Sweetie Belle was walking down the road in Ponyville, halfway lost in thought but still paying attention to where she was going. So when she suddenly noticed, out of the corner of her eye, a pegasus tripping and falling, she immediately stopped and turned in that direction to check if they were okay. But they weren't there, and no one else seemed to have seen anything.

Confused the filly looked around for a moment, then shook her head. It must have been something else that she saw, or maybe she'd just imagined the whole thing. She turned back again and started walking. She was a bit surprised to see Twilight in front of her, crossing the road, but not too much. True, she'd expect the alicorn to be in her castle at that time, but it wasn't unusual for her to occasionally be spotted in town if she ever went looking for something or someone. Sweetie was a lot more confused, though, when she reached the entrance to the alley she could have sworn she'd seen Twilight walk into and realised that there was no alley there, just a wall.

Most confusing still was when she turned away from the wall, and saw Pinkie Pie moving across the street with piles of plates on her hooves and back. And yet more confusing was how the pony disappeared from her sight after she'd rubbed her eyes, as if she'd never been there at all, and no one else seemed to notice.

Doomsday News

Twilight was in the laboratory, scanning a set of test results she held in her magic while walking back and forth through the room. The other ponies working alongside her were used enough to her habits to successfully avoid colliding with her when moving from a table to another. The place was mostly quiet, aside from the mild clacking of hooves and low buzzing of magical research instruments.

That all came to a halt as a pony rushed through the doors, almost tumbling to the ground before catching herself and moving to grab Twilight. "Canterlot castle. The statue in the park. Now!"

Twilight quickly moved past the appreciation for the mare actually bothering to appear inside the corridor rather than inside the laboratory, as requested, and onto confusion for what she was asking. Then that too was surpassed as she had a look at the pegasus' eyes and saw the worry and frantic nervousness inside them. Without second thought, she lit her horn and releported the both of them away, letting her papers fall to the ground.

They reappeared a moment later, near the petrified forms of Tirek and Cozy Glow. Normally, Twilight would have gone to the garden's entrance instead, she didn't like the idea of teleporting so close to the Behemoth. She wasn't sure it was safe. But she'd made an exception there. The pegasus quickly left her to rush towards something on the ground, and Twilight gasped as she followed her with her gaze.

She immediately ran towards her, and towards the second pegasus lying on the grass in front of the statue. "What happened?" Twilight asked, kneeling down and checking Firecracker's pulse with a wing to their neck.

"They were checking on the ruins, someone did something there. Destroyed chunks of them. A column was missing pieces, and they got stuck, and the top section broke off, and it was about to fall on them and... I..." The mare took a few deep breaths to calm herself. Still shaking slightly, she continued, "I tried to pull them in with me. It worked, but I lost them. I started looking for them. I- I had to, if I hadn't pulled them in the rock would have crushed them, I-"

"Were they like this when you found them?" asked Twilight. She'd checked for vitals and everything seemed in order with the pegasus, but she was still on edge.

There was a moment of pause as the grey pegasus gathered herself, then she shook her head. "No." She looked up, towards the Behemoth. "They were falling."

Twilight looked where the other was. "Back to the castle," she said after a moment. Then with a wing still pressed over Firecracker's chest she teleported away, taking the unconscious pegasus with her. The other mare disappeared from the place a second later.

All three reappeared inside Twilight's own castle in Ponyville, the blonde mare only a moment after the other two. They were in the infirmary, and one look between the doctor and Twilight had been enough for him to immediately get onto checking Firecracker's body. "What happened to them?" he asked.

"We don't know for sure," answered Twilight. "Check for any signs of magic, regular kind or otherwise."

The doctor moved away from the trio and towards his desk, to fetch a scanner, but before he could reach it he had to turn back, as Firecracker suddenly gave a violent cough, like someone who almost drowned finally breathing again.

Lifting their head and neck from the floor, they looked around, and spotted Twilight through their half-lidded eyes. "There's someone," they said, voice still raspy. "There's someone on top of the Behemoth."

Giant Spider

"Have you heard one of the guards working at the castle is called Silver Spear?"

"I've heard that, yes."

"Are you two related, by chance?"

"Not the first time I've been asked that." Silver Spoon bit down on her sandwich. "Not as far as I know."

"Ah. I hope I didn't bother you with that question." Rainbow's ears curved a touch backwards in slight embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it." Silver Spoon took another bite from her sandwich. "I haven't been asked too many times yet."

Rainbow was silent for a bit, swaying from side to side. "Alright. Sorry still. So, uh, have you been up to anything interesting lately?"

"Just the usual."

"The... usual?"

"You know. My usual daily life." Silver Spoon looked up from her sandwich and towards Rainbow for a moment, lifting her eyebrows. "I doubt that would be particularly interesting to a pony like you."

Again, Rainbow drew back a little. More figuratively than physically, given the situation. "I, yeah, sorry, I guess. You're right." Her expression shifted drastically as she caught the unintended meaning of her own words. "Well, no, you're not right, it's not like your life is less important to me because you don't go on adventures like I do and- Ah, forget it! I'm not good at this."

"At least you know."

That actually earned Silver Spoon a glare from Rainbow, one that almost could maybe have been on the edge of potentially qualifying as offended.

"What?" Silver Spoon lifted an eyebrow.

Rainbow opened her mouth to speak, then closed it for a moment. "I don't know. I guess I was expecting compassion instead of... Whatever this is."

"Honesty?"

"Unkind bluntness." Rainbow frowned. "Honesty is different."

"Prettier?" asked Silver Spoon with a smile.

Rainbow was about to nod, but caught herself and looked to the side instead, blushing.

Still smiling, Silver Spoon ate more of her sandwich. "You know it was just a joke, right?"

Rainbow sighed. "Yeah. I know." She relaxed and looked back to the other. "So, uh... Is this normal?"

Silver Spoon paused her chewing for a moment. "This, what?"

"You know." Rainbow gave a vague nod. "This. This whole thing."

Silver Spoon swallowed. "I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at. What do you mean exactly? What are you talking about?"

Rainbow opened her mouth, and let out a wordless sound of hesitation. Finally, she gestured with her hoof at the cave around them, then at their conditions. "This thing. The whole being wrapped up in a sort of cocoon hanging from the ceiling of a massive cave thing. This."

"Oh." Silver spoon took another bite from her sandwich. "That." She swallowed. "No, I don't recall it being normal."

"Alright." Rainbow was silent a bit more. "Want me to get you out of here?"

Silver Spoon looked around. Then she shook her head. "No. I think I'm fine." She took one more bite from her sandwich, which hadn't changed in size yet since the first time Rainbow had laid eyes on it.

"Alright." Rainbow looked around too. "See you around then, I guess."

Make Love

Things were going smoothly. Everything was fine, everything was perfectly alright. It was unnerving. Or maybe it was the way Stella circled around the room with a smile constantly plasterers onto her face that really bothered Chrysalis. The way she seemed to be taunting her. Her own personal demon only she could see, like she was haunted or going insane.

The changeling tried her hardest to focus on the microscope in front of her instead of the alicorn staring at her from across the table. For the most part, she'd been doing exactly what the stallion she was impersonating would have. Replicating the daily activities of a creature was still part of a changeling's natural talents, after all, and while in better times such tasks would have been far beneath her station the present lack of resources meant even she had to lower herself to that level.

If only because the absolute failure of a worker who thought of herself as a queen had refused to partake. Chrysalis bit down and swallowed her venom, reminding herself yet again that it did no favours to her or the mission to focus on Stellaria. It was what that waste of magic energy wanted. Still, she could not help but regret ever having conceived of creating her. But thinking that involved thinking about her actions as a mistake, something the changeling's distaste for had only grown stronger since her meeting with Stella.

Twilight Sparkle's castle was as fascinating as the last time she'd set hoof in it, perhaps even more so. It reminded her of her own hive, in a way. The way it so clearly could shift its shape to accommodate for its inhabitants' needs, the pervasive feeling of magic in its very structure, in the floor beneath her and the walls around her, almost sizzling in the air of the rooms and corridors inside it. She was, indeed, quite thankful it wasn't capable of detecting changelings. Or perhaps it could, but hadn't found a way to alert its owner yet.

She was a bit less thankful for how it didn't show the same eagerness as its mother when it came to taking care of fake ponies born from trees. She assumed the Tree of Harmony didn't have a problem with being referred to as female considering how she chose to appear to others. Though maybe that had changed after it had died and come back. Maybe she really had gone insane, with her pondering the intricacies of a family made of crystal trees. But then, maybe she'd also been born from one. So went one of the stories, at least.

Chrysalis had gotten so caught up in her own thoughts she almost jumped when a very light spark of electricity zapped her hind legs. She looked to Stella, then focused back onto her task. For once, the alicorn seemed to care more about the success of the operation than about tormenting her. She didn't want to be caught getting distracted on the job, after all.

Hunt

And there it was. Or, to be precise, there it wasn't. The alicorn looked over the statue, which anyone familiar with would have noticed was missing one of its key figures. Chrysalis was gone, and only Cozy Glow and Tirek were left. She'd suspected it, but she'd wanted to make sure of it before she began her search. She quickly walked away from the garden though, being so near what Twilight had chosen to call the Behemoth was not a comfortable experience if prolonged too far, and it was not advisable either. She'd do her studies on it one day, but not then.

She couldn't antagonise the creature too much, though. It was, after all, most likely the reason she was there. Breathing and thinking and alive again, for a second time. And soon to be looking for the one who'd been responsible for the first.

Such things she'd missed in her absence. It was a very fortunate thing that ponies were more than willing to share everything there could be to ask. A very unfortunate one that the most of them were not so reliable in the accuracy of their narrations. Thankfully, written official records did exist, and as weird as it could seem for a pony to be studying the previous year's events as one would ancient history it was still not something anyone stopped her from doing.

There could have been an easier way to get her information, in truth. She could have asked directly to the pony who'd been there for most of those events. It would have been the more efficient solution, perhaps the best one overall in terms of results as well. Yet, she had her reasons not to approach that pony just yet.

It wasn't fear. She mentally laughed at that. But it was still personal reasons. She did not want her first personal meeting with the alicorn to be wasted on such frivolous details, mere necessities in her plans. No. She'd meet Twilight when the time came for her to crush the pony under her hooves. And besides, the mere thought of having to rely on her was revolting. Stellaria's steps became a little louder as she stomped her way away from the castle. It made her blood boil, the idea of lowering herself to being dependent on Twilight Sparkle of all creatures. She didn't need anyone, she wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

She'd been neither particularly pleased nor displeased at the news of Chrysalis's imprisonment. While she had reasons for both on a personal level, the event itself was merely the natural and expected consequence of the changeling's incompetence. Much as one could love or hate a tree there was no sense in feeling anything over it losing its leaves in autumn. But Chrysalis's escape was another matter.

She'd been debating whether she should have broken the statue or kept it as her own, or perhaps both. But now that the changeling was out there in the world, she could do a lot more than that. And she planned to have as much fun as she could out of it.

Thank You

"Indigo?"

"Yeah?" Indigo Zap's head popped up above the cupboard she was kneeling in front of, and she momentarily stopped her rummaging through its contents in search of the right pan to cook lunch in.

Lemon eyed the opened package on top of her bed, then looked at her roommate again. "Did you order a collection of rare vinyl records from some of my favourite bands off the Internet, by chance?"

Indigo quirked an eyebrow. "Why?"

Lemon gave a nod towards her bed. "Because I just got a package with a collection of rare vinyl records from some of my favourite bands, and there was my name on it, and this address. So it's probably not someone else's package that accidentally ended up here. So someone probably ordered that for me." She looked to Indigo again. "Did I order that? Was I drunk enough to accidentally order that and blow all my money on it?"

"I don't know, Lemon. It's not my job to keep track of your antics, and if it was I would quit." Indigo momentarily ducked behind the cupboard again, and went back to searching. She emerged seconds later, brandishing a pan like one would a sword.

"I don't think I even had enough money to buy all that," Lemon went on. "Did I find a way to make more money while drunk and then spend it all in the span of a single night forever losing the secret of how I made that money in the first place to time? Did I make some shady deal with a criminal organisation in exchange for money? Did I live-stream myself playing video games drunk and half naked, build up a fanbase and accidentally leak enough of my personal information for someone to buy and send that to me?" She slipped her fingers through her hair to hold her head, growing increasingly worried as she spun around.

Setting the pan down, Indigo put a finger to her lips, pursing them. "That last option sounds like it would have been nice to see. But unless there's a desperate fan's love letter still in the box I don't think it's the right answer."

"Don't make fun of me, Indy, I am not ready for the pressure of becoming an Internet celebrity."

Indigo had a look around. "Oh I think you're ready. It's not like you're short on unwashed clothes to sell, we could make a fortune."

"Very funny, Indigo." Lemon turned back towards the other girl. "I'm here trying to figure out what happened and how much I should worry for my safety after I might have done who knows what while inebriated and you are there smirking and trying to hold back laughter and now you're bent over laughing at me and-" Lemon stopped, and suddenly facepalmed. "You bought it for me, didn't you?"

It took a moment for Indigo to speak through her fits of laughter. "Guilty as charged."

Lemon didn't remove her hand from her face. "Thank you," she quietly said from behind it. The colour of her skin made it a bit hard to tell, but Indigo swore she saw her blushing behind her hair and fingers.

Revw

"What?"

Firecracker propped themself up with a leg. "There's someone on top of the Behemoth," they repeated, then they coughed into a wing.

The doctor approached them. "Please, try to relax," he said. "You should lay down and not exert yourself right now, we need to make sure you're okay."

"I'll be fine," the pegasus said, then they coughed again. "I'll be fine. Let me talk to Twilight." They waved their other wing, as if to shoo the stallion.

"He's right," said Twilight, lowering herself towards the pegasus. "We don't know what happened to you and you should lay down. You can talk to me, but please don't do anything reckless. We still don't know what falling through the Weave might have done to you, much less being so close to the Behemoth." A part of her wanted to shake answers out of the pony. A louder and much more reasonable one knew that their safety was more important.

Firecracker seemed to accept the idea, and lay back down. "It'll pass," they said. "I'm already feeling better. And falling through was fine." They looked to the other pegasus in the room, who'd been quietly and worriedly watching them. "It took a bit before all of me made it through, but it didn't hurt me. He said it was like I wasn't fully there at the start."

"Who said that?" Twilight asked, unable to hold back her curiosity that far.

Firecracker silently looked to the ceiling for a moment. "He called himself the Charioteer, or something else, too. He was... He looked like an earth pony, a regular stallion. He said he's been there all along. He's the one who's telling the Behemoth where to go." The pegasus looked back towards Twilight. "He said he was waiting for someone to find him. I think he's waiting for you to go to him, now."

Twilight bit the corner of her lower lip, as thoughts rushed through her head. "How does he tell that thing where to go?" she asked, while her brain worked through all the information.

Firecracker gave a small smile at that. "Reins," they simply replied.

All of Twilight's thoughts screeched to a brief halt just so she could allow herself a bewildered chuckle. "Of course. Why not. Giant potentially extradimensional creature that breaks all laws of physics and magic that arrived out of nowhere and has drastically warped the world since then, and it's driven by a pony using reins. I've seen weirder."

"You have?" asked the other mare.

"You know what? I've been around Discord for a while and Pinkie Pie for longer. And another Pinkie Pie, on occasion. I probably have."

Firecracker swallowed, their breath sharper for a moment, then they seemed to relax again. "If it makes it less weird, those reins looked a lot like the Behemoth itself. And going by how hard they hit I'd say they were way heavier than they looked."

Twilight still had a number of questions swirling around in her head. But looking at Firecracker, and hearing what they had just said, she decided those could wait until they were sure the pegasus had fully recovered. She sighed. "We'll continue this conversation later. Now excuse me, there's a new protective spell I need to design. It's about time I figured how to get close to the Behemoth, anyway."

Rigged

"What are you doing?"

Twilight didn't look up from the graphs in front of her as she replied, "Working on a new spell."

"Oh." Starlight stepped further into the room. "What is it for?"

"A protective spell." Twilight wrote some notes down on a piece of parchment, then shifted around the papers on her table until she found the one she was looking for.

"Ah." Starlight was silent for a moment, leaning forward but not approaching Twilight further. "What kind of protective spell? Something else we should add on when we travel through scales?"

Twilight was about to answer, but closed her mouth for a moment and thought it over. "You know? If it ends up working, then sure, we should probably throw it in there as well. You never know what you might run into."

"Huh." Starlight nodded lightly, and finally took one more step towards the alicorn. "So, what's it for?"

Twilight focused on the contents of her table for a moment, scribbled down something else, then finally replied. "I'm trying to see if I can make something that'll make it possible to get closer to the Behemoth. Scales give the same readings so at least we have something to work with there."

"I see." Another step forward. "Why are you doing this? I mean, I know why, I want to get close to that thing and study it as much as you probably do. But why now?"

More paper snuffling. "Because I'm planning to go near it."

"How close are we talking about?" Starlight approached Twilight a bit more.

There was silence, for a moment, filled only with the sounds of the two mares' breath. "On top of it," Twilight said.

Starlight's newest step turned into a stumble midway through. "On top of it?" she asked, yelling. "Why? I'd think you're crazy if you so much as suggested trying to touch it and you're telling me you want to walk on it?"

"I'll tell you why once I've been there and back." Twilight still didn't look away from her notes and research.

"I don't even know if you will be back!" The rest of the distance between the two was quickly covered as Starlight reached Twilight's table in a hurry. "You can't be serious, Twilight."

"I am." The alicorn turned to Starlight. "And if I told you why, you'd want to come too at minimum, probably ask to be the one who goes instead of me."

"Then why don't you tell me?"

"Because I'm more likely to make it back than you are, if things go wrong, for one. Second, because I would rather you be here and safe, which is why I'm not letting you spy on my studies over this." She grabbed Starlight in her telekinesis and placed her further away from the table, then turned to look directly at her. "Third, because I'm selfish and I want to be the one to see what's there first between the two of us, and be the one who gets to do all the research there first, because years later my compulsive desire to be the best there is in certain fields still comes out and for once I'm letting it loose. And lastly, because you are not in the right mental conditions to do this right now."

"I'm fine!" Starlight said, trying to walk closer.

"No you're not. No one here is fine, not after the world got turned upside-down and we still have no idea what's going on, not when every time we discover something new things just get weirder." Twilight's tone became a bit softer. "No one is really fully fine, especially not here. We're all just fine enough, because we can still deal with what's thrown our way. Right now you're dealing with more than anyone else, after what you saw. And I know you can take it, and still make it through. But I don't know how much more you can take on top of it, and I have no plans to make that into an experiment." She looked at Starlight again. "I'll be okay. Please, just trust me for a while."

MQ

"Cold today, isn't it?"

"Sure is." Applejack set her coat down on the back of a chair.

Rarity did the same with hers. "Do you think it will snow soon?"

"Snow?" Walking towards the cupboards to fetch something to eat, Applejack looked out the window. "Doubt it. Still too early for snow, I'd give it a couple weeks at least."

"We have had sudden snow in the past," said Rarity, sitting down.

"Not this early. You're just paranoid after that time you got covered in it." Applejack had fetched a bag of dried apple slices and set it down on top of the table before sitting in front of Rarity. "Don't worry, they're ours. I'd have offered you some treats but those are still baking." She nodded towards the oven.

Rarity reached for a slice of apple and delicately bit down on it. "You know I couldn't have accepted it either way. I can't just go eating mindlessly, you wouldn't want me to grow fat and ugly."

"Are you saying I'm fat?" Applejack said, smirking as she raised an eyebrow.

Rarity sputtered, the way she didn't actually let out any bit of food betraying how played up the action was. "Not at all, dear. You have your work on the farm keeping you fit. And giving you those lovely, lovely muscles and-" Rarity shook the longing look out of her face. "You're like a fine workhorse, but I'd end up like a cow."

"You wouldn't look half bad as a cow."

Rarity gave an indignant pout at that. As Applejack chuckled, she replied, "I'll have you know black splotches on white clothes went out of fashion at least six seasons ago."

"I'm sure you could bring it back into trend. Maybe a bell on your neck, too?" Applejack kept chuckling a bit longer. "But anyway. How come you can afford all that ice-cream but not apple treats?"

Rarity looked to the side, still pouting. Even the tiniest blush was hard to miss on her white cheeks. "I don't eat ice-cream that often."

"But you eat the whole tub when you do." Applejack leaned over the table and poked Rarity in the ribs with a finger.

Rarity's reply to that consisted of indistinct noises of faux and playful annoyance.

Applejack leaned back into her chair, took an apple slice into her mouth, and looked out the window again. The Sun was setting already, filling the room with an orange tinge. "Gonna have to take care of all those leaves sometime soon. Might get to that tomorrow, actually."

Rarity bit down on another slice of apple. "Did you want to talk about something?"

Applejack looked at Rarity, sitting there, happily smiling as she ate her dried apple slice. There was a moment of silence. "Uh, yeah, but that can wait. Got in contact with some people over a job, but nothing concrete yet so it ain't worth stressing about. How about you, how are things going for you? How's Sweetie Belle doing? I hear about her from Apple Bloom, but you know. Kids her age, sometimes they move too fast to get any answer that makes sense out of them."

I've seen the heavens and the fires below me

"Why is it so orange?"

Luna shrugged.

"Does it have to be so orange?"

Luna shrugged again. "I wouldn't know."

Rainbow had a look around the place. "What kind of pony has nightmares like this, anyway?"

"You may have forgotten them, Rainbow Dash, but I assure you that some of your own dreams have been just as weird as this one, if not weirder."

"Did they have this many nooses?"

Luna pursed her lips. "Admittedly, no, they did not. But it is possible there might be something more at play here than just a regular nightmare."

"So we finally get to fight some real monsters?" Rainbow's wings buzzed with excitement.

"Maybe." Luna looked at Rainbow Dash. "Maybe not."

Rainbow deflated a little. "You still haven't told me who this dream belongs to." She looked around again. "Is that a skull?"

Luna looked in the same direction. "It would appear that is a skull." She looked up a touch. "And those are corpses of ponies with their eyes removed, hanged with their own entrails."

Rainbow put a hoof to her mouth. "Definitely something wrong here."

"Or perhaps a foal's imagination running a bit too wild." Luna saw the way Rainbow was looking at her. "You'd be surprised by what horrors immature minds can come up with, just by virtue of having no metre for their gravity. Especially when they are left unchecked."

"So, are you telling me who's dreaming all of this up or not?" Rainbow asked.

"I'm not," Luna simply replied. "And the reason I'm not is because you should learn not to make assumptions about the nature of dreams and their dreamers, or on the nature of dreamers and their dreams. If all information is given to you, you'll never learn how to figure things out on your own."

"But wouldn't knowing who's dreaming help me understand what's going on? Besides, whenever am I going to end up in a dream on my own without knowing who it belongs to? The only way that'll happen is if you pull me in there. You're preparing me for a supposed emergency only you could ever actually make me go through."

"Knowing who the dream belongs to would not help, no," Luna replied. "You'd make assumptions, like I said. You do not know every one of the ponies whose dreams fill the night, and knowing only on a surface level who they might be would lead you to assume things about them, even if you weren't meaning to. Knowing nothing is preferable, in some cases. And if you did know the pony, then things wouldn't be much better. There might be sides to a pony that you don't know about. Details of their personality that you've never come across, things in their life they've kept secret. You'd make even more assumptions, because you'd think you know everything there is to know."

Rainbow mulled the answer over for a bit, as the two of them began to walk in the corpses' general direction. "Fair. Still doesn't address the other point."

"It does not." Luna kept walking.

yadm;IS

"Looks like it won't be hard to open," said Stellaria, examining the locked door in front of her. "Not for me, at least. Some more protection charms on the other side, but those will be easy to deal with as well."

Chrysalis looked around the hallway before speaking, to make sure no one else was close. "When are we taking them?"

"Overmorrow," Stella replied, ending her magical scanning. "During the night. No one expects you to be here for long tomorrow, and I'll have time to make sure the escape route is planned out. It gives us time if something comes up tomorrow that we need to plan around, and lets you set things up properly."

Chrysalis bit her lower lip. "Why not just take one of the ones they're using right now and leave?" she asked.

"They'd find us too quickly." Stella began to walk down the corridor, back towards the laboratories. "We need time to disappear from their tracks. The sooner they realise something went wrong, the sooner they'll be after us."

Chrysalis began to follow Stellaria. "There must be an alarm system. Are you sure you'll be able to take care of that?"

Stella actually stopped walking as Chrysalis finished her sentence. "I'm sure there is one, yes. And I'm sure Twilight designed it herself." She looked back towards the changeling. "Do not suggest that I wouldn't be able to outdo something she's done. You're still the expendable part of this operation."

Chrysalis physically recoiled at the venom in Stella's tone and the fire in her eyes. "I didn't mean to," she stammered out. "I was just saying, it would be easier to take a scale now and run than to have to deal with every other security measure. I thought one would be enough for what you're planning."

"It would." Stella turned, and started walking again. "But good enough is not good enough for what I want, Chrissy. Things will be much easier going forward the more of them I get my hooves on, and it'll be that much bigger of a blow on Twilight." She practically spat out the name.

Chrysalis swallowed, still following Stellaria if more reluctantly. "What do you... What have you figured out about this situation, that she hasn't yet? Long term consequences, what is going to happen once you have those scales and why we're taking them. What do you know about the Behemoth that Twilight doesn't?"

"Hah! Now you're starting to worry about long term consequences? The improvement would be admirable if the circumstances didn't make it look pathetic." Stella kept on walking without turning back. "You really think I'd tell you? I'm not letting information fall into the hooves of someone who might be desperate enough to crawl back to Twilight and beg forgiveness. I don't need you to know, I just need you to obey orders. You should remember your place."

Chrysalis swallowed again, and didn't answer. Not that she could have said much, as the two of them had gotten close enough to the laboratories for other ponies to be there. She waved at them, and tried to put on her best expression. She still had the rest of the day to get through.

Paprika

Chrysalis unlocked the door to the stallion's house and stepped inside. And immediately she froze, seeing the scene in front of her.

Stellaria passed her by, closing the door behind them, and took a seat on the couch. "Oh, that? I thought it would be best to start moving out of the old base as soon as possible, so I had her pack everything up and leave. With camouflage spells, and a few other tricks, no one noticed anything." She opened the beige-coloured briefcase now resting on the table in front of her, and began to look through its contents.

Chrysalis was still frozen in shock, eyes nervously drifting from Stella to Suri, who was standing motionless near a wall and looking at her with empty eyes.

"I picked up on a few mind control spells and charms," Stella explained without looking at Chrysalis. "She'll head out tonight, be on her way to her home, and in a day she'll have forgotten all about everything that happened. All replaced with fake memories, unless someone looks inside her head it will be impossible to tell."

Chrysalis swallowed, and finally took a few steps into the house, undoing her disguise. "I see." She had to force the words out of her mouth, her throat suddenly dry.

Stella looked towards her, smirking. "Is something wrong, mum?"

One of Chrysalis's eyelids began to twitch, completely outside of her control, and her breathing grew faster. "It's nothing," she managed to push out, her body shaking only slightly less than her voice was. She tried to make her way to the kitchen, but every step felt like trying to move through a swamp.

"Oh, really?" Stellaria's smile only grew wider. "Well, that's nice to know, mommy. That's very nice to know."

Chrysalis had almost made it to the kitchen, where she was planning to have her breakdown in relative peace. Probably cry some. She just had to pass the doorway. Suri was standing right next to it. The changeling barely had time to register the incoming hit, and a moment later she was pressed against the wall, the air knocked out of her lungs, held there by more strength than she'd ever guessed the earth pony would possess.

Stella's steps echoed in the dark and silent room, as she very calmly made her way to the other two creatures in it. "Chrissy. Dear Chrissy. You should know better than to lie to your daughter."

A moment later Chrysalis was on the kitchen floor, every part of her body in pain from Stella's magic blast. None of it would actually leave any damage. It was just meant to cause pain, and it was a brutally efficient spell at that. The changeling grit her teeth and shut her eyes, heart beating faster and faster.

"I can't go too hard on you today," Stella said. "Not when I still need you in working condition for tomorrow. Still... Trying to hypnotise the ponies I allowed you to capture and feed on so they would turn on me?" She stomped on Chrysalis's neck with one of her hind legs. "I can't just let that one go." Her eyes shone with the light reflected from her glowing horn, and she fired another blast.

Waste

"Is everything alright?"

Chrysalis took a moment to reply, silently staring at the floor. "I just... slept poorly," she said. It wasn't even technically a lie.

The pony in front of her nodded, and reassuringly patted her shoulder. "I get it. If you're not feeling up to it today you can take a break and go home, we can manage without you."

Again, Chrysalis was silent. She slowly looked up, until the alicorn standing near the wall on the other end of the room entered her field of vision. "No, it's... fine. I'll just... get something to drink."

The pony looked at her, skeptical. "Are you sure?"

Chrysalis looked at her, and forced out a smile. "Yeah. Don't worry about it. I don't have much to do today, I'll be better tomorrow."

The mare smiled back, a little unsure. "Alright. But don't push yourself." With that, she began to walk away.

Chrysalis watched her leave, then began to walk towards the laboratory. Stellaria joined her as she passed by her side, and the two of them silently made their way through the crystal corridor. Once at the door, Chrysalis stopped, and looked at Stella for instructions. She already knew how things were supposed to go down, but it would have hurt not to double check.

Stellaria looked back towards Chrysalis, clearly not displeased by the lack or initiative on the changeling's part. "I'll be checking on the defence systems, and planning the escape route. Don't come looking for me. I'll be out when I'm done, probably tonight. Just do what you need to, then go back and wait for me. Don't fuck this up." With that she turned, and began to walk away.

Chrysalis swallowed, and waited a few more seconds before finally opening the door to the laboratory. She walked inside, closed it behind herself, and made her way to her assigned desk. All she had to do was log in a few results, sort them out, and run a couple checks and tests to make sure everything was in order. Nothing that would take more than a couple hours. Gloomily she sat down and began to sort through papers, not even trying to put any life to her expression or movement. She figured ponies would buy the lack of sleep excuse.

She was a little startled when she heard a familiar sound, a familiar cadence of hooves clacking against crystal. And yet there was something different to it. She looked up, and almost jerked backwards, but after her initial reaction she quickly realised it was the original Twilight she was staring at in the middle of the room. The colours gave it away, but she also seemed to be a touch taller than Stellaria.

The alicorn was carrying a scale with her, and held a clipboard in her magic. She jotted down a few notes as she made her way to the centre of the lab, then looked around. "Is anyone not too busy at the moment?" she asked.

Almost without thinking, Chrysalis raised a hoof, and cleared her throat.

xCho*ces

xCho*ces

Twilight opened a map of the nearby areas on to a table, spreading it out and flattening any creases with her fingers. She had her calculator by her side, just for the sake of double checking her results, and a long ruler in her other hand. She quickly levitated a couple of pins from a nearby shelf and placed one down on top of Canterlot High, the other almost exactly on top of Crystal Prep. Convenient reference points to start from.

She began to take measurements, drawing a few lines with the pencil she lifted from her desk in her magic. The equations she was running through in her head were anything but easy, yet she'd practised them enough to get through them pretty quickly. Being familiar with what the earlier results were supposed to be helped a lot, giving her confirmation that she was actually on the right track with each new intersection the lines traced.

But maybe her brain moved a tad too fast for her own good. While her fingers were still tracing the earlier stages of her work, while her calculations were still taking care of building up the path to what she was looking for, she already was theorising where she might end up once she was done with it. She had an idea, if a vague one, and the pool of potential results only shrunk with each new step of the process. And so, naturally, her eyes wandered to the section of the map where she suspected she'd end up.

And then she stopped. She stopped running through the numbers in her head, she stopped tracing lines, she stopped wondering where the next portal would be found. For one moment she just stared, in silence, at the small red X she'd drawn on the map. The one she had no memory of ever having drawn, yet clearly looked the way she would draw one. The one that was exactly where her equations could take her, if...

A moment later she wasn't staring anymore. She was crunching numbers again, twice as fast as before. Her calculator lay forgotten on her chair, she'd never really needed it anyway. In those times where she needed to think fast, she allowed herself to recognise how good she actually was at what she did. She even began to skip drawing some of the lines, her head moved faster than her fingers and hands ever could anyway. But she didn't skip the final ones, of course. And just as she'd thought, they crossed right on top of the X on the map.

Twilight stepped back. She was confused, more than anything. Was there something there, something she'd once marked and then forgotten about, something that had nothing to do with what she was doing then and everything to do with some earlier part of her life she'd lost her interest in and her memories along with it? But none of the names she read on the map ringed any bells, and she wasn't that awful with remembering things.

But the alternative? That she'd somehow already found that one particular portal, and then forgotten all about it? The implications were frightening, whichever way she tried to spin it.

"Oh," a voice said from behind her, and Twilight felt herself freeze for a second. "So you found that one again."

The laboratory door was locked. Yet, Twilight was not at all surprised by who she'd heard. But partly to make sure, partly to understand what was happening, she turned nonetheless. "Pinkie?"

Choices

"Could you help me with this? Sorry about interrupting your work," said Twilight, motioning for Chrysalis to come closer to her.

The disguised changeling stood up from her desk and stepped towards Twilight. "Not a problem," she said, "I have time. What do you need?"

There was an air of nervousness to Twilight, a slight jittery edge to her posture and voice. She levitated her clipboard into Chrysalis's hooves. "Could you hold onto this for a moment? Well, maybe more than a moment, I might be gone for a bit longer than that. Don't worry though, I'll be fine." She gave an awkward little laugh, then visibly tried to slow her breath to calm down.

Chrysalis still wasn't fully sure of why she'd gotten up or replied to the alicorn in the first place. She wasn't really sure of what she was feeling at that moment, truth be told, it was a strange tangled mess and she was still trying to sort through it. She acted more out of experience and instinct in that instance, seeing an opportunity for information. Lowering her tone, she asked, "What's this about? Is something wrong, Princess?"

Still forcing herself to breathe slowly, Twilight pondered how to reply to the question for a few seconds. She nodded towards the scale she was holding. "Not the first time we've travelled through this one. We know what's on the other side. It's dangerous. This visit... shouldn't be dangerous, I'm taking the right precautions and I'm only going there to investigate. But I'm nervous something might go wrong." She hesitated. There was something more she wanted to get off her chest, but clearly doubted spilling it over with the pony Chrysalis had replaced.

Chrysalis reasoned it was worth a shot. Besides, it meant more time to process her emotions. More time before she had to question herself and her choices. "I promise my lips are sealed," she said. It was the truth, really, she had no plans to tell Stella any of what she could hear. "I don't ask to know what's keeping you on edge, but I believe that it might help you calm down if you shared it with me, or anyone else. We're all friends here, we help each other. And if it's as dangerous as you say, going in there so nervous won't do you any good."

Twilight let go a little chuckle as she finished hearing that. "Sorry. You sound like a cheesy motivational poster I'd make on one of my less stressful days. That's not a bad thing though." She took another deep breath in, and let go of it with a sigh. "You're right." Her tone dropped a bit lower. "I was supposed to run this test with Starlight, but she had something else come up at the last minute. We didn't put it on the official schedules. This scale is kind of a special case." She had a brief look around the laboratory. "And the exit portal seems to be moving around. That's mostly what I'm worried about."

1999

"Hello, Twilight," Pinkie said. She was standing there in the middle of the laboratory, hands crossed behind her back, hips bent slightly forwards as she swayed just a touch back and forth on her feet. Her expression was hard to read, a weird mix of calm determination and mild amusement. If she hadn't been Pinkie, Twilight would have found the display almost unsettling.

She still kind of did, but it being Pinkie meant she was rather confused about what she was supposed to feel. The shady attitude and casually menacing demeanour were everything Pinkie was not, and everything she was not usually capable of pulling off without exaggerated silliness. It was disconcerting to see her play it straight. "What's this about?" Twilight asked, turning fully towards the other.

"Nothing personal," Pinkie replied. "Orders from the other side. I need to keep you in check and make sure you don't overstep your boundaries. In particular, I need to make sure you don't come across that portal just yet." She nodded towards the map behind Twilight.

Twilight tensed. "Do you realise what the consequences might be for leaving a portal unattended? We can't just ignore it. Someone might, and statistically speaking someone will given enough time, run into it. That's not the kind of thing we can ignore. Not the possibility of someone spreading the knowledge around, or being hurt on the other side, or of more magic coming into this world. We cannot afford to waste time on this, and you know it."

Pinkie just looked at her nails while Twilight spoke, and only then did the other girl notice they'd been painted black. Same colour as the boots Pinkie was wearing, though seeing that actually gave Twilight pause. She could swear they hadn't been that way just a moment before, and definitely hadn't had those spiked belts wrapped above them. But Pinkie cut off her wonderings, speaking again. "I've heard that, Twilight. A few times already, actually. The one here who doesn't realise what the consequences of their actions might be is you.

"Not that I can blame you for it." For a second Pinkie leaned her bust further forward, with one hand on the back of her hips. Twilight wondered if what she was seeing around her eyes were eyeliner and pencil or just shadows. "You're not allowed to know, after all. That's part of my job. Every time I explain it to you, I gotta make sure you don't actually remember. So I can keep you off the trail for a while longer. I think I'm going to switch out the map this time, that should make it easier on me."

Twilight instinctively stepped back. "Pinkie? Just tell me what's going on. I don't know what you're talking about and I don't know what you think you're doing. Just calm down and let's talk this through, because right now you're not making any sense. Even more so than usual." But as she said that, one hand wandered towards her geode. It didn't matter though. She saw Pinkie smile, and then was blinded by a flash of black and purple.

And a Lack Thereof

"I understand." Chrysalis nodded. "As I have said, I won't share this with anyone you don't wish me to. Be careful while you're in there." She kept on playing her part, though a part of her wondered if she shouldn't have been doing something else instead. Something pertaining to who she was, and not who she was pretending to be.

"Thank you." Twilight nodded in response, cutting off Chrysalis's train of thought. She seemed calmer already, but a hint of nervousness touched her features again as she breathed in and bit her lower lip. Her voice dropped to almost a whisper as she spoke again. "If I'm not back by tonight, or if I send any messages asking for it, or if anything else comes through, close the portal. Tell Starlight what happened, and... she'll figure out a way to get me out of there." She shook a smile back on her face, though Chrysalis could tell it took effort to keep it there. "But hopefully you won't need to do any of that. Everything you need is in that clipboard."

Before Chrysalis had time to reply, likely before she herself had time for second thoughts, Twilight marched to the centre of the laboratory, cast her spell on the scale she'd been holding, and disappeared through the newly formed portal.

Chrysalis was left there, standing and staring at the portal. Only after a few moments did she shake herself out of her stupor, and begin looking through the clipboard Twilight had given her. She stopped almost immediately while scanning it.

Twilight hadn't been lying. Spells to activate and deactivate a portal, protection spells for travelling through one, routine practices for managing scales and the worlds beyond them, everything one could have needed perfectly explained in detail. All of it surely common knowledge for someone working with scales, but the pony she was replacing was not part of that category and she'd been forbidden any form of research on the specific topic by Stella.

She moved back to her desk, studying the information while keeping an eye on the portal. Almost on instinct she copied the contents of the documents to a different set of papers, just in case Twilight came back before she had time to properly study everything. And as she thought about it, Chrysalis finally realised what she could have done.

She looked around the laboratory. Not enough ponies for her to have any problems dealing with them, if it came down to it. A look back to the clipboard, at Twilight's own freshly added note stating that, yes, she could and in fact should close the portal if the situation called for it. Then she looked at the portal itself again.

She could strand Twilight off in a dangerous world with no way to come back on her own, and run away with the key. She wouldn't even need to fight anyone, just convince them Twilight had asked for it. She could go through the portal and come back as Twilight, claiming the other pony had been lost in there after she'd called for him, and use the opportunity to gather up as many resources as she possible before running away. She could even choose to replace the alicorn permanently, if she wanted, take over the role of Equestria's only leader and take over everything from there.

And almost nobody would ever find out, if she did things right. Almost.

From Infinity

Pinkie neatly folded the map Twilight had been using, and slipped it into the edge of her tight-fitting black pants. Then she pulled out the one she'd bought, opened it, and set it down on top of the table where the old one had been. She placed Twilight's tools on top of it, and stepped back. Hands on her hips, she watched the work she'd done. One hand moved to her chin, and she stepped back towards the map to move the pencil and ruler to a different position. "There. That's better, don't you agree?"

Twilight, of course, didn't answer the question. She couldn't, right then. Pinkie wasn't actually sure if she could even hear it, though she didn't particularly worry about details like that. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, every bit of memory would be wiped out.

Pinkie looked at the clock up on the wall. She hadn't taken too long going to buy the map and coming back. Not yet, at least, so long as she finished everything quickly enough. She tapped her forehead with a long black nail, wondering if there was anything else she was missing. With her other hand she grabbed the coffee mug Twilight had brought with her before sitting down to work on the map, and downed it all in a single sip. It was cold. Like her soul, she thought, but only to keep to her character. She'd explicitly been told, actually, that there was no need for her to stick to that character and aesthetic. But she wanted to.

She set the mug back down, on top of the map this time, then turned to Twilight. "I really am sorry about this whole thing. But we have to. Trust me, I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't sure it's the right thing to do and if you know me then you know it." She walked towards the girl, who was lying limp against a sufficiently large piece of machinery, kept upright by two glowing black and purple crystal formations wrapped below her shoulders and around her torso.

Pinkie took hold of Twilight, whose eyes were glazed over with the same black and purple as the crystals. The crystals themselves disappeared as Twilight slid into Pinkie's arm. "There we go," Pinkie said, beginning to carry Twilight towards the chair. "In a couple minutes you'll wake up, and everything will be fine. It'll just feel like you fell asleep. I'm sorry about wasting your time like this, but we don't have an alternative if you find the location of that portal. Please run into another one next time."

Gently she slid Twilight into the chair, and placed her leaning over the map, head and arms atop it like she'd fallen asleep there. She gave the girl and affectionate pat on the back. "I'm doing this for everyone's sake. Yours and the girls' and everyone else's." There was hesitation on Pinkie's face for a moment. "I hope I'm doing the right thing," she whispered. Then she stepped away from Twilight, and disappeared in a shadowy corner of the laboratory.

Pressure

The door clicked open, then closed again, and the sound of Stella's steps echoed through the house as she walked in. "Mommy? I'm home," she declared, loud enough for Chrysalis to hear her from the kitchen. A shiver ran down the changeling's back as she heard that.

"Welcome back," Chrysalis replied, quickly forcing the last piece of paper into her mouth. She got up to greet the alicorn in the living room, and by the time she was there she'd swallowed the whole thing. She'd found paper was moderately tasty, all things considered.

Stella looked at the stallion still resting in his pod on the wall, then at Chrysalis. "I hope you've been a good girl while I wasn't there looking after you. It would be a shame otherwise."

"I have, Empress." Chrysalis meekly nodded, and then kept her eyes to the ground. Her whole body was tense, silently praying the conversation would end there.

Stellaria hummed to herself. "I have my doubts an insect like you would actually know how to behave herself." She tapped a hoof on Chrysalis's chest, and smiled in delight at the nervous twitch that wracked the changeling's entire body. "But. I need you in usable conditions tomorrow, so I suppose we'll be skipping punishment for today." She walked past Chrysalis and into the kitchen. "We'll make it up after we've gotten away from here."

Chrysalis finally released the breath she'd been holding, and it cascaded into panting and rapid inhales that she struggled to calm down. For a moment she felt like she'd break out in tears right there, but she managed to pull herself together. "Of course, Empress. Thank you, Empress."

"For what, mommy?" Stellaria asked, looking through the empty shelves and cupboards. "Are you thanking me for not punishing you?"

"Thank you f-f-for p... p-punishing me-e, e-eventually," Chrysalis croaked out, through much effort, before exploding into fast and ragged breathing again. Her legs shook, knees threatening to give out, her mouth half open and her lips twitching.

"That's a good girl." Stella moved away from the last cupboard and began to examine the stallion in the pod, lighting up her horn.

Chrysalis stumbled forward through the living room, tumbled into the sofa, and lay herself limply atop it while pressing her face into the pillow. Cutting off sight and most sound and air for a while, just being alone in her head.

Stellaria's bitter, hysterical laugh was enough to pull the changeling out of her self-imposed mental exile, though it had lasted enough for her to come out of it in stable conditions. "Eating paper?" Stella laughed again. "You're lucky it's so pathetic that it's entertaining, mum. I might have had to change my plans otherwise." The second sentence was spoken in a lower, throaty tone. Then Stella focused on the stallion one moment longer. "I appreciate you showing me the contents first. Things would have been different otherwise." She stepped back, her horn no longer glowing.

Chrysalis looked at her, her breathing finally steady and almost even. "Of course," she replied. And quietly, in the back of her mind, she smiled and laughed at her own plan working, and felt hope again.

Drk

Twilight stepped out of the portal, and the first thing she did was cast camouflage spells on both it and herself. The second thing she did was look around, to determine where exactly she was. The inside of a building, and clearly not an abandoned one. Knowing that was enough to add extra layers of soundproofing to her spells, minor mind altering spells around the portal to make sure no one would walk into it, and triggers around it in case someone actually did, all with an extra layer of triggers on top for the spells themselves being detected or interacted with. It wasn't a perfect set of security measures, but she'd devised it to be pretty damn close to one.

She allowed herself to feel some pride about an achievement like that. Morale boosts were good once in a while, and reminding herself that she was one of the best magic users of all Equestria and of all known history did wonders for her nervousness and insecurity. Especially when she had to deal with one of the other best magic users in Equestria not being on the other side of the portal like originally planned, instead replaced by a regular member of the castle research staff. One who'd probably deserve some compensation for the stress being put on him. But Starlight's absence was justified, and it would have taken longer to get someone comparable to replace her than to wait for her return.

All her spells in place and double checked, Twilight got herself a better look at the interior. It wasn't just any building she was in. A palace, with rugs of midnight blue over floors of polished azure marble and deep purple and black banners hanging between columns lining the tall walls. Suits of armour painted silver and onyx decorated the long corridor, and chandeliers of black and blue crystal descended on heavy chains from a ceiling that seemed to vanish into a starry night sky.

She began to walk, her steps silent through the sourceless cold light blue light that seemed to fill every corner of the place. Even given the excessive display of opulence around her, even given the markings on the tapestry, Twilight still could have convinced herself it was merely the residence of a particularly rich noble. Mostly an act of pure denial, but one she would have been happy to follow through with. But with every new hallway she saw branching from the one she walked, with every room she found a door to, with every staircase she met along her path, came the knowledge that she was perfectly aware of where she was.

She'd been there, a few times in her life. On a rather important occasion the first time around. It had looked different, of course, and she'd only ever stood in memories of pieces of what it had been like originally, back when it wasn't in ruins yet. But she'd read about it, she'd seen drawings and reconstructions, she knew what it was supposed to look like.

She looked towards one of the banners again. She supposed there was some irony to be found, that she'd be once more walking through the same old castle, searching for information and fearing Nightmare Moon would find her first.

Goth Pinkie Pie Chapter

"What in the... Pinkie Pie?" Trixie stepped back, confused and mildly concerned, as she watched the rest of the girl's body slowly fall out of her hat. "What are you doing here? And why do you look like that? And what are you doing in my room?"

Pinkie finished sliding out of the hat. Although, given the floor was there pushing against her back, it looked as if instead the hat was sliding upwards along her legs and revealing more of them as it moved, until it finally came to rest on the tips of her boots. She remained there, back on the ground with her straight hair splayed beneath her, arms crossed over her chest, legs in the air slightly bent. "Still getting used to this dark magic stuff," she replied in an uncharacteristically monotone and emotionless voice. "Must have gotten caught in this exit while teleporting."

"Dark magi- No, Trixie, you've seen enough people turn into monsters to know that's not a good idea, knock it!" Trixie slapped herself on the cheek. She looked back at Pinkie, fully taking advantage and fact that she wasn't the one acting the weirdest of the two. "What's with the look?"

"I've told you," replied Pinkie, her tone still cold and lifeless. "Dark magic. Gotta look the part." She still refused to move, but she did take on to polishing the silver spikes on the collar around her neck and on the straps around her legs and arms.

"I see." Trixie nodded, not really seeing anything but choosing to go along with the reasoning nonetheless for the sake of speeding things up. "Would you kindly get away from my house, please? I was practising my magic tricks." She gestured broadly to the various props strewn around the room, then pointed to the door with her other hand. "Come on. Shoo. The Great and Powerful Trixie does not have time to deal with your nonsense and your alluring temptations of dark power."

Pinkie looked at the door, then at Trixie's hand pointing towards it, then back to the door, then she looked at Trixie herself. "I'm not moving. Force me to."

Trixie rapidly, nervously blinked. She moved to the door and opened it, then marched back towards Pinkie. Removed the hat from the girl's boots, she began to push her towards the exit by force. "You asked for it."

Pinkie waited until she'd been dragged halfway across the distance before speaking again. "I'm not gonna get up just because you push me outside the room. Do you really want to carry me all the way down the stairs?"

Trixie stopped pushing, and looked at Pinkie. The girl's eyes were like ice, and her expression was dead serious. Closer to dead than to serious, actually. Trixie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She let go of Pinkie, and closed the door. Then she moved back to Pinkie, hauled her up over a shoulder, walked to the window, opened it and chucked the girl out. "And for the record that makeup looks awful on you!"

"Thanks," replied Pinkie in her colourless voice, resting in the bushes where she'd landed in the same position as before.

Trixie slammed the window shut.

Fake Routine

The guard took a turn down into the main hallway, and kept on walking through it. He wasn't particularly alert, but he knew there was no need to. No one had ever managed to infiltrate the city, much less the castle itself. The idea of someone managing to sneak in there without Queen Nightmare Moon knowing about it was simply laughable. Guard patrols were mostly a formality, the station of working as a guard in the castle more of a status symbol and a reward than anything else. A status he was certainly proud of, but it was foolish to think he could in any way be necessary.

There had, admittedly, been strange reports circulating among the population. He'd heard some rumors about them. Stories of a strange pony who'd appeared in the middle of town out of nowhere and then had disappeared just as suddenly. He didn't think they held much weight, but it was odd how no official statement made had been made on the matter. Perhaps it was a way to discredit the concept, to show it was so far beneath the real problems, so absurd in its conception, that it was completely unworthy of any consideration.

He adjusted his purple mane underneath his helmet, and absentmindedly looked at the tapestry while walking down the corridor. There wasn't much of anything else to see, but at least the sight was always a pleasant one. A very small gust of wind distracted him, likely from beyond a door being opened somewhere along the length of the hallway, and he shook his head, focusing back onto his assigned task. It wouldn't have done him well to be caught slacking on the job, and he had no intention to be demoted. Especially not at a time like that.

With how the situation was shaping up, he'd have most likely been sent north. And he much preferred the weather there where he was. Though he was curious about how things were going there. He'd heard about some experiments of sorts being conducted as of late, but no precise information on what it was about. Just things slipping through the cracks, words caught here and there as he heard other guards and dignitaries talk. It technically wasn't eavesdropping if he just happened to have good ears and pass by at the right time.

He was indeed curious about what kind of experiments were being conducted there. If they were anything like the ones happening in the castle, for example. He wasn't allowed to enter the laboratories, but he'd escorted enough prisoners to them to have an idea of the kind of things happening in there. Especially given he'd never had to bring anyone back to their cell. He'd taken a turn guarding the laboratories as well, once. The job was about keeping the researchers in more than it was about keeping intruders out, as he'd understood it. Not a weird thing, after all, anyone trying to get to the labs would have had to get into the castle itself first. And that was just laughable, as everyone knew very well.

Imaginations from the Other Side - Episode 6

"Does anyone else feel like our lives have been a bit dull lately? Like, duller than they'd gotten already?" Rainbow asked, lazily tapping on her phone.

"I honestly don't know where you got the impression our lives were dull in recent times," said Rarity, glancing in Twilight's direction. "But personally, I quite enjoy some peace and quiet once in a while."

Twilight caught wind of what the unicorn was implying. "Don't look at me like that. You can't deny we used to get up to much more exciting things than managing cupcake sales. Not that you were very helpful with the latter." She looked at Pinkie, behind the counter. "I'm not saying I don't like helping you. It's just that it seems like something is missing. I agree with Rainbow, recent weeks have been particularly boring."

Rarity rolled her eyes. "And you can't deny that those old adventures were dangerous, and far from the norm. As I've said, I'm rather happy we don't have a need for such things nowadays. If you so desperately need excitement you can find it in media. Does reading no longer entertain you?"

Twilight also rolled her eyes. "Way to divert the subject. But since I can see where you're going already, I'll concede, you do have a point for now. The story does seem to be going somewhere. It's not a direction I expected it to go in for at least half of what is currently happening, but it's all clearly in focus. For now."

Rarity pursed her lips. "Always a downer, aren't you?"

"I don't feel the need to cheer at signs of basic standards being met," Twilight replied.

Rarity rolled her eyes again. "Don't you have potions to brew with your new teacher? That at least can give you something to do if you're so bored."

"Potion Nova is out of town for the week. And I'm not allowing myself into her laboratory, I've blown up enough buildings for a lifetime."

"What does count as enough buildings blown up for a lifetime?" Pinkie wondered with a hoof to her chin, leaning over the counter as she set down a drink she'd just finished mixing.

"I'd say less than one," Trixie replied from a table to the side of the room, near a window. She took another sip from her glass.

"Trixie!" Twilight exclaimed, noticing her.

"She's been here for ten minutes," said Pinkie.

The door to the shop opened, and in walked Fluttershy, nervously looking around the place.

"Is something wrong?" Rainbow asked, noticing her concerned expression.

"I can't find Applejack anywhere," Fluttershy replied, walking up to the counter to sit down in front of it. "I've asked Apple Bloom and she doesn't know either. Now we're both looking for her. I hoped she would be here."

"Have you tried asking Discord? He might help, if it's you," Twilight said.

Fluttershy shook her head. "He's out of town."

Rarity sighed. "Well, you wished for something exciting, no?" She stood up from her seat. "Come on everypony. We have a friend to find!" She posed dramatically in front of the newly appeared background, while a small fanfare played.

"Do I have to come as well?"

Maintaining her pose and head still, Rarity looked to the side towards Trixie. "No, you can stay. We'd appreciate the help but we won't force you to."

Trixie took another sip of her drink.

Introspection

Sunburst checked the door a second time, just to make sure it was properly closed. He doubted anyone would come, but it was better to be sure no one would just walk in if they did happen to be looking for him. And hopefully, in the event a real emergency broke out right then, Twilight or Starlight wouldn't teleport directly where he was.

Sufficiently satisfied, he turned away and walked to his desk. He'd made himself some tea, and it had cooled down just enough to still be warm, but not too much so, while he'd busied himself preparing the room. Not that he'd had much to do on that, actually, just moving around a couple things. But he'd taken it slow. Really, it was more about mentally preparing himself.

And as he sat down at his desk and took the mug in his hooves, he decided he was as ready as he was going to be. Waiting further wouldn't have helped, if anything it might have made things worse. He would have gotten second thoughts about the whole thing, probably called it off until another day, maybe he'd have simply wasted enough time in indecision until he was left with too little to get things done.

No more waiting then. He closed his eye, took a slow sip from his tea, and focused on something. A memory, for the time being. He would find other ways, more proper ones.

He opened his eyes.

The coat was orange, this time. A little lighter than his mother's, a little darker than his own. The eyes a blueish purple, somewhere between Trixie's and Starlight's. A unicorn, maybe a little bit taller than average, the mane and tail short and straight and the same colour as rust, with a streak of pink-purple through them that made him think of Cadence more than anything else. But the cutie mark was still the same as always.

And so was her voice. "Hello," she said. "I'm Starshine Flicker." She smiled at him, her head tilting slightly to the side. "It's been a while," she said after a moment of silent contemplation.

Sunburst slowly set his mug down on the desk, the way it clicked against the wood betraying the nervousness still stirring beneath his calm demeanour. "It has," he agreed. A moment more of silence, the two of them looking at each other and smiling, though he wasn't sure why he was smiling and if he wanted to in the first place. Then, with just a hint of fear, he asked, "Did you miss me?"

Starshine seemed to ponder the question for a bit. Her smile was still there, but it was a little less vibrant. Not faked, or hiding sadness. Sunburst wouldn't even have gone far enough to call it bittersweet. But just a touch marred by something else, yes. Some knowledge behind it, that carried something else besides just happiness. "I could answer that both ways, actually." She blinked once, like any regular pony might. "What would you rather I say?"

Sunburst looked in her eyes, breathing in and out slowly. "I'm not sure."

eiie

The flames swept upwards along Lemon's body, wrapping around her limbs and torso and head until she was only a silhouette visible through the unnaturally coloured fire. She gasped as the magic forced itself around her, and the Lemon Zest on the other side of the screen began to regret her decision just a bit. She hoped the magical horse dream princess would focus on the pain in those gasps and not on the other emotions.

Then the fire slowly disappeared, seemingly seeping into Lemon's body, and the her that was watching the scene was left with her mouth agape.

Her skin had grown a shade darker, just like Twilight's had. Broad red wings spread from her back, somehow like a dragon's or a bat's in their conformation yet feathered all the same along their back and upper portions. Two red, ram-like horns were on her head, glowing with power and shooting upwards at the end of their curve. Her hair was a waterfall of dancing green and yellow flames twice wider than her torso, cascading behind her up to just barely above her feet, and her eyes glowed a bright neon green with piercing red pupils.

Her headphones had been warped by magic, now two glistening pieces of metal the same colour as her new skin that were seemingly implanted right in her head, brightly colourful red and green and yellow wires stretching from the backs of them and into her neck and above her collarbones. Speaker-like indentations of a slightly darker colour on the outside of the metal chunks had presumably replaced her ears, while vertical slits on the fronts suggested the ability to extend some form of eye covering, perhaps two separate pieces of curved glass or one single strip of energy from one side of her head to the other.

She was, perhaps surprisingly, not much less scantily dressed than Twilight had been during her transformation, though who that was saying something about was a debatable topic. All her clothes in the same bright, downright light-emitted green as her eyes and flaming hair, which also happened to decorate her slightly longer nails and could be found, in part, both around her eyes and on her eyelids and on her lips. It couldn't be called a high amount of makeup, but the magical nature made it rather stand out.

She wore a tight fitting cross between a corset and a tube top, leaving her shoulders and part of her cleavage bare. The other lemon didn't need to double check to know her breasts were bigger, but in fairness so had been Twilight's. Maybe not by that much though. The top had oval cuts on the sides, exposing portions of her skin, and it ended in a V shape that left a bit of her midriff visible. Fingerless gloves rode from her hands almost up to her armpits, matched by sleek, pointy-ended high heel boots that went up to her thighs. Above them was a surprisingly frilly and unsurprisingly short miniskirt that still left skin visible on her legs, perhaps the piece of clothing closer in concept to her old school uniform if certainly different in execution.

Last was a thin, glowing green tail with a flat triangular end, something that looked more like a glowstick or posable wire than anything an actual organism would have evolved. The way part of it looped like a spring halfway along its length only strengthened that impression of something artificial.

In the room, Luna turned towards the still perfectly human Lemon Zest.

The girl noticed the horse out the corner of her eye, and understood the implied questions. But she kept staring at the paused image on the screen,mouth still open. "I need a moment."

Frawy

Rocks, lava pools, more rocks, more lava pools, some bigger rocks, some larger lava pools. That was about the extent of what he could see, not much different from what he'd been seeing for the past hour of walking. Not yet a dragon in sight, and much as he was somewhat thankful he didn't have to deal with them he was also very much aware that he needed to, sooner or later. That was why he was there, after all. And he was, on top of that, worried about what the lack of them might mean.

He kept trotting forward, eyes alert for any sign of movement yet finding nothing nonetheless. Surprisingly, the place was not that hot, all things considered. The sky was permanently half-obscured by smoke and floating ash, not dissimilar to the gloomy cloud cover of an autumn day, meaning the Sun only did so much to heat the ground below. And while the pools of lava were certainly hot, staying far enough from them mitigated that. The only real bother was the occasional gust of wind, blowing the heat from above the pools towards his face, but those were rare.

And he wasn't planning to go near the lava pools, anyway. Not just because they were lava pools and he was a pony, he was careful enough not to fall into one on accident, mostly because he would have been quite bothered if his clothes or his beard had been damaged in the process. But he would need to perhaps inspect some if he kept on finding no dragons, maybe they were hiding in them. Certainly a curious hypothesis, but he wasn't really sure what else to think. He did believe he'd been the wrong pick for the job, after all.

But Princess Twilight had insisted, and she was the ruler of Equestria. Not even he could quite refuse an order from her, especially not so in dangerous and uncertain times such as those. And though he'd much argued that other creatures and other ponies would have been better suited for the task, she had refused to listen to any of his arguments. He hoped she had her reasons for it, and the pressure of facing such a crisis so soon into her reign hadn't taken too much of a toll on her.

What Day Is It?

"Don't you ever worry we're wrong? You know, about everything. Everything you choose to stand for, everything you agree with, every decision you made and make. Don't you ever worry you had it all wrong?"

It didn't take long for the answer to come out. "All the time. All the damn time." Applejack pulled her jacket tighter around her pyjamas. "Wasn't expecting you to ask that though."

Lemon shrugged. "I get philosophical and pretentious when I stay up long enough without being drunk." She pulled something out of her pocket, and pushed her hand towards the other girl. "Do you smoke?"

Applejack eyed the open pack of cigarettes the girl was offering her. "Nah, I don't," she said, pulling out one and slipping it into her mouth. "Didn't take you for one who did."

"I don't either," replied Lemon, pulling a second one out with her mouth to let it sit there. "Neither do any of the people I know. How else do you think I'd manage to go around with a full pack of the priciest brand?" She waved said pack around before sliding it back inside her pocket.

"I wouldn't know it's the priciest," said Applejack.

"Most expensive one they had in the shop." Lemon took the cigarette in her hand for a moment. "Had it for a few months at this point. You're good at talking with one in your mouth."

"Practise," simply said Applejack.

Lemon lifted an eyebrow. "The whole wheat in your mouth business? Sounds... almost offensively stereotypical. Just, you know, you're real so it clearly isn't."

"Trust me, Lemon," Applejack replied while her unlit cigarette bobbed up and down, "I'm the last person you need to make aware of that."

Expl

Twilight paused, seeing someone walking down the corridor in her direction. A stallion, wearing armour, patches of his white coat and bits of his purple mane visible underneath it. A unicorn, she realised. The colours were certainly familiar, but she quickly chalked it up to a mere coincidence.

She was more preoccupied with not being noticed, really. Although the unicorn seemed rather lost in thought, not really paying attention to the world around him. Odd behaviour for what was probably a guard, then again the hallway appeared empty to him. And after all, she really wasn't complaining about him being distracted, it made things easier for her.

But she did have to hope he wouldn't run into her portal. He wasn't likely to, given how he still couldn't see her despite how close they'd gotten and how the portal had even stronger spells protecting it, but that didn't make her less nervous. But she couldn't really make sure he wouldn't, going back the way she'd come just for the sake of following him would have been a waste of time and she didn't have too much of that to spare.

It still felt weird to just walk by him though. Unnatural. She wasn't used to being invisible to others. Even when creatures didn't pay attention to her, at least she knew they acknowledged her existence. Knowing that the stallion thought he was alone in the hallway made it feel like she was intruding on something private, even if she knew it was a dumb thought to have.

It did make her wonder if she walked differently when she thought she was alone. The answer was probably yes, and she'd pay attention to it next time she had a chance to, but right then she forced the thought out of her mind. It was not the time. She knew she was doing it to find something to keep her nervousness at bay with, but she had more important things to focus on.

The stallion walked past her, at her side, perhaps a little closer than she'd have wanted. She'd gotten distracted too. She turned, just to make sure everything was okay. The stallion did seem slightly different, but he didn't look back nor even around. For all she knew he'd just shaken himself out of his own musings. He just kept on walking down the hallway at an even pace, ignoring her completely.

He really did have the same colours as Rarity. The tail was styled differently, straighter and a bit shorter, but if she'd seen a picture of just that she would have assumed it to belong to her friend. The armour was covering his cutie mark, so she couldn't check if it was in any way similar to Rarity's, but she would have liked to if she'd had the chance.

Twilight shook herself, and turned again. She had much more important things to do than go chase a pony just because he reminded her of a friend, especially when following him could have meant putting herself at risk.

HHW

"And so we still managed to get the traditional play, after all."

"Did you have any doubt?" Twilight smiled, looking at Celestia, while the crowd cheered and the actors on stage bowed.

Celestia smiled back. "I suppose you do have a point." She stood up and joined the cheer, politely tapping her front hooves on the ground.

Still smiling, Twilight did the same.

It was a few minutes later, after much cheering and much standing up and moving of groups of ponies and other creatures who'd also gotten curious and chosen to go watch the play, when Celestia and Twilight finally had a moment alone for themselves again. The former had carefully avoided any particularly excited admirer, the latter had postponed her duties, and both had managed to dodge journalists on their way to the backroom.

Celestia sighed, drinking from a spare bottle of wine she'd fetched somewhere along the way as she looked out the window.

Twilight didn't need to follow her gaze to know what she was looking at. The Behemoth stood visible from anywhere in Canterlot, unnervingly even from those places where it shouldn't have been.

"Do you think ponies are getting used to it?" Celestia asked, setting the bottle down.

"I think ponies still aren't used to me being the sole ruler of Equestria," Twilight replied. "Some might not even be used to Luna being back, from what I've seen. But we've always been good at getting through the bad stuff together. Because even if things are bad out there, we still have each other. That's what Hearth's Warming is about, no?"

"Too bad hugging and loving each other other won't be enough to end this crisis," Celestia replied, taking another sip. "Have you tried rainbow blasting the thing away?"

"I've tried regular magic on a scale and it blew up in my face. I'd rather not risk razing Canterlot to the ground. No magic rainbows until we're sure it's safe to try." Twilight eyed the bottle, trying to see how full it still was. "That's not the first one today, is it?"

"I'm tall," Celestia replied. "And large. I can take it."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "I'm not sure we can use the rainbow blasting anyway, actually. It seems to need some inciting factor, going from experience. Without the Elements to wield I'm not sure how it would work, it would be awkward to just walk up to the thing and start a speech."

"You could try asking the sparkly treehouse spirit that looks like you," Celestia replied.

Twilight pursed her lips. "I've tried. She doesn't want to talk to me, apparently."

Celestia chuckled. "If it's any consolation, she never talked to me either. Though it might have been very confusing if she'd looked like you when doing it." She looked out the window again. "Do you think it's good to pretend that problems aren't there?"

"I think it's good to recognise that just because problems are there that doesn't mean we can't still be happy and still have nice things," Twilight said.

Celestia smiled. "We made the right choice letting Equestria in your hooves. Just... Sorry about this whole mess, we'd have waited if we'd known it was coming."

Contact

Twilight paced in circles around the centre of the room. Three days had passed, and so whoever had left the letter on her desk would presumably get in contact with her again. She just wasn't sure of when that would happen. She'd given everyone working at the lab the day off, pretending she would be cleaning it and doing some maintenance, and she'd actually busied herself with that as she waited for something to happen.

She was nervous. She had questions she wanted to ask to whatever creature had managed to sneak into her castle completely undetected and cut a hole in the wall behind her desk while at it, and she was obviously worried about what someone capable of that might do if ill-intentioned. The lack of any attacks or threats of sorts was a good sign, but still she couldn't perfectly trust them. For all she knew, she could still be walking into a trap, and it was all a way to get to her alone.

But just as with the feather they'd left, if it was a trap she had no other option but to walk into it. They knew too many things she didn't, and she had to get that knowledge out of them. Even if it meant risking her life. She smiled a bit as she thought about that. They could be good with tricks, but it would take more than a little disappearing act for them to take her down if that was the plan.

She brought the letter over in her telekinesis and had another look at it. Still nothing. She'd made other attempts at writing on it, but she'd received no answer. But if she was ever going to get one, it was probably then. So she picked up a quill and wrote on it again, asking for a more definite answer on when the meeting would take place. To her surprise, it only took a short while for words to appear in response. Though the content of those words was perhaps a bit less exciting.

Check again in ten minutes.

Twilight mulled over the sentence for a bit. Then, she shrugged, and went to check on one of the microscopes to pass the time. The ten minutes were almost up when she was done, and she picked up the letter again in her magic, waiting. Soon after, writing began to once again form on its surface.

Check the hallway.

Curious, a little worried, Twilight walked up to the doors and opened them. The hallway seemed to be empty. Pursing her lips, she took a careful step outside. Then another, looking around for any sign of anything. Then a few more, moving deeper in. Then the doors shut behind her.

She immediately turned, and realising what was happening she lit her horn to force the doors open again. She regretted being tricked like that much more than she regretted isolating the various rooms in the castle from teleportation attempts.

She began to pull, only lightly at first, and found resistance, but before she could pull harder a voice spoke from the other side. She could only tell it was probably male by the way it sounded. "See you at the clocks, thirty minutes from now."

Then the doors gave out, and Twilight managed to catch just hints of what looked like the end of a tail disappearing inside a portal before that, too, vanished from sight.

Recharge

"Lem'!" Indigo chuckled, leaning back into the hug. "At least wait until I'm done with the groceries." She turned her head, planted a kiss on Lemon's nose, then pushed herself forward away from the embrace and went back to taking care of the bags' contents. "Or, you know, help me out with them."

Lemon rolled her eyes and fetched a bag of cookies from the closet bag, then carried it to a cupboard and placed it inside. Seeing Indigo was also momentarily bent over, busy with finding a place for the sliced bread to fit, she walked towards her and planted her hands on the back of her hips, then leaned forward with her bust until her head was besides Indigo's. "But Indy, can't the groceries wait? It's not like anyone will see them."

"Not the ones that need to go in the fridge." Indigo straightened herself again, pushing Lemon into the same position. The other's hands slid a little lower as a result, but she didn't mind. "Let me at least get to those, okay?"

"Oh, fine." Lemon stepped back from Indigo and began to walk back to the couch. "But make it quick, okay?"

Indigo shook her head and rolled her eyes, smiling, bending down to grab a couple of chocolate bars from one bag and in doing so dodging a piece of clothing that was sent sailing across the room from where Lemon was.

Reconstruct

"Are you going to help me out this time or nah?" Indigo asked, fetching her undershirt from the table and looking at Lemon, still wrapped up in the blanket.

Lemon just pouted, pulling the fuzzy cover tighter around her body until she looked like a giant caterpillar. She pouted harder when Indigo actually slid her undershirt on.

Indigo rolled her eyes, picked up the rest of her clothes, and put them back on as she began to walk back to the still half full bags waiting for her.

Lemon followed her with her eyes, her expression morphing from a pout into an attempt at puppy eyes. After she received no attention, and Indigo had fully dressed back, she cleared her throat to try to get her to look there again, with no results. "I'm still naked in here, you know?" she said, almost annoyed.

"And?" Indigo didn't even turn back.

Lemon pouted even harder. "I'm still not done, Indy," she complained.

"You're almost never done, Lem'. Usually you sooner pass out from exhaustion than call it quits. But the groceries need sorting and I'm not going to wait longer for that. And I'd rather not be exhausted when I get to them."

"But I'm right here, and naked!" Lemon went on.

Indigo set a can down on the table and finally turned. "Look, I'm not fucking you again until I'm done here, so the most you can do is stop making me lose time and actually help so I get through it sooner."

"This is blackmail," Lemon said flatly. "Promise we're not stopping until I say we can?" she asked, hopeful.

Indigo rolled her eyes and sighed. "Alright, fine. You help me with the groceries and I promise to fuck you into the ground until you're satisfied afterwards. But we're stopping for dinner. That good enough?"

Lemon pondered it for a moment. Just one moment, though. The next she was standing up, discarding the blanket behind her as she headed towards the other.

"Seriously?" asked Indigo, staring up and down Lemon's lack of clothes.

"Saves time," the girl replied, bending over to reach into one of the bags.

Indigo shook her head and looked up at the ceiling, then went back to sorting through what was left of her shopping.

End of the World - Part 1

A set of clicks, and the door slid open.

Twilight stood up from the bench, and looked at the pony in the doorway.

A stallion, as she'd guessed. A unicorn, which was not surprising, given what she'd seen him do. He wore a featureless dark grey cape, tied around his neck, a little tattered at the edges. Stuck too close to his back to possibly be hiding wings by itself, though it did show hints of stuffed full saddlebags hanging from his sides. His coat was a light, dusty shade of brown, his mane short and messy and a touch darker than it. He did have a few grey stripes in there, particularly noticeable in his tail which was fully grey towards the end, and it seemed like there was a hint of some reddish colour to his coat underneath his cape. His hooves were also closer to red than brown.

His expression was a bit tired, maybe a bit worried, but seemingly friendly. He gave off a noticeable impression of looking older than he probably was, though Twilight still wasn't sure exactly how old that made him. Perhaps a little younger than her, but probably a little older. His eyes were deep blue, and she could tell they'd seen their fair share of what a regular pony wouldn't. She confirmed he was the same pony she'd seen in her laboratory when he finally spoke, and said to her, "Princess Twilight Sparkle. A pleasure to finally meet you. A shame about the circumstances, though I suppose we might not have met at all otherwise."

"And you are the one who snuck past our defence systems and dug a hole in the wall behind my desk," Twilight replied. "I do hope this meeting will clear up some things, and answer all the questions you've been raising with everything you've done so far. Who do I have the pleasure of talking to, exactly?" She kept her horn ready for use, studying the other carefully.

"My name hasn't gotten any more relevant," he replied. "And I haven't grown any more willing to share it, if you'll forgive me. I apologise for the commotion I caused in your castle as well. I could have approached the whole thing differently, perhaps, but that's not quite something I can fix now. As for our talk, I'd say we don't have much time, but, well..." He had a look around the room, with its walls full of clocks, and chuckled. "It's rather space we're lacking here. Speaking of which, if you could join me. I'll have an easier time explaining things out here." He stepped back out the door, motioning for Twilight to follow.

Still uncertain about the situation, Twilight carefully did follow him outside. "I was meaning to ask why you'd chosen this place, actually." She stepped through the door, and had a look at the mostly black and empty void surrounding the lone chunk of rock on top of which the shop was built. "I suppose I will get an answer to that." It was always weird to stand there, and she tried not to think about how the place shouldn't have had gravity in the first place. She was still a little afraid acknowledging it would make it go away. It would have been a shame to ruin the shop like that.

The stallion looked into the distance, towards what if anything Twilight couldn't tell. "Do you know how this place became like this?" he suddenly asked.

End of the World - Part 2

Twilight looked at him. "I don't. I can make a guess, but I wouldn't know the specifics." She looked around, not that there was much for her to look at. "I've never seen anything quite like this. All signs point to some sort of magic being involved, and almost all the worlds we've found have been in some state of ruin, but I couldn't tell you what exactly happened here."

"This right here is not the only piece of the planet left," the stallion said, still staring into the distance. "I've managed to find a few others. It turns out at least someone saw it coming before it was here, though there was nothing they could do about it. You can still see it if you get lucky, but I've only spotted it a couple of times." He was silent for a bit, but purposefully just not long enough for Twilight to interject. "They called it the World Eater. I think you can figure out why."

Twilight took a moment to process that. She had a few ideas of where the stallion might have been going, and she decided to ask something else she'd been planning to instead, just to see if it did lead down one of those roads. "What about the feather you left us?"

"From the Ziz. To be quite frank I left it more for the sake of leaving something than anything else. Of the things I could, it was one of the nicer looking ones, and one of the least useful to me." He turned to Twilight, lifted his cape on one side, and opened his saddlebag. "I've got quite a few things in here. Feathers of a few different varieties, pearls, eyes, claws, other kinds of scales, even a tooth of the World Eater. And a couple of scales from the Behemoth, if you'll forgive me for that," he said, pulling out stuff from his saddlebag. Each item with the same odd, pearly look Twilight was familiar with.

The alicorn had been distracted for a moment by what looked like a scar partly visible on the stallion's back, but she'd quickly focused on the items being displayed in front of her. She just stared at them, afraid to touch one or use her magic, until the stallion put them back where they had come from. "How many?" she asked, as she thought about the implications of what she was being told.

"Every one," the stallion replied. "As far as I've seen, at least, every world these can take you to has its own Behemoth. They're not in the state you find them in by coincidence, some just have it worse than others. Some have more time before things get bad."

Twilight's mind caught on to the first wrinkle in the picture the stallion was painting. "I found a world with no evident damage yet. A world where ponies live."

"Ponies still live in your world, too," he replied. "And as far as I know, I might have been able to get to it before the Behemoth did. But I can't confirm that. The point is, it's likely just a matter of time before something shows up in that other one as well. Now we've got something else to talk about, and I'm sure you still have questions you want me to answer."

End of the World - Part 3

Twilight took a moment to shake herself out. "Who are you?" she asked.

"Just a traveller, and not by choice," the stallion replied. "I would have much preferred never to get involved in this whole thing, but life had other plans for me. My world had its own creature, its own equivalent to the Behemoth. It gave us enough time to study parts of what was happening, enough time to figure out how to travel with our equivalent of scales. And one day, time ran out. Now my old home is an inhabitable wasteland, and everywhere I end up isn't much better. Until I got to your universe, at least."

"So you're just jumping from world to world, finding different scale equivalents in each to keep going?" asked Twilight, while the back of her mind was occupied with processing the received information.

"Sort of," the stallion replied. "But finding new things is dangerous, nearly impossible in some of the worlds. I can manage to find a few at best, often none at all. In some it's too difficult to bother searching. There's something else to it. It turns out, the world a portal takes you to doesn't depend just on what scale or feather or whatever you use, it's about what universe you're in as well. It makes things complicated, and you end up somewhere you could already get to sometimes, but it still opens up a whole lot of travel possibilities."

"How do you keep track of all of them?" Twilight immediately asked. "With every new universe giving you a new set of potential destinations for each previous item, and potentially new ones that also have their own uses in previously accessible universes, even factoring in repeat universes that's still a mountain of data to keep track of."

"I have good memory." The stallion smirked. "And lots of practice."

Twilight took mental note of the unicorn's smugness, but moved on. "I take it that's how you could get in and out of the castle so easily. I take it you also found a way to direct where a portal ends up when you open it, haven't you?"

"That one I'll be glad to teach you."

Twilight nodded. She took a deep breath. "What have you managed to figure out about these things?"

"From travelling alone across ruins, occasionally of civilisations with languages not my own? Not much. Bits and pieces of what was being figured out before the disasters, in those worlds that had some time to study them. But they all start with the same findings we and you made, I haven't come across any that got particularly further along compared to where we'd gotten. Someone had managed to figure out it was happening across different universes, but now all that's left of those researchers is a few frozen scraps of writing buried underneath a mountain of ice. I saw these creatures called abominations once, the rest of the wall the sentence was carved on had been melted by acid. The only thing every world had enough time to figure out is a name for what was invading them."

Swallowing, Twilight decided to get to the question she'd been dancing around for a bit. "So you're saying my world is going to be destroyed, too?"

The stallion looked at her. "If we can't figure out a way to prevent it, then yes. Your world will end up like mine, and like all the ones we've seen."

The scene darkened, as the impossibly large, half there shape of the sectioned, worm-like creature in the far distance obscured whatever unseen source of light had been illuminating the place. "How much time do we have?" Twilight asked.

Infinity

Twilight sat on the edge of the chunk of rock suspended in the void, looking at the nothingness around her, taking slow deep breaths in and out. From somewhere behind her, she heard a click, then hoofsteps approaching.

Starlight sat next to Twilight. For a while, she was silent. Then, finally, she asked, "Nervous?"

"Nervous," Twilight agreed. "But that's normal. It's expected. It's okay as long as I don't freak out and do something stupid because of it."

Starlight nodded. She was quiet for a little while still, just looking around. "Why here?"

"I find it calming," Twilight replied. "With nothing to look at, it's easy to just let go of thoughts for a while. And I like the sound of the clocks."

"You do?" Starlight raised an eyebrow. "It all sounds a bit too messy for my tastes."

Twilight nodded. "I do, really. I like how regular it is. You can just pretend it's not there, but if you do focus on it it's so well organised." She chuckled. "It's kinda funny how time doesn't really pass here. Something ironic about it, I guess."

"I suppose," said Starlight. "Personally I just find all that noise makes me more nervous. Like it's constantly counting down to something, or counting up the time I'm wasting."

Twilight smiled. "I understand. I think I'll buy a clock from here, one day."

"Buy." Starlight gave a hint of a laugh, deliberately cut short. "I'm not sure if you can call it that, here."

"You can't stop me."

Starlight smiled too. "Is the spell ready?"

"As ready as it's ever going to get." Twilight looked a bit further up, though the patch of black nothingness she was staring at didn't show any particular differences from the one she'd been observing moments before. "At least without testing it. And I suppose that's what I'll be doing."

"Still not telling me why you're doing this?"

Twilight sighed. "How much time did you spend looking at the portal before you made up your mind about following me in here?"

Starlight bit her lower lip. "Enough for someone to ask me if I was okay," she admitted. "But hey, I got in eventually. I'm improving."

"Exactly." Twilight put a hoof on one of Starlight's. "And it's precisely because you're improving that I don't intend to bother you with more information than strictly necessary. Not while you're still working on getting better."

Starlight pouted in protest. "But I just want to be helpful."

"And you'll be more helpful in the long term if you take some time off now and then get back to things when you can give them your all," said Twilight. "It's the better solution overall, and you know it."

Starlight held up a vaguely accusatory hoof, blinking as she thought things through. "Curse you and your logic," she spat out, but not without her tone betraying the lack of seriousness behind her words. She sighed, looking into the distance. "I suppose all I can do then is wish you good luck, Twilight."

"Thank you," the other replied. "I'm going to need it."

Panic Harder

"Ten minutes! Ten fucking minutes!"

"Well I wasn't the one in charge of setting up the alarm clock!"

"But you are the reason we didn't fall asleep until three in the morning!"

Lemon Zest and Indigo Zap rushed along the street, their backpacks jumping against their backs with every step of their run. They barely dodged the people they met along their way, who threw confused looks at them before shaking their heads.

"Please tell me you at least picked up the tickets," Indigo said with a hint of panic, one hand having come out empty from her pocket.

"I did!" Lemon replied, as cheerfully as she could manage between her pants, holding the train tickets in question up for a moment before sliding them back into her pants. "I think I forgot to put on a bra though."

Indigo paid that comment no mind as she crossed the road just a fraction of a second after the lights had turned green for her. "And all because I forgot to charge my damn phone," she muttered under her breath.

End of the World - Part 4

The stallion was silent for a moment, looking at Twilight, perhaps waiting for the shadow that had fallen over them to move out of the way. "I don't know. Every world is similar, but every world is still different in its details. That yours has already gone so long without any major changes might actually be a good sign, but I can't tell when things will start to get worse. It could be years, in the luckiest of cases. It could be just months. It could be tomorrow. But I frankly doubt it will be that last one."

Twilight took a breath in and out. "What's the plan?"

"Do you want the bad one or the one you'll refuse to go with?"

Twilight hesitated for a moment. The stallion continued to be exactly as smug and annoying as he could rightfully get away with, and she didn't know if she was bothered or amused by it. Though the worry on her mind mostly overshadowed both of those feelings. "Let's hear the second one first," she said.

"You find the least inhabitable worlds you can, figure out a way to make it possible to live there, move everyone and everything you can manage to, and leave your old world behind where it can fall apart when the time comes." The unicorn was completely serious as he talked, though he also didn't seem particularly keen on actually following through with what he'd said.

Twilight opened and closed her mouth briefly, then finally spoke. If a single word. "That's..."

"A logistical nightmare and a very morally questionable choice," the other finished the sentence for her.

"Yes," Twilight agreed, "that. We can't possibly move everyone. Especially not all other creatures. And how should we decide who to leave behind? And we can't ask someone to leave behind everything they know, everything they have, to put them into a world that's maybe barely good enough to keep them alive. And that's all assuming we ever find a world with enough resources, even with just ponies... " She paused for a moment. "The solution that would work best is sending a small group and leaving the others behind. Large numbers wouldn't make it either way."

"Yeah, it's horrible," said the unicorn. "It's also the only solution that ensures you save at least somebody. As many as you can, ideally, the more and sooner you go in that direction. Everything else you choose to go with means you leave things up to chance. If it works, great, if it doesn't, everyone dies when you at least could have saved some. But you'll take the risk, won't you?"

Twilight stared at him, thinking for a moment. "Looking for potentially habitable worlds isn't out of the question, and neither is setting up a last resort plan to start sending creatures to them if things go irreparably wrong. That doesn't mean I'm not gonna try to solve the issue instead of running away from it."

"Hope makes creatures do a lot of stupid things," the stallion commented. "But it leads to a lot of great ones as well. And I hope our case will be the latter."

Meta

"What are you listening to?"

"Oh, this?" Sunset removed one of her earphones and passed it to Twilight. "It's this weird new band I found online, I think they just started to put out stuff. They're called Coldstars. I was just giving them a spin to see what they're about."

Twilight took the earphone in her hand and gave a listen. "Huh. You were right about the weird part."

"This song is called Justice," Sunset said, looking at her phone for confirmation. "I think at this point I've almost listened to the whole album, there's only a couple songs left. Might as well check those out too."

Twilight passed the earphone back to Sunset. "Is all of their music like that? I'm sure it's someone's thing, but probably not mine. I can dig the concept, but the execution leaves me a bit cold."

"A couple of them are weirder than that. A couple go into slightly different direction. But in general I'd say that's the style they follow," Sunset said. She didn't put the earphone back in, so she could better listen to what Twilight might say. "I'm not sure how I feel about the whole thing. It feels very experimental, which I think is warping my opinion a little. Like it's more of its own attempt at something than a proper album."

"It might even be just a one person thing," Twilight added. "Synthesised voices and a lack of individual instruments do point in that direction."

"There are a couple guitar bits that sound like they were properly recorded, actually, but yeah," Sunset agreed. "Not really good guitar skills or good recording, for that matter. Whoever it is they probably wanna keep their identity secret, considering they don't speak a single word on the whole thing."

"Maybe it's some popular musician's secret side project that they'll start teasing the masses about and then it'll explode in popularity just from brand recognition through their name."

Sunset shrugged. "Maybe. I'll at least hand it to them on the aesthetic, they keep a pretty consistent style with the lyrics and tone. For as weird as it is it surprisingly delivers on being an album titled Digital Suicide."

"Well that's cheerful," Twilight said.

"And you haven't seen the cover art. I tried a reverse search and it turned out nothing, so I think they might have taken it themselves," said Sunset, holding up her phone so Twitter could see the picture of a blue rope tied into a noose, resting over a red blanket with an abstract vaguely floral pattern. The girl blinked.

"Cool," said Pinkie, who was suddenly there. Neither Twilight nor Sunset jumped at that, but both wondered if it was really a good thing that they'd gotten used to things like it.

"Nice stockings," Sunset commented, looking at what she could see between Pinkie's skirt and boots. "Didn't take you for one to wear black like that, but they look nice on you." She did not put into question Pinkie wearing a skirt and exposed stockings during winter, either.

Home Coming

Her decision had been set already, but had that not been the case Chrysalis still would have found it made it for her by time as Twilight Sparkle walked back out of the portal. Or, more properly perhaps, stumbled out of it.

The changeling was on edge for a moment, fearing there might be something else about to spring out behind the alicorn. But having a better look at things she realised Twilight wasn't in any rush. She wasn't being chased, or followed. But she still was clearly nervous, shaken, the cause of it unclear.

Perhaps more out of curiosity for that fact than for the sake of keeping up the role she was playing, Chrysalis got up from her seat and carefully approached the pony. "Princess, is everything okay?" she asked, only when she was close enough for only Twilight to properly hear her.

"Depends on your definition of okay," Twilight said at first. But then she shook her head, and Chrysalis could notice her posture shift as well. "I'm safe, and everything went well in there." She closed the portal, and took the scale in her hooves, shaking just the tiniest amount.

Wondering if a regular pony would have even noticed that, Chrysalis asked, "Is there something wrong? You seem nervous." She softly placed a hoof over Twilight's back, something she knew ponies found to be a comforting gesture for whatever reason. She'd only ever seen it as a bother, something to block her wings and nothing else. But perhaps it was a matter of different anatomical dispositions and details.

Realising what kind of look she still had on her face, Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath in and out. It seemed to mostly calm her down. "It's about something I saw," she answered, begging to walk away from the centre of the laboratory. "I will have to discuss this with Starlight."

Trying to follow her without making the action look out of place, Chrysalis asked, "Would it help if you talked about it now?"

Twilight stopped and looked back, smiling. "I appreciate the concern, but it wouldn't. It's best if I review the information first. Not that I don't trust you, but I don't want to involve others into this more than necessary. This could be dangerous, and I would rather keep the risks at minimum. Thank you for your assistance." And with that she turned and walked away, noticeably, if only a little, walking faster than she usually would.

Another Stone

Standing in front of the door to the laboratory, after walking through the crystal corridors of the castle, Chrysalis once more watched Stellaria walk away from her and towards the room where scales were kept. All according to plan. To both of them, really.

Once the alicorn had disappeared from view, the disguised changeling waited a moment longer, then opened the doors quietly walked inside. She was greeted by a few looks and nods from the other ponies in the room, and a bit surpringly to her one of those ponies happened to be Twilight Sparkle. She seemed intent on going through a couple of books at once, but still stopped to wave at her with a smile.

Chrysalis approached her, curious about whether the alicorn had something to say. "Princess. You seem to be doing better today," she said, once she was close enough. And it was true, there was a noticeable lack of shaking in the pony.

Twilight nodded. "A good night of sleep and a good breakfast go a long way to improve your mood. I'm sorry if I ended our conversation a little abruptly yesterday, I know you were just trying to help."

"Of course," Chrysalis replied. "I understand, I wasn't bothered by it." That was a lie, and she made sure to make it sound somewhat like one. The stallion she was pretending to be probably would have been bothered, if not as much as she'd been.

Twilight seemed to catch on. Still, she didn't budge to Chrysalis's unspoken request. Quite the opposite. "Well, everything went well and it's all over for now. Thank you again for your help. You can get back to your work now, I won't keep you." She focused back on her books.

Chrysalis hesitated for a moment, then nodded, and walked back to her assigned table. She forced herself to ignore the questions she still had. She had more important things to focus on, she couldn't afford distractions.

The first half of the morning played out as normal, and as planned by both Chrysalis and Stella. It played out as if Chrysalis hadn't even been replacing a pony, with her just doing his job for him, and thankfully nothing came up that she wasn't prepared to deal with.

She was waiting for a signal, to spring things into action. And the signal did come, in a rather unexpected manner. Starlight Glimmer walked into the laboratory, holding a scale and a notepad. Evidently, she was back from her trip.

Then, a little bit more waiting. Starlight talked to Twilight, a portal was opened from the scale, the unicorn travelled in and out of it and the two of them talked some more. Notes were taken, as far as Chrysalis could see.

It was when the portal was closed that the changeling finally began to act, instead of simply observing. She stood up, and carefully followed Twilight towards the door, as the alicorn headed for it with the scale held in a wing. Starlight remained inside.

Twilight noticed Chrysalis, but stayed silent until the two of them were out of the room. Once they were, though, she turned and asked, "Is something wrong?"

Chrysalis hesitated for a moment. The original plan, Stella's plan, demanded she keep whoever was going to bring the scale back busy. The alicorn was likely already inside the room where the scales were kept, and just needed time to break out of there.

Her plan was a tad different. "Let's keep walking while we talk," she said.

Twilight slowly nodded, and began to walk again. "Sure. What is this about?"

Chrysalis followed behind her. "Have there been any reports or signs of someone trying to break inside the castle, or trying to take anything?"

Upon The Monument

Twilight seemed to have a reaction to that, a small twitch, but she kept on walking without looking back towards Chrysalis. "Why do you ask?"

Chrysalis walked a little faster, to be at her side as she spoke. "Someone tried to break into my house, yesterday. Or at least I think that's what happened. I heard sounds during the night, and in the morning I found signs against the door and near the windows, like someone had tried to force them open."

"Are you sure it wasn't just some wild animal?"

"So far from the forest? Someone else would have noticed it too. And no other houses had any signs, I checked," Chrysalis replied. "I'd taken home copies of some test results to check them over again. I think someone might have noticed that."

Twilight shook her head. "I think you're being paranoid. Why would anyone do something like that?" But her expression was uncertain, and Chrysalis could see that.

"Princess, you should know better than all of us that not every creature is as nice as we would wish them to be," Chrysalis replied. "The research conducted in the laboratories here could be very dangerous in the wrong hooves. There must be someone out there who wants it for themselves, we can't rely only on the good will of those who enter these walls."

"We have security measures," Twilight replied, almost snapping back.

"But are they enough?" asked Chrysalis.

Twilight was silent for a few moments. Just enough for them to reach their destination. "I suppose, perhaps we could tighten security further. I didn't want it to feel like another burden on those working here, but you do have a point." She began to cast the necessary spells to open the door to the room where scales were stored.

Chrysalis didn't listen to her. She'd gone tense the moment she'd looked up and seen the door, and she was forcing herself to be ready for what was coming through her building unease. One mistake and it could all be over for her, but that was why she needed to be focused. She took deep breaths, quietly readied the spell in her horn, and waited as Twilight opened the door.

She almost fired as the inside was revealed to her. As she'd planned. But something stopped her. Not anything she saw though. There was nothing to see inside the room anyway, even if that wasn't unexpected.

A second more of nothing, as Twilight began to walk in, it would have been just enough for Chrysalis to consider casting the spell anyway just to get rid of one purple alicorn. If she'd actually been paying attention to that still. But she'd been frozen in place from the moment the door had finished opening, not for something she'd seen but for something she'd heard.

"I'd be disappointed, if it hadn't been so predictable."

It almost sounded like Twilight had spoken, but Chrysalis had learned to tell the difference. And she'd learned what to expect from the tone the words had been spoken in.

She'd never learned how to take it, though. And as she was slammed against the nearest wall, every nerve and muscle and bone in her body burning with agony, the only thing she could do was scream, and pretend her tears were just a result of the pain.

Twilight turned in time to see Chrysalis fall to the ground, her disguise coming undone. An instant later, a scale landed next to the changeling, and a portal opened from it, swallowing Chrysalis.

To The Sins

Chrysalis wasn't sure if having smacked against the cold stone floor had done more to jolt her out of her shock or worsen it, but either way the adrenaline rushing through her body did enough to get her to stand up again almost immediately. She'd seen the portal open near her, even if it had taken a moment for her to process the information. Going back through it was not an option, not when Twilight and, worse, Twilight's clone were right there on the other side.

Her first instinct was to transform again. Try to hide from whoever was about to follow her, and whatever was already on that side. It backfired. The moment she tried to use her powers, pain once again surged through every part of her, making her scream and almost fall on her knees.

Her second instinct, once she'd recovered from the consequences of the first, was to run. She spotted the only door leading out of the poorly lit room, one she realised to be a largely barren bedroom possibly somewhere underground, and made a dash for it.

The corridor outside was just as poorly lit, slightly cold and oddly humid. The lack of windows and the stone walls again made her guess she was somewhere underground. She looked for any other doors, seeing only one up ahead and to her left before sounds behind her alerted her that someone else had stepped through the portal.

"Chrysalis?" she heard Twilight's voice call, but she was already running to the next door. She couldn't even be sure it was the real Twilight at that point. But maybe, if things went well, she could still get something out of the situation. Maybe. Maybe there was still hope for something. But Chrysalis wasn't thinking as she pushed open the door.

Twilight would try to take her back. And she couldn't go back. Not right then. Maybe in a while, maybe the other would have gone away eventually, but not right then.

The room Chrysalis entered looked like a laboratory of sorts. A table with some kind of machinery hanging over it, a glass wall separating the room from an adjacent one, what looked like magical detectors of some sort on the wall opposite that. In front of her another door, metal instead of wooden like the previous two. She ran towards it. Locked.

"Chrysalis!" Twilight called, more insistently. "We need to get out of here! You don't understand, this is dangerous!" She stepped past the door Chrysalis had run in through, and her eyes focused on the changeling. Her breath was short, her legs almost shaking. "I don't know what's happening, or why you're here, but we need to get away from this place. Now."

Chrysalis stood with her back pressed to the door, eyes darting around the room, breath heavy as her heart pounded against her chest. She was trapped, with nowhere to go, and an opponent she couldn't hope to do anything against. She couldn't even use her magic in her conditions.

But maybe... Twilight didn't seem to be planning to harm her, right then. Maybe they could just talk, maybe she'd listen, maybe Stella wasn't there anymore and-

"She's right, you know? You really should be leaving this place."

Chrysalis's eyes shrunk to the size of needle holes, and her heart might as well have stopped. The next moment she was running again, as the machines above the table shattered in a shower of black sparks and an alarm blared off. She ran through the cascade of magical discharges, uncaring of how it singed her chitin. She ran past Twilight, shoving her aside as the alicorn covered her eyes to shield them from the explosion in front of her. She ran away from the room, away from that voice, and in her haste didn't even notice the ponies rushing in on the other side of the glass wall.

She ran through the corridor, back into the room, and back through the portal, Twilight running behind her.

And when she emerged, just for a second, she saw Stella again, smiling in front of her. Then the alicorn disappeared from view once more.

Of Shortsighted Fools

Chrysalis stumbled back, confused and frightened.

"But don't think this side is safe for you either."

She started running down the corridor, as Twilight reappeared out of the portal behind her. She ignored the few ponies who noticed her running, intent only on making it to the castle's doors. Wanting only to leave. But she skidded to a halt as those doors came into view, as lying down in front of them was Stellaria, her horn lit and a smirk on her face.

Her breath barely distinguishable from a spasmodic twitch of her body at that point, Chrysalis muttered something that didn't quite amount to words, and turned around to run in the opposite direction. She saw the real Twilight coming down the hallway towards her, but she didn't care about her.

She did care about Stella, who suddenly appeared again, leaning against a wall about halfway between her and Twilight and looking at the changeling with her same usual smile. Chrysalis, desperate, dove into the first door she found and stumbled into the laboratory. She all but crashed into a table, and tumbled to the floor, shaking, muttering incoherent sounds.

She heard ponies rushing around her, some towards her and others away from her. But the first face that popped into her field of vision, replacing the view of the ceiling that filled her eyes, was one she knew well. Starlight leaned down towards the changeling's face, eyes wide and confused, asking incredulous, "Chrysalis?"

Still panting, her heart still beating way too fast, Chrysalis tried to untangle herself from her own limbs. Her head and horn hurt, and she was confident she'd bent one of her wings at one point or another. She tried to speak, not an easy task through her clattering teeth and her general shaking. But she did manage to force out something. "Help me," she pushed out between stammers, as the doors to the laboratory opened again and Twilight walked in, calling her name. "Please, help me."

Starlight's expression grew more confused, but there was something else too in her eyes. She was willing to help the changeling, seeing her in that state. Chrysalis never had a chance to notice that, though. Another face entered her vision, a familiar smile on it, and she began to scream and kick out as she tried to get back to her hooves.

"They can't save you, you know? Not from me."

Chrysalis was standing again, hyperventilating as she looked around the room. Starlight had reeled back, and held a hoof over her nose, where one of Chrysalis's kicks had connected. Twilight was in front of the exit, wings and front legs spread, horn ready.

"Do you really want to stay here, mommy? I don't mind. We can have so much fun playing together," the voice rang in Chrysalis's ears alone.

She might have screamed, in another situation. But all that came out of her mouth was a croaking, hoarse and desperate hiss, her throat too dry for any yelling. She stumbled and stared around, like a drunk pony who doesn't even know where they are anymore.

And then she saw the light. Paying no heed to Starlight's scream, nor to the banging of Twilight's hooves, Chrysalis stepped through the portal in front of her.

You Are Welcome In It

Her nose still hurting, an unmistakable wet feeling along her face and her hoof telling her it was starting to drip blood, it took Starlight a moment to get a better, proper look at the scene. Chrysalis was still there, still probably not in a right state of mind if her actions were any indication, and she was currently staring down Twilight, who was blocking the door.

The changeling seemed to just look around for a moment, her expression hard to decipher. Before anyone could say anything, though, she was acting again. A green dome of energy appeared around her, slightly distorting the view of what was inside, and just for a fraction of a second Starlight noticed the glint of a scale showing itself on the floor in front of the changeling. Evidently, something she'd taken with her. A green beam of magic fired from the tip of Chrysalis's horn, and the portal opened in front of her.

Chrysalis began to walk, slowly, towards the portal. No other spells cast on herself, no signs of the rush she was in a moment before. Twilight banged with her hooves and her magic against the shield, to no avail. "She's probably taken that from storage. I have no idea what's on the other side!" the alicorn told Starlight, while Chrysalis still kept on walking, as if hypnotised by the light in front of her.

Starlight screamed at the changeling to stop, as her magic too wrapped around the bubble in an attempt to break it down. It did nothing. A moment later, Chrysalis had disappeared, and the green dome shattered in a shower of sparks.

Without even thinking about it, Starlight rushed to the portal, casting the protective spells she'd by then memorised on herself.

Her first impression of the other side was that it was blindingly loud. Only after a second or so did she realise there was no sound, and what she thought she was hearing was all in her head. The spells partly protected her from the mental assault. Chrysalis, standing a few metres ahead of her, did not have the same luck.

And looking a little farther, Starlight could see the apparent source of the chaos ringing in her head.

It stood taller than the castle they'd just left, an ill-defined mass that blocked out the Sun and seemed to shift in and out of existence. It looked vaguely like it should have been a head of some kind, though Starlight couldn't identify any features on it. Between the confusion assaulting her mind and the creature's own waning nature, she couldn't really focus on it at all.

She tried, instead, to run her gaze down the creature's body, only to realise that it was one with the ground she was standing on. It was made up of fibers or tubes, somewhat reminiscent of an exposed muscle or a collection of pipes, and it looked like a combination of flesh and bone, rock, tree bark and grass, all the same sickly and rotten grey colour.

The sounds in her mind shifted, and she realised there was something different about them. She focused on Chrysalis again, and watched the changeling walk closer and closer to the creature. In her head she could hear a different kind of sound, less chaotic, separated from the maelstrom of confusion that still raged on. Almost pleading in its tone.

Starlight tried to move, or reach out with her magic, but found it led only to fits of pain that left her stuck in place. And so all she could do was watch, and listen. As Chrysalis stepped closer and closer to the creature, the two voices in her mind, one distinctly singular, the other like an orchestra of different entities speaking in unison as a cacophony of screams, kept on what seemed oddly like a conversation, though they also reminded her of two singers trying to get in tune with one another.

Chrysalis took another step. Her hoof touched the creature. The two voices in Starlight's mind spoke as one.

Then, the scream, lacerating in its intensity and pitch, as Chrysalis's hoof melded into the creature's body and the rest of her was forcefully pulled inside, despite her struggles.

Starlight stood there, frozen in place, as she watched Chrysalis's body disappear, and witnessed her mind being swallowed by the creature's. Then a pair of hooves wrapped around her, just as the creature was turning towards her, and she was dragged away back out of the portal.

Collision Course

"Aren't you excited, Star? Another round of work, another chance to feel the thrill of constantly being in a life or death situation. Doesn't all this adrenaline make you feel alive?"

The stallion slumped down into his chair. "I'm pretty sure that's the coffee you're feeling, not the adrenaline. And in five minutes it'll be gone and you'll be just as happy as I am."

The mare rolled her eyes. "Why do you always have to be such a downer?"

"We're expected to take an experiment that in all likelihood succeeded only out of sheer luck, one which we couldn't properly measure, devise an updated version that produces better results and then replicate it dozens if not hundreds of times. And if we fail, we'll most likely be the next test subjects. Remind me again why we should be happy?" He looked up at her from his position.

"We haven't failed at that yet, for one," she replied.

"I thought failing at what we were trying to do so far and killing someone as a result was bad enough. Then I realised succeeding means we still in all likelihood mentally killed the pony on that table, but instead of a pile of rotten goop we've put a monster into the world. Oh, right, did I mention we've killed ponies?"

"Shut up."

"What? Suddenly unhappy with-"

"Shut." The mare placed a hoof in front of his mouth, and spoke again, her tone down to almost a whisper. "I think I hear something."

The stallion perked up his ears. "Is it coming from the lab?" he asked, also whispering, a sudden frown on his face.

"Seems so. Are these hoofsteps?" asked the mare, carefully beginning to walk towards the door to the next room.

"No one's supposed to be there." The stallion got up and quietly followed her.

The mare put an ear to the door. "I think I definitely hear something. And not just machinery creaking. Are these..." She lit her horn and levitated the door's key from the table. "It almost sounds like voices in there."

Then the alarm went off, alongside an unmistakable sound of something exploding and glass shattering. Both unicorns jumped back in surprise, and the mare fumbled with the key before finally managing to push it into the lock and turn it.

The door opened, and they both rushed inside, just in time to see a tall, black and green figure running out of the nearby room, shoving aside a purple alicorn who turned to follow her a moment later. The machinery hanging from the ceiling, now reduced to hundreds of fragments on the table and floor, had been the evident cause of the alarm.

"What the fuck was that?" asked the mare, while the stallion teleported both of them on the other side of the glass wall. Carefully stepping around any particularly jagged chunk of broken magical equipment, the two made their way into the corridor the intruders had left through. They both dashed to the door at the end of it, in the direction they'd heard the others run towards, but once inside they found the bedroom empty.

They both paused, panting for breath. "Well. Sure am feeling that adrenaline now, Sun," said the stallion, as the alarm still looped on its sound in the laboratory they'd come from.

Misery

Twilight studied the door in front of her for a moment. She looked left and right, making sure no one else was nearby, then opened it and stepped through. She closed it behind her, magically locking it again and hoping no one would notice any differences. She'd checked as best as she could that the spells would match up with the previous ones, and she was fairly certain she'd done a good job there, she just wasn't sure if she'd missed something.

No alarms had seemed to go off, at least. She walked farther inside, carefully taking one step after the other as her eyes got used to the low light of the room she was in. She didn't plan to cast any light spells. Masking her own shadows was hard enough, properly making the light she'd cast and its results invisible would have been an extremely complicated task.

Blinking as she got used to the darkness, she realised she was inside some sort of small storage room. Very narrow and short, made even more cramped by the shelves on every wall except the one with the door. The space she could walk on wasn't much larger than the door itself had been, and only about three times as long as it was wide.

But Twilight knew it had to be more than just storage. They wouldn't have gone through the trouble of boarding up the door with so many spells if all it was protecting had been a bunch of bottles and jars and boxes. It was another layer of security, in case someone managed to get in there by accident. She just needed to keep looking. And keep looking she did.

It didn't take too long, not with her magic scanning over the shelves' contents and the walls. There was no magical switch, interestingly, but she still detected the empty space behind the wall opposite from her. A few seconds of fidgeting around later, she found the mechanism holding the fake wall and the shelf attached to it in place, and pushed it open. The space beyond was even darker, though the hints of light she could see if she looked down made it clear that she was standing at the top of a narrow spiral staircase that plunged into the ground.

Stepping forward and down the first few steps, Twilight closed the fake wall behind her, and began her descent.

Training

Lemon Zest and Indigo Zap both lay against the wall, panting, as the doors slid closed and the train began to move. "See?" asked the first, weakly throwing her hands up in what was supposed to look like a cheer. "We made it in time, after all."

Indigo shot her a glare only half annoyed, though she wasn't sure if it was tempered by her feelings for the girl or simply by her momentary exhaustion. "This much panting and running in this cold isn't exactly healthy," she simply said, moving on the conversation.

"You don't need to always worry about things being healthy all the time," Lemon replied, running a hand through her hair to straighten it out. "And if you really cared you'd have fully quit drinking."

"Drinking makes me forget that drinking is unhealthy. And I can manage, as long as I don't do it as often as I used to. And as long as I don't get as drunk as I used to." The forced run minutes after waking up may have put a strain on Indigo, but she was still an athlete, and she was recovering from it far quicker than her friend. "And you're one to talk. I'm not the one buying cigarettes."

"I only did it-" Lemon was cut off by her own panting, and she held a hand up to keep Indigo paused as she reached for a bottle of water in her backpack. Once she was done drinking, she resumed. "Once. I only did it once. And I haven't smoked them yet. I don't plan to."

"And why did you buy them?" Indigo quirked an eyebrow as she asked that.

"Why would you not buy a pack of cigarettes when you're not someone who smokes?" Lemon asked back, as if she'd just been questioned on the most logical thing in the world. She was doing better and panting less. Knowing her, Indigo suspected she'd laced her water with sugar. Which brought her to her next point.

"You're also practically drowning yourself in the least healthy sweets imaginable."

Lemon shrugged. "Doesn't seem to be hurting too bad." She ran a hand over her waist for emphasis.

"Your metabolism will betray you sooner or later," Indigo shot back. "You'll wake up the day after your thirtieth birthday and everything you stuffed into your mouth the day before will still be there, and from then you'll know suffering."

"I could just not make it to thirty," Lemon replied. Before Indigo had time to worry too much, she added, "Or take a candle or two off the cake. I'm sure I can fool the universe for a while."

"The years'll keep passing anyway," said Indigo. "Gonna be hard to fool people on that, especially if we continue to meet up to celebrate. Unless next year you actually do manage to make us lose our train."

"It was my fault only mildly more than yours," Lemon said. "Still, sorry. Wanna find a place to sit down or do you plan to spend the whole ride standing here?"

Indigo thought about it, then shrugged. "I suppose. If I have to listen to you ramble on until we get to Sunny's place, I might as well be comfortable along the way."

RRtR

"This seat isn't occupied, right?"

The unicorn sitting next to the window looked up at the mare who'd asked the question. "Oh, no. Feel free to sit here." He moved slightly aside to free up some more space.

As the train began to move, the mare sat down, setting her beige briefcase between her hooves. "Lovely weather today, isn't it?"

The unicorn looked back to her, a little surprised she was so suddenly initiating a conversation. "I suppose so."

"I do quite like this part of the year," the mare went on. "Not many bugs around anymore. What brings you away from Ponyville?" She turned to the stallion.

He, again, looked taken a little aback by the mare's continued attempts to push the discussion, but after a moment decided to go along with it. "I'm, uh, visiting my parents. I haven't seen them in a while." He was silent for a second. "What about you?" he then asked, trying to play his own part in the discourse.

"I had some business to take care of in town," the mare replied. "Now that's done." A pause. "I did see my mother as well. She doesn't actually live here, but I thought I could take her along, as a sort of vacation. To catch up on all the time we'd missed. And I'd always wanted to see the castle up close, so it was nice to get to do that as well."

"I see," said the unicorn. "Where to now, then?"

The mare seemed to legitimately ponder the question, pressing her lips together and humming for a moment or two. "There's an old friend of mine I haven't seen in a while. I might decide to pay him a visit. I still have business to do, and he lives somewhat far from here, but I should have time. It might still take a while before I see the consequences of what I was up to here, and business cannot quite procede before then."

The stallion looked curious. "May I ask what it is you were doing in Ponyville?"

"You may," answered the mare with a smile. It turned into a grin. "Don't expect an answer though."

The unicorn wasn't sure if he was supposed to take it as a joke or as a rude jab, but he decided to go with the former and shook his head. "How was seeing the castle up close, then?"

The mare shrugged. "Nothing special, really. Not bad, I suppose, but it could certainly be better. Though I find it more interesting for its nature than for its architecture and looks, if I have to be sincere. Sadly, there is not much one can research on the topic. Especially not now that it is being used as a laboratory."

"It used to be Princess Twilight's personal residence before that," replied the stallion, "I doubt ponies were simply allowed in and out back then."

"True, perhaps." The mare dismissively waved a hoof. "But I'm sure she would have allowed curious researchers such as myself a look inside. And perhaps some testing as well. I suppose that will have to wait a while still, then."

Made of Candy

"I've been seeing things is how I would put it, I guess."

Twilight took note. "What kind of things? Visions? Places, or creatures, or something else entirely?" she asked.

"Ponies, mostly," Sweetie Belle replied, "though I think it might just be creatures in general. They seem to be right there, like ghosts. Sometimes there's a bit more around them, objects they carry or some parts of the ground they walk on, but usually it's just ponies."

Twilight noted that down as well. "And these visions, do they talk to you? Interact with you in any way? Does it look like they're trying to share some sort of message with you?"

Sweetie shook her head. "No. The opposite, actually. They don't even seem to acknowledge that I'm there. Like they're just going on about their mundane, daily business. Only what they're doing makes no sense where I see them."

"Do you know these ponies you see?" Twilight asked on.

"Sometimes yes, actually," answered Sweetie Belle. "I saw you once, for example. Just walking down the road. And Pinkie, I think she was spinning around with some plates, that same time. I've also seen Apple Bloom a couple of times."

Twilight wrote down some more notes. "When and where do these visions present themselves to you?" She looked up from her notes and towards the unicorn.

"There doesn't seem to be any constant there." Sweetie paused for a moment, thinking about things. "Sometimes it'll be when I'm walking around, other times when I'm having lunch or dinner, occasionally when I'm in bed before falling asleep. They just happen whenever and wherever."

"I see." Twilight looked over the notes she'd taken. "You briefly touched on what ponies are usually doing in your visions, and how that doesn't make sense with where you see them. Can you elaborate?"

"It's like I said. It's all normal stuff, but it feels like it's taken out of context. Like I'm seeing only a part of a scene." Sweetie pursed her lips, trying to think of how to put thoughts into words, and Twilight couldn't help but think the way she did it reminded her of Rarity. "It's like I'm getting to see only one specific pony do something, without the world around them. But they're not really there where I see them, so I end up with ponies going through things or walking into walls. And sometimes I'll see them touch something, or talk to someone, but I can't see what they're interacting with. Like an actor's performance ripped out of a play and put into another, without changing it in any way. They don't belong there."

Twilight nodded again, and took a few more notes. "It's a bit early to tell, we will need to test it first. And for that we'll need to figure out how exactly it's supposed to work, and what it is you're seeing. But there's definitely a possibility here." She looked up at Sweetie Belle. "I want you to keep a full report of every vision you have. Write down the time and place, and as detailed a description of what the creature you see is doing as you can. I'll see you a week from now, same time."

The unicorn nodded once. "Understood."

You may have noticed a number of recent chapters take place on trains. This was a coincidence, but at this point we might as well have another.

"Is that Princess Twilight Sparkle?" asked the mare, leaning slightly out of her seat yet at the same time holding back, as if she was afraid of being spotted.

The pegasus sitting at her side also tried to get a look, though he found himself partly inconvenienced by the mare's movements. "I believe so," he said, when he finally managed to push his head far enough to the side. He looked around a little longer. "And those seem to be her guards. I'd say that's probably her, yes."

"What do you think she's here for?" asked the mare, a quiver in her voice.

"Well, I wouldn't know that." The stallion turned, and noticed the mare was shaking. "Are you okay?" he asked, suddenly worried, leaning closer to her.

The mare had meanwhile retreated into the corner of her seat, and looked like she was trying to wedge herself into it. She looked up, teeth clattering a bit. "Y-Yeah, I'm okay. Just a little cold."

"Do you want me to fetch you a blanket or something?" The stallion drew back, ready to stand up and reach for his suitcase, but he was stopped by the mare grabbing him with a hoof.

"No, it's not a problem, really. It'll pass in just a bit, I'm sure," she said, still shaking but making an effort to stop it.

Reluctantly, the stallion returned to his regular sitting position. He kept his eyes on the mare, but seeing she did seem to be shaking less decided she was probably going to be alright. He looked towards Twilight again. "Actually, do you think she's here to see about that business with the bridge, and then the town hall?"

"Maybe." The mare seemed to have picked up shaking again, just a bit. "It's been a while since that happened, hasn't it? You'd expect she'd have come here sooner if that was the reason."

"She's a busy mare," the stallion replied. "I'm sure she had more important things to take care of. And maybe the news didn't get to her until recently. The town was probably trying to deal with things by themselves, they might have decided not to bother her."

"So you think it wasn't something worth her attention?" There had been a weird, sudden shift in the mare's tone. From shaky, it had jumped to being snappy, sounding almost annoyed or offended. Her expression was also slightly different, an odd mix of the one she'd had until just a moment before and one more fitting her new apparent mood.

The stallion was a little taken aback by the unexpected change. "Well, no, not what I was saying. If she's here now for it she clearly thinks it is worth her time. Maybe whoever didn't tell her before didn't, but they were wrong."

The mare seemed to have calmed down. "You're right. I suppose you're right. I'm sorry, this whole business has had me nervous for a while. You understand, I'm sure." She looked to the opposite side, at the wall and the window and the fields strolling by outside. "But now Princess Twilight is here to settle things right." She giggled. "Princess Twilight herself is here for that."

HBL

"So it's really today, huh?"

"History may have forgotten, but I haven't. Not yet. I think. I may have developed dementia and gotten it wrong though, I wouldn't know. You should ask Luna, she's a little less likely to have gone senile."

"Oh, shut it, you. Happy birthday."

"Thank you, Twilight." Celestia was silent for a moment, but a quiver ran along her lips. "You too."

Twilight took pause. "I am tempted to throw your present away now. You don't know how much."

Hurrycane

Starlight felt herself being dragged out of the portal. She saw it close a moment later, as the laboratory around her came back into view. But she wasn't paying attention to that. Her vision was blurry, her mind unfocused. Her breath wasn't jerky, or any quicker than normal. Simply she felt distant, detached, suddenly a spectator to her own life. Watching things happen too fast for her to react. She lay there on the cold floor, staring at nothing, thoughts drifting in and out too fast for her mind to register them.

Twilight was at her side. Worried, leaning down, shaking her slightly. "Are you okay? Did something happen to you?" she asked, as if those were important things.

Starlight felt herself nod, and answered that yes, she was okay. Or something to that effect, anyway. She didn't hear the exact words, she wasn't paying attention. She wasn't paying attention to anything. She didn't know if she could, and she knew she didn't want to.

Twilight helped her stand up, and Starlight managed to stay straight more out of courtesy to her friend than anything else. It would have felt impolite to collapse down, and she didn't want to bother Twilight. So she stood there, motionless for a bit, until it occurred to her that perhaps she was obstructing the passage. That, too, felt awfully impolite, and so Starlight slowly moved to a side until she met a wall.

Twilight wasn't in the room anymore. She'd run out at some point. There were other ponies running, or at least walking faster than normal. They got in and out of the room, and talked to each other, and occasionally one of them looked at her. Then they looked away.

Starlight just sat there. She wasn't sure for how long. Twilight had walked back into the room at some point, and she was discussing with a few others. Starlight thought that maybe she should have been part of the discussion too. But she wasn't getting up, so clearly that wasn't what would happen. Starlight thought for a moment that it seemed like rather poor writing on whoever was in charge of dictating the events she was witnessing's part, but it was only for a moment, and she forgot about it soon after.

The sky was red outside the window. Sunset red. Not the unicorn. She was pretty sure it had been morning before. She was pretty sure the window she was looking out of wasn't in the laboratory, either. Evidently, she'd walked out of it. Evidently, some time had passed.

Twilight approached her, again. Twilight asked her if she was okay, again.

Again, Starlight said that she was. It wasn't technically a lie. The mind watching things play out was quite well, if a little disoriented. The body carrying her around was well and healthy. She'd stop being okay the moment the two synced back up with each other, true, but that wasn't then. Not yet, at least. Just for a while longer, not yet.

Preproduction

"Oh, great! Absolutely fantastic," half-yelled Lemon, in a tone so drenched with sarcasm Indigo could have sworn she heard it dripping onto the floor.

"Is everything okay?"

"Define what you mean by okay," Lemon replied, without looking away from her screen.

Indigo walked up to her. "Did you lose some files or something?" she asked.

Lemon shook her head. "Nah. Thank goodness, not that yet. Just the website I needed to use is down now. Maintenance, apparently, which they did not announce, and of course it had to happen right the day I decided to get working on this thing. Wonderful, eh?" She looked up at Indigo.

"It is what it is," Indigo replied. "What site is this, anyway? What did you need it for?"

Lemon drew slightly back, turned her screen a bit, and stuck out her tongue. "Not telling you. It's a surprise."

Indigo lifted an eyebrow. "Huh. Alright, then. I'll go have a shower now, don't set the place on fire while I'm gone. Again." She turned, and walked away from the table.

"It was an accident!" Lemon's yell chased her.

Time Made

"So. Ready to go yet?"

"Not yet. I need to mentally and physically prepare for the trip, assuming you always drive like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you're trying to get pulled over by cops and give your passengers nausea at the same time. I want these eggs to still be inside me when I get home."

"You didn't seem to have problem with it yesterday."

"I was just too tired to complain. And distracted."

"Distracted by how awesome I am?"

"Well, if being awesome is what you want to call it, I'm not going to stop you. But I wouldn't call it that."

"Sure. So, what do you want to do while we wait? And by the way, great job with the eggs. I guess I could get used to your laziness if you at least end up making brunch for me."

"How dare you."

"Only fair when you do it, huh?"

"You used me."

"Oh you think that's me using you? You haven't seen anything yet."

"...Right. Want to, uh, wanna see a magic trick?"

"Sure."

"Right, then."

"You kept that in your sleeve all this time?"

"There's a separate pocket for it, and you get used to it. It's not as annoying as you'd think. Anyway. Look at the cards, and tell me when to stop."

"Stop."

"Alright. Now I want you to look at the card you're seeing, and keep it in mind."

"You stopped late."

"Excuse me?"

"I caught you on that. You stopped after I told you to, you already know what card I'm looking at."

"You could have just said you knew the trick."

"I don't. I just caught you doing that."

"People don't catch that sort of thing. It's the whole point of the trick, it happens too quick for you to notice."

"Too quick for others to notice, maybe. Not me. Horse magic, remember?"

"Ugh. Right."

"I've told you, we could do great together. No one would ever be able to figure out your tricks if I was helping you with them."

"Please stop offering that."

"Why?"

"Because you're right. And I'm really tempted to take you up on that offer. And I don't want to."

"Uh... why not? I'm not sure I get it."

"You're right. Nobody would be able to guess it. Not just spectators. We could fool anybody, any other magician out there would be left wondering how we ever possibly pulled things off. With enough luck and trying we'd get noticed, get famous, probably go on television and score a big show somewhere fancy. And then we'd be basically celebrities, and life would all be driving downhill from there."

"I think I missed the part where any of that is a bad thing. It all sounds pretty nice to me."

"It does. But I'd be cheating. The point of magic is to make the impossible look possible, and if I just use something that by all means should be impossible in my routine then I'm not just fooling people. I'm cheating. I'm playing a different game than everyone else is, and that means it's impossible for me to lose. And if they can't possibly win, then it doesn't mean I'm good. I don't need to be good. And I don't even need to be me, because if cheating is what gets me to the top then everyone else could have done the same thing in my place. I prove nothing that way."

"...Oh."

Time Found

"Oh? Oh what?"

"Nothing, that's just-"

"Too deep to really be coming out of my mouth? Too admirable to come from me after everything I've done to you and your friends?"

"That's not what I meant!"

"But it is what you thought. Do you have some orange juice?"

"I... Yeah, sure, give me a moment."

"Thanks. And please tell me it's not that overly sugary stuff they sell at the store, I can't stand that."

"Don't worry, I got you. Here."

"Thanks."

"Listen. I really didn't mean it like that. You were just as under the Dazzlings's influence as everyone else was that time, and when it came to what Wallflower was doing Sunset wouldn't have managed to fix things without you. I know you're a good person, and you know that I think you're pretty cool too now. That was just..."

"Unexpected?"

"Yeah."

"Out of character?"

"That too. I'm just not used to seeing this side of you. I don't remember you ever having that big of a problem with cheating in school when you were the one doing it. At least, I think I caught you a couple of times."

"School tests are just hindrances. Magic is something personal. I do it because I want to be good at it, not just to be noticed."

"I get it. Really."

"I know you do. Sorry about that, I'm still a little groggy. You haven't used that second bed in a while, have you?"

"I think it was more you sleeping with your clothes on, honestly."

"It's winter. I'm not going to strip down to sleep."

"I wouldn't have complained. We could have slept in the same bed, warming each other that way."

"You're as subtle as a snap change seen from the back. Be glad you have an ass nice enough to get away with it."

"Hey. If I was your assistant, you'd get to dress me up however you want."

"Now that's tempting. I wonder if I could practise rope tricks with you as well."

"What was that about being subtle?"

"I never said I had a problem with it. Besides, I also have a nice ass."

"If you say so."

"I've caught you staring."

"In your dreams."

"Then I suppose this does nothing for you, right?"

"Uh..."

"Something wrong?"

"I no I uh..."

"Hah. Don't think you can act like that in front of my mother when you take me home."

"Wait, who are you writing to now?"

"Mum. I'm telling her I'll be back for dinner, and she shouldn't worry about me."

"So I'm not taking you back home?"

"You're taking me out to eat, and then for whatever I decide we should do afterwards. And you better make it worth my time."

"Hey now. What if I already had other things to do today?"

"Are those things better than me?"

"...Fuck me."

"Not yet."

"Ugh. Got any place in mind for lunch?"

"Anywhere but the sushi place."

"Too cheap for your tastes?"

"Exactly cheap enough for them, actually. Which is why I'm almost sick of it, for one time I don't have to pay I'm getting something better."

"Fair enough. So, how did you get into magic, anyway?"

Time to Stop?

"It's a long story, actually."

"We've got nowhere else to be for a while. I've got time to listen."

"I'd rather not."

"Why?"

"I'd rather not yet. Maybe I'll tell you when we know each other better."

"You're making it sound a lot personal."

"Well maybe it is."

"Alright. Alright, not going to push there if you don't want to talk about it now. Wasn't really expecting you to back away on that after the ropes joke but I'm not gonna bother you. Anything else you want to talk about?"

"Sorry, it's just- Yeah, it is kind of personal. Anyway. Do you smoke? Cigarettes, I mean."

"I'm an athlete. I need my lungs. That's like asking you if you'd purposefully try to cut off your fingers. Why?"

"Because I'd have had to drop you if you did. I can't stand it."

"Wait, didn't you get caught smoking once in school?"

"Yeah, when I was trying it out. Thought it might be useful for a few tricks. It turns out I hate it, I gave up on it after a week."

"That's kind of impressive, actually."

"The wonderful feats of willpower being broke and a student allows one to pull off, right? Right up there with surviving on precooked noodles for a month and getting only a day's worth of sleep across a week."

"You say that like being broke and a student aren't the same thing."

"Crystal Prep exists, so clearly there are some exceptions."

"Does it really exist though? Do we have any proof it's not just a collective hallucination? A farce held up by a group of paid actors?"

"The must have quite the special effects budget if they managed to not only make the other Twilight destroying the statue look convincing, but also somehow make her look hot while doing it."

"Hey now. She looked hot before that too. Wait, no, that's not what I meant to say, forget I said anything."

"I don't really have a thing for glasses."

"I mean, me neither, it's just that-"

"You have a thing for everything that's female and breathes."

"Don't call me out like that. I'm at least a little bi. A little. And even I wouldn't touch Cinch."

"I'm pretty sure the requirement that it be a breathing creature ruled her out already."

"Hah. Yeah, it probably did."

"Aside from that though, is there any girl you wouldn't have wanted to sleep with?"

"Huh. Tough one. I wanna say Adagio just because of what a bitch she was to us and, well, everybody, really, but honestly? I'd still tap that."

"Same. Why are all the hottest girls secretly aliens from the horse dimension?"

"I mean, there's Rarity."

"Too posh. She looks like the kind of person who'd stop in the middle of sex because she broke a nail. Forget about pulling her hair while you're at it."

"Are you into pulling hair?"

"Are you into getting your hair pulled? Actually, don't answer that. We'll just find out together."

"I... I know this is weird coming from me, but don't you think we're going a little too fast with things?"

"I wasted the last two years trying to go after Sunset when you were right there, I don't intend to lose any more time."

"But what if it doesn't work out?"

"Then we'll have lost less time. Now please drink a glass or two of water."

"Why?"

"I don't want the eggs to cover up what the inside of your mouth tastes like."

"That is the least sexy way I've ever seen someone ask for kissing."

"I wasn't asking."

15415

It was cold. A different kind of cold than the one he'd been used to, but cold nonetheless. A different kind of sleep than the one he'd been used to as well. And he was taking quite a while to wake up, that time, more so than any time before.

He'd been sleeping for a while. Not the longest sleep he'd had, but still a noteworthy length. He was, however, surprised to be waking up so... Well, maybe soon wasn't the right word, but it was the word he would use, as inappropriate as it may have been. He wasn't planning to sleep too long, no, but he would have expected it to last a while longer still. He was expecting to be waken up, like the last time, rather than waking up on his own. Someone sooner or later was bound to disturb his slumber, after all.

But no one was there. Not immediately. That was, at once, fascinating and deeply worrying. As he slowly, slowly opened his eyes, he could see no one there, shaking him from his torpor. Perhaps part of the reason why he was taking so long to awaken. He had no great interest in going back to the world, after all, no immediate inciting factor. And so he took things slowly, and comfortably.

But he knew something was out there. Something powerful, and dangerous. Something great, shaking the world itself. That was what had woken him, it must have been so. And he was quite curious as to what exactly was happening out there. But not curious enough to speed things up. He had time, he knew he did.

And he wanted to be ready. Whatever was out there, it was big. Too big for him to take, maybe too big for anyone to take alone. Things were changing. He could tell, for example, that he'd moved. He wasn't waking up where he'd last fallen asleep. Perhaps quite a good thing, as quite a bit of turmoil would have likely come had he woken up there. Yet still, it was a nuisance not to know where he was. But a nuisance he wouldn't yet be bothered by for a while still, not until he was fully awake.

And that wouldn't come soon. He was tired. Tired still. The last time he'd been awake, things had taken a toll on him, and beside that soured his tastes for the world. For a while, at least, he'd have preferred to simply sleep. A lifetime or two in pony times, or even a dozen of them, he could wait it out. He'd gone for longer, far longer in the past.

But something had happened. Something was still happening. Something was out there, calling for him, waking him up. And he supposed, after all, was it so bad if he got to wake up already? Whatever was out there, it promised to be something exciting. Really, he had to be honest with himself, he didn't mind the idea of being back up as much as he pretended to. It had been a while, after all.

Repairs

"Stupid stupid stupid piece of junk. Why won't you work?"

Indigo leaned forward over the disassembled pile of plastic and metal bits, cupping her chin with a hand while the other rested on her hips. "You're the one who spilt soda all over it. But that probably has nothing to do with it, right?"

"Are you really going to go the extra mile and say it as spilt just to annoy me?" Lemon looked up from the jumbled mess of circuit boards and cables lying in front of her on the table, pouting.

"I just did," Indigo replied, a smug grin on her face.

Lemon rolled her eyes. "It wasn't all over it. Most of it is still perfectly fine, actually. It's just this one contact right here that's completely busted. Oxidised both the end of the ribbon cable and the receiving pin, I tried chopping off the broken end of the first and scraping out plastic so I could use the portion behind it but the other just isn't having any of it, even after I cleaned it, and it's no longer snapping shut properly anyway."

"I see. So what's the plan now?" Indigo asked, still smirking.

"Well..." Lemon leaned back into her chair, stretching her arms in front of her and letting her intertwined fingers give off a few satisfying cracks. "Through my absolutely amazing skills with the interwebs, I have managed to track down the specific piece of circuitry I need to fix this whole mess."

"Oh, great." Indigo forced herself not to roll her eyes at most of Lemon's words. "So you just buy that and replace it, no?"

Lemon seemed to deflate like a wet sponge left to dry. "I would."

"But?"

"But the seller is on the opposite side of the ocean, and shipping would cost more than the piece itself." Lemon sighed.

"Ah." Indigo bit her lower lip. "So..."

"So now I'm faced with the most horrifying thing a person in the heart of their youth could ever encounter," Lemon dramatically whined.

"Having to spend money?"

Lemon shook her head.

Indigo quirked an eyebrow. "Having to renounce your use of technology?"

"Worse," said Lemon, "far worse."

"What?"

"A choice with no immediately obvious correct answer where both options have pros and cons and both are potentially equally valid." Lemon posed for dramatic emphasis.

"This kind of injecting drama should be Sunny's business, Lem'," Indigo commented.

"It's horrible!" Lemon half shouted. "The crushing weight of responsibility, oh woe is me, mortally wounded is my carefree youth!"

Indigo dryly sighed.

"I can get the piece and repair this, even if that will be a bit pricey." Lemon pointed with her hands in a direction for emphasis, then in another one as she continued, "Or, I could spend more money, buy a whole different thing that's better than the one I was using, and not repair this."

"Well, if you got the money for that..."

"I don't wanna just throw away all this other stuff though. It's still perfectly working." Lemon took her head in her hands.

"Well, it's your choice, Lem'." Indigo patted Lemon on the shoulder before walking away. "Just make sure you're happy with it."

Lemon audibly moaned at that.

Roll

"This is... unexpected. Very unexpected." Rainbow awkwardly shifted from one leg to the other, watching the scene in front of her.

Shining Armor looked at Rainbow Dash. Then he looked at the other Rainbow Dash. Then he looked back to the first Rainbow Dash, though she was actually the second one for him. Then he opened his mouth, and closed it. "This is a dream, right?"

Rainbow Dash nodded. Only one of them. The one who'd gotten there second, and had spoken a moment before.

Shining furrowed his brow. "Are you also part of the dream?"

Rainbow shook her head.

"I see. Why are you here, exactly?" Shining asked.

"I was curious," Rainbow Dash explained.

"I can imagine that," Shining Armor replied. "That does not explain how you got into my dream, or why exactly you came into my own. Twilight hasn't told me anything about this."

"Twilight doesn't know." Rainbow gave a small cough. "You won't know either, I'll make sure you forget this part after I'm gone."

"Ah." Shining looked at Rainbow for a bit, silently. "I don't get a choice there, do I?"

"Nope."

"Alright." Shining blinked. "You still haven't answered my other questions."

"Luna needed help," said Rainbow. "That's all the answer you're getting. You'll forget about it anyway. Mind explaining what this is about?"

Shining had a look around. "It's a dream. That's about it I'd assume. You're the one being granted Luna's powers, why don't you tell me what this is about?"

"I clearly don't have enough experience for that just yet." Rainbow swallowed.

"Fair enough, I suppose." Shining turned away from the real pegasus and back towards the imaginary one.

"What are you doing?" asked the Rainbow who was no longer being looked at by the unicorn.

Without looking back, Shining said, "I have a dream to get back to."

"I'm still here," Rainbow said.

"I know," Shining replied. "You're free to watch if you want to."

Rainbow shifted in place a few moments longer. "Is Cadence asleep now?"

"She should be, assuming Flurry didn't wake her up without waking me up as well," answered Shining. "Why? Do you want to spy on her dreams as well?"

"Hey, that's not..." Rainbow hesitated. "That's not exactly what I'm doing. I'm checking on you. For your own safety."

"I've heard a lot of younger guards say the same thing when trying to justify taking a peek inside Celestia's room." Shining chuckled. "And Luna's too, once she came back. And pretty much every single room in the castle, really."

"Ugh. Anyway. I'll, uh, be going then. You have fun. With me. Other me. I'll check on your wife. Maybe your kid too." Rainbow took a step back.

"Have fun," Shining said.

Rainbow didn't reply, and she simply walked away. A few moments later she disappeared into nothingness.

"Was that me?" asked the Rainbow who was still there, looking past Shining.

"Technically, you are her," replied the unicorn. "Let's just get back to what we were doing for now."

Rise a Night

"Oh, it's... Uhm... Sorry, I don't remember what your name was," sheepishly said the mare, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Blue Spark," replied the unicorn.

"Oh, yeah!" Scarlet's face lit up for a moment. Then it darkened again. "I'm terribly sorry, I'm afraid I don't remember how or why we know each other. I do remember you, I swear, the details are just a little fuzzy. Maybe the glasses are throwing me off."

"I was running some research in the forest and the swamp, remember? I'm the one your friend ran into." Blue watched the expression on Scarlet's face. "The one who carried him back here in town?"

"Oh!" Scarlet's face lit again as she had a flash of clarity. "Right! Yeah, I remember, yes. Sorry again if I didn't remember sooner, and sorry about wasting your time back then."

"It wasn't that bad of a problem," Blue replied, "I actually quite enjoyed having a chance to take a break from just boring old research. Especially when we were at the late stages of it already, those are notoriously the worst ones."

"Oh. I see." Scarlet nodded. "So, what brings you here again? More research?"

"I'm on vacation, actually," answered Blue, nodding towards her beige briefcase. "I've been travelling around, and while I was in the area I thought I could drop by and see how things are going here. How have you been, Scarlet?"

"Quite well, all things considered. That would be Doctor Ribbon now, actually." The mare gave a light chuckle to herself. "I finally finished all my studies and all the other fluff. I've started working here in town, I've already worked with a couple of patients. It's been nice. But what about you? How are you doing? Nice glasses, by the way."

"I'm all fine, thank you." The unicorn adjusted her sunglasses. "Work is going well, and I recently saw my mother as well. She's doing well too." A pause, as Blue Spark gave a tongue click. "What about him?"

"Him?" Scarlet frowned for just a moment. "Oh, him. He's, well, he's still about as he was when you last saw him. He hasn't gotten worse, which I suppose is something, and he hasn't disappeared again like back then, but he's still not quite all there." She shook her head. "Nowadays he spends most of his time fidgeting with stuff he finds lying around in the park. He's innocuous, but it's... Sorry. I still remember what he was like before all this, it's been a bit rough for me."

"I understand." Blue gave a polite little nod. "Does he still wear those ill-fitting mare clothes?"

Scarlet almost chuckled at that. "He does. But he does wash them, it's not like he never took them off since you last saw him. He does pretty well with basic care like that, actually. Eating when he should be, good hygiene, he comes inside if it gets too cold. Nothing particularly self destructive."

"I see." Blue Spark looked briefly into the distance. "Could I go talk to him?"

Strs

"I know that look."

"No you don't."

"Yes, I do. It's the look you always have when you're excited for something but can't or don't want to tell me what it is just yet," Indigo replied.

Lemon pressed her lips together, biting them on the inside. "Maybe," she let out after a bit.

"What is it?" Indigo asked.

Lemon shook her head. "Not telling you."

Indigo quirked an eyebrow. "Is it same thing you mentioned before? The one you needed that website for?"

"Yep." Lemon nodded. "That same thing."

"I see." Indigo stepped closer. "So why that face? Is the website working again?"

"Not yet," Lemon replied, "no, but I'm starting work on the other part of the project."

"Ah. Got you." Indigo had a brief look around, and then walked towards the fridge, to get herself some water.

Lemon looked at her. "You really shouldn't be drinking straight from the bottle. It's unsanitary."

Indigo almost choked on the water she was drinking. "Really? You're the one saying that?" She cleaned her mouth and put the bottle back in the fridge.

"Well, it's true." Lemon playfully pouted.

"Like you actually mind having your lips where mine have been."

Lemon couldn't keep her annoyed expression up. "Alright. You got me there. No problem with our lips touching." She waited for a beat. "Neither type of lips." Another. "In either combination."

"I got the point the first time around, Lem'," Indigo said, flatly.

"Lesbian sex."

"Ugh." It took every last drop of Indigo's dwindling willpower not to facepalm. "How do you function, exactly?"

Lemon shrugged. "Cellular respiration? Something like that, probably. I erased almost all memories of science class from my brain as soon as I could." She stared off into the distance for a moment. "I've mostly replaced them with song lyrics, obscure trivia facts about sloths, and the intricate details to the plots of multiple long running works of erotic original fiction I came across online."

Indigo slowly, very slowly nodded. "I see."

"Apparently my brain is more receptive to memorising information when I'm sexually stimulated." Lemon still had the same far off look in her eyes.

Indigo coughed. "Can we move on to something else?"

Lemon's expression didn't change. "Did you know sloths live in symbiosis with algae that reside in their fur?"

"Huh." Indigo was silent for a moment. "No, I did not know that."

The silence stretched on for a bit.

"Do you want something to eat?" Indigo asked to break the building awkwardness.

"Nah." Lemon shook her head. "I think I'm fine."

Indigo waited for a moment. "Okay then."

Eyesolation

"Oh. You're not supposed to be here."

Rainbow leaned to the side, trying to get a look at what was on the pony's table. "Is something wrong?" She frowned. "Is something wrong with you?"

"Me? No, no, I'm perfectly fine, but you, uh, you shouldn't be here." The stallion didn't turn as he said that, in fact he seemed to tense up. "Rainbow Dash. Would you mind just, uh, just leaving? Just, you know, just leave. You really shouldn't be here right now."

Rainbow Dash blinked. "I... Listen, this is a dream, I don't know what's up with you or who you are or-"

"Yes, it is a dream," the stallion replied, still not moving. "Or, well, at least, well, okay, let's say it is a dream. But you shouldn't be here. You shouldn't even have made it here, I must have left the door open by mistake, oh, but at least you being here means now I know and I can go close it and I hope nothing else got in. Or out."

Rainbow was silent for a moment. Then she shook her head. "What are you doing there?" she asked, once again craning her neck to get a better look at the table.

"Music." The stallion seemed to jump a little with his own reply. "I, usually, well, I usually do writing but, oh, music. I'm trying music. It's not ready yet well some of it is but no. It's not really, uh, well. It's complicated. Music. I'm making music right now. And you're not supposed to be here."

Rainbow's expression was still one of confusion, and nothing the stallion was doing was helping that, but she just chose to move along. It was all a dream, after all. "So what's your name? Since you know mine and all."

"I, uh..." The stallion was silent for a moment, and slowly began to turn. "Still working that out, actually."

Still puzzled, Rainbow clicked her tongue. "So what's up with your mane? And your tail? And..." She leaned a bit closer, squinting. "Wait, do you just not have any hair? Is that skin?"

"Ah, um, yeah. It's not uncomfortable or anything though. Just, ah, it does get a bit cold, sometimes, when it's cold. But I wear clothes." The stallion was looking at Rainbow with the one eye of his she could see, and he'd turned far enough to his left for her to properly notice the curve of his horn and the shape of his ears.

"I..." Rainbow was again silent for a moment. "Are you sure you're okay? Do you always look like this?"

The unicorn's body had rotated far enough to be fully facing Rainbow, yet his head had remained still while he turned, only ever allowing the mare to see the left side. "Yes, yes, I am quite alright and quite my normal self as far as so far I've defined. I just..." He clicked his tongue. "I did not want to, but I really need you to leave now."

Suddenly, Rainbow woke up in her bed.

DKTDW

"There he is." Scarlet pointed to a pony sitting alone in the middle of the park.

"I see." Blue Spark nodded, then held out a hoof to stop Scarlet from walking farther. "Could I speak to him alone?"

Scarlet hesitated for a moment, looking between Blue and the stallion, then stepped back. "Alright. I'll be here."

"Thank you." Blue nodded again, then began to head towards the stallion, secretly smiling.

"Cold weather we have, no?" he asked, once the unicorn was close enough to hear him. "Though I suppose that's not as much of a problem for you."

Blue stopped for a moment, before walking again. "Perhaps."

"How have you been, Stella?" The stallion turned, without getting up. "I didn't expect you back so soon."

"Quite well is how I've been. Thank you for asking." The alicorn got close enough to the stallion, and then stopped.

"Here to kill me?" he asked.

Stella frowned slightly. "I was hoping to at least have a chat first. Besides, why would I go and murder an old friend like so?" Her expression shifted back to her usual smile as she spoke.

"Because I'm the only one who can still give you any issues." The stallion put a hoof to his stomach. "And this. You wouldn't mind taking this, I'm sure. Another one to add to the little collection you have there."

Stella briefly glanced at her briefcase, then returned her attention to the stallion. "You do make a convincing argument, I have to say."

"Do you believe in fate?"

The alicorn paused, and blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Do you ever wonder if there's a design to the events of our lives? Strings pulling us along to where we're supposed to be?" the stallion continued. "Whether through cold physical determinism or unexplainable forces that shape our freely made decisions and the seemingly random occurrences around us, do you think there's ever a reason why things happen, beyond their own resolution? If we're not some cogs in a machine that exists through us and yet beyond us, actors in a play written by someone else?"

Stella blinked again, more amused than confused. "Would it matter if we knew, provided there wasn't a way to break free of our predetermined paths?" She shook her head briefly. "Why do you ask?"

"I've been wondering a lot about our meeting," the stallion replied. "I've been wondering about how different things might have been if it hadn't happened. About the consequences of it." He stood up. "About the purpose of what happened, if one does exist. You would have found out about your powers either way, sooner or later. So the thing that's relevant here, if I want to find one, is me meeting you, not you meeting me." He tilted his head, while pulling out a couple of spoons from his pockets.

Stella anticipated what he would say next. "That must make for quite the nice puzzle, does it not?"

The stallion smiled, while fidgeting with his spoons. "You know me well, Stella."

The alicorn smiled too. Her horn began to glow. "How unfortunate it would be if there was no solution to it. A waste of time. Then again, I doubt you'll get to see what the answer was."

"Oh, but I already did find the answer." The stallion stuck one of his spoons in the ground.

Stellaria stopped for a second, and blinked again.

"Admittedly not by myself. Someone else told me the solution." The stallion looked Stella in the eyes. "Now I aplogise, but I have work to do." He turned the spoon, and a moment later he was gone.

Entanglement

"Oh. Oh, good, it looks like I made it, good. I wasn't actually sure it would work. For a moment I actually feared I really had gone mad and imagined the whole thing," said the stallion. "Can you imagine that? That would have been awful."

Once she was done recoiling in utter shock at the pony who'd suddenly materialised in front of her out of nowhere, the unicorn moved the custard coloured bangs of her mane away from her eyes and took on a more cautious, defensive stance. "Who are you?" she hissed, in part trying to scare the stallion, in part scared herself.

"Quite the nice work you did here," said the stallion, completely ignoring the question, as he had a look at the ruins around them and at the added layer of ruin on them that the mare was presumably responsible for. "I'm just here to get this thing rigged up so it goes off when it should. Hopefully." He began to walk past the other.

The apricot pony turned to follow him with her eyes. "What's this all about?" she barked, her tone still in the awkward space between annoyed and worried. "I wasn't told anything about someone else being involved!" She hesitated for a moment. "Are you the one who called me here? How did you know? What do you want?"

The stallion had his eyes set on a particular pillar, and appeared to be studying both it and the terrain around it. "Not me, I'm afraid, although we likely have the same employer. Employer? We're not really being employed here. We're more like contractors, I suppose, though we're not really being paid. Well, we are receiving something out of this, or at least I am, I don't know about you. Not money though. And I suppose you don't know who's making us do this. I know, or at least I think I know, but then again I could be wrong." He briefly turned back towards the mare. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't have the faintest clue who you are either."

The unicorn looked almost offended at that, and was about to say something before seemingly thinking better of it. She simply shook her head instead. "Well, whatever. My work here is done. You, like, never saw me and stuff, if anyone asks. Except whoever asked us to do this, I guess." She started to turn, intent on walking away. "And if you see them, tell them I delivered on my part of the deal, and I expect them to do the same."

"Will do," the stallion replied, now closer to the pillar. "I'm sure they will." He looked like he was fidgeting about with the base, moving around little chunks of stone and small piles of dust.

The mare kept walking back, with her eyes still on the stallion, confused as to what he was doing almost as much as she was starting to be confused by what he was wearing. Finally she shook her head, turned around, and walked away, hoping nothing bad would come of their encounter.

Leaving

Wick Clip walked through the trees on the path leading back to her town, still a little weirded out by her previous encounter. She decided it was better not to think too much about it, and instead hurried her steps. She could get back home in time to have lunch at a reasonable hour if she was fast enough, and she still had her job to get back to after that.

A pegasus flew by above her, above the trees, heading where she was coming away from. She didn't get a good look at them, she'd noticed them too late for that. For a moment she stopped and looked back, but then she forced herself to ignore the whole thing. Not her problem. She'd done her part, and everything after was not her problem. In fact, it was advisable that she got away from there quick, so it wouldn't suddenly become her problem again. The pegasus at least didn't seem to have noticed her.

Another pegasus passed by. Wick was still half looking upwards, so she had time to see that one clearly. A mare, grey coat and blonde mane and tail. Possibly following the previous one. Either way, she didn't look down either, and didn't notice the unicorn looking up at her. Wick again had to force herself to ignore the event and just keep walking.

No more ponies showed up, thankfully for her. In a few minutes more of walking she reached the edge of town, and making sure no one was there to notice how suspicious she looked she walked back onto the main road and on towards the centre of town. A few other ponies greeted her along the way, and she greeted them back, though for the most part her mind was still stuck elsewhere.

Once she finally got back home, she absentmindedly threw together a meal and ate, still not quite able as focus on what she was doing and instead thinking back to what she'd seen. She did wonder if anything had happened to the stallion she'd met there, or to the ponies she'd seen flying in that direction. She was still unsure about what her reaction should have been depending on what might have happened to them.

Her plate had been empty for over a minute before she finally realised she'd eaten through the whole thing. She placed it in the sink, choosing to worry about cleaning it at a later time, and threw a worried glance at the clock as she gathered her things. Hopefully no one would be too bothered that the shop hadn't opened yet, she was going to be at least fifteen minutes late. Then again, she never had that many ponies coming to buy stuff anyway.

Once she actually got to the building, no one was there waiting, and Wick wasn't sure if she should have felt relieved or disappointed. Shaking her head, she unlocked the entrance and walked inside, flipping the little sign hanging on the door and pulling up the blinds on the shop window.

Recollection

Wick Clip sat behind the counter, aimlessly staring into the distance, when the chime of the door opening shook her from her mental wanderings. At first she was glad and somewhat excited about finally having someone else there to distract her, and the idea of them buying something didn't hurt matters either. Then she actually saw who had just walked in, and her expression dropped, while her mood turned its momentary elevation into a cartwheel and made it impossible for her to tell how exactly she felt about things.

Completely uncaring of the emotional turmoil ravaging the inner workings of the mare's mind, the stallion let the door close behind him and had a look around the place. He had the same expression a foal would wear in a candy store or a toys store, though Wick wondered if that wasn't just his reaction to anything. "Candles?" he asked, still not looking at the unicorn.

Somewhere in the back of her head Wick wondered how the stallion had possibly missed the rather large signboard affixed to the wall above her shop, or any of the other half a dozen at least things that should have clued him in about her selling candles, but on the forefront she simply latched on to the question as a way to stall for time while the rest of her brain caught up with what was happening. "Yeah, mostly. We don't just sell candles, but that's kind of the main thing." More in terms of representation than in terms of sales, but she didn't mention that part.

"How quaint." The stallion finally looked at Wick. "That's a thing ponies say, right? Quaint? I think it is." He paused, frowning slightly. "We?" he asked, then had another look around. "You run this place on your own, don't you? Does someone else work here?"

Wick blinked. "No. Uh... No, yeah, I do run it myself, I just..." She didn't finish the sentence, and instead switched on to a different topic. "How did you get here?"

The stallion looked at her, and blinked once. "I walked."

"I- Ugh." Wick looked to the ceiling in exasperation. "I meant here to me here. How did you find this place? Why here? What do you want?"

"A place to stay," replied the stallion. "I need somewhere to be for a while, hide where Stella hopefully won't find me. Here just happened to be where I was, you just happened to be the one pony here who I don't know less than everyone else and also I can blackmail you into hiding me. I just followed your tracks." He began to walk farther into the shop. "Sorry about answering those in reverse and yeah, you've got no idea who Stella is and no, you don't want to know." He walked past the counter and farther in still.

In silent puzzlement, Wick watched him reach the shelves on the back wall, pull on a seemingly random candle, and then descend down a flight of stairs through a trapdoor which she was sure had never been there.

In The Dark

"Have you ever heard about the soldier and the white mare, captain?"

The mare quirked an eyebrow. "I have not," she replied.

"It's an old story. Old even for me. Ponies used to tell it around bonfires, and before then sing it to the crowds in the streets," explained the stallion. "I've been thinking about it, recently."

The mare leaned closer, brushing her grey-purple mane aside. "What's the story about?" she asked, curious.

"Well, there's a couple different versions." The stallion looked out the window into the distance for a moment. "It tends to happen when a story is around for long enough." He chuckled. "There's a consistent core to it, but if you don't mind I think I'll embellish it a little. I like this version better than the trimmed down one. Anything against it?"

The captain shook her head, and then had to push her mane out of the way again.

The stallion leaned back into his seat. "There had been a war. A long, bloody war, that had threatened to destroy the country," he began to tell. "But it was over. It had been won, finally. And ponies got to go home. They returned to their families, to their cities. Things would get better, and the victory was celebrated across the whole country.

"There was a soldier. Young. He hadn't seen most of the war, though he'd heard stories about it. By the time he'd joined, along with the others his age, things were already looking better. They'd been the final push needed to win, and hadn't really met all that much resistance or danger. To them, to him, war had been mostly a spectre of fear, dreaded when sent to face it.

"But the spectre was dead now. The war was over, and there was nothing left to fear. And so the soldier partied with his comrades, and they drank and sang and played music and danced till the morning light, and burnt their uniforms in the fire. And they laughed.

"But then, the soldier saw her. Like a ghost in the crowd, the white mare staring at him with malice in her eyes." The stallion adjusted himself, and added, "The white mare is death, by the way. It was more obvious back when that was a common image. But cultural details aside, let's get back to the story."

He continued, "The soldier was shocked. Afraid. The night had been like a dream, and he awoke to bitter and cold reality. And so he ran. For two entire days and nights, he ran away, barely sleeping or eating, afraid of what he had seen. And after the days and the nights of running, his muscles aching and his heart pounding, he saw the walls of the great capital in the distance, and by dawn he reached its gates.

"But once he arrived, he stopped and fell to his knees, and a raspy scream left his throat. Because the white mare was there, waiting for him. And the soldier looked at her, and started to cry, and he said, 'I saw you staring at me with malice, two days ago. I ran away from you, and yet here I find you again'. But the mare replied to him, 'It wasn't malice in my eyes, but confusion. I was expecting you here at this hour. You were so far two days ago, I feared you wouldn't make our appointment in time'."

The captain blinked, some confusion evident on her face. "Lieutenant Sombra, if I may ask... What is dawn?"

Sombra just gave a little smile at that. "Oh, don't mind that, I apologise. Details. Sometimes, I still fall back to outdated terminologies, out of habit."

Take Stock

"How is it?" asked Twilight, looking up from her desk.

"A little better," Starlight replied, unconvincingly. She walked up to the desk, and sat down on the first chair she found. "So, uh..." She swallowed, and tried really hard not to hear her own words. "How did she get out?"

Twilight's expression was uncertain as she studied Starlight's face. "I went and checked the statue. The other two are still there. Either that was the real her and she did escape somehow, or someone wants us to believe it so much they went through the effort of removing her from there." She aimlessly shuffled the pages on her desk for a moment, only out of the need for a pause in her speech. "I don't know if it had to do with the Behemoth, which it very well might have, or if someone helped her. I do know she was not alone though."

Starlight snapped to attention as she heard that. "How do you know?"

"We checked the house for the stallion she was replacing. All the food was gone, and she hadn't been there long enough for that. Not unless she was starving. We're still trying to figure out her movements before she got to him." Twilight sighed, pausing again. "That's not the main thing, though."

"What is?" Starlight pressed on.

"Someone else was here," Twilight said, bluntly. "Chrysalis was a distraction. One they probably wanted to get rid of in the first place." She looked down at her desk. "Six scales were stolen from the storage room."

Starlight barely held back a gasp. "Do you think it was... anyone here?"

"No." Twilight still didn't look at Starlight. She seemed deeply focused on her thoughts. "We're the only ones here who know how to open that door and deal with the spells around the perimeter, and no other unicorn here would be able to do that good of a job that quickly. Whoever we're dealing with managed to work around all our security measures and figured out how to do it in just a couple days."

Starlight fell back into her chair, thinking. "This is bad. Really bad."

"I expect you to understand why we'll be keeping the exact details of the theft a secret for now." Twilight finally looked to Starlight again.

Starlight nodded. "It would just spread useless panic if the info got out." She bit her lip. "As long as whoever has them doesn't start to blow up cities with them yet."

"Someone that good at magic wouldn't need scales for acts of terrorism. They might contact us, sooner or later."

"Or sell them to someone else."

"Maybe," said Twilight. "The only thing we can do for now is focus on the info we have."

Starlight swallowed again. "I... She asked me for help. Do you think she wanted out of the whole thing?"

"She might have," Twilight agreed. "For one, I'll actually do what she suggested. We're adding extra security to the laboratory. More guards, mandatory checks on all workers, I won't bother you with the details right now."

"I want to help," Starlight blurted out.

"You're not in a condition to," Twilight sternly replied. Then her tone grew softer. "It's for the best, for all of us. You need time to recover."

After a moment, Starlight weakly nodded. "I understand." But her tone didn't appear particularly convinced.

Twilight sighed again. "Starlight?" She waited for the unicorn to look at her again. "It was not your fault, not any more than it was mine. You couldn't have stopped it."

Starlight's breathing had gotten a little heavier. She softly nodded, and blinked twice, but again there was little evidence to suggest she truly believed what she was hearing.

Oleander

"Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused, willing herself forward through the empty darkness around them. "Is that you? Why do you look like that?"

Pinkie turned towards her, a little surprised. "Rainbow. You're not my Rainbow though, and I'm not your Pinkie."

Rainbow paused. "Oh. Mirror world stuff?"

Pinkie nodded.

"So that's what a human looks like." After a moment Rainbow shook her head. "Nevermind that, what are you doing here? Do your friends know you're in Equestria?"

Pinkie gave her a weird smile. "Don't worry about them, I'm safe here. And besides..." Reaching towards Rainbow, she moved her arm through the pony's torso, her hand coming out behind her neck. "I'm not really here."

Rainbow drew back, a bit confused by that. "Okay. That's weird. I'll probably have to tell Luna about it." She looked around. "This whole place is weird. What's going on here, exactly?"

"Oh, nothing in particular." Pinkie floated around in the darkness. "I was just catching up with an acquaintance of mine." As she said so, the shadows around her body seemed to shift, ruffling like feathers and caressing the edges of her skin.

Rainbow opened and closed her mouth once. "Yep. Definitely weird, definitely telling Luna about this." She drifted a little closer to Pinkie. "Are you sure everything is okay?"

"Okay?" Pinkie looked at her with wide open eyes and took a long, deep breath, inhaling shadowy tendrils of the darkness around them. "Things are going far better than just okay, Rainbow," she whispered in a breathy tone. The shadows had grown claws, and were tugging and pulling at Pinkie's lips and other bits of her anatomy Rainbow couldn't as easily trace back to the more familiar equine bodies she was accustomed to, or merely wandering over her skin.

The pony looked at Pinkie's eyes, and moved back a little, swallowing. "Pinkie, uh, I'm gonna be straight with you, this doesn't really look okay to me." She held back from summoning her armour, but she was ready to do so at any moment.

"Oh, Dashie, don't be silly." Pinkie moved towards Rainbow with speed and motions that looked unnatural even for a creature Rainbow had never seen before moving through void blackness. She stopped with her upside-down face just a hair's breadth away from the pegasus', and while Rainbow knew Pinkie couldn't touch her she suspected that was probably not true for the shadows slithering around over the girl's skin and wrapping around her limbs. "You being straight with me? What kind of nonsense is that?" Pinkie opened her mouth, but what came out was closer to a frantic series of pants than to laughter. That was until a thick stream of darkness and shadows began to pour into her mouth and down her throat.

Rainbow swiftly pushed herself away, and she did summon her armour. Breathing fast, she stared at Pinkie and tried to think of what to do. Parts of the girl's body were fully enveloped by darkness, like fabric coating her limbs, and behind her what looked like a pair of black wings almost seemed visible. Then Pinkie's eyes began to glow a deep dark black and purple, and before she could react Rainbow Dash blanked out.

See Where It Takes You To

A plain, empty grey room, four identical smooth metal walls each with a door. The portal was the only other thing there as Twilight stepped through it. She looked around, and breathed in. At least the air was clear there. She paced around the room for a few moments, inspecting it, her horn lit to detect any magic that might be there.

Nothing as far as she could tell. She moved to the closest door, and ready to react to anything that might have been on the other side she opened it. A room identical to the one she was in greeted her, only different in its lack of a portal. It was otherwise completely empty, and indistinguishable from the other. Twilight stepped in it, cautious yet curious, and left the door open behind her.

Again, her magic detected nothing in the room. With increasing curiosity she reached for the door on the opposite wall and opened that too, to find another still identical room. Then she turned around and, after checking to make sure she could still see the room with the portal, went for the door to her left. Again it was just like the previous ones, and there she picked the right door. Not even surprised that the new room was once more like all the others, she went right again and ended up in the room with the portal, as she should have.

Just to double check that the place did indeed seem to follow regular spatial geometry, Twilight released a spark of light from her horn and, standing still in the room with the portal, guided it backwards along her path to see it once more reappear through the first door she'd opened. That out of the way, she turned to one of the doors she still hadn't opened and charged her horn. A spell fired from it, passed through the door, and opened it, along with every other one it met in its path as it continued to sail forward through the air.

As far as Twilight's eyes could see, every room seemed identical to every other one, and a quick accelerated trip through a hundred or so of them and back confirmed they were indeed all the same. Twilight repeated the process for the last door, with the same results, and then moved to a nearby room where once again she did the same with the two remaining doors in it, again finding only copies of the one she was in.

She walked back to the portal. True, she could maybe try to go farther and see if eventually something changed. But that didn't seem like a particularly worthwhile time investment. It would take hours at least to properly check everything, and months even depending on how large the place was. And that was all assuming it had an end, which Twilight eerily suspected it might have not.

Mulling over her thoughts for a while longer, she headed back to the portal, and left the room.

F-H

"Oh." Starshine didn't stop smiling. "That's okay. You don't need to decide now. You don't need to decide at all, if you're not comfortable with it. I wouldn't want to bother you so." She sat down, still looking at Sunburst.

For his part, Sunburst sighed, opening and closing his mouth a couple times without saying anything. "I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about," Starshine replied. "If you don't want me to be here, I can go for now. Like I said, I don't want to bother you, and you know I wouldn't be bothered by not existing a while longer."

"I do want you here," Sunburst hastily replied. "And I want to understand this, it's just... tough. I want to get through this, but not go through it, I guess."

"You ponies can get so complicated." Starshine tilted her head to the other side. "I wonder if me being like that too would help."

"At this point I don't know." Sunburst stared at the desk for a moment. "And I don't want this discussion to derail into something else."

"You're saying that for yourself. You know I wouldn't try to derail it if you didn't want to," said Starshine. "You did want me to remind you of that."

Sunburst took his head in his hooves, trying to focus. After a few deep breaths, he looked to Starshine again. "Is there an easy way around this? Can I just will myself to know the answer?"

She shook her head. "We can only alter myself, and create physical things that are not part of existing creatures. No instant knowledge or personality manipulation. Or sudden tumors."

"I see." Sunburst nodded. That was at least progress. Directing the conversation where it needed to go. "Could we create a book containing all the answers, and then just read that?"

"You could try," Starshine said. "But you'd only get the answer you want to have. And there's a decent chance you wouldn't be able to ask all the right questions. It likely wouldn't work the way you want it to."

"Alright." Sunburst thought for a moment longer. "Can you answer the questions, then?"

"Only the way you want me to answer them, but yes." Starshine nodded. "If you think you do have the presence of mind to wish for an honest answer over a comfortable one, then we can do it." She smiled a little wider. "You did ask for that encouragement, yes. But it is true."

Sunburst took another, deeper breath, and pushed himself back against his chair. "Let's start at the beginning." He swallowed. "I created you, didn't I?" he asked, pushing all the words out on a single quick breath.

"You did." Starshine softly nodded once. Then her smile curved into something a little more mischievous. "Which technically means I do get to call you Daddy."

"Starshine this is not helping," Sunburst replied. "This is the opposite of helping and not derailing the conversation."

"Well it's not my fault you have all of this repressed horny." Starshine pouted.

"I don't-" Sunburst sputtered. "Don't word it like that! That is possibly the single worst way you could ever word that, and it severely undermines the nuances of the actual issue."

"Well what are you gonna do about it, huh? Planning to spank me, D-" The rest of the sentence was muffled and indistinguishable, mostly due to Starshine's sudden lack of a mouth.

Taking slow breaths and shaking slightly, Sunburst reached for the steaming mug of chamomile tea that hadn't been there before and emptied it in a long, slow sip. Then he set the mug back down. "This is going to take a while."

For her part Starshine stared at him, mouthless yet still smiling.

Last Call

"Are you sure you got the coordinates right?"

"You're the one who calculated them. And I double checked them, and had them checked by a couple others as well," Twilight replied, staring through the empty space where a wall had been months before.

"But are we sure they're right?" Sunburst didn't stop nervously pacing back and forth, using his magic to toy with his beard.

"As sure as I can ever be of anything, yes," said Twilight, in a surprisingly serene tone. "If calculations this precise turned out wrong then we may as well start doubting everything about teleportation spells themselves. The coordinates are the best we can possibly have, and they're right."

"But what if it moved in the meantime?" Sunburst stopped his pacing, staring at Twilight.

Twilight rolled her eyes, and turned back towards him. "Sunburst. If the Behemoth had moved again, I'm pretty sure everyone would know."

"Right." Sunburst slowly nodded. "But what if-"

"Sunburst, please. You're not the one who needs to go there." Twilight gave a small chuckle. "I know you're covering for Starlight, but you don't need to cover for her freak-outs too."

"Well I'm sorry if the prospect of our greatest asset and researcher, and our ruler, and a friend, teleporting herself right up to what is possibly the most dangerous thing to ever show up on this planet leaves me a tiny little bit nervous. What am I supposed to do if only half of you comes back?" Sunburst had to stop and adjust his glasses, which were slowly sliding down his muzzle, sweat starting to form on his brow even in the cold weather. "Don't say it," he said, not to Twilight.

"Depends on which... Aww. You're no fun," Starshine whined, sat in a corner of the abandoned building.

Twilight sighed. "Don't worry about it too much. There are contingencies in place in case I turn into a puddle up there, Equestria will survive. I trust you all, I know you can make it without me."

Sunburst fixed his glasses again. "Twilight, that is the opposite of reassuring. It's mostly the you turning into a puddle part we're all worried about, not the political consequences."

Twilight sighed again. "I know. But if I keep pretending like it's not a big deal maybe I can continue to trick my brain into avoiding panic attacks long enough to actually follow through on this whole thing." She swallowed. "I've managed to get close enough to touch it already. This should be safe." Then she extended a hoof and grabbed a hayburger from the ground. Once she was done stuffing it into her mouth, she looked to Sunburst again. "There's nothing left to wait for, I think."

"So you're going? This is really happening?" Sunburst sat down.

Twilight nodded, and began to cast the defensive spell she'd devised on herself. She'd practised and tested it enough times by then that she didn't really need to think about what she was doing, but that didn't stop her from focusing on it anyway. Once she was done, she looked back to Sunburst, then silently turned and looked at the Behemoth.

A moment later, she disappeared from the building, leaving behind just the light and sound of her teleportation. Then, nothing.

Passage

After a moment spent holding her breath, making sure she was still there and alive, Twilight opened her eyes. The first thing she did was look down. Not that there was anything to see in that direction, though she supposed that indeed confirmed she'd gotten the coordinates right. It did hit her at that moment just where, exactly, she was, and what she was doing, but she forced herself to push through it and looked around.

She was greeted before she even laid eyes on the stallion. "Hello," he said. "I've been waiting for you."

"The Charioteer, I presume?" asked Twilight, stepping closer to him. He looked just as Firecracker had described him, at least seen from behind.

"That would be me, yes." Still, the stallion didn't turn. "And you are Twilight... Twilight Sparkle. Just Twilight Sparkle. No Aurora here."

Twilight chose to ignore that last bit for the time being. "I only know you by your title. This doesn't seem all that fair." She got closer still, but not too close, and kept her horn ready.

"Would you rather I address you by your title as well? I don't think so. You get to choose what I call you by, allow me to do the same. But let's not waste time on this kind of matters."

Twilight bit her lower lip. "You know why I'm here, don't you?"

"Answers. The same thing most sapient creatures do just about anything that isn't tied to their survival for. That or having fun." The Charioteer turned to look at Twilight. "Start asking questions, then."

Twilight swallowed, as she studied the stallion's expression. She was in danger, and she knew it. And yet, faced with the possibility of everything she could learn, seemingly safe from harm until he decided otherwise, she could not help but indulge her own curiosity. "Is it really true that every world has its Behemoth? Its abomination, as I've heard them called?"

The Charioteer smiled. "Every world that matters. Every world you can reach. I don't know about others, if other worlds do exist beyond these. I do know you'll never reach them, should they be out there." He stood, and Twilight noticed the reins wrapped around his front legs. "Every world has its own, in time. Even the nightmare world you've found. Even that one."

A shudder ran through Twilight at those last words. She knew what the other meant with them. "Do they all have a Charioteer?" she asked.

The stallion kept on smiling. It seemed like a genuine thing, no traces of mockery in it. "This, I don't actually know. I never paid much attention to them, truly. Those I know of do have some form of guide, not quite like me yet not too greatly different. But others might not. I don't suggest you bother checking, though."

Twilight swallowed again. She could afford to be curious a while longer, she thought. "Where do you come from?"

"Someplace else." The stallion chuckled. "Then again, everyone does. From beyond this world, I suppose. I don't know if it has a name that would mean anything to you or to any of the worlds you might meet. To me it's simply the place I come from."

Onwards

Twilight thought it over for a moment. "Why are you here?"

"Things to do," the Charioteer replied. "Specifically, making sure the Behemoth moves when it should and where it should. Or maybe that it simply doesn't move when and where it shouldn't. But you've heard all this already, Twilight, let's not waste time with it."

"But why?" Twilight insisted. "What is the purpose? What is the reason for all of this?"

The stallion sighed, seeming a tad annoyed or maybe simply bored. "That is not a question I can answer, much less one I want to right now. Please don't push our discussion down this path further."

Twilight considered her options. She wasn't sure if it was her curiosity or her self preservation instinct making the decision, but she chose to heed the stallion's words. Instead, she moved on to something slightly different. "Who sent you here?"

"Pretty bold assumption there, that someone did." The Charioteer was back to smiling again.

"You've made it clear there's more going on than simply what I can see in the worlds I've found," Twilight replied. "Who's behind all of this?"

"Do you want an honest answer?" The stallion's smile shifted to something weirder, like he was suddenly aware of something really funny or ironic that only he could see. "I have barely the faintest clue of who or what it might be. You wouldn't get a satisfying answer if you looked into my head yourself."

Twilight was as shook by that as she could allow herself to be given the situation she was in. Still unsure if she'd been told the truth, she asked, "Then why are you doing all of this? Why would you act without knowing what the purpose is?"

The Charioteer chuckled. "It's in a raindrop's nature to fall to the ground, and it cares not that a pegasus placed the cloud it came from where they did. It cares not if it's falling to water a forest or to put out a fire. It just falls. I am here, doing this, and that's what I am."

"A drop of water doesn't have the free will of a pony like you," Twilight rebuked.

"And yet ponies live and die, don't they? For how much they may question why, or try to avoid it, you all have rules you cannot escape. Not knowing why you're alive has never stopped one of you from living, not knowing where you go afterwards has never stopped one of you from dying. We all have our chains, Twilight, and directing this creature is mine. I am the Charioteer, after all." The stallion was still smiling as he said all that.

Twilight was silent for a moment. "This world will be destroyed, won't it?"

The Charioteer raised an eyebrow. "Death claims everything in time, Twilight. But that's not what you're asking here. This world will be destroyed soon, because of the creature we're standing on, yes."

Twilight swallowed, trying to slow her breathing. "How soon?"

The stallion pursed his lips. "I don't know, actually. It's not up to me to decide."

Celebration

"And you don't know who it's up to either, right?" Twilight asked, almost taunting the stallion.

He nodded, not bothered by her tone. "I'm not sure if it is up to someone, really. It might all be predetermined. Or up to this creature's nature. Or up to pure chance."

"Every world is destroyed in its own way," Twilight said. "What about this one? More earthquakes? Will the planet break apart? Something else entirely?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Twilight forced herself to not be bothered by the Charioteer's snark. She was starting to feel a mild itching in her hooves, but aside from that her spell still seemed to hold. "Is there a way for us to stop this?"

Thinking about it, the stallion sat down. "More than one, probably. And yes, because I know already you'll ask about it. Yes, getting rid of me would stop the process. You might still have the Behemoth to deal with in some form, but your world would be safe."

"You claim you're here to bring about the destruction of our world, and then tell us that defeating you is the key to stopping it." Twilight took a careful step forward. "It's almost as if you want us to attack you."

The Charioteer chuckled. "If I had wanted that, I would not have spent months here alone. I merely prefer to be honest."

Twilight briefly nibbled on the inside of her cheek. "Even if that's true, why would you not expect me to attack you right now?"

"Because you're not done asking questions, Twilight, and I'm not done giving answers. And I know you well enough." The Charioteer smirked. "I wonder, if Sombra had chosen to tempt rather than frighten, if things wouldn't have gone differently. I'm honestly surprised no one ever sought to exploit your thirst for knowledge. It would seem like such an obvious thing."

Twilight stood straighter. "Do you think I would have ever chosen knowledge over my friends?" she almost barked, clearly angered by the implication.

"Not at all," the Charioteer replied. "But I do know that you'll wait a few more minutes before you do anything against me. There's so much more I could tell you about, after all." His smile grew a little wider, and his gaze seemed to lose focus for a moment, like he was staring at something in the distance. "Sunburst is starting to worry, but you probably knew that already."

Twilight forced herself not to overanalyse what she thought she might be seeing, and instead focus on what it reminded her of. "I'll concede, you got me there. Let's talk coils then, shall we?"

"With pleasure. Just don't expect particularly great revelations on this front," the Charioteer replied. "If there's anything I really wanted you to know I would have already told you through the last visit I received. I'm not that much in need of being overly dramatic to sacrifice all convenience for the sake of it. Just most." He smiled, and gave a brief whispered chuckle.

Meanwhile

"How do you think she's doing? Do you think she's okay?" Sunburst kept pacing from one wall to the opposite one, insistently throwing glances into the distance.

"What do you expect me to think, Sunny?" Starshine replied, still sitting in the corner with her back against the wall. "Of course I'm going to answer that she's probably okay, she's Twilight after all. You need reassurance right now."

"And yet you somehow managed to give it in the least actually reassuring way." Sunburst's steps became a little louder as he nervously stomped over the stone beneath his hooves.

"It's not my fault you have to make my existence so complicated." Starshine shrugged. "And stop walking there, you'll dig yourself a trench if you keep that up. Do you want a telescope to try to look for her?"

"There's no telescope good enough to see her where she is, no matter how impossibly advanced," Sunburst replied, sounding a little annoyed. But his pace did slow down a little.

"I know," Starshine said with a nod. "But you could frustrate yourself with futile attempts and then chastise yourself for even trying in the first place."

"That doesn't exactly sound like an ideal use of my time." Sunburst looked at Starshine for a moment, then back in the direction where Twilight was supposed to be.

"It sounds like a better use of your time than literally nothing." Starshine clicked her tongue. "Come on, Sunny, you can't just keep walking back and forth like that."

"Well what am I supposed to do?" Sunburst asked. "I have to wait for Twilight to get back, praying to Harmony that she does so alive and in one piece, and I have to wait for her here. What else should I be doing?"

Starshine rolled her eyes. "If you're gonna wait, at least wait the proper way. Sit down and calm down. Trying to grind out your hooves against the floor like that won't be of any help to anyone."

"Twilight could be dying up there!" Sunburst yelled. "How am I supposed to just sit down and wait?" He forced himself to slow down his breaths, and adjusted his glasses. "I mean, yes, she probably isn't dying and things will actually be fine but there is a non zero chance that something does go wrong."

"The chances of being hit by a meteorite while grocery shopping aren't zero either, but that never stopped you from doing it," Starshine replied, blowing a strand of her mane out of her face.

Sunburst almost sputtered for a moment. "That is not the same thing and you know it."

Starshine rolled her eyes again. "Look, Sunny. Do you believe in Twilight? Do you believe that if anypony could pull this off, it would be her? Then stop acting like you don't. She'll be fine."

Sunburst opened his mouth, but after a few moments all that came out was a deep sigh. He sat down, and took hold of the steaming mug of tea he found on the ground as he stretched out his hoof towards it. After a long sip, he sighed again, trying to slow his breath. "I suppose you have a point. We'll just have to wait."

Vilify

Stella pondered the scene before her. From the pegasus lying down to the one still standing, to the alicorn looking at them both. And the other pony there, too, but that wasn't all too relevant.

Definitely not what she'd come there for. And yet, she'd found something that might have been that much more important. What she would do with the information was still up in the air, but she wasn't going to let Twilight get there first. Assuming it could be done, of course. But if it couldn't, the other would be heading straight into a trap.

She supposed she might have decided to stop her, if that turned out to be the case. It wouldn't have been right for Twilight to end any way other than by her hoof and horn. But that was a matter for the future. She still had things to listen to there, and tests to run afterwards. Hopefully the little distraction would be worth it in the end.

Exile

Twilight wasn't sure if she should have felt annoyed by the stallion's attitude, or amused by it. Knowing what he was responsible for, indirectly and directly, her logical side said it should have been the former. Her guts disagreed at moments. "What do you want me to know about them, then?"

"A little wide for a question, don't you think?" the Charioteer asked, tilting his head to a side.

"Not when you implied the answers aren't that many," Twilight replied. "I may as well have you spit it all out rather than waste time playing guesses about what is and isn't worth asking."

"How efficient of you." The Charioteer gave a little tap with his hoof, and Twilight for a moment worried the Behemoth would start to move beneath her. "Exactly the opposite of how I like to do things. But I suppose the pretense of variance across different individuals is part of what makes life enjoyable, after all." He leaned slightly to a side, then to the other. "Right, then. Coils. What could the little pony princess want to know about them?" he wondered aloud, looking at the sky.

"Planning to make up for the time I'm not losing?" Twilight was tempted to sit, but she had no intention of putting any other portion of her body in contact with the Behemoth. Just because the spell had held that far it didn't mean she should try to push it further.

The Charioteer's eyes snapped back to her. "They are a consequence of the Behemoth's presence, obviously. And yes, there are still more you haven't found. No, they won't change with time, any perceived change is merely the result of better understanding and control. And as a warning, you've been lucky with the receivers so far. It won't last." The corners of his mouth drew back, giving an edge to his smile. "It already happened, actually." His expression then returned to a more normal one. "And yes. Newer ones will appear, in time. No particular correlation between their nature and the when of it. That's all about this, for now."

Twilight nodded, taking mental note of everything the stallion had told her and already beginning to analyse parts of it. A stray thought struck at her, and she decided she may as well give it a go before moving on with the rest. "You seem to know a lot about a lot of things." She waited just a moment, to see if the smugness oozing from the Charioteer's expression would crystallise in an affirmative reply as well. When it didn't, she continued, "Do you happen to know about what happened with Chrysalis? The parts I don't know of, of course."

"I do," the Charioteer replied. The part where he mentioned he wouldn't tell her wasn't needed, his tone carried that bit of information perfectly on its own. "Please, don't have me fill up the whole conversation with bits of knowledge about other creatures' lives. Unless you want me to talk about Silver Lace. Do I have some things to say about that mare's tastes in terms of paint colours."

Twilight looked at him silently for a moment. "Scales. Let's talk about scales."

ahw

"Ah, yes. I figured you'd get to them eventually." The Charioteer stood up again and seemingly stretched, rolling his shoulders. "Anything in particular you would like to know?" he asked.

"What are they?" Twilight asked, bluntly.

"Fragments of the Behemoth. Pieces of its body, as you've been able to put together. Naturally shed, not ripped. Not quite like how a snake loses its skin though. Closer to some creatures losing their teeth as they grow new ones, though that's not an exact parallel either," the Charioteer explained. "I know most of that is things you'd already figured out by yourself, though I suppose it must feel nice to hear them confirmed. Assuming you do consider me a trustworthy source of information, of course."

Twilight gave a half nod. "It is nice to hear I was right, yes. Other abominations, if that's what we're calling them, in other worlds, all share this common trait of seemingly shedding parts of themselves, as far as observed. Is this a constant?" she asked.

"It is," the stallion replied. "Not always in the same form, and I mean that in more than just the way the shapes variate across different creatures, but every equivalent to the Behemoth has its equivalent to scales. And on that note, they do all share the same properties and uses."

"You know an awful lot about other worlds for someone claiming you never really paid attention to them," Twilight noted.

"I may not be informed about the specifics," the Charioteer replied, "but that doesn't mean I'm not aware of the general points. Some things were established as common elements before every creature was sent its way."

Suddenly reflecting on something what she'd just heard had touched on, Twilight blinked, and asked, "Were they all sent together? Why is there such a seemingly wide time frame for their arrivals? Are some universes further apart than others, at different distances from where you came?"

The Charioteer snickered, and Twilight wasn't sure if he was actually mocking her or if he'd just thought of something really funny and completely unrelated. "A linear, equivalent flow of time with a common beginning across different universes is not an assumption you can afford to make, nor is portals derived from scales travelling perpendicular to its direction. Functionally they might as well, but you should consider that an oversimplification if you want to deal with the bigger picture," he explained. "As for your question, interdimensional travel between and across different realities is a complicated mess. One day you might get to see that for yourself."

"Does it not bother you to be used as a standing on-demand distributor of information?" Twilight suddenly asked, on a whim.

"I have sat here immobile for months. I have very low standards for what counts as an entertaining use of my time." The Charioteer chuckled to himself. "And I do love rambling. I won't waste my one chance at an audience who's actually willing to stand there and take it."

Twilight chewed on nothing for a moment. "Makes sense to me. Back to scales then, I suppose. I've still got a couple things to ask there."

Awkn

Twilight looked back and forth between the Charioteer and the empty space beside her. "Is anyone else here?" she asked, coldly, her jaw clenched.

The Charioteer opened his mouth to speak, but a moment later just sighed, and looked down. "How do I put this in a way that won't be misunderstood, but is still annoyingly cryptic to you?" He sat and rested his chin on a hoof, and Twilight couldn't tell if he was serious about it or merely playing it up for his own humour.

"Never assume that someone might not be listening, Twilight, there are things in these worlds beyond your comprehension and beyond the scope of what you should care about. Most listeners tend not to interfere. That all said, there is a difference between merely listening in on a conversation and personally being there to spy on it." He looked straight at Twilight again. "I can assure you there is no one here but me and a purple alicorn princess," he said with a smile.

Twilight, still unsure, tried to decipher his expression, and threw one last look beside her where he'd been staring at and still seemed to be looking towards at moments. "Back to our conversation then," she said, her tone still stiff. "I know you know all about our little incident at the castle. Does the thief in question know something I don't about how to use scales?"

"Maybe they do." The Chariotter shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe they don't. Do you think there's someone out there who'd be able to figure out more than you have, in less time and with less resources?"

Twilight gave a particularly intense exhale, but little else. "What exactly does this bond entail? Are there consequences for being close to a scale, or for being tied to it specifically?"

The stallion pursed his lips. "Scales are kind of like buckets of water to the Behemoth's ocean. It's a lot harder to drown in the former. Effects might be there, but no worse than how simply standing in the light of the Sun means bathing in radiation. A pony can deal with it." A pause. "Unless, you know, you eat one."

The faintest twitch coursed through Twilight's face. "Someone did, didn't they?"

"You'll have liked him by today," the Charioteer replied. "Speaking of which, it's exciting not to know what's going on with that."

Twilight gave a blank nod. "Anything else about the bond?"

Another shrug. "Not really."

"Not really. I see." Twilight took a deep breath. "Do you make less sense the more you go on, or is the Behemoth physically melting my brain? I knew I should have put extra shielding on the cerebral area."

"Neither, actually." The Charioteer smiled in a way that oddly resembled a pout. "Anything else you wish to know, before the inevitable fight this conversation will end with?"

"And you say I'm the one who makes assumptions," Twilight replied. "Is there any pattern I might be able to deduce about where scales will be found?"

Fire

"Are you okay?"

"I can't find Twilight anywhere, so that means she's out there risking her life over something she hasn't explained to me yet," Starlight replied. "Sunburst is there too, apparently, given I can't find him anywhere here."

"Oh." Trixie waited on the doorstep for a second. "Do you want to go have some ice-cream or something?" she asked.

"Kind of cold for ice-cream, isn't it?" Starlight asked back, looking up from her desk.

"Well, we could always warm up the room," Trixie replied.

Starlight chuckled. "Are they even selling ice-cream this time of year?"

"Are you even still assuming this town follows any shred of logical sense?" Trixie deadpanned.

"Point." Starlight got up from her seat and walked towards Trixie. "I suppose intaking sugar to distract myself from the impending risk of our country losing its only current leader is a valid option. But I'd probably rather go for hot chocolate."

"I'm sure they serve hot chocolate at the ice-cream place," Trixie replied.

Starlight chuckled again. "Why ice-cream, anyway?" She reached Trixie, then walked past her and out the door.

"I don't know. Why anything?" Trixie replied, closing the door as she walked out behind Starlight. "Why is the sky blue? Why does gravity exist? Why is there a giant creature standing around in our capital? Why am I suddenly back to being the least magically talented unicorn among my acquaintances?"

Starlight flinched. "Oh." She took a deep breath. "Come on now. You're still talented! You've gotten so much better at magic."

"Never as talented as Twilight or her pupil." Trixie walked past Starlight. "And not nearly talented enough to match up to Sunburst, nowadays."

Starlight sped up her steps to reach the other mare.

Wal

The Charioteer shook his head. "Not any you'd be ever able to figure out. Mind you, that doesn't mean there isn't one." He smirked. "No, I'm not telling you."

Twilight exhaled. "I suppose that is functionally the same as it being random, then."

"Indeed." Twilight recognised the expression on the Charioteer's face. It was the same kind of smile Celestia had whenever a student asked a really smart question, or figured out a particular implication of a topic by themself. "I have always been quite fascinated by this topic," he continued. "Given it is equally believed by everyone, or even simply by enough creatures and viewed by society in the proper way, and given it cannot be proven as one, a lie is functionally truth. So it matters not if you can prove the correctness of your assumptions on a universal scale, what matters is that they work."

"That is a very practical way to look at the world," Twilight said, "though I suppose precisely because of that it works well for what it's meant to be."

"I just think figuring out how to work with and within a system is a more fruitful use of time than questioning its true nature and inner mechanisms," the Charioteer replied. "I wouldn't say it's a better use of time, I believe that kind of judgement is purely subjective in nature, but it does certainly lead to more results in less time." He clicked his tongue. "And time is something you don't have much of, all things considered. I understand your desire to understand things, but compromises may be necessary if you wish to reach your goals."

Twilight stared the stallion down for a few moments. "I can't say you don't make a valid point. Though I do find it odd you'd bother to bring this up."

"What can I say?" The Charioteer shrugged. "Like I've told you, I do love to rant and ramble. Believe me, I could go on for days' worth of writing."

"Odd way to phrase that."

"I would hope you'll put down a full transcript of this conversation, Twilight." The stallion smirked at her again. "Something to remember my existence for a bit, when I'm gone."

Twilight didn't know if she was meant to laugh or sigh. So, she did neither. "Do you really think you'll be forgotten, if I manage to stop you? With all the damage you've done to Equestria, with all the effort it will take to get there?"

"Everyone and everything is forgotten, sooner or later."

Twilight looked at him still. "Only when there's no one left to does something stop being remembered. And it might still be known again, at some point." She paused a moment, thinking. "And things don't simply disappear from memory. The details change, the meanings shift, but some traces are left. And they carry on, one way or another, for as small of a difference as they might make. Nothing is ever truly, completely forgotten."

The Charioteer chuckled. "This is quite the summary of who the two of us are, isn't it?"

L

"Trixie. I understand you're-"

"No you don't!" Trixie replied. "The only time you ever met someone better than you at magic she was an alicorn whose talent literally is magic, and she was so impressed by you she took you as her pupil. You have never had any idea of what it's like to not be anything but absolutely amazing at magic."

Starlight flinched. She swallowed, thinking of what to say. "Ouch," she finally let out. "But you are right. And angry, which is why I won't hold this one against you." She stepped closer to the other. "Look. This isn't about which one of us is better at magic."

"It's easy to say that when you're not the third wheel." Trixie grumpily refused to look at Starlight. "You're probably the most talented unicorn in the continent, and meanwhile now he's become the closest thing we have to Discord in the noodle's absence."

"Come on now," Starlight said. "Just because Sunburst does have powers I don't think it's fair to compare him to Discord."

"He basically created life," Trixie rebuked, snapping towards Starlight. "Now I'm not just the least magical one, I'm not even needed for threesomes anymore."

Starlight stepped closer, and placed a hoof over Trixie's back. "Trixie. You don't need to be the most magically talented, and you know that. You're still our friend, and you're still special to us. You know you're not a third wheel, right?"

Trixie looked Starlight in the eyes, and her expression slowly melted. "It's one thing to be your friend. But now the world is in danger and you two are constantly helping out and I'm... I'm just here. Doing nothing. I'm completely useless in this whole situation, and I just have to sit by and watch ponies better than me risking their lives to try to save us. I know no one expects me to do anything, but you don't know what it's like to be unable to help in any meaningful way."

Starlight pulled Trixie in for a hug. "You are helping, and you know that. You've been doing great here with the school. And you're helping us just by being there for us."

"I don't feel like it's enough." Trixie returned the hug. "But I guess wasting time whining about it will do more harm than good. Do you still want that chocolate?"

"Of course I do," Starlight replied.

K

Twilight tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, nothing in particular." The Charioteer shook his head. "Moving on then. Is there anything else you wanted to ask about scales, or should we switch to a different topic?"

Twilight hesitated, biting her lower lip.

Before she had time to say anything, the Charioteer spoke again. "You can always come back to this topic later, if you feel like it. I understand what it's like wanting to be sure you're getting every bit of information you can. Just ask whatever comes to mind, don't worry about missing out on something just because the conversation seems to have moved on."

Twilight furrowed her brow at that. "Well, if you put it like that, I do have something else to ask. Are you reading my thoughts?"

The Charioteer chuckled. "I'll take that as a compliment. But no, I'm just good at reading expressions." He pursed his lips, and hummed for a moment. "Your spell will hold, yes. Don't worry about running out of time."

"Are you lying to me?" Twilight asked, moving her legs before they grew too stiff.

"No, but I should clarify that I don't consider the omission of truth to be the same as a lie. Morally, perhaps, but semantically it's a different thing," the Charioteer replied. "You'll only get the truth from me. Just not the whole truth at once."

Twilight gave a very small, mostly instinctual nod. "If I were to leave now, what would you do?"

"Go back to watching and waiting. Like I've been doing for most of the last few months," the stallion said.

"How do you watch?" asked Twilight, curious. "Is it another benefit of being stuck there, or something else?"

The Charioteer smiled at that. "You know how I do it. And I should probably point out that being here is more of an informed choice on my part than an obligation."

Twilight's first reaction was mild surprise. She asked him, "Then why haven't you left?"

"Do you want me to?" He smiled again. "But like I've said before, I was waiting. I can't just march up to your castle and announce that I'm here to drive this creature around and destroy your world and all that. Where's the mystery in that?" He gave a shrug to accentuate his question. "Besides, I did have to direct the Behemoth. It's not something that can be done at a distance."

Twilight then moved on to the second reaction to what she'd heard. "Does that make Sweetie Belle special, in some way?"

"Aren't they all special?" the Charioteer asked back. "Curious that you would ask about her in particular. Perhaps I worded myself wrong."

Silent for a moment, Twilight thought about what to ask next, and about what to actually take away from what she'd been told. "Will coils and scales all go away, if the Behemoth does?"

"Oh, there's an interesting one. Scales should physically remain, but as much duller object than what they currently are. Coils will disappear, yes."

Imaginations from the Other Side - Episode 7

"Applejack?" Rainbow Dash called. "Applejack? Are you here?"

Rarity levitated a cloth out of the way and threw a look at the piece of machinery underneath, then set it back down. "Well, aren't you getting what you asked for?" she said, walking farther into the building. "Things are going in a pretty clear direction at the present moment, and it seems fairly evident that pieces are clicking together. Shouldn't this be enough to give you some faith in the rest of the story?"

"I don't know." Twilight looked behind a tall wooden shelf, then continued walking forward. "The current portion is getting a little wordy and exposition heavy. Very telly and not very showy, if you get what I'm getting at. It's like the author couldn't find a better way to get all that information across and had to shove it all towards us because it's needed later."

Rarity frowned. "You always find something to complain about, don't you? But even you should admit that it makes perfect sense for this to be happening. The characters may be just standing around and talking, but you can't deny that is absolutely what they would be doing in their situation. It would be bad if they weren't sorting things out like this, in my opinion."

Twilight sighed. "I'm not saying you're wrong. Because you're not. The exposition itself is justified within the story. But it was still the writer's decision to have it, and to move the events so that it would happen. Having constructed a frame that justifies the influx of information doesn't change the fact that there was a decision to have it take place in the first place, rather than having things go differently."

Rarity shook her head, and she was about to reply with something else when she heard Pinkie's cry from the next room over.

"Girls!" she yelled. "I found her!"

Immediately Twilight teleported both herself and Rarity towards the source of the sound, and moments later Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash arrived in as well.

Applejack was sitting in a corner, facing against the wall, clutching her legs to her body and holding her phone in her hoof. She said nothing as she heard the others approach, the only sign of life the somewhat irregular contractions of her breathing.

"Applejack," Fluttershy called to her. "We've been searching you for hours! Your family is worried."

"Hours?" Applejack asked, before anyone had a chance to say anything else. Her voice was calm, but strangely cold, and a light tremor in her tone hinted that her composure might have broken down at any moment.

"Yeah!" Pinkie said. "We were worried about you too! Trixie was worried too, I think." She placed a hoof under her chin, then shook her head and focused back on Applejack.

"Hours." Applejack slowly turned to look at the others. "How often is it updated, Rarity?"

For a moment the unicorn didn't understand, then she looked at Applejack's phone. "Oh. Wasn't it once a day?"

"Then why has it been seventy-nine chapters since you started looking for me?"

W

Twilight swallowed at that. "Only coils themselves, or their consequences as well?" she asked, suddenly shifting her weight from one leg to the other. It was partly out of nervousness, partly to deal with standing still for so long.

"That's inherently dependant on how much those consequences are tied to the particular coil's existence in the first place," the Charioteer replied, "though you should be able to figure out that much by yourself. Cut out walls and burnt trees will remain, circuits and other such things will not."

"So Starshine will..." Twilight didn't finish the sentence, though she didn't need to.

"Die? For a given definition of death, though you need to make up your mind on whether or not she's alive in the first place," replied the stallion. "That is all, of course, assuming Sunburst lives long enough to see that happen. Not that it will matter particularly if things simply run their course."

Twilight frowned, and was silent as she thought things through.

"Oh, don't make that face, and don't act like this is any kind of moral dilemma worth your time. The choice is evident, and the matter of guilt isn't something you can't easily overcome."

"That does not mean I enjoy bringing suffering to others. It's not the kind of choice I enjoy making," Twilight said.

"And yet it is the kind of choice you are called to make, as ruler of this country. And one you are willing to, as someone fit to take on that role," said the Charioteer.

"Only ever if there was no other option." Twilight stared the other down.

"And you've been exceptionally good at finding those options, Twilight," the Charioteer acknowledged. "But if it ever came to it, and nothing else could be done, there's not a creature you wouldn't kill. It's pure logic, and it's not something you of all ponies can argue against."

There was a moment of almost silence, filled with the slow sound of Twilight's deep breathing. "You don't know me," she finally hissed, in a deep tone.

"I know you enough to know that the possibility wouldn't scare you as much if you didn't know it could be true. There's more than one reason you've refused to put yourself in this kind of situation." The Charioteer held her stare, his expression eerily calm.

"You're not the first one who doesn't understand me," said Twilight. "I'd assumed you would know enough not to make that kind of mistake, but it seems I was wrong."

"I could force you into it, if I wanted to."

Twilight was silent again, this time in surprise rather than contemplation, as pieces of her expression shattered and crumbled away.

"I could still make it all stop, if I really tried to," the other continued. "I could offer you a deal, Twilight. Just one life of my choosing for this all to end."

"You'd be lying," Twilight hastily replied.

"You could check for that. Make me swear and promise by any oath and spell you know of, and if you were certain it was the truth, you would do it." The Charioteer stared at Twilight, silently, for a moment longer. "I won't, though, so don't worry about it too much yet."

A

Twilight was, again, silent, but so was the other. They both stared at each other, one smiling and relaxed, the other tense. It was Twilight that finally broke the silence, as she asked, "What would the Behemoth do, exactly, if I stopped you now?"

"Are we finally getting somewhere?" The Charioteer had a look around, and quietly began to whistle to himself, until he spoke again. "I can't say for certain, Twilight. I can't see the future, after all. But if I had to take a guess?" Standing straight, he stretched his legs. "Not much. Oh, perhaps it would thrash around at some point, cause a bit of commotion, sure. But from experience pulling at its reins, this creature is much more prone to staying still than it is to move. I've never had to hold it once in all my time here. And while it may agitate itself when the signs we're waiting for come, it'll most likely stop not too long after."

"So what you're saying is-"

"That stopping me would lead to the least amount of damage overall, barring you somehow finding a way to remove the Behemoth entirely, yes." The Charioteer nodded. "And you won't find any easy way to do so anytime soon. You've seen what risks are there in merely dealing with a single scale. So you can just stop me, right here, and that'll be the end of this whole thing."

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Twilight. "What do you want?"

"Nothing, really. And everything. I'm just doing what I'm here to, would you say a plant wants something in particular as it simply exists through life?" The Charioteer chuckled. "But it will be funny to see you fail."

Twilight's lips twitched at that. "Are you that convinced I can't stop you?"

"This is not just about me," the stallion replied. "Ponies and creatures will die, Twilight, and you'll play a part in it, and you'll fail to stop it. You can't take yourself out of this game any more than I can."

"I am not alone in this," Twilight replied, "and I don't plan to give up just because I've been told to. I've seen myself, my friends, and the creatures of this world do what we were told we could never hope to more than enough time to believe that we can make it this time too." Magic buzzed at the base of her horn, ready for use, and her back tensed.

The Charioteer continued on, unimpressed by Twilight's words. "That world you found, where Nightmare Moon rules? Its abomination is coming, and it'll be far faster than your world's. And you'll happily leave it behind and condemn all the ponies there to it."

Twilight grit her teeth, but she still held herself back. "What's the point of this?"

She may as well have said nothing. "You'll try to find a new way to use scales, and bring more destruction on this world as a result. You'll fail to see the mistakes you've already made until it's too late, and your friends will suffer the consequences of it."

"This is getting us nowhere." Twilight's horn was alight with magic. "Stop it."

"Why don't you stop me yourself, then?"

Be Back

Are you ever planning to get rid of that pfp btw? It's old at this point I like it. It's not anywhere close to summer, Twi It'll be summer again in a few months. Ugh I think Rarity is rubbing off on you. When are you changing your picture? It's old too at this point. I like it Do you like it because you like it or because you look cool in it? ...yes You do look cool in it, to be fair. Thanks Too bad it doesn't show off your wet shirt properly. Twi! And yet you say I'm the horny one You are the horny one. Well I am a unicorn, after all That's the fourth time you've made that joke this month. You're keeping track? Someone has to. Anyway. I ran into a roadblock while trying to figure out where the next portal might be. It feels like I might be missing something. Do you mind having a look at it tomorrow? I think I could need a hand here. Sure, Twi You know I'm always ready to lend you a hand ;) What was that about being the horny one? Oh come on! I make one joke One joke You've done a lot more than a single joke, Sunset. That's not I'm not that bad It'll take you five seconds of scrolling upwards to find a picture of you naked you sent, asking me to send you one of myself in return. While I was in class. ...okay But at least I don't have a picture of myself in a swimsuit as my profile picture! Sunset. You see me naked multiple times a week on average. And that swimsuit is probably the least sexy thing in my wardrobe. Legitimately. My regular CHS clothes looked hotter than that. Are you really that bothered by the idea of people seeing my shoulders? You know that's not what I meant Of course I do. But you're cute when you're upset. Hey! And you handle me better when you're angry. If you know what I mean. ... Sometimes I forget What? You're also a unicorn . You can have this round, Shimmer. Hah So anyway Are you worried about Pinkie, or is it just me? She does seem to be strange, lately. In non-Pinkie sorts of ways. Yeah And I think she's started to put on black makeup? And I mean enough of it for me to notice without being up close. Woah That's a thing, I guess Hmm Do you think she's going through a delayed teen edge phase? Didn't Pinkie have her 'edge phase' when she was a child? I don't know. I've never looked into her memory Well I've tried to. It's just, you know... Pinkie. Pinkie Well, we should at least hope it doesn't go the same way as our 'going insane with magic beyond our understanding' phases did. Honestly, I'd fear for the unknown magic's safety in Pinkie's case Which is why it's so worrying that it seems to actually be affecting her. WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT

Author's Note

Made with https://geekprank.com/chat-screenshot/ and some editing on top.

Mirror

The unicorn straightened his neck and set the miniature down, admiring his work as he took the brush out of his mouth. It wasn't the best, and maybe he'd touch it up a little the day after, but for a first work he found it was probably good enough. And it had certainly been satisfying to put the thing together and paint it, so he could say he was happy with it either way.

He glanced at the clock. "Oh, bother," he said, carefully moving the small statuette out of the way and pulling up a blank sheet of paper. He should have been writing. He was gonna be late for it, again. He probably wasn't going to get enough done in time at that point.

And then was the usual matter, he thought as he stared at the page. Deciding what to actually write. Maybe some music would have helped, but he didn't feel particularly like it that night, all things considered. It took him a bit to actually start, taking up precious time he didn't have much of as he decided what he would put on the page, but eventually he did begin.

He grabbed his quill in his magic, the glow radiating from his curved horn illuminating the darkness of the room behind his back, and after dipping the tip in ink he began to write.

There was one thing in particular he wanted to get to, but he'd save it for a day where he had more time to dedicate to it. He instead went with something else, something that still worked with what was around it. As he did, he also threw brief glances around his desk. Some things would need to be either placed on the floor or maybe strapped down, given what was coming.

One More

A translucent, pinkish chunk of crystal enveloped the Charioteer, locking him in place. "Happy now?" asked Twilight, her horn still itching after the spell she'd cast. She'd acted on impulse, but that didn't mean she hadn't prepared in advance.

Strangely, or perhaps not strangely at all, the Charioteer did indeed seem to be happy about the situation, at least going by his expression. Then his smile turned into something a little closer to a grin, for as much as the crystal allowed him to shift his expression. Triangular sections began to disappear from the prism around him, small at first but quickly widening, and a moment later the crystal shattered as he pulled himself free. "Not a bad idea, I'll give you that. But you'll need to try a little harder, Twilight," he said, kicking away the last bits of crystal. "Three more seconds." His front legs tensed again.

Horn already prepared, Twilight fired again. Wide pink wraps of energy, like giant rubber bands, snapped shut around the Charioteer's limbs. "Are we good to talk again yet?"

The stallion considered his bindings for a moment, amused by them, then again he pushed his legs apart and the wraps ripped open, disappearing a moment later. "Still not enough, Twi. Again."

That time, Twilight went for something more direct. Her horn flared up, and her telekinetic aura wrapped around the Charioteer's body directly. "How's this then?" she asked. Keeping her magic active was a strain on her, but not one she couldn't put up with. She'd dealt with worse.

"This is a pretty good plan, Twilight," the Charioteer replied. "Unfortunately for you, it's not good enough." He tensed his legs again, pushing against Twilight's hold, and slowly but steadily he began to move.

Twilight could feel him fighting against her spell. She poured more energy into it, the flare of magic around her horn growing in size. Still, the Charioteer's legs didn't stop, nor did he seem to be struggling any more than before.

Gritting her teeth, Twilight fully stopped holding back. She pushed against the stallion's motions with enough strength to crush the castle that stood below them into dust. Sweat began to glisten on her brow, her wings tense along with the muscles in her neck. Her horn shone brighter than the Sun in the sky, almost enough to blind her own eyes, the roaring flame of magic rising from it almost as tall as the alicorn herself.

For one, seemingly never ending moment, the Charioteer was still again. Magic swirled around him so vibrant and intense his body was barely visible, enough to burn anything that might pass through its maelstrom, a force that would have shattered the bones of any other creature pushing against his body and keeping him pinned to the spot.

And then he moved.

The magic around him shattered like glass, the whiplash sent Twilight tumbling backwards, and as she looked up again, fighting against the ringing in her ears, she saw the slow arching wave of motion travelling along the reins as they rose up and felll again, moving from the Charioteer's hooves and off towards the unseen behind him.

After barely enough time to comprehend what had happened, the world shook.

Consequences

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck," Sunburst muttered as he scrambled to get himself back up as quickly as possible. "Fucking fuck!" He briefly dusted off his cape, and disregarding his broken glasses he scaled the pile of rubble in front of him to get a look at what was beyond it.

"You won't be able to see anything anyway, Sunny," said Starshine, already at his side on top of the rubble. "And you should be happy none of the walls fell on you, honestly."

Sunburst ignored her, while trying to get a better view past the pillars of dust rising from the fallen buildings. "This is bad," he said under his breath. "This is really bad."

Wick Clip screamed at first for seeing the shelves empty their contents unceremoniously onto the floor. Then she kept screaming as the glass window of her shop shattered. And she stopped screaming once she realised what had caused it all, chills racing up her spine as she remembered the last time she'd felt that same feeling.

Heart pounding in her chest she walked out of the building, and a town of cracked buildings from which ponies drifted out greeted her. They all were silent, staring at each other with worry. It wasn't long before the stallion who'd taken residence in her shop was out there too. And they all waited, to see what would come next.

Trixie and Starlight both held each other, still on the ground. Neither tried to get up right away, and instead they just stared in the other's eyes, both their expressions equally terrified. Knowing that the Behemoth had moved again was a scary enough thing. Knowing that Twilight was there on it made everything a lot worse.

Still, both mares knew there were better things to do than be paralysed by doubts and fears. They both got up, and both silently started to look around for any signs of any creature needing rescue, any buildings about to fall, anything they could help with. It was all they could do, after all.

The spoon snapped in half, and Celestia couldn't tell if it had been the shockwave or merely her own magic under shock. A brief look around the room revealed ponies equally as frozen as her. A second, a slowly yet steadily expanding crack along the ceiling. In a flash of golden magic she teleported herself and everyone else out of the building, onto a separate floating island near the one they'd been on, her cake abandoned in her plate.

Scarlet Ribbon had lunged forward to grab her honey jar out of pure instinct, and as she lay there on the floor she acknowledged how much of a stupid decision it had been. Yet there was a giddiness to her revelation, the strange euphoria of still being alive after what easily could have been the end of her. It quickly subsided though, snuffed out by the worry and uncertainty of the future.

Floating in the thick blackness around her, Pinkie barely felt the vibration. But for anything to reach her there was already quite impressive, so it did pique her interest. She allowed herself a glance in the direction it had come from, a somewhat worried frown on her face. The darkness did not complain about her actions.

"Oh dear." Cadence stood still, and so did Shining on the other end of the room. "This is not good."

He felt it resonating all the way to his heart. Which was quite a weird experience, given he couldn't really feel his own heart at all at that moment. He wasn't, in truth, sure if it made him more excited about awakening again or more reluctant to. But either way, it certainly was waking him up. And, strangely for him, he felt scared. Something he hadn't felt for a very long time before the last time he'd gone dormant.

Sunset tapped on her screen to reach the appropriate icon, only to find Twilight already calling her. She answered, and pulled the phone up to her ear. "Did you feel that?"

"Of course I did!" Twilight replied from the other side. "The whole town must have felt that."

"What in Celestia's name was that?" yelled Sunset, moving to her window to make sure there was no significant damage outside.

"I'd say it was an earthquake," Twilight answered, "but... Well, for one, earthquakes don't happen as a single wave."

"For two, earthquakes aren't magic," Sunset added, worry in her voice, addressing what Twilight had chosen not to. "You felt that too, didn't you?"

The quiet sound of Twilight biting her lip on the other end of the call was all the confirmation Sunset needed.

Rarity catched herself, and stood straight again. "Is everyone okay?" she asked, looking around the room.

Twilight nodded, and looked as well to ensure the other mares weren't hurt.

Applejack just stared at the ground, wide-eyed and motionless. "Seven more," she whispered.

"Applejack, we need to get out of here," Twilight said, trying to grab hold of her friend.

"What was that?" Rarity worriedly asked.

"Oh for goodness' sake!" Applejack snapped, looking up at the others. "You know what that was! Just like you know everything else that happened!"

"Applejack, I don't-"

"How do you not realise it? How do you not notice when it should have only been a second here?"

Everyone else in the room remained silent, suddenly trading uneasy, increasingly worried looks.

The tape did hold, much to the benefit of the stallion's peace of mind. He began to remove it, and to place his items back on his desk. "And to think I was almost late today as well," he said, stepping around the room to make sure he'd gotten everything.

Once he was done with that, he had a look at the desk again. "Well, this should at least round it up nicely." He sighed the kind of sigh given after a hard work well done, smiling to himself. "About time we got here, anyway."

On Goes

"Hmm." The Charioteer chewed on nothing for a moment, staring seemingly nowhere. "I might have overdone it a little."

Twilight finally managed to get back to her hooves. She stared at the stallion, unsure of what to say, still processing the potential consequences of what had just happened. "What did you do?" she screamed, more out of a nervous reaction than anything.

"I made the Behemoth move," the Charioteer replied, looking at her. "And I might have set the timeline mostly straight again, even going backwards a bit. Want me to do it again?"

Twilight was stunned, caught in the dissonance between the magnitude of what she'd just been a part of and the sheer casualness of the Charioteer's attitude. "You wouldn't dare," she hissed out, but she wasn't particularly convinced of that.

The Charioteer stared at her, and then he broke down laughing. "You're right, I'm not going to do it," he said, as soon as he'd regained enough composure. He then returned to a more serious expression and tone. "But if I did, what about it? You wouldn't be able to stop me."

Twilight had to bite down and hold herself back not to lunge at him, and she wasn't sure how much of it was her horn still being in pain. "What's so funny about all this destruction?" she growled out instead.

"Oh, nothing in particular about that," the Charioteer replied. "But this isn't about that. The consequences on the world down there are just that, consequences. This is about us. I said you couldn't stop me, and I proved that was the case. I won our little game, if you will."

At that point, Twilight was sure it was definitely the pain holding her back from blasting the stallion as hard as she could. He'd probably be able to take it anyway, she didn't have to worry about hurting him. "That's what all the lives of those down there are worth to you? Just consequences not to care about?"

"That is what I was saying there, yes," replied the Charioteer, nodding. "The point is, Twilight, that you can't stop me. Not here, not now, not alone. This is a battle you're bound to lose, and it's better for you not to fight it."

"Do you expect me to do nothing after this?" Twilight said, in what would have been a yell if her throat hadn't suddenly gone sore. "Do you expect me to just leave after what you did?"

The Charioteer shrugged. "It would be your choice, Twilight. Stay here for another futile attempt at stopping me, or go back and help those who need it while you have the time. Is revenge really more important to you?"

Twilight's horn had began to glow again, but she actually hesitated, considering the other's words.

The Charioteer spoke again. "It would be your choice. But I'm going to be nice, and take that responsibility away from you."

It happened somehow too quickly for Twilight to react to it, yet slowly enough for her to catch every detail. The reins around the stallion's front legs, with their same only half there nature as the Behemoth itself, suddenly became loose, and slid off of him. And they kept sliding away from his hooves, swinging away as they disappeared from view, their weight somehow noticeable even as they did so. The air seemed to visibly ripple around them as they moved through it, and then they were gone.

Smiling, the Charioteer looked at Twilight again. Then he spoke to her, his voice behind her, his body no longer where it had been up to that point. "Go take care of your country, Twilight. It needs you. I'll see you around."

Twilight turned fast enough to catch sight of him standing behind her. And once he finished speaking, he simply disappeared, nowhere to be seen.

Melt

She reappeared kneeling into a deep puddle of thick black, more of it sliding down her naked, drenched body. Some of it was dripping down the walls, some had even stained the ceiling. It would dry out and disappear though, no reason to worry about it. Just like how her hair would unstraighten itself, or her lips and eyes would return to the right colour.

The markings on her arms... Those would probably go almost fully away too, for the time being. Maybe remain as little more than barely visible hints only she could notice, knowing they were there. Eventually, sure, they'd get more noticeable, but not yet then.

She sighed, but it was a sound as pleased as it was tired. Sure, her body felt sore, but it was the good kind of soreness. Like after an intense workout, or hard work well done, or after a day spent trekking someplace nice like a mountain or a lake, or even a day at a water park. The last one would have left her almost as wet, though water didn't stick the way darkness did. To be fair, water was also far less enjoyable to breathe in when submerged in it.

She looked again at her forearms. Three marks on the left one, four on the right one. Seven in total then, if more didn't show up. But she was fairly certain more wouldn't, she had a pretty clear idea of how things would evolve from there. She was, admittedly, a little unsure about when and how exactly the wings would come in. She could guess they'd burst out of her back and rip through her flesh, but they did look maybe too weirdly ethereal to do that.

She realised she should probably start considering her clothes. Not for right then, there wasn't really a reason to get dressed so late at night, but she would need them for the morning after. Although, given how late it was, perhaps she could forego sleeping entirely, stay up the whole night and already put them on. She did like that idea.

Not bothering with standing up, she moved on all fours towards her wardrobe and pushed it open. She hummed to herself, looking over the varying degrees of black outfits she was presented with. They would all return to mostly colourful things by breakfast time, unfortunately, but she still did have a degree of choice into what she'd look like by then.

Definitely no chains or metal or barbed wire yet. She was still far from the point of stabbing herself to let darkness pour out of her body, and silvery studs gave off more of a punk rock vibe that wasn't really what she was going for.

A choker? No. Not yet there either. Boots would be fine though, knee high, a bunch of black straps around, the sole tall but not too tall. And maybe she'd hazard some straps around her arms as well, either on her bare skin or on top of whatever top she picked.

Fixxx

It was out of fear of accidentally landing where a wall had fallen that Twilight chose to teleport a little higher up in the air, and a little farther towards the castle than the edge of the room she'd been in before. It did lead to a striking image when she appeared there though, especially from Sunburst's point of view, looking up at her as she materialised in the sky and descended down towards him.

"You're alive?" the unicorn asked, in a mixture of shock and relief. And then, to promptly undercut any potential solemnity the moment might have had, he followed it by yelling, "What in Discord's name happened?"

"Really?" asked Starshine, perched on the rubble at Sunburst's side like a cat perches on a chair, taking up as little space as possible yet leaving none of it available for others. "Are we really going to start swearing by his name now? Just because he's not around?"

"Sunburst is perfectly justified in his nervousness," Twilight said, touching down in front of the two and looking around to take stock of the damage done. "I think for now the best course of action will be to head back to Ponyville and begin to sort out the consequences of this. How bad was it here?"

Sunburst stood incredulous for a moment. "The whole nation just shook, Canterlot is probably half in ruin again, and the first thing you think about is getting back to Ponyville?" He stepped closer to Twilight. "What happened?" he asked through gritted teeth. "You still haven't told me what you were doing up there."

"Every other town is probably doing just as bad as Canterlot is," Twilight replied, "I can help the most by being in Ponyville and coordinating all the efforts. That's where creatures will be looking for me. Starshine?" She turned towards the other at the time alicorn. "Can you have a look around the town here, and help anyone immediately in need? And make it clear there won't be new quakes anytime soon, they're likely worried about it."

Starshine silently threw a quizzical look at Sunburst, who after a moment of hesitation nodded. "On it!" she said then, and then she took off and flew away.

"The country needs something to reassure them after this, the sooner I throw together a public statement the better," Twilight said as she walked past Sunburst. "I should be able to make it back to Ponyville in a few teleportations, we'll check on the places we reach along the way as well." As she talked she held a piece of parchment and a quill in her magic, writing down something. A moment later she sent the letter away in a flash of light, then turned back to Sunburst. "Are you coming?"

The unicorn looked at her, squinting a little to see her better without his glasses. "The Behemoth just moved again for the first time since it got here, and you were on it. Tell me what you were doing there."

Changes

Twilight fully turned to stare at Sunburst. Then she thought better of simply speaking, and her horn flashed. A bubble of shimmering light spread out from her and stopped when its edge was a few metres past Sunburst, preventing any sound from moving past it. "I was having a chat," Twilight replied. "It was rather insightful. Unfortunately, it didn't end quite the way I hoped it would, though I wouldn't say it was my fault."

Sunburst's mouth hung open as he stared at Twilight. He didn't notice Starshine briefly flickering into existence at his side, munching on what seemed to be popcorn. Twilight, for the sake of the moment, pretended not to have seen that either. "A chat?" Sunburst said, shifting tone at least four times in the span of those five letters. "There's someone there to talk to?" he added, having settled on bewildered incredulity with a side of frustrated anger.

Twilight nodded. "The reason I went there, in fact. And as I've said, I did learn quite a few things from this visit. It's a great shame it ended the way it did, but all I can do about that now is help Equestria recover. I would rather not waste time in getting to that."

"You found out there was someone on top of the Behemoth, told no one about it, risked your life going there to talk to them so you could get information," Sunburst said, his tone growing louder with each word as he stepped closer and closer to Twilight, the impact of his hooves on the rubble matching his voice, "got the Behemoth to move again as a result, which in case you haven't noticed might have fucked up Equestria worse than anything else up to this point, and now you think the sensible thing to do is shrug it off and move on?" He was shouting almost directly into Twilight's face by the end.

Twilight held up his gaze. "I had the first real chance to learn something about this whole situation since it began, I decided to put as few creatures at risk and to reduce the likelihood of information leaks to a minimum, I put my own life at risk and tried to get as much information as I could while I was there," she replied. "I did the same thing you would have done in my place. I'm not shrugging off my responsibilities over the consequences of my actions. But Equestria needs me to act now, and everyone will be worse off if time is spent punishing me instead."

Sunburst still stared right into her eyes, but his breath did slow. "What happened there?" he asked.

Twilight's horn shone again, and the two of them teleported to a clearing in the trees somewhere on the mountainside, outside of Canterlot. The Behemoth's silhouette stood not too far in the distance, towering over the city. "There was only one creature there. He calls himself the Charioteer. He looks like a stallion, though I doubt that's all he is."

Like Water and

Sunburst silently nodded for Twilight to continue with her exposition, listening to what she had to say.

"He said he's the one who's been directing the Behemoth to where it needs to go, and I'd say he unfortunately provided enough evidence to support that claim. And no, he hasn't told me why that is where it is, why it needs to be there, or for what," Twilight explained. "But he does seem to know a lot about a lot of things." She began to walk as she talked, heading upwards through the trees and magically setting the freshly fallen ones straight.

"How did you find out he was there, and how does he control the Behemoth?" asked Sunburst, following behind Twilight. He plucked a new pair of glasses for himself out of thin air, and once he'd settled them on his muzzle he began to help as he could with the damage the step had caused.

Pushing a chunk of rock precariously hanging on some roots back into the ground, Twilight answered, "Firecracker found him first. They accidentally ended up there, long story. As for how he can control the Behemoth, it seems to be just a pair of reins."

Sunburst almost stumbled. "Reins? I'd have expected a proper command console for something that size. For a moment you had me wondering if it was all mechanised." He shook his head and blinked himself back to focus, his tone regaining a bit of its previous hardness. "Get to the part where you being there made that thing move again."

"It was his decision," said Twilight, "I want that to be clear. We spent a while talking, and I'll happily enlighten you on the contents of our discussion once we have more time." She reached a relative summit and began to scan the area around with her gaze. "But at one point he began to insist on my inability to stop him, and he decided he was going to prove that to me."

"And?" Sunburst reached Twilight and stood at her side.

"He was right." Twilight's horn flashed for a moment, and the two reappeared a mild distance outside a city. She began to walk towards it, and continued, "He warned me he would make the Behemoth move again, just to force me into action. I tried to stop him. I failed. Nothing of what I said to him was meant to incite this course of action, but I can't deny that if I hadn't been there, this wouldn't have happened." She threw a glance at noticeably damaged building in the distance along with those last words.

Sunburst marched onwards at her side, silent for a moment. "I trust you," he finally said. "Of course I trust you. But I hope what you managed to learn while talking to him was enough to help us through this."

"There's one more thing you should probably know." Twilight stopped walking, to ensure she remained far enough from the city for a moment longer. She swallowed, feeling Sunburst's eyes turn to her. "He's no longer there. The Behemoth won't move on its own, but the Charioteer might be anywhere in Equestria right now."

Star and Chain

Stella bit down on her own teeth, horn buzzing as she tried to detect the trail of Twilight's magic, almost growling in anger.

"Not fast enough, eh?" came the voice from somewhere behind her.

Immediately the alicorn snapped at attention, turning to stare down the stallion while still searching for the trace Twilight's teleportation had left.

"You know, I could have had a much more enjoyable chat with Twilight if you hadn't been so insistent on eavesdropping," the Charioteer said. He had a silent look around the ruins surrounding them. "Look at the mess you had me do instead."

"It's easy to be at peace with your actions if you're always putting the blame on someone else, isn't it?" Stellaria said to him in return. "Don't waste my time more than you already have, unless you plan to actually answer some of my questions." Her tone betrayed her growing annoyance, each second she lost of Twilight's conversation with Sunburst more frustrating than the previous one.

"It's easy to be at peace with your actions when you think you matter more than everyone else, isn't it?" the Charioteer replied. He sighed through his nose, however that worked, and lightly shook his head. "You're every bit as stupid as your mother, and every bit as wrong as the pony you're a copy of isn't."

"My mother was a fool and she died as one," Stella snapped, suddenly baring teeth too sharp to be those of a pony, "don't you dare compare me to her."

"Or what?" The Charioteer blinked out of existence and reappeared centimetres away from Stella's face. "What are you going to do about it, you failed experiment?" His tone was perfectly calm, as it usually was.

Stella stared at him and growled, but didn't do anything else.

"Thought so," said the Charioteer, suddenly lying prone on a pile of rubble behind the alicorn. "Are you planning to stay here much longer? Don't you have some innocents to exorcise your trauma on or something?" He looked much like a cat in his position, perched there on the debris.

Suddenly, on a set of crumbled pieces of walls just in front of him, a new alicorn was resting in roughly the same position as he was. "Hello," she said, looking with marvelled eyes at the Charioteer. "I'm Starshine Flicker."

"I am familiar, yes," he politely replied. "The spawn of Sunburst's own troubled feelings towards the many mares in his life. That boy sure is a mess, isn't he?"

"It's not very nice of you to say that about my dad," Starshine replied, pouting. "That's my thing. You shouldn't be the one doing it."

The Charioteer chuckled. "Well, at least he's not the human one. Then again, magic existing in this world probably causes enough added problems to make up for the differences between the two."

Having quietly given up on tracking Twilight, without actually admitting as much to herself or anyone else, Stellaria watched the conversation happening before her with a mixture of confusion and interest.

Slow

"What the heck was that?" Indigo asked, stumbling around the room to reach the light switch. "Was it an earthquake?"

"It didn't feel like an earthquake," Lemon replied. She sat in the middle of the room, lit by the television screen behind her. "Did something fall in here?"

"I don't think anything did." Indigo finally turned the lights on, and looked around the room. "It doesn't look like anything did." She stood silent and motionless for a moment, like she was expecting something more to happen. "Do you think a bomb went off?"

Lemon bit her lower lip in thought, getting back up on her feet. "Maybe? It might have. Should I check the news?" she asked, reaching for the remote.

"Don't bother with that." Indigo had gotten hold of her phone, and was scrolling through her social media feeds. "Lots of people who felt that. No one seems to have any ideas what it was."

Lemon grabbed her own phone and began to type. "I'll ask the girls if they're okay." She used her free hand to turn off the television, and moved to sit on her bed.

Indigo had sat down on a chair. "I'd really like to know if we're supposed to leave the building right now or something like that. Why can't this sort of thing ever happen at a decent hour? Why does it always have to wake me up?"

"Honestly it's your fault for going to bed instead of staying up with me," Lemon replied with a playful pout. "Everyone I'm hearing from seems to be fine by the way, but they all felt it too."

"Like you weren't dozing off as well when it happened." Indigo stared blankly at the opposite wall. "It can't have been a bomb of they felt it too. Unless it went off somewhere equally distant from all of us, and it was a stupidly strong one."

"But if it was an earthquake they'd be talking about it right now," replied Lemon, who'd begun her own internet browsing. "And yet we've got nothing."

Indigo swallowed. "You don't think it was..." She eyed the awkwardly empty centre of the living room portion of their shared home with worry.

Lemon stared at it as well. "You know what? I'm texting Twilight about this. Better safe than sorry. I won't tell her about the portal here, but..."

"Yeah." Indigo nodded. "That's probably the right choice."

False Positive

Starshine shrugged. "And you are this Charioteer guy dad and Twilight were talking about, aren't you?"

The Charioteer nodded. "Quite observant of you."

"Eh. I figured you had to be with the fancy coloured dialogue." Starshine shrugged again. "It wasn't nice of you not to introduce yourself, by the way."

Stella raised an eyebrow in confusion at the other alicorn's words.

The Charioteer also raised an eyebrow, though he did so more in surprise than confusion. "Oh. I didn't know you could see that too."

"You know what else wasn't polite?" Starshine continued. "This whole destroying Equestria thing." She had a look at the fallen buildings all around them. "This is really hard on dad's nerves."

"But yet, you wouldn't be here with him if it wasn't for this," the Charioteer replied.

"I'd rather he be happy alone than miserable with me," Starshine defiantly replied, pouting. But there was an odd, carefree tinge to her attitude. Like a spoiled child being petty, or a pony doing a really good impression of one.

"But now he wants you here," said the Charioteer. "Quite the conundrum you've found yourself in, isn't it? For all you may act selfless, Sunburst wanting you alive means you're beginning to grow attached to existence, doesn't it?"

Starshine looked to the side, pouting harder, and didn't answer. "If only he wasn't such a dummy," she quietly said to herself.

"I heard that."

"I know you did," Starshine said in an even quieter tone that the Charioteer still managed to catch, but that was too muffled for Stella.

"So anyway, is there anything in particular you would like to ask?" The Charioteer looked blankly into the distance for a moment. "Trixie and Starlight are doing alright, by the way. They were outside when the step happened, now they're helping around Ponyville. I think they were on their way to get ice-cream and hot chocolate."

"What about grandma?" Starshine asked, still without looking at the Charioteer.

He tilted his head to the side. "Seems like she's doing alright as well. Her house maybe not so much, but that shouldn't be much of an issue all things considered."

"Grandpa?"

"He's unharmed too."

Starshine gave a nod, relaxing a little. Her pout grew less pronounced, she arched an eyebrow, and she awkwardly rubbed a hoof on the ground as a thought struck her. "Say. If Sunburst is my sort of father, does that technically make you my mother? Or the Behemoth itself, maybe?"

The Charioteer drew back, then chuckled. "Certainly not me, no. If anything I'd be more of an uncle. The Behemoth itself, though?" He looked back towards the creature in question. "Maybe? I'm not really sure, actually."

"I mean, it's less awkward than the alternative," Starshine said. "You know, having every other mare who partly influenced who I am be my mother." She swallowed. "Especially with the whole grandma being one of those mares thing."

The Charioteer gave a brief laugh. "You could always have Sunburst be your only creator."

Starshine rapidly shook her head. "Oh no no no no no. A god complex is the last thing he needs."

ThInFi

"I suppose." The Charioteer clicked his tongue. "So, anything else you want to ask?" He threw a sideways glance at Stella, still standing there and staring at them.

"She can't see me, right?" Stella asked. Then she thought better of it, and turned towards Starshine instead. "You can't see me, right?" Then she thought better of that as well, and said, "Sunburst sure is a worthless idiot, isn't he?"

Starshine's complete lack of reactions was enough to convince Stella she was indeed not being seen. The non-purple alicorn instead was looking at the Charioteer, pushing her tongue against the inside of her cheek as she tried to think of something. "You don't mind if I tell Twilight about this meeting, right?"

"Of course I don't. I wouldn't be letting it happen otherwise," the Charioteer replied. "Oh, by the way. Wanna see something cool?"

"Always," Stashine said, suddenly beaming with excitement. Then she frowned a bit. "Just, you know, as long as it doesn't involve more destruction."

"Don't worry about that. Think of a number." The Charioteer looked deep into Starshine's eyes. "Any number. And I mean really any number."

Starshine bit her lower lip as she thought about it. "Okay. Got it."

"Minus ninety-one point twenty-five time square root of thirteen."

"Wro- Wait no that's right." Starshine stared confused at the stallion. "I mean I guess that is cool but it's also kinda creepy. But yeah, that's the one I was thinking of."

"I thought you said you can't read minds," Stella pointed out. "Wait, no, you didn't say that. You said you weren't doing it. Then again you might have been lying."

"Did you read my mind?" asked Starshine.

"No, actually," the Charioteer said. "It's a little more complicated than that. Watch out for the unstable brick by the way."

"What unstable-" Starshine was cut off as a portion of the pile of rubble she was sitting on gave out, making her tumble and roll to the ground. "Oh. I get it." She remained motionless on her side, staring towards the sky.

Or at least at what she thought was the sky, as she was actually staring straight through Stella, who stared back at her before looking at the Charioteer again. "Care to explain that?"

He ignored her, and began to whistle a tune.

"What's that song?" Starshine asked, without moving from her spot on the ground.

"I don't think it has a name," the Charioteer replied, his whistling uninterrupted as he spoke. "The black llamas who live on the Boiling Mountain use to sing it when they go into the Blue Forest, and teach their children to do the same. They say it keeps the shykkoroks away."

"What's a shykkorok?" asked Starshine.

"I have absolutely no idea," the Charioteer said with a laugh. "I don't even know what universe that place is in. But it does mean that the song evolves with time, if you will. There's no written version, it's more of a general idea of how it's supposed to go and everyone has their own spin on it. So there's really no wrong way to play it."

Recognise

"Hey."

"Hey." The stallion seemed, at first, perfectly undisturbed by the sudden appearance of another pony in the room. Once he actually looked at said pony though, he immediately snapped to attention and began to observe him closely, walking towards him. "You look weird. On the inside."

"I do?" The Charioteer looked himself over in the mirror next to him. "Oh goodness, I really do. This is oddly entertaining, for some reason."

The stallion stopped walking, and actually took a step back instead. "Who are you? And what are you here for?"

"Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you." The Charioteer looked back towards the stallion. "And I'd tell you if I was, trust me. It wouldn't make a difference anyway."

"That doesn't answer my second question." The stallion was fiddling with something underneath his front hooves.

"Oh, I just have some research to do." A second passed by in silence. "Well, that was insightful. Thank you very much, I'll be taking my leave now."

The stallion stared at him in genuine confusion. "What did you do?"

"Oh, me? Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all," the Charioteer said, with the smug grin of someone who's only technically not lying.

The stallion wasn't having any of it. "You did something there. I... Well, I didn't see it, but I know you... I didn't see it." His eyes went wide. "I don't know what it was!" He began to prance in place like a filly waiting for candy. "Oh this is so exciting! I was getting so bored of just seeing how it all happens. Thank you! I'll figure this one out, just give me some time." He turned and began to head for the back of the room, where he kept his notes.

"My pleasure," the Charioteer replied. "Stella is doing well, by the way."

The stallion paused his prancing for a moment, his enthusiasm suddenly snuffed. "Unfortunate." Then he brightened up again, all his excitement reappearing as quickly as it had gone away. "Is she still looking for me?"

"Always." The Charioteer looked himself over in the mirror a bit more. "She's not the kind of creature who gives up. But she's multitasking, and you've been lower on her priority list than other things. She might pick it back up now, though."

"Noted." The Stallion was scribbling something on one of the many stray pieces of paper and occasionally cloth that made up what he considered his notepad. "Say, could you repair the shop window on the way out? I was going to do that myself, but since you're here."

"Sure thing. Might as well give you something in return for the help you provided." In the blink of an eye, the Charioteer vanished.

"Is there someone else down there?" Wick Clip's voice came asking, as she walked down the stairs.

"Just me," the stallion replied.

"Huh. Weird, I could have sworn I heard someone else," the mare said, looking around the room. "Did this place always have a mirror?"

Swtch

"Oh." Starshine rolled onto her back. "Fun."

"Oh, that's a bit odd. I suppose it's still wobbling some in places," the Charioteer said.

"What?" Starshine looked up at him. "Is something wrong?"

"Don't worry about it." The Charioteer shook off his perturbed expression from his face. "It's nothing important for you. I will be going in a bit, by the way, so if you have any more questions you should ask them now. I feel I've wasted enough time here already."

"If you were so bothered by it you could have just not talked to me," Starshine said with a pout, rolling back to a more comfortable position.

The Charioteer rolled his eyes. "I wasn't talking about mine, dear. Anyway. Is there anything you would like to know?"

Starshine put a hoof under her chin, pondering the question. "The meaning of life?"

"Understandable. I'm afraid I can't help with that, unfortunately." The Charioteer gave a brief, blatantly faked cough. "Anything else? Anything more immediate and practical and less existential?"

"Well there go most of my other questions, I guess," Starshine said. "Hmm. How's the creature who stole the scales from the laboratory doing?"

"They're doing well," said the Charioteer.

"Well, that's unfortunate, I suppose."

Stella threw a poisonous glare at Starshine, but didn't do anything else.

"If it's any better, they are extremely frustrated at the present moment," the Charioteer added.

"That's something, I suppose." Starshine stood up. "I'm almost done checking the town. You won't tell me where they are, right?"

The Charioteer nodded. "It would be too easy that way, yes. I need to have some amusement while I watch you creatures try to prevent the end of the world."

"You'd think watching us try to prevent the end of the world would be entertaining enough," Starshine said. "You don't need to add all these other complications to it."

"I just like to remain a neutral figure, as much as possible." The Charioteer bit the inside of his lower lip for a moment. "As much as I can force myself to. I do still go out of my way to mess with you all for fun, admittedly, sometimes. But can you blame me for it?"

Starshine looked at him flatly. "Yes. Yes we can."

The Charioteer pouted in response. Then his eyes drifted only slightly towards Stella. "Well, you can't blame me if someone thought the oncoming end of all things was a good time to cause more trouble. It really makes you wonder about how rotten inside some creatures are, when even the prospect of assured destruction is not enough for them to collaborate."

"I suppose you have a point." Starshine lowered her head.

"Oh well. I'll be going now." The Charioteer waved at Starshine. "I've got an improperly clothed stallion to pay a visit to."

"See you... around, I guess." Starshine waved back.

"Say hi to your dad for me. And tell him he's doing a great job with you, that should mess with him in amusing ways."

"Will do."

The Charioteer smiled, then disappeared.

Starshine too disappeared a moment later, leaving Stella alone in the ruins.

Fl0w

"There. This should help." Rose held up the still slightly steaming mug in front of Sweetie Belle, patiently waiting for the unicorn to take hold of it.

Forcing herself to take the leg off her face, open her eyes, look down, and not vomit, Sweetie took hold of the mug with a shaking hoof and slowly brought it to her lips. "Are you sure it will?" she asked between sips.

"I'm mostly sure," Rose replied. "There is a chance that the new step altered the way nature works once again and I just served you a lethal dose of poison. Or that you'll grow a second horn on the back of your head."

"Huh." Sweetie finished her drink.

Rose quirked an eyebrow. "I was honestly expecting a spit take."

"Death is preferable to this headache at this point." Sweetie set the mug down, then closed her eyes and looked upwards again, grabbing a napkin in her hoof to dry some drops of blood running down her nose. "Stupid powers and stupid inability to control them properly yet," she muttered.

"That bad, eh?" Rose took the mug in her mouth and brought it to the nearby sink. "It should only take a few minutes before the effects kick in. You might get a little sleepy from it, so I suggest you find a couch or somewhere else where passing out wouldn't be problematic."

"If I can walk to one without vomiting out my soul I'll do that," Sweetie replied, once more covering her closed eyes with a hoof. "It looks like Luna is helping around too. It would be a lot easier to tell what exactly she's doing if her projection wasn't constantly moving through this anteater's!"

"Don't stress yourself too much, it won't make you feel any better." Rose headed for the door. "I'm going out, by the way."

"Easy to say that when you're not the one whose senses are getting assaulted." Sweetie swallowed. "Research?"

Rose stopped halfway through the open door. "Yep. Like I said, there's a chance the step might have had new repercussions on the biosphere. I want to document it as soon as possible, this is important."

"Make sure you close your saddlebags properly, I wouldn't want whatever that thing currently covered by Rainbow's head is to fall out," Sweetie said, before emitting a prolonged sound of pain.

Rose checked herself over, and properly pushed the precariously hanging equipment back inside the bag. "Thanks!" she said, leaving the room.

Sweetie's answer were more wordless acknowledgements of her suffering.

Once she was outside the building, Rose immediately headed for the Everfree, a springy gait to her step.

Lyra spotted her and joined her along the road, matching her pace but not her cadence. "Going somewhere?" she asked.

"The forest. Research stuff," Rose explained. "How are you? Nothing too bad after the step, I hope."

"Nothing to worry about." Lyra adjusted her walking speed slightly to better match Rose's peculiar gait. "Any news from Princess Twilight yet?"

"She's coming, last I heard, but you should better ask Starlight for more info."

In Full

"I would like to join the Guard, Sir."

Shining looked at the earth pony in front of him, a little confused. Dusty blue coat, gold mane and tail with orange stripes, a sealed letter as his cutie mark. Not anypony he'd ever seen or even heard of. "How did you get in?"

"The door was open, Your Highness." The stallion looked towards the end of the corridor, at the door left slightly ajar. "I would like to join the Gaurd."

"Did you not notice the world shaking?" asked Shining.

"Yes." The stallion stared at Shining with the charisma of a goldfish, and with almost the same expression. "That's why I'm here. I feel I should contribute to helping the Empire, Sir."

Shining opened his mouth to speak, but said nothing, blinking and raising a hoof as he tried to think about the situation. "Shiny?" Cadence's voice came from the nearby room, shaking him out of his pause.

"Is this not a good time?" the other stallion asked.

"Uh." Shining cleared his throat. "Just a moment, dear," he shouted. He didn't want to be mean to the pony, but the circumstances they were in were still pretty close to an emergency. "Yes, this isn't exactly the best time for this. If you could just wait until we've properly addressed the situation-"

"Of course, Sir!" The pony gave a salute, but didn't move. "I'll wait here until your other duties no longer require your attention." He still didn't move, almost frozen in place. "My name is Paper Letters, by the way." He continued not to move.

Shining stared him up and down, still somewhat confused by the situation. "Okay. I'll be going, then."

Paper gave a short nod.

"Right." Shining left the corridor and moved to the room where Cadence was waiting for him. And a few minutes later he left the room and passed through the corridor again, Cadence walking alongside him, and they both spotted Paper still standing in the same spot he'd been left in. He gave them both a salute, possibly his only motion since Shining had walked away from him. The two rulers shared a look, and Cadence walked down the corridor while Shining stopped behind for a moment. "Look, there's actually a whole set of procedures to join the Guard, and I'm not really the pony you should be asking about it. Here, here are all the instructions you should need." He passed Paper a folded piece of paper.

Paper took it in his hoof. "Thank you, Your Highness." He opened it and began to read it over. "I shall join the Guard as swiftly as possible, Your Highness." Without looking away from the paper he held in one hoof, he began to walk back towards the door.

Shining looked at him go, still weirded out, then shook his head and turned to follow his wife, quickening his pace to catch up with her. He could only hope Paper wouldn't get himself or anyone else in too much trouble. But he did seem to have good intentions, at least.

H&D

Pinkie sat on a bench in the dark and cold, looking at the empty street in front of her. She'd purposefully picked the bench near the broken street lamp so she'd be in the darkest spot possible, and she was rather happy that the sky was cloudy and the Moon and stars couldn't shine their lights on her. As happy as she allowed herself to be, at least. She'd been told she was trying too hard to adhere to the aesthetic and that it wasn't really needed, but she wasn't the kind of girl who did things halfway, or even the kind that belived there was such a thing as going too far.

It was late enough to be considered early, and she was entering that strange state of perceived clarity where the mind accepts sleep isn't coming and starts diverting energy solely on keeping a person awake and aware, all else shutting down. Nixed social inhibitions, for as little of those as Pinkie could have in the first place, an altered perception of time, the rationale of judgement snuffed out. The cold of the night against a body clothed for the days of a different season helped fight off any momentary impulses to pass out, and her wake marched on almost by inertia.

It was almost pleasant, in a somewhat masochistic vein. And also ludicrously punk if looked at from a certain angle. It was rebellion against her body itself and its natural impulses, after all. Not that that was the aesthetic she was going for, she was in it more for the suffering of the experience than the bragging rights of having gone through it. But she was starting to like the suffering, in a way.

Or maybe she was just too tired, and not thinking straight. That was quite possible too. She wondered if she would have been at any real risk of dying if she passed out there, or if she was being protected. She wondered just how much she was being protected if that was the case. She almost considered testing it too. Then she simply shook herself, stood up, and began to walk down the sidewalk back towards the centre of town.

She could probably camp outside a shady bar until they opened, walk in alongside the employees and order black coffee with lemon and no sugar. Or maybe she'd stare at a friend's house from across the street for a few hours, and leave just in time for them to only catch a glimpse of her from their windows and later assume it was just their imagination and half sleeping mind. They both sounded like nice enough plans to her, at that point.

Theft | Art

"Do you have anything to put me to sleep?"

Redheart stood still and confused, her mouth slightly open, and she blinked once. Then she kept staring at the pegasus who'd suddenly flown into the room.

"Well?" Rainbow asked impatiently, as one of her hind legs nervously twitched.

That shook the nurse out of her shock. "Why do you need something to sleep?" she asked. "Why do you need something to sleep now?" she added, louder.

"It's important," Rainbow replied. "Element Bearer stuff. I need to fall asleep as soon as possible. Do you have something for that?"

"I can't just give you something that strong on the fly!" Redheart replied. "Even if you had a valid reason for it, it's not the kind of drugs I can give without proper measurements first. It's strong stuff."

"But I need to fall asleep now!" said Rainbow.

"Why don't you use a spell for it? Why don't you ask Starlight or another unicorn?"

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to reply, then closed it. "Right." As swiftly as she'd come in, she bolted out of the room.

"What do you think that was?" the first guard asked.

"I'm pretty sure you know what that was," the second replied. "Unless you hit your head really hard recently."

"Not like that," his colleague said. "I know what that I was, I meant why."

"Why what?"

"Why it happened."

The guard made a confused expression. "What do you mean why it happened? We have no idea why it happened the first time around either! It just did as far as we know."

"Yeah but like maybe this time it was different," the stallion tried to justify himself. "Didn't Princess Twilight go to Canterlot this morning? Do you think she's got anything to do with it?"

The stallion's expression only grew more confused. "Why would Princess Twilight have anything at all to do with this?" he asked in a wild tone. "Besides," he continued, calming down to a more formal demeanour, "we're not supposed to know she went there."

"Doesn't make her not there," said the other. "I wish we were still in Canterlot. We'd have gotten to see this one up close."

"I'm pretty sure that's an argument against being in Canterlot. Did you just forget about the last time?" the guard asked.

The other guard looked at him, then shrugged. "Eh. It wasn't so bad."

"The whole country entered a crisis it still hasn't recovered from and you say it wasn't too bad?" the stallion looked at his colleague, quirking his eyebrows.

"Well, no," said the guard, "that was pretty bad. But I meant the actual city stuff. Canterlot wasn't wrecked that hard."

"A significant portion of it was turned to ruins," the other guard deadpanned.

"Yeah but compared to what your regular earthquake or hurricane or massive tornado or flood can do, it wasn't that bad."

"Canterlot doesn't get any of those things."

"Yes, and?"

"Ugh." The guard rolled his eyes. "I just hope everyone there is okay. I might send a letter there later."

Turmoil

"My head hurts," said the large cross between a bug and a pony.

"Well, I am sorry to hear that." The stallion stared at the creature. "You are somehow not the strangest of today's visits." He tilted his head to a side. "You're not from around here, are you?"

"Indeed." The bug looked around the room. "Nice mirror by the way."

"Thanks," replied the stallion.

Wick Clip's voice once more came from up the stairs. "Is there someone else there?"

"Yes," the stallion said.

The mare walked down the stairs and had a look at the room, until her eyes focused on the rather hard to miss affront to the laws of nature occupying it.

"Hello," politely said the thing, waving at her with one of its appendages.

Wick stared for a few more seconds, and blinked. Silently she left the room and went back up the stairs.

"Poor thing," the stallion commented. "She's not all right in the head. I know it doesn't seem nice to say that and I know I don't like it when ponies do it with me but it's true of her. I just hope she doesn't end up hurting anyone."

"Are any of us right in the head, really?" asked the pony bug hybrid.

The stallion looked at it. "Us as the creatures on this world or us as the creatures in this room?"

As a non response, the thing grew some feathers on its back. "I think I'll be leaving too now. I have places to have been to and times I'll not yet have visited already, and not yet happened things done and finished ones to do."

The stallion nodded in understanding. "I'm not sure what that means, but I empathise with the headache now."

The insectoid equine looked at him almost disappointed. "Won't you try to figure that one out?"

"It's hard to find a black cat in a dark room, especially if there is none," replied the stallion. "Looking for a method in madness is hard enough, I won't bother with searching where one probably isn't. I like puzzles that are there, just because no one else sees them doesn't mean I'm crazy. Trying to read the future by cutting animal entrails open isn't for me, and neither is any other practice of looking for order where one doesn't exist."

"I see," the bug said, growing more eyes on its neck for added emphasis. "Discomforting, but fair."

"Someone needs to play the mad one's part in this play," the stallion said. "Though the great wheel moving this world is a mechanism I've only understood bits and pieces of. But it is such a vast and complex thing I dare not look at it in full, or I might really go insane."

The creature nodded. "You would before even seeing it all. Trust me, I'll have had passed through there a while ago from soon. I'll be going now, then, and hopefully things will clear up."

"Hopefully." The stallion gave a polite nod.

The thing turned and forced its mass through the stairs, sectioned legs touching the walls and ceiling and hooves clacking against them as it crawled upwards through them. There was a scream as it emerged on top of them, Wick's judging by the sound, and then silence.

Roubd

"Pinkie? Pinkie?"

Slowly, the mare opened her eyes. "Yes?" She looked around the room, still sleepy. "I had such a weird dream." Suddenly she noticed something, and jolted upwards.

Rainbow Dash stepped back, startled. "Is everything okay?"

Pinkie looked left and right, eyes wide. Then she ran to the window and looked outside. She was hyperventilating at that point. "What day is it?"

Rainbow quizzically quirked an eyebrow. "What do you mean what-" She cut off as Pinkie ran past her and down the stairs. Then she ran downstairs as well as soon as she heard Pinkie yell. "What's wrong?" she worriedly asked.

Pinkie was staring at a calendar, with her mouth hanging open.

Rainbow slowly stepped closer. "Pinkie?"

"I... It can't be- But what if I... I need to warn Twilight!" Pinkie made a dash for the door and beyond it.

Rainbow flew after her, now doubly worried, and managed to catch her as she was falling down. "Where do you think you're going?" she yelled.

Hanging in Rainbow's hooves, Pinkie looked down at the ground impossibly far below them. Then she was set back down on the strip of soil still there outside of the building.

Rainbow took the mare's head in her hooves and turned her. "Can you calm down and tell me what's going on?"

"But..." Pinkie had another look around. "The Behemoth..."

A flash of realisation came over Rainbow's eyes. "Ooh." Her expression darkened. "You thought we were before, didn't you?"

Pinkie looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

Rainbow looked to the side. "Twilight warned us the amnesia would hit at some point."

Pinkie's eyes went wide again. "Amnesia? Did I forget something? What happened? What's going on?"

Rainbow swallowed as she looked back at Pinkie. "The truth is-"

A loud siren drowned out whatever else the pegasus might have said, and she immediately looked around in fear, grabbing hold of one of Pinkie's hooves.

Pinkie just looked at her, even more confused. "What's happening?" she asked, but her voice didn't reach Rainbow's ears over the blaring alarm sound. Then, suddenly, the floating chunk of ground up in the skies they stood on began to shake. A moment later something pushed Pinkie and Rainbow off of it, and as she looked upwards while falling Pinkie saw a great swarm of fish tearing through the building she'd woken up in.

She looked at Rainbow Dash, but the mare was unconscious and no amount of efforts managed to wake her up. Swallowing, Pinkie turned to look at the rapidly approaching ground instead, to find there wasn't much time left before she reached it. She closed her eyes, and hugged Rainbow's body, and finally came the impact.

Only it was a lot less impactful than she was expecting. It sounded and felt more like a tearing of cloth, actually.

"Ouch!" Rainbow yelped.

Pinkie opened her eyes, excited, but saw that the pegasus she was holding on to was still unconscious. And then she saw the forest she was suddenly in. And then she saw the other Rainbow Dash, clad in silver armour, staring at her with confusion in her eyes.

Imaginations from the Other Side - Episode 8

"Applejack?" Pinkie Pie asked, stepping closer to the mare. "Are you okay?"

"No I am not okay, okay?" Applejack turned for only a moment towards Pinkie, showing the bags under her eyes, before she looked at her screen again. "It's happening again and I have no idea how to stop it and you all forgot and I'll forget too."

Pinkie lifted an eyebrow, and held the cupcake in her hoof closer to Applejack. "Do you need help with anything or...?"

"Pinkie, I'm not sure you understand." Applejack held her head in her hooves. "I went through all seventeen volumes yes there's a seventeenth one. I went through dozens of other books. I haven't slept in over twenty-four hours and I'm over fifty pages deep in online search results. And I have found nothing about what this is."

Pinkie frowned at that. "Cupcake?"

After a long sigh, Applejack left herself fall backwards into her chair and stretched out a hoof to take hold of the pastry. Then she brought it to her mouth and bit down on it. "It's delicious," she said in a hollow tone after a few seconds of chewing. "One of the best things I've ever eaten."

Pinkie was still frowning. "If there's anything you need my help with, I'm here for it."

"Thanks, Pinkie, but I'm afraid there isn't." Applejack looked off to the side. "I expect Twilight and Rarity will be here soon. Discussing the newest chapters. And Rarity will talk about everything is flowing and coming together and falling into place, and Twilight will complain that it's less flowing and more stagnating, and they'll have their back and forth and agree to disagree until the next time the wrong eye is put on us and then we'll be back to doing this from the fucking start."

Pinkie flinched.

Applejack looked at her. "Don't worry, I'm sure they've got the ratings for it."

"See? It's all getting addressed and resolved," said Rarity as she walked into the building. "And it's all orderly now too."

Following behind her, Twilight huffed and rolled her eyes. "Well yeah, but that doesn't justify the way it's crawling forward at a snail's pace. If the only way actual development happens is by skipping over it and seeing the consequences, there's a problem."

Rarity gave a very offended pout. "You can't just expect everything to get the same amount of coverage when things are happening at such a massive scale. Some things will have to be skimmed over if you want the story to be done in a reasonable amount of time."

"Well, maybe if they hadn't piled on so many external threads that have nothing to do with everything else, and they'd just focused on the consequences of the inciting incident, now they wouldn't have to be spinning so many plates together," Twilight loudly said. "And maybe, if you can't properly do something, you shouldn't be doing it in the first place."

Rarity made some very indignant noises, but produced no real words as a response.

"They're already making mistakes anyway. They made a whole deal about communication issues and suddenly it's gone," Twilight added.

"Well that's just poor faith on your part," Rarity retorted. "If it's so glaring even you could spot it, do you think they don't know? They'll surely address it."

"Retroactively fixing all your mistakes as you go is not a good way to write a story."

Applejack looked at Pinkie, and shrugged.

Metronome

Twilight and Sunburst reappeared on the outskirts of another town. "So what are you going to do about it?" the second asked, frustrated by the forced time of silent reflection he'd had to endure.

"Nothing, for now," said Twilight. "There's nothing I can do about it, and even if I tried it would probably do more harm than good. For what it's worth, it doesn't seem like he plans to do anything too big."

"I talked to him."

Both Sunburst and Twilight turned to Starshine, who had suddenly appeared there.

"What an enjoyable creature. Aside from the whole destroying Equestria thing, of course. Sadly, no help in finding the thief we're looking for, but he did confirm everyone seems to be alright." She looked at Sunburst specifically. "Grandma too."

"So he stuck around for a chat with you. I'm honestly not surprised," said Twilight.

"What will you tell the country?" Sunburst asked.

"The necessary information. That there have been developments in the situation, that I was a part of them but not their cause, and that for a while they can expect things to be quiet again," Twilight answered. "Knowing that there's a creature out there with potentially ill intents and the power to rival an alicorn won't do them any good, not when he can just go around however he pleases. I doubt he'll be putting on a show, I have no reason to let others know about him and a few not to."

"You'd be lying to them all," Sunburst noted, adjusting his glasses.

"An omission of truth is not a lie," replied Twilight. "Morally, maybe, but not semantically. I'm just trying to do what's best for Equestria, and right now I feel avoiding useless mass panic is preferable."

"He says you're doing a great job with me by the way, dad," Starshine said towards Sunburst.

The stallion almost tripped on the spot, but managed to collect himself again. He coughed to mask his stuttering, then turned back to Twilight. "What after that?"

"Research. Helping creatures rebuild. Trying to find answers. Same as before, just with some more material to work with this time around." She looked briefly ahead at the city, trying to spot any particularly damaged buildings. "You remember that letter about that town hall being vandalised, right?"

Sunburst frowned slightly, thinking. "Maybe? Why?"

"I think I'll have to pay that place a visit sometime soon." Twilight began to walk towards the city.

Sunburst walked after her. "Are you sure it's safe to let him go like that?"

"As much as it's safe to have timberwolves in a forest. Enough, as long as no one's going in there looking for them," said Twilight. "If there's nothing we can do to stop him, and he doesn't plan to do anything harmful, the safest thing is to not have creatures actively trying to run into him." She paused. "Starshine? Be a dear and patrol this town as well. We'll move on to the next one."

"On it." Starshine took off towards the city.

Twilight's horn lit again, and both her and Sunburst teleported away. "There's something I should probably tell you," she said, turning towards the stallion again. "It's about Starshine, and the Behemoth."

56676767 | Nome

Sunburst stepped closer. "What is it?"

Twilight swallowed. "If the Behemoth was gone, or if we did get rid of it in some way, all coils would be gone alongside it. That means she'll be gone too."

Sunburst paused mid step, looking at Twilight but with his eyes focused on a spot behind her. "I understand," he finally said, setting his hoof down. "I don't really have a choice in the matter though, do I?"

"I wouldn't let you have one if you wanted to," said Twilight. "I'm telling you so you can be prepared."

Sunburst took a deep breath. "I suppose I knew it already, deep down. It just made sense. Thank you for telling me about it, though."

"I had to." Twilight looked ahead again. She seemed hesitant, unsure of whether she wanted to add something else or not.

Sunburst noticed it. "I hope you'll have gotten better at hiding the fact that you're hiding something by the time the speech comes," he said, walking past her.

Twilight looked at him pass her and continue on, then shook her head and started walking after him towards the city.

Stellaria reappeared on the edge of Ponyville. With Twilight's magical trace lost, the easier thing to do was just wait for her at her destination instead. And in the meantime she could probably get some valuable information still from the ponies there in town.

"Kind of predictable, honestly."

The alicorn turned, but found no one there where she'd heard the voice.

Instead, it came once more from behind her. "I do wonder if she'll figure out the easy way to get over the Wall. Oh well, I have stuff to do."

Once again Stella turned and found nothing. She grit her teeth slightly and began to breathe a little faster, but otherwise tried to remain collected as she began to head into the town.

Predictably, the place was in a bit of a messy state. Ponies and the occasional other creature were running back and forth in the streets, all with varying degrees of worry in their looks. No building seemed particularly close to collapsing, unlike the previous time, but a few did show evident signs of damage that would need to be addressed. She could have made them fall right then just for her own amusement, but she wasn't there for that.

A predominantly blue blur of motion that she identified as Rainbow Dash streaked past her and towards the local hospital. On the other side of the street, Sweetie Belle slowly made her way along the sidewalk, holding herself up with a hoof against the wall. She appeared to be heading for the castle.

Starlight trotted past her, looking around, and disappeared behind a corner and down an alleyway. Lyra seemed to just be wandering around town, a bit of an odd look on her face. A few moments later Rainbow darted out of the hospital and towards the school.

Stella pondered what to do for a moment. Then her horn lit up and she teleported next to the castle.

I

"You should sleep, Lem'."

"You should too, Indigo," Lemon Zest replied from her bed.

"Well, don't keep me awake then," Indigo Zap said.

"How am I keeping you awake?" asked Lemon.

"By being awake."

"That makes no sense." Lemon could be heard turning in her bed. "I'm not even using my phone, you can't pretend it's the light."

Indigo could be heard rolling around as well. "It's the snoring."

"I can't be snoring if I'm awake."

"Not that," said Indigo. "The lack of it. The sound usually lulls me to sleep."

"That's bullshit," Lemon replied. "I don't even snore most of the time."

"Maybe I don't tell you about it," Indigo hissed.

"Look," said Lemon, "we're both nervous about what's happening right now. But at least I can admit it instead of making up excuses. And it won't do either of us any good to stay up, we should just try to sleep."

Indigo leaned to the side of her bed and stared in the darkness at where Lemon was supposed to be. "Did you seriously just make a sensible suggestion? Instead of proposing that we have sex or something else?"

"I get like this when I'm nervous," Lemon replied. "No shush and try to sleep. We can fuck tomorrow if you really want to."

Indigo was motionless for a moment, then she pulled back and laid her head on the pillow again. "Goodnight, Lem'."

"Goodnight, Indy."

Vessel

Shining checked his mane in the mirror, making sure it looked presentable enough. "I don't need to say anything, right?"

From the other side of the room and across the reflections in both her mirror and his, Cadence glared at him, and that was all she needed to do for him to get what she meant to say.

Shining smiled the most innocent looking smile he could muster. He fixed his uniform one more time and brushed his tail again, then turned and began to walk out of the room, as Cadence quickly followed behind him.

As they exited the room they found a pair of guards waiting at attention, who flanked them and began to follow them as the two walked down the corridor. Shining merely glanced towards them at first. Then he noticed something and looked again. Forcing himself not to mess up his pace, he asked under his breath, "Paper?"

"Yes Sir!" the stallion replied in the same low tone Shining had used. He wore an armour identical to the other guard's, which was why Shining hadn't recognised him at first.

"What are you doing here?" Shining asked. "And where did you get that armour? I thought you were trying to join the Guard."

"That's what I did, Sir," Paper replied. "They're the ones who gave me this armour."

Shining blinked, and again had trouble not tripping or slowing his steps. "You did what, exactly?" he asked, a little louder, making Cadence turn to see what was going on.

"I joined the Guard, Sir," said Paper. "I did everything precisely as you'd written I should do. Thank you again for pointing me in the right direction."

"You- What- How-" Shining sputtered. "It hasn't been two hours since I saw you leave!"

Cadence meanwhile craned her neck to get a better look at the conversation. The guard on her side, for his part, either didn't notice anything or expertly pretended not to.

"I know," excitedly replied Paper. "Isn't it wonderful that I so quickly was allowed to be a part of the Royal Guard and do my part in protecting and serving the Empire and its citizens?"

"The training process is supposed to take months at the least!" Shining turned to Cadence. "It's still supposed to take months, right?"

Cadence looked at him, unsure of what to say. "I think you can skip most training if you pass the required tests, and integrate afterwards?"

"I know that, but-" Shining silently looked between Cadence and Paper Letters, trying to get a point across, then turned back to the latter. "Did you pass those tests?"

"Of course, Sir. With flying colours, Sir." From beneath his armour he produced the relevant certificates, all stamped with the Crystal Empire's Royal Guard's seal of approval.

Shining wordlessly sputtered again. "Honey did we drastically reduce the standards for being allowed into the Royal Guard?" he whispered in Cadence's direction. "I told you not to make me sign anything when I'm sleep deprived."

"Not as far as I know," Cadence whispered back.

"I believe we've arrived, Sir," Paper said, pointing at the balcony up ahead. "I am sure your citizens will be thrilled to hear what you have to say."

Empty

"Morning."

Indigo slowly opened her eyes. "Morning?" She pushed herself up. "Up already?" Then she smelled something. "Coffee? I thought you weren't a coffee person."

"I'm not, but I recognise when I need coffee to stay awake, and with how I slept last night I'd say today qualifies," Lemon replied. "I've made you some as well if you want."

"Sure." Indigo groggily sat up and dropped off her bed. "How much did you sleep, anyway?"

"You don't wanna know," said Lemon, handing her a mug. "Careful, it's still hot."

Indigo blew on her coffee to let it cool down a little. "How come I've never seen you doing coffee before?"

"You didn't see me during exams last year." Lemon took a sip from her mug. "Then again I don't blame you. You were as caught up with those as I was. I think Sunny is the only one who wasn't on the verge of breaking down."

"She definitely takes that stuff better than the average person, but she was still working her ass off. You don't get that kind of grades by slacking." Indigo took her first sip, sitting down on Lemon's bed. "That or she was doing cocaine to keep going."

"She'd have the money for it," Lemon said. "But I doubt she'd have taken the risk at CP. If anyone was doing drugs there it should have been me."

Indigo peered over her mug at Lemon Zest. "And were you doing any?"

Lemon paused and bit her lower lip. "I could tell you that me and Vinyl have the same Molly dealer, but that would be a wild mischaracterization of what actually happened."

Indigo blinked. "What actually happened?" She took another sip of coffee.

"It's complicated." Lemon took another sip of hers. "Maybe I'll explain it to you when I have six or more hours of sleep in my system."

Athame

"Pinkie?"

"Yes. That is my name," Pinkie replied.

"No, I mean, are you okay?" Sunset said, worried. "You look like you had no sleep last night."

"I didn't," Pinkie replied. "Is it that evident? Good. I'm glad."

Sunset's mouth hung open for a moment as she processed the flatness of Pinkie's tone. Then she chose to ignore it. "It's also your hair. It looks... straighter than usual? But in a messy way."

"Yeah," Twilight agreed. "It does. However that works."

Pinkie smiled with only a corner of her mouth, and said nothing else.

"Was it the nervousness that kept you up?" Sunset asked, leaning a little closer to Pinkie.

Pinkie looked down. She opened her mouth slightly, but didn't answer immediately. "Let's say it was. Sure. Let's go with that." She gave a very brief, very dry chuckle.

Twilight and Sunset exchanged a worried look. The latter then cleared her throat, and tried to bring the conversation onto a different topic. "How long until the others get here?"

As if on cue, a blur of motion resolved itself into a girl suddenly sitting next to Twilight. "Fluttershy should be here in a few minutes, Rarity and Rarity are coming a little later but not too long after," Rainbow Dash said. "And, uh... Trixie will be here sometime too. We're hanging out together later today, and she did ask to know about what's going on exactly, so... You know..."

"It's okay," Sunset said. "You can probably tell her enough."

Pinkie was quietly having an uncharacteristically raspy giggling fit in her chair. She'd also taken to sitting at an angle, one leg on the front part of the chair and one on the side.

Rainbow looked at her, lifted her eyebrows, and leaned towards Twilight. "Is she okay?" she whispered.

"She apparently didn't get any sleep last night," Twilight whispered back.

Sunset eyed Pinkie again, but either she hadn't heard the other two or she didn't care. She was busy playing with a knife, and while Sunset had internalised not asking questions about where things in Pinkie's hands came from she was still mildly shaken by realising her talents could apply to less friendly items than what she was used to.

"Anyway," said Twilight, clearing her throat again. "I actually got a message from Lemon Zest, asking about this whole situation. It looks like her and Indigo are worried about this as well. Presumably the rest of the old Shadowbolts group too."

"Is there anyone you expect not to be worried about it?" asked Rainbow. "Honestly. The whole town felt that. I'm pretty sure everyone is at least a bit concerned."

"You underestimate the average person's ability to force blissful ignorance upon themself, even when trouble comes knocking on their door," Twilight said. "Especially when trouble comes knocking on their door. It's usually the made up things that get people railed up instead. They take the lack of existing answers as a personal challenge."

"You know who isn't worried about it?" said Sunset. "Celestia. The principal, not the former princess."

"You're the only one here who needs that clarification," Rainbow said.

"Yeah. Well, anyway, at this point she's just used to this kind of stuff. And it's not like money is a problem for the school."

Infinite Shapes Most Dreadful - Part 1

"Am I dreaming?" Pinkie asked, standing up. "Usually my dreams aren't like this."

Rainbow Dash looked at her, ignored the other Rainbow Dash, then looked at the tear in reality behind Pinkie as it slowly closed. "Yeah. You're dreaming. But I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to be here and I'm honestly not sure what to do about it."

"Huh." Pinkie had another look around. "Is this the Everfree Forest? This looks like the Everfree Forest. But darker than usual. And less geometrically coherent."

Rainbow turned to strike a faceless owl as it dove towards her, then turned back to Pinkie. "Yep, it's the Everfree. In the dream world, though. I think." She bit her lower lip. "I'm honestly really not sure what to do. Uh... Wake up?"

Pinkie frowned. "Doesn't seem to be working." She pinched her cheek with her hoof. "No. Really doesn't seem to be working," she said, continuing to pinch and twist the side of her face.

"This is bad," said Rainbow. "You're probably in danger here. I think. Maybe. I'm not actually sure." She looked around, sword ready to strike, making sure no other creature was close. "I should probably ask Luna about it."

"What are you doing here anyway?" asked Pinkie, stepping closer. "Nice armour. I like the colour." She lowered her head and smiled at her own reflection in Rainbow's silver chest piece.

"I'm a dream warden," Rainbow said, "or something like that. I need to ask what the actual term is. Luna needed help with stuff so she took me along for it."

"Oh!" Pinkie began to bounce in circles around Rainbow. "That sounds fun! I've always wondered what it's like to visit other ponies' dreams. Well, I did see what it's like, but that was only one time and it was a special occasion and-"

"Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash asked, groggily lifting her head off the ground. "What happened?" Her vision focused, and she noticed her armour clad double standing in front of her.

Rainbow stared back at herself, silent for a few seconds. "This is weird."

"This is awes-ouch!" The second Rainbow excitedly stood up, then stopped halfway as something popped in her ligaments. "It's okay," she said a moment later, straightening herself. "I'm okay. I think."

Rainbow stared at herself a little longer. "Okay then. Gonna have to figure this one out too I suppose."

Void

"I think I'll be leaving soon," the stallion said.

Wick Clip looked up from her soup. "Where to?" she asked.

"I'm not sure." The stallion ate another spoonful of soup. "Maybe Ponyville, but I'm not sure if that's safe. Maybe Canterlot. Maybe someplace else entirely. I do need to meet Princess Twilight at some point."

"And what will happen to your stuff?" asked Wick between sips of soup.

"Some of it I'm taking with me," replied the stallion. "Some of it I'll leave. The room will close up, and it'll be as if I was never here. I can't afford to leave tracks behind, Stella is too good at following those."

"I see." Wick looked down. She stopped eating for a bit, looking at her largely obscured reflection in the bowl of soup in front of her.

"Are you saying you'll miss me?" the stallion asked.

"I..." Wick hesitated, and blinked a couple of times. "It really says a lot about my life that the answer to that is probably yes. It's not all though."

"What else?" The stallion swallowed another spoonful.

"Ask me again a week or so after you're gone. I'll be convinced I never liked you at all. I'll be convinced I really don't miss you." She stuck her spoon into her bowl with little energy behind her motions. "Maybe it's this place's fault."

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe there needs to be someone crazy here," Wick explained, "and once you're gone I'll go back to filling that spot myself. Maybe this place is cursed."

"That sounds like an excuse to me," said the stallion. "And trust me, I know a few things about causation."

"I was down a path before you came into my life." Wick sat with her hooves on her chair, staring down at nothing. "I think I'll be back on it once you're gone. This will be left as a parenthesis of my life, but not a change."

"If you're asking me to stay, I'm afraid I can't do that." The stallion stayed focused on his soup. "But I will miss your cooking."

"You could help me. Just by being here," Wick said.

The stallion looked at her. "Is this about me or about you? You don't need me. You just need someone. It should be up to you to look for them."

"You wouldn't say that to a mare whose life was on the line, would you?"

"No," said the stallion. "But you're not that. You're far more petty than that. Staying here won't change things, and things can't get better if they don't change."

"They can get worse." Wick grabbed her spoon again, and went back to eating.

"It's up to you." The stallion finished his soup. "Scary, right? Having to decide for yourself if your answer was the right one."

Wick smiled. "You're a good pony. And I'll miss you. But you always knew something I didn't, didn't you?" She looked up at him. "Do I make it?"

The stallion looked back at her, silent, reflecting on what answer to give her.

Countdown

"Is everything okay?" Scarlet Ribbon asked, a little worried, as she opened the door to Silver Lace's house.

"Scarlet!" Silver greeted her. "I was about to come check on you. Yeah, everything's okay here. Is everything okay with you as well?"

"Yeah," Scarlet said, stepping inside and closing the door behind herself. "The house is all still in one piece too. What do you think that was?"

"I'm pretty sure you know what that was." Silver walked up to Scarlet for a courtesy hug, then walked back towards her sofa.

"Yes, of course," Scarlet said. "But do you think it was something in particular that caused it this time?"

"Who knows?" Silver shrugged, taking a seat and inviting Scarlet to do the same with taps on the sofa. "Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Maybe it's just something that'll be happening from now on."

"Doesn't that worry you?" Scarlet sat down, and immediately eyed the jar of cookies on the table to make sure it was safe and unharmed.

"Of course it does. But what am I supposed to do about it?" Silver asked. "Do you want some tea?"

"Yes, thank you." Scarlet nodded. "What are we supposed to do, really? Hopefully Princess Twilight will make a statement about it."

"She will." Silver stood up and moved to the cupboard where she kept her teapot. "She has to. And she's done so in the past, there's no reason why she wouldn't."

"Do you think she knew?" Scarlet suddenly asked, turning towards Silver.

"Impossible. Why would she?" Silver grabbed her teapot and her cups. "She would have told us in advance if she knew."

"Why hasn't she said anything yet then?" Scarlet began to nervously play with a strand of her mane. "What if something happened to her?"

"If something had happened to Princess Twilight we would have heard about it." Silver began to walk towards her kitchen. "She's probably looking into the events before she makes her statement. It hasn't been that long, and she'll want to be sure she knows exactly what happened."

"I hope we won't have to wait long for that." Once Silver was in the other room, Scarlet opened the jar and grabbed a cookie. "I hope he's okay, too," she said between munches.

"I hope so too," Silver said from the kitchen. "You should try to have him write to us at some point, too."

Infinite Shapes Most Dreadful - Part 2

"What do we do now, then?" Pinkie asked, bouncing around Rainbow Dash and on top of the slain corpses of the nightmarish creatures she'd defeated.

"Luna said I should patrol the perimeter and wait for her," Rainbow explained, keeping her eyes and ears alert. "I don't think you two are safe here, but you'll be less safe if we try to reach her. Just stay close, and scream if you see anything coming."

"That sounds like lame talk to me," the other Rainbow said. "Why should we miss out on all the cool action? Plus I'm sure it would be faster to just get to Luna anyway, it's not like anything in this forest can keep up with us."

Rainbow gave herself a flat look, then looked at Pinkie instead. "You have a really low opinion of me if that's what your head came up with. I've grown as a pony, you know?"

Pinkie gave her a very sheepish shrug. "Maybe my brain just picked an older version of you for the dream. Even though it was set in the future. Then again it was also set on a floating island that was destroyed by a swarm of fish."

"That's actually a good point, I shouldn't have assumed." Rainbow looked back at the other Rainbow, who was twirling around in the air dangerously not so close to the other two. "I've seen myself in other ponies' dreams before, but this is kinda different. Do you think she's, like, alive?"

"I guess it's not that different from my Mirror Pool clones," said Pinkie. "She's more of a caricature of you. A figment of my imagination born from recombined fragments of memories. She doesn't really exist beyond the shape she was meant to fill and the role she was meant to play."

Rainbow nodded slowly, eyes still locked on her other self. "I guess that makes sense. I'd still rather ask Luna to check on her, because as far as I know she shouldn't be here in the first place. Maybe you're keeping her around by being here yourself in some way, but that still doesn't make sense."

"Are we doing something fun or what?" yelled the other Rainbow, casually hovering on her back with her front legs behind her neck.

The real Rainbow groaned, rolling her eyes. "Was I really that annoying?"

"Eh, only sometimes," Pinkie said with a shrug. Then she pointed and screamed.

Rainbow snapped at attention, and struck down the ball of limbs and jaws sailing through the air before it had a chance to land on Pinkie. The other Rainbow quickly got there too, but not quickly enough, and she landed disappointed and somewhat deflated once she realised the danger was over. "You could have left that one for me," she whined.

"Well, maybe you'll learn to stick close to us and not rush ahead," said the first Rainbow.

The second looked at her blankly for a few silent seconds, then went back to rushing ahead without a care in the world.

"I don't think memories can learn," Pinkie whispered, leaning towards Rainbow Dash.

ThrTrn

"Twilight!"

"I should have expected you'd be here," Twilight said, looking around the room. "Well, we can just walk to the castle."

Once she was done hugging the alicorn, Starlight stepped back. "What happened?" she asked. "And why didn't you set up a long distance communication spell before going?"

"A huge oversight on my part, yes," Twilight said, already heading for the exit and conjuring a sound nullifying bubble to surround herself and the others. "I was trying not to worry you, but in hindsight I should have let you know a bit more. I didn't think things would go like this."

"Did she get taller?" Trixie asked, trotting behind Twilight out of the room. Starshine shrugged in response, while everyone else just ignored her.

"Won't you tell me what happened?" Starlight asked again, following the others. "I still don't know why you left in the first place."

"Sunburst can fill you in for now, any other questions I'll be able to answer later. I need to send a letter to my brother." Twilight's steps grew a little faster.

Sunburst, trotting beside Starlight, bit his lower lip as the mare's attention focused on him. "There's apparently someone on top of the Behemoth. Was. Driving it around like an elephant, from my understanding."

"He's good at whistling," Starshine added, unprompted.

Starlight blankly stared at Sunburst, as her body kept walking on by itself like she was a spring-loaded toy. But when the charge ran out, rather than stopping, she exploded in a shocked expression. "What?" she yelled. "That's just... What?"

"Firecracker ran into him first," Twilight said from the head of the group. "He turned out to be as knowledgeable about the situation as you'd expect someone who apparently exists for the purpose of directing the Behemoth around alone to be. We have a few things to discuss once this crisis is over."

"I..." Starlight's mouth hung open for a bit longer, until she closed it and began to process the information.

"You said was," Trixie pointed out. "What happened to him?"

"Going around Equestria," answered Starshine, with a tone filled with more cheer than anyone had any right to use when talking about the subject matter. "Anywhere he wants to and we've got no way to track him or stop him, seems he's tapping into the Weave too. Also he was strong enough to overpower Twilight's spells so there's that as well."

Trixie would have slowed her pace down enough to be left behind by the group if she hadn't been stuck in the middle of it. Instead she simply shrunk in on herself, wallowing in her perceived inadequacy and regretting ever asking the question.

"Oh." Starlight began to breathe noticeably faster and heavier than normal. "Oh good. Just another force that could wreck everything and we've got no way to stop. You know that keeping me in the dark so I don't have a breakdown thing well I'm starting to miss it Twi-"

"It's not that bad," Twilight said.

Starlight was silent for a moment. "How is it not that bad? How is it possibly in any conceivable way not that bad?" she growled out. "What the fuck did you do there?"

089153

Stella slipped through the door to Starlight's room just quickly enough to make it inside before the door was slammed. She was somewhat disappointed to see the mare wasn't crying, as she'd hoped she would be after seeing how she'd rushed into the room, but after a moment she just shrugged and had a look around.

Starlight was on her bed, burying herself in a book or a journal or something similar. The room, after a cursory glance, turned out to be of little interest, and so Stella focused on the unicorn. She got as close to her as she could manage while still making sure she wasn't outright breathing on her, and tried to get a proper look at whatever Starlight was reading. It didn't really work out. "Don't you have anything better to do?" she asked, knowing she couldn't be heard.

Starlight, of course, didn't hear her and didn't reply. For whatever reason, that really bothered Stella, who grabbed hold of the book with a hoof and pulled it away from Starlight's grip. "Don't you have anything better to do?" she asked again, louder.

Starlight again didn't reply. Not because she hadn't heard Stella, but because of the band of magical energy holding her mouth shut. She did try to use her horn though, but that was also blocked by Stella's magic. Same for her limbs. So she just stared at the pony with confusion and worry, trying to scream through her closed mouth as sweat began to roll down her neck.

Stella took a few moments to admire the alicorn she was reflecting as in Starlight's eyes, the only sounds in the room her quivering breaths and the other's muffled cries. She'd get to fixing up her own body to look like that soon enough, but she had other things to work on first. All in due time. "Don't bother trying to break out of this, you won't. And don't bother making noise, no one outside of this room can hear us."

Stella smiled and stepped closer to Starlight, who shivered and swallowed. "You're probably wondering what I'm here for. Actually you're probably wondering a lot of things. Like who I am or how I got here or other stuff I won't bother to answer because I'm not here to entertain the fancies of an annoying little unicorn I could crush beneath my hooves this very moment, not that it would matter when I'll make you forget all about it, but I suppose I might have some interest in you because of my mother's interest in you I should not have told you that."

Stella turned with a snappy motion. "Doesn't matter. I'll make her forget about it. I shouldn't be here, this was a mistake, I shouldn't- I'm here, I'm doing it, it's okay I'll just make her forget about it it's okay nothing can go wrong I shouldn't have brought up my mother." She growled, either at nothing or at the wall. "She's not really my mother. She was an idiot, and she died like an idiot, and I am not like my mother!" She turned back to Starlight, who was getting only more worried, suddenly smiling again.

"So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to have fun. Because that's what you are to me. A pastime, a toy, something beneath my level I only care about for my own amusement. And then I'll make you forget about it. And maybe I'll play around, do something, leave something in you, maybe I won't, it doesn't matter. It doesn't..." She had a heavy sigh, and looked at the ground. "Fucking matter!" she angrily yelled. Then she stood still, eyes closed, trying to slow her breath.

"It doesn't matter," she muttered under her breath. "Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter." She took a last deep breath, and looked at Starlight again. "So we should just have ourselves some fun."

Candy

"Angry?"

"Not particularly, but a little bit. Kind of."

"Why?"

"You know why."

Starshine took on an annoyed frown. "Of course I know why, but that's not the point. The point is having a discussion about it so you can sort through your feelings and come to an emotional resolution."

"I'm not really sure about this whole deal of making my internal monologues into external dialogue." Sunburst looked up from the book he was reading, and stuck out his hoof to grab a mug of not too hot tea from out of thin air.

"Hey. Whatever works works, no?"

Sunburst sipped on his tea, until he noticed the writing on the mug through the reflection in the mirror. "Did you have to?" he asked, looking at Starshine.

The pegasus snickered. "Well, you are a great dad, how else should I let you know?"

Sunburst sighed, and finished his tea. "Do you think your own ability to influence outcomes of my powers is a consequence of your progressive reification?"

"Probably, but that's not what we're supposed to be discussing right now," Starshine said.

Sunburst set the mug down next to the line of other mugs he'd accumulated at the foot of the bed. "Yeah. Okay, let's actually go through this properly."

Starshine smiled and sat down next to Sunburst. "Why are you angry?"

"Twilight is hiding something. Much like she hid things going into this. Also, she's partially responsible for this mess."

"And why aren't you that angry, all things considered?" Starshine continued.

"It wasn't really her fault things turned out the way they did," Sunburst said. "It would be like blaming Starlight for how Chrysalis refused to change her ways after being defeated. The Charioteer is ultimately the one responsible for his actions, and Twilight's presence being part of the reason for them doesn't exempt him from his responsibilities, since he's a thinking being with free will and not a natural phenomenon."

Starshine nodded. "Go on. What else?"

"Twilight means well," continued Sunburst, "and she had a point about hiding information in advance, nothing useful would have come if it had leaked. She has a point about hiding some things to her citizens too, depending on how she approaches it and if the Charioteer is as unlikely to cause trouble as she said, which I trust he is. Given all that, her hiding things from me is probably justified in a similar way."

"But as a friend, you're still bothered by being kept in the dark about something," said Starshine.

Sunburst nodded. "But still as her friend, I trust that she is only trying to do what she thinks is best for Equestria and all of us. As her subject, I acknowledge that Equestrian rulers have a successful history of obtaining the best results by tweaking the information available, as questionable as that is. And as both, I believe she is more than capable of making the best possible choice given the circumstances, and certainly better suited for her role than I would be."

Starshine patted him on the back. "See? That wasn't so hard."

Infinite Shapes Most Dreadful - Part 3

"So, are we going to meet up with Luna or what?" Rainbow asked, flying around the other two ponies as they walked through the forest. On a whim, receiving no answer, she moved a little further ahead, and Pinkie leaned towards the Rainbow Dash still there.

"Are you sure it's safe to let her go around like this?"

Rainbow bit her lower lip. "Not really, but I'm much less worried about her than I am about us. If I know how you know me, she can defend herself, and she'll give the creatures something to jump on before they pick us. As long as she doesn't get annoyed of just patrolling the border and makes a dash for the centre of the forest I'd say we're as safe as we can be."

"So like, where are we anyway?" the other Rainbow asked, looking around as she came back. "This place looks all kinds of messed up."

"It's the Everfree Forest's manifestation in the dream world, as far as I understand it," said the armour clad Rainbow. "And it is messed up. It's been getting this way and worse ever since the Behemoth arrived."

"Everfree?" Rainbow pulled a face. "That's impossible. It was destroyed when Sombra came back. Razed to the ground in the blink of an eye, it looked like the whole place had burned down in a second. Unless..." Her face lit up, and she gasped. "Oh my gosh! Pinkie, we've travelled back in time!"

"Uh... No, I'm pretty sure that's not what happened," Pinkie said. "I guess it is what happened to you, but not really, but maybe it is. I should ask Twilight about it. Or Starlight, she knows about time travel. She does, right?"

The flying Rainbow frowned sadly. "If only it had helped. She tried to, but it didn't work. I guess the amnesia made you forget about that too." She lit up again. "But now we've done it! We can fix things! We need to find Twilight and warn her of what's going to happen!" She dashed off in a random direction, then immediately came back. "Right. Dream world. Luna first. Hey, me, when are we?"

The real Rainbow looked at her other self. "Uh... Past Hearth's Warming, the first one since the Behemoth got here. Still winter. If it helps, we just had the first new step, which is why I had to get here in the first place."

The flying Rainbow pulled another face, literally so as her hooves dragged on her cheeks. "This is real bad. The first new step wasn't until summer and that's when things started going bad! Someone's already altered the timeline!" She moved to Pinkie and almost shook the mare in her grip. "Pinkie, we need to do something! We can't let the grasshoppers incident repeat!"

Pinkie offered the best smile she could. "I'm not really sure what that one was. But I'm sure we'll manage to fix everything!"

"Do you two hear something?" the other Rainbow asked, lifting a hoof to silence the pair.

Mrclmc

"Oh." Trixie stopped halfway through the door. "Are you okay there?"

Lightning Dust slowly, very slowly, turned to look at her. "Not really," she said. She sounded like she'd just woken up, and looked the part as well. Ruffled mane and feathers, and bags under her eyes. "You?"

"Better than you're doing, for sure," Trixie said. She stepped in and closed the door. "What's the problem?"

"Hangover. You know, the usual. I just didn't expect to wake up so soon." Lightning sat up, slightly stretching her wings.

"Were you sleeping here or did you walk here in those conditions?" asked Trixie, heading for the sofa.

"Both," Lightning said. "Not in that order. Dragged myself in the castle in case I was needed, and then I collapsed here again."

"I see." Trixie sat down. "I've never been that close to you, but I was under the impression you weren't this chatty."

"I'm usually not, but I don't physically have the strength to feel anything close to anger right now," Lightning said in a flat tone. "Last night was rough."

"Really?" asked Trixie, not really sure of what else would have been an appropriate reply.

"I didn't go to sleep until after dawn." Lightning nodded. "Usually I'll just pass out halfway drunk at the club and get dragged back to my house late into the night, when the place closes down. Didn't get drunk enough to pass out yesterday. Spent the whole night wandering around town with a bottle, I don't think I even finished it and I've got no idea what it was. I don't know why I didn't just ask for the usual."

Trixie swallowed but nodded, shifting slightly from side to side as the awkwardness of the conversation ran down her sides like an itch.

Turning her neck with a few audible pops, Lightning looked at Trixie again. "Any news about what happened?" She stretched her limbs. "What time is it, anyway?" she asked, looking for the clock hanging from one of the walls.

"Princess Twilight is here again," said Trixie, glad she could move the conversation in ways she was comfortable doing. "She'll be addressing the nation shortly."

"Is my house alright?" Lightning asked. "I didn't check while I was coming here."

"Every building is safe for the moment, and the damaged ones are being repaired," Trixie said. "I don't know about yours specifically, but rest assured it will be taken care of if any problems are there."

"How's Silver Spear? Is he alright?"

"There have been no casualties, nor any major accidents," Trixie reassured Lightning. "Whoever he might be, you'll be able to check the hospital later, and if he's not there you'll know he wasn't hurt. Either way, he's safe."

"Good." Lightning placed a hoof behind her neck and turned it from side to side, making it pop again. "Soarin' was supposed to be on a delivery today, I guess he's not around. Hopefully he's alright too. You said Twilight's back, right?"

"Yes." Trixie nodded.

"I guess she doesn't need my help right now then." With a dull thud, Lightning let herself fall back on the couch. "Don't you dare wake me up."

Trixie bit her lower lip. "Why did you stay up like that yesterday, anyway?"

For a moment, Lightning didn't move and didn't answer. "The day right before an anniversary is always a stressful one," she finally said.

366 - 7

There was wind outside, and a clouded sky, as Twilight looked out of her window. A sheet of paper lay momentarily abandoned on her desk, next to it ink and a quill, on it the unfinished sketch of the speech she would shortly give her citizens. She didn't have much time, yet she knew she had enough to afford that little moment.

There were sounds in the streets, ponies and creatures walking and talking, but they didn't reach her. She looked towards Canterlot. Towards where the Behemoth was, even if she couldn't see it from there. She wondered if creatures would remember that day as they remembered the last time the Behemoth had walked, the day it had arrived. It felt longer ago than it had been. And Equestria, and its citizens, had learnt to live with it.

But something had to be done. She'd write to her brother shortly, she'd write to the stallion still traversing other universes in search of something that could help them, she'd write to Sunset at some point, and she'd write to the previous rulers of Equestria too, even though she doubted she'd need to. She'd have another lab built, she'd already decided. She couldn't run the riskier experiments in the middle of Ponyville, even with all the security measures on her castle.

She'd meet the Charioteer again, sooner or later, she knew that much. He would make sure of that, when he felt like it. He did offer her a way out of the situation. A way she wasn't particularly happy taking, and one she wasn't sure she even could go through with, but it was there. And maybe his point was to tell her outright just to show her the futility of her attempts and how hopeless things were, but that wouldn't stop her from trying.

There was Discord. Still missing, but he'd be back at some point. She hoped it wouldn't be too late by then, and she hoped he would find something. It was Discord, after all, such things as whether or not an answer was actually there shouldn't have been too big of an obstacle towards him finding one. Maybe at worst they'd just relocate every life form in the world in his dimension, though she knew that wouldn't fix everything.

The thief who'd infiltrated her castle, stolen a portion of her scales, and driven Chrysalis insane still hadn't contacted her, but they would no doubt make themselves known at some point. She could only hope it wouldn't be in a destructive way. Much like how she could only hope that future interactions with the universe Chrysalis had passed through along with her wouldn't be as dangerous as the last one. But it was the only world in which she'd found life, and she wouldn't let go of exploring it. She couldn't afford to.

She hoped Rarity was okay, still in the human world when the Behemoth had moved. She would certainly be sorry to hear about what had happened to her sister while she was gone. Her other friends were... They all seemed to be alright, for what she knew. But had she actually been checking on them? Perhaps it was time she started to pay more attention there.

With a sigh, Twilight walked away from the window, and back to her desk.

Spiritual Dictator

"It was nice knowing you."

"Oh, shut it."

"We are so dead though. Like dead dead. Done. Completely."

"I get the point, thanks. Stop being so pessimistic about the situation."

"We broke priceless equipment and potentially caused the whole operation to slide forward weeks if not months. And you know how she feels about schedules. We'll at most live long enough to be test subjects for our replacements."

"We didn't do any of that. It was all... whatever that thing was."

"Yeah, in our laboratory, which is under our supervision. Do you think she cares that it popped out of nowhere and then disappeared? You know she won't run the risk of it having been our fault. This is too important and we're too easy to replace."

"I just-" The mare suddenly went silent, and sat straighter, and so did the stallion beside her.

With slow steps, Nightmare Moon approached the pair. "I see your report of the damage was accurate, and that you didn't waste time in sending it," she said, walking past them only to turn and start walking back the other way.

Both unicorns nervously swallowed, trying to fight against the tension eating away at them to avoid any sudden spasms or other movements.

"I will see that a replacement for the machine is built and delivered as quickly as possible." The alicorn put added emphasis on the last part of the sentence, and both the other ponies knew she meant it would be done even faster than such a thing should have been possible, likely through complete disregard for the well being of those poor souls involved in the process. "However-" Nightmare Moon stopped walking, turned again, and eyed the unicorns directly "-you must understand that it is a very complex piece of work we're talking about. A very delicate construct of nearly incalculable worth. One of the most advanced pieces of magical technology in existence. And the one previously in your possession is now beyond repair."

"Of course, Our Queen," the stallion said with a small bow, barely not stammering. The mare instead looked dead ahead, tense to the point of being almost frozen like a statue.

"Very well." Nightmare Moon continued to walk, passed them again, and stopped. "Then I am sure you will understand as well that it will be a while before you will be able to continue your experiments."

"Of course, Your Highness," said the stallion, bowing again. It would have been his answer in every case, it was the only answer he was allowed to give, and therefore he only fully realised what he'd actually been told once he'd already said it. Thankfully, he managed to bite his own tongue before saying anything else, and judging by the sound the mare at his side had done the same.

"Very well," added Nightmare Moon without turning. "I'll make sure to entrust some other task on you during the wait, it would be a shame to waste your talents. Await further instructions. In the meantime, feel free to do as you please, but do not leave this place." And then, she simply walked away.

Seconds passed by in silence. Then almost minutes.

"How the fuck are we still alive," incredulously breathed the mare.

F* Daytime EoL

F* Daytime EoL

"Anything yet?" Indigo asked, lying on Lemon's bed.

"Not yet," Lemon replied. "Nothing new. Twi's probably still talking about things with Sunset, or deciding what they should tell us."

"Ugh." Indigo leaned back into the pillow. "Why did we even wake up early for this? It's not like we're going anywhere. This wait is killing me." She looked at the portal in the middle of their living room with one eye. "Maybe we should just tell her about this. In case it's not safe to be near one."

"She'd have told us about that if it wasn't," Lemon replied, without looking away from her computer screen. "And it was stress that woke us up. You know how it is. Find something to occupy your time with."

"That's easy for you to say. Your time filling activities involve staying right there so you'll immediately know when we get a message." Indigo rolled around over the bed some. "Mine involve going outside. You can't just tell me to go outside. What if Twilight writes back while I'm gone?"

"I'll tell you about it when you're back?" Lemon's tone perfectly conveyed her eyebrow raise without the need for Indigo to see it.

"Ugh," Indigo said again, followed by other such sounds of petty frustration. "You could at least entertain me while we wait."

"I'm not in the mood for sex right now, if you need it that bad you can just masturbate," said Lemon. A moment later, she clarified, "Okay, it's mostly because I'm busy right this moment and less a matter of mood. But I also think I'm closer to what Sunny would insist is a regular sex drive right now. It'll go away when I'm not so nervous."

"I didn't mean that and you know it," Indigo barked, snapping up into a sitting position.

"We always mean that as a possibility and we both know it," Lemon replied. After a bit of silence, just short enough for Indigo not to continue, she said, "We should have a threesome at some point."

"What?"

"You'd be into it."

Indigo blinked. "Probably. That doesn't make you bringing it up now any less out of place."

"I was thinking Sunburst," Lemon continued, caring not for Indigo's words.

"Why him?"

"Because we're sure he'd say yes."

Indigo shrugged after a second of thought. "Guess you're right. What are you up to?"

"Did I tell about how I met the tall Moon horse that looks like CHS's vice principal while in pony land?" asked Lemon, still not following through on what Indigo was saying.

"You did not," Indigo replied. "When did it happen? Did you go in without me?"

"In my dreams. There. She can go through them and stuff," said Lemon. "It was on one of the first visits. I had a dream about transforming sort of like Twi did."

"Oh." Indigo adjusted herself and turned towards Lemon. "How was it?"

"I looked extremely hot." Lemon used the following silent pause to shift the conversation again. "I'm playing a game by the way. You can come watch if you want."

On The Ro | Add Again

He'd decided the best way to go was towards Ponyville. Stella might have been waiting for him there, true, but he'd probably be somewhat safer there than someplace else if she did run into him. Besides, he did know he needed to meet Twilight at some point. It was the only real lead he had on the situation.

He left early in the morning, rather quietly, but not too quietly and not too early. He did still want to say goodbye to Wick, which he did. He bought a candle from her shop as well, he knew how much she enjoyed it when ponies actually bought candles from her. He put his notes and other stuff in his bags, bought some food from the shop, and began to walk in Ponyville's general direction.

He was fairly certain it was Ponyville's direction, at least. He hadn't asked for directions, he didn't want to leave that information behind just in case. He'd always been bad with geography though. Thankfully that glowing trail on the ground was there and he just had to follow it, and hope it wasn't a wire he'd mistaken for something else.

He probably didn't have enough food for the trip. He was fairly certain Ponyville was too far for that. But he did believe he'd run into more food or more cities at some point. Even if the trail was leading him off the main road and towards the trees. He was at least happy to be carrying a tent as well.

"That wasn't so bad," Cadence said, letting herself gently fall into a cushioned chair. "Right, dear?"

Shining had already done the same, but not before taking off his uniform and resting it folded on a table. "It's not just the speech itself, it's all the stress building up to it. It leaves you drained."

Cadence nodded. "You're right about that. At least it's over now. Early bed tonight?"

"I doubt we'll make it, but it would be nice." Shining sighed. "We should go check on Flurry as well. You were right, she's been getting more talkative lately."

"She has." Cadence nodded.

There was a knock on the door and Shining straightened himself before answering. "Come in," he said.

The door opened. "We've received a letter from Her Highness Princess Twilight Sparkle, addressed to Your Royal Hignesses," Paper Letters said, walking inside with said letter in a hoof and Flurry sleeping on his back. "The young Princess your daughter had escaped her chambers and fell asleep after entertaining herself with the messenger, I saw it wise to bring her to you so you could care for her."

Shining wasn't sure whether he was supposed to be most surprised by Paper's presence or by Flurry's, so in the meantime he simply took hold of the letter in his magic while his wife did the same for their daughter. "Thank you," he said, mostly on instinct.

"I am merely doing my job, Your Highness," Paper replied with a small bow.

T

"Ugh."

Rose stepped past the door and closed it behind herself. "Doing better?"

"Ugh," Sweetie Belle repeated. "Maybe?" she added after a bit of silence.

Rose walked further in and began to set down her findings on her table.

"Visions are gone. Migraine isn't." Sweetie rolled around. "What time is it?"

"Almost midnight," Rose replied. "Twilight is back, she already gave her speech."

"And Rarity?"

"Not as far as I know."

Sweetie sighed, and groggily tried to sit up. "How did it go out there?"

"Well enough," Rose replied. "Do you think you can make it back home or do you want to stay here?"

"I can make it," Sweetie said, standing up. "Thank you for the offer though."

Rose smiled to her and nodded.

Be, Now, Here

"Trouble sleeping?"

Twilight didn't answer immediately, busy looking at the ceiling, but eventually she rolled onto her side and nodded. "And you?"

"Me too," Spike replied. "Do you want me to turn on the light?"

"No, no need to," Twilight said. "Unless you need it."

Spiked walked to her bed in the darkness, and pulled himself up on it. "You did well today, during the speech."

"I had to," said Twilight. "It's not like a test. You don't get to do over if you don't get it right the first time."

Spike chuckled at that. "Because you totally used to think it was okay to make mistakes in a school test and you could do it again if it didn't go well, right?"

Twilight poked him with a hoof, but she smiled. "I was getting myself in the right mindset early."

"Sure, sure." Spike turned a bit and lay back, resting on his back next to Twilight. "Are things going to be okay?"

Twilight hesitated, but her smile didn't completely falter. "I hope they will. I know they can, and that's what's important."

Spike looked at Twilight, and rolled to the side so he could do so more easily. "How is Shining doing?"

"Tired, but okay," Twilight replied. "The same for Cadence. Flurry is the only one who doesn't seem too drained by this whole thing, though Shining assures me I was like her at her age."

Spike sighed. "I miss when we could just send letters back and forth."

"Do you miss that, or do you miss being the one who got to do it?" Twilight asked, poking Spike again.

He looked to the side for a moment, which given his position meant looking at the pillow. "Both," he finally admitted. "Feeling like I'm not as useful anymore isn't nice, but I miss being able to just write to someone and have them answer back as quickly as they could."

"I miss it too," Twilight said. "We're working on trying to fix it though. We'll probably... We'll hopefully have something figured out in a few months, not as good as before but much better than what we have now." She noticed his expression, and added, "And no, you won't be as much a part of it, but it's not the end of the world is it?"

"I suppose not." Spike briefly laughed. "Everything else that's going on is already the end of the world, isn't it?" he joked.

Twilight smiled at that, though there was some worry inside her. "Maybe. But we'll make it through. We've come so far already, there's no reason to give up now."

Spike smiled back. Then he yawned. "We should sleep now."

Twilight glanced at the night sky out of her window. That thankfully hadn't changed yet, and so she could still tell what time it was by looking at it. "We should." She looked back at Spike. "Do you want to stay here?"

He considered the offer. "If it's not a bother."

"Not at all."

Slowly, the little dragon tucked himself under the sheets. "It feels weird to just sleep normally. Today was an important day and all."

"Maybe," Twilight said, closing her eyes. "But maybe every day is important. Especially nowadays. Maybe the right thing to do is just to carry on like it's any other day. Either way, you always need sleep at the end of it."

Jagged

Starlight woke up when the Sun hit her eyes through her blinds. Or at least she'd assumed it was going past her blinds, but once she actually pushed herself out of bed she realised she'd never actually closed those the night before. And a moment later she realised there was a lot she didn't remember about the night before. Or the whole end of the day, for that matter.

She'd listened to Twilight's speech, she knew that much, but the time period between the alicorn's return to Ponyville and that was a bit of a blur. And afterwards things only got less clear to her memory. She supposed it was probably just a side effect of the stress she'd been going through, though.

She did feel better. Strangely, somewhat, perhaps as a result of the long sleep she'd had. It had definitely been long given how high the Sun was already, but it had helped.

She needed to talk to Twilight about the situation. Not just to argue. She hadn't been in the best state of mind the day before, and she knew Twilight had been stressed out as well. But they were friends, and they both wanted to do what they thought was best for Equestria and everyone else. It was time they had a proper discussion about that.

Infinite Shapes Most Dreadful - Part 4

The dream Rainbow paused and stood alert. "Not rea- Wait." She turned towards her right. "There. Something is coming towards us."

"It sounds big," Pinkie said, turning to that same direction as the sounds grew louder. "Really big," she added, a bit of worry entering her voice.

The real Rainbow readied her sword at her side and stood in front of the other two. "If things get too dangerous, prepare to run. It doesn't seem to be moving that fast."

The trio didn't need to wait much longer to see what they were dealing with. It emerged from the trees at the edge of the clearing they were in, slowly making its way towards them.

The main body, a deep blue tending to black, looked like that of a centipede, only large enough for two ponies to comfortably stand side by side on it. They couldn't see the exact length it stretched for, not with the way it coiled partly on itself, but it looked a bit shorter than a sea serpent. All its many legs were like those of an eagle or other similar bird, only coloured red and bent at the midpoint to allow it to more easily grip on the trees it snaked its way past.

On the front, in place of a head, were dozens of dark green snake-like protrusions each ending in a crab claw. Some of the claws appeared to have an eye inside of them, though the ponies couldn't tell if that was or wasn't true for all of them. On the back end of the creature was instead a tail like that of a scorpion, rising up to just below the treetops.

Only in place of a stinger on its end there was a torso. The two arms attached to it ended in lipless mouths with long sharp teeth, and a pair of small wings like those of a dragon was attached to each wrist. Where the head should have been, there was a swollen, pulsating spot, surrounded by a net of veins that dug into the rest of the torso. And a single hole was in the middle of it, rhythmically opening and closing at a pace slower than the creature's likely heart's beat.

"What is that?!" the dream Rainbow yelled upon seeing the creature.

Pinkie grimaced at her side.

"Nightmare creatures can get pretty ugly," said the regular Rainbow, keeping her sword ready. "This one seems like it's trying to get out of here."

"Should we stop it?" Pinkie asked.

Rainbow pondered the situation, while the nightmare slowly approached them. "We should try. It'll be a lot easier to stop this thing here than it would be if it got out into the real world, and this one doesn't look too dangerous. You two hang back and be careful, I don't want you to get hurt."

The other Rainbow, obviously, did the opposite of what she was being told and stepped forward. "I'll distract it while you go to strike."

Rainbow huffed, but didn't complain. "Make sure it doesn't catch you."

Glint

Shining, tired and mostly still staying up because of a pony's inherent anatomical structure, simply nodded as he found Paper Letters guarding the door to his room. Half of it was being done with existence at that particular moment, half of it was slowly getting used to the stallion's oddities. How he always managed to get away with it was still a mystery, but everyone else he'd spoken to had confirmed he was doing everything by the book.

Paper must have noticed the tiredness in his eyes and face and just about every other feature of his body, because for once he didn't greet him with his customary titles and loudness. He simply nodded and stepped aside, allowing Shining to access the room in silence. Shining was rather happy about that, and he too weakly nodded at the other stallion before opening the door and walking inside.

Cadence was already in bed, but not yet asleep, having preceeded him only by minutes. Flurry was in her crib, thankfully sleeping. Shining closed the door, made his way to the bed, and slipped under the covers at his wife's side. "I guess that's that for an early night, huh?" he whispered, laying his head down on the pillow.

Cadence sighed. "Yeah. We'll try to make up for it tomorrow." She pulled herself a little closer to Shining, enough to hug him if she so desired. Keeping her eyes even barely open was a struggle, but she knew if she closed them she'd likely just fall asleep, and she didn't want to do that just yet.

"We always say that." The same held true for the one eye of Shining's that could be seen. The other was pressed against the pillow and probably already fully closed. He stretched out a hoof to lay it over Cadence's side, in the closest thing to a hug his tired state allowed him to perform. "It never actually happens, does it?"

"No." Cadence had to pause, taken by an extremely long and quiet yawn. "But it helps to pretend we will," she breathed out afterwards. She opened her mouth, maybe to say something else, but more yawning came out.

Shining answered with a very tiny nod and a yawn of agreement.

Outside the room, a second guard approached Paper. The stallion put a hoof over his lips and signalled her to be quiet, and she nodded in understanding before taking her position next to him in front of the door.

A few minutes later they could hear light snoring coming from inside, from both the prince and the princess. The mare smiled at that, though she too looked a little tired. "I can wake you up when it's time to leave if you want to nap," Paper whispered to her.

The mare looked at him and considered the offer for a moment. She didn't really feel like it was fair to just fall asleep on the job like that. On the other hoof, as she stared ahead of her, she couldn't help her eyelids from sliding lower and lower. Maybe it wouldn't be that much of a problem. There was never any danger there anyway.

Tling

"Good morning," Shining said, opening his eyes and seeing Cadence do the same in front of him.

"Good morning," Cadence answered back. She slowly pushed the covers off her body with a wing and turned to sit up. Shining did the same with his magic, and he too sat up on the bed.

"Where's Flurry?" the unicorn asked, looking around the room.

Just as Cadence was beginning to look around as well a knock came from the door, and then it opened. "Your Highnesses, I hope you had a pleasant night of rest," Paper said in his usual formal but friendly tone. "You have just received a new package from Her Royal Highness Princess of Equestria Twilight Comet Sparkle. Worry not about the safety of your Royal Heir, she is currently once more entertaining herself with the Royal Messenger Her Highness of Equestria sent." He opened the door further as he finished the sentence, to show Flurry wrapped around the head and neck of a smiling grey pegasus with a yellow mane.

"Comet?" Cadence asked as she slid down from the bed and onto her hooves, quietly enough to make it clear she was mostly asking her husband about it.

"Twilight's middle name," Shining replied as he too got off the bed. "Technically speaking. But Harmony knows what obscure piece of bureaucratic documentation he dug up to find that, it's never used anywhere." Next he turned to Paper Letters while beginning to walk towards the door. "Have you been here the whole night?"

"I have, Your Highness," Paper answered with a salute.

Cadence meanwhile headed towards her daughter. "Flurry, dear. Don't mess up this sweet mare's mane."

"It's no problem, Princess," the pegasus said. "I don't mind. The trip back will probably mess it up anyway."

A few seconds before that, Shining blinked. He'd seen ponies still look as lively as Paper did after a sleepless night, so he wasn't discounting the possibility that he really had spent all that time there. But those ponies were usually a few hours away from collapsing, and simply didn't realise it yet. "You did well here," he said, deciding to go with a slightly more formal tone, "good job. You can and should take a break now, you've earned it. In the future, don't feel pressured to tire yourself out too much for our or some colleague's sake, the Guard is a team effort."

"It's no problem, Sir," Paper replied with a small bow. "No problem at all. I am quite adept at standing in one place and waiting alert. But I shall be taking my granted pause later today if that's not a problem, I do wish to pay the library a visit."

Shining nodded, imagining the stallion would fall asleep once he got a few pages in whatever he was planning to read. He knew he'd done so a few times back when he was younger.

Flurry had moved from hanging off of the pegasus' neck to doing the same with her mother's, which was admittedly larger and longer, and so the smaller mare had a chance to grab the package she was there to deliver again. "This is from Princess Twilight," she said, holding it with her wings towards Shining and Cadence.

Peace

Sweetie Belle woke up to the familiar sound of claws stabbing in and out of a pillow. She smiled as she pulled herself up and out of bed. Rarity was convinced she'd trained Opalescence not to mess with anything in the house, but she'd merely taught her to only do so in times and places she couldn't notice.

Walking past the cat and over her as she began to walk between her legs, Sweetie made her way to the kitchen and meanwhile gave Opal a few pats with her magic. Once she'd gotten there she began to look through the cupboards. There was the really fancy cat food that was supposed to only be for special occasions, but Rarity would notice if she took some of that. So instead she went with the other, only slightly less fancy cat food.

Once Opal's bowl was full and her meows silenced, and once she'd been petted again to actually get her to start eating, Sweetie relaxed and focused on what her own breakfast should be, if any. Rarity still wasn't back it seemed, but she probably would be later that day. Thankfully her headache was completely gone, she felt pretty well rested from her sleep, and there were no intrusive visions bothering her.

She would probably go see Twilight later, to talk about what had happened. She looked at the clock, then grabbed an apple from the fruit basket and headed outside, eating it along the way. She felt like taking a walk around town. She'd probably end up visiting either Apple Bloom or Scootaloo, wherever her hooves took her first, but she wasn't against the idea of helping out if she ran into someone who needed it.

She hadn't gotten that good of a look at the town the night before, but she still had an idea of how things were. She could probably make herself useful in some way someplace in Ponyville, with repairs to buildings or anything else. It was a sunny and cheerful day outside, and though the air was still cold it wasn't too bad. She was feeling pretty happy, for whatever reason.

Infinite Shapes Most Dreadful - Part 5

"On it." Rainbow Dash, the one from Pinkie's dream, readied her legs and wings and prepared to take off.

Rainbow Dash, the real one, did the same next to her. "I'm ready whenever you are," she said, tilting her sword.

The other Rainbow's answer to that was to take flight towards the creature. She flew over its body and almost up to the torso on its tail, then turned upwards and flew back, upside-down for a few moments until she spun around to fix that.

The real Rainbow wasn't far behind her. While the creature was still confused and trying to make sense of the cyan blur that had streaked so close to its mouths, she swooped in from the same direction her other self had arrived in. Only she moved to the side rather than turning back, and flew past the nightmare's torso. Her sword, outstretched beside her wing, struck it as she moved out of the monster's reach.

It bounced back.

Shocked, Rainbow pirouetted out of the way of an incoming bite, as her sword magically levitated back to her side. "This thing's tough," she yelled towards her dream self, meanwhile hovering back to make sure she was out of danger.

The creature seemed to be focusing on both of the pegasi. Its front end peered at one Rainbow with its claws, while the torso upon its tail turned in the other's direction and tensed its arms, breathing slowly.

"Do you think you can hurt it if you get that sword inside one of its mouths?" the armourless Rainbow asked, flying a little higher than what the monster could reasonably reach.

"Maybe, but I'd rather not have to try," the other Rainbow replied. She checked her sword for any signs of damage, but as it should have been there were none, as the blade kept itself sharp on its own. "This thing is supposed to work against nightmares anyway."

"I'll try something a little more blunt." The fake Dash began to rise in the air. "Get me out of the way after I'm done."

Rainbow didn't get a chance to ask herself what she meant, but she understood it pretty well once she saw it. Which only happened a moment later, as a rainbow streak plunged down from the sky at blinding speed and rammed into the middle of the nightmare's main centipede-like body. The real Rainbow dashed into her other self and carried her away a second before both of the monster's mouths snapped shut over the space she'd been occupying.

"Did it work?" asked one Rainbow to the other.

The armoured one turned to study the monster. "I'd say you at least hurt it by the way it shrieked, but I don't know if it did much beyond that. I don't see any cracks."

The Rainbow from Pinkie's dream bit her lower lip, then eyed the floating sword at her other self's side. "I think I've got an idea," she said, getting back to her hooves.

Imaginations from the Other Side - Episode 9

"It's happening to us."

"Applejack? Are you okay there?" Pinkie asked, cleaning a glass.

"Your cupcakes are delicious, Pinkie." Applejack took another bite out of the cupcake resting next to her head on the counter. "I know I've said it before, but they're really the best thing I've ever tasted."

Pinkie smiled. "That's great news, and I'm happy to hear that you like them." Then she frowned. "But that still doesn't answer the question. I'm getting worried about you."

Applejack sighed. "What does it matter if I tell you? You'll forget anyway. We'll all forget. You can't even feel what I'm feeling right now."

"Oh, you mean the way we're being watched but not by who we're usually watched by, and not in the same way?"

Applejack silently, slowly lifted her head off the counter to stare at the mare.

Her gaze slammed into Pinkie's flat expression. "What? You think that just because you gained the ability to perceive the metanarrative nature of our existence I lost mine?"

Applejack opened her mouth only to let out some incoherent babbling in short bursts, mostly comprised of the letters i and b.

"It's okay, take your time." Pinkie patted her on the shoulder, then went back to cleaning her glass. "I just stopped doing it so much, since you were doing it for me."

After a bit more babbling, Applejack finally recomposed herself. "You too? All this time?"

Pinkie nodded and hummed in affirmation, setting the glass down and moving on to another one.

Applejack jumped on top of the counter, grabbed Pinkie by the shoulders, and began to vigorously shake her, yelling, "Then why aren't you worried? Why aren't you doing anything about this?"

Pinkie managed to push Applejack off of herself, and held her by the shoulders to stop her shaking. "Relax. Everything is going to be alright."

"How do you know it'll be alright?" Applejack asked, looking at her.

"I don't." Pinkie Shrugged. "I just have faith."

"But how can you just say that?"

Pinkie sat down on a chair. "We're just the next step up from Twilight and Rarity, see? The artist and the skeptic, on a different level."

Applejack blinked. "Where do Rainbow and Fluttershy fit into this?"

"No idea," Pinkie replied. "I see more things than most, that doesn't mean I see everything. But I figured, if I'll be able to see something I won't have been there for, maybe I can see something I haven't been through yet too."

Applejack's eyes slowly moved from side to side. "You're losing me."

"It'll all make sense, in due time." Pinkie splayed herself over the counter, in a pose that would have made Rarity proud. Or indignant, depending on the interpretation of the character. "Let's talk about our actual issue for the moment. You feel this thing might be our version of the Behemoth, right?"

"Well, it's got to be," Applejack replied. "It all lines up so well. How could it not be?"

"And you're right!" Pinkie said with an inappropriately wide smile. "It does line up so unbelievably well! But."

"Bu

Density

"I've never seen anything like what you're describing, no. But did you have to drag me all the way here?"

Twilight made a sound that was a cross between a sigh and a chuckle. "You did it with me, I felt the need to return the experience." She stepped to the stallion's side and looked up at the Behemoth not too far away from them.

"I had my reasons," he replied. "This is just being playful. I hope you have other reasons for having called me here than simply telling me something you could have just written." He lowered his gaze and had a look around the ruined portion of Canterlot they were in, seeming almost worried that someone might see him there.

"Don't worry," said Twilight, "I do." Her horn flashed once, a pulse of magic emanating from it that coated both her and the stallion in a sheen of soft purple light that dissipated an instant later. Before he had time to ask or say anything, Twilight's horn shone again.

The two of them disappeared, to reappear somewhere else. While the stallion took stock of his situation and looked around in confusion and mild shock, Twilight explained, "I managed to get the data I needed on this spell while I was here, now I know it's good enough to protect both of us. I'll give you the details later. If all scale-type objects give the same readings, it might work with other abominations too."

The stallion was momentarily speechless, looking beneath himself at the almost translucent surface they were standing on. "Are we really..."

Twilight nodded. "And as you can see, we're alone. I'd honestly hoped he'd be back here, but I should have known he wouldn't be." She gave a look around, then a nod in a direction. "If we continued that way, we might actually find the reins still there. But Harmony knows how long it would actually take to get there."

The stallion looked at her, quizzically raising an eyebrow. "Do you mean... Is it different, this up close?"

"It's only a supposition," Twilight said. "But look at the clouds around us. We're much higher than this thing is supposed to be, and I don't think they're even really there. It might actually take days to reach the head from here. I don't know if it's really that big and it's warping space to fit in the world, or the other way around, but something is off about it. Something has always been off about it, I just didn't have the data to confirm it." She stared off into the distance, reminiscing. "I looked this thing in the eye the day it manifested itself, and yet its shadow reached all the way to Ponyville."

"Are you planning to explore it?" the stallion asked, walking up to her side.

"Maybe," said Twilight. "I'm not sure if I want to bother it."

"May I?" He looked at her, and she looked back at him.

"So long as it's not impeding the rest of your research."

Losfer

"What is it?" asked Shining, taking the package in his magic and beginning to unwrap it.

"The necessary tools to simplify communication," the mailmare explained, "as she'd anticipated in yesterday's letter. Specifically, a roll of parchment enchanted to work as a two way communication device between here and her version of it in Ponyville. Please remember to ask for a replacement when you're close to running out, and she'll make sure to send another one through me."

Shining looked at the parchment roll, held up in the glow of his telekinesis. "Thank you."

"I hope you won't feel bad about no longer being needed for our communications," said Cadence.

"It's no problem, Your Highness," the pegasus replied. "Truth be told, trips across the Wall can be quite taxing. But I'll still be useful for sending anything physical back and forth."

Cadence smiled at that. "I hope it won't be too much of a bother to you then. Flurry seems to like you." She ran a hoof over her daughter's mane, and the mare in front of her affectionately tapped the filly's nose.

"One more thing," the blonde pegasus added. She took out another, smaller and flat package, more of a regular letter really. "This is a modified version of a teleportation spell. In case you can't use the communicator anymore, use it on a piece of paper after you've written whatever message you wish to send on it with the necessary tool, and I'll find it eventually." She passed the letter to Shining, who opened it and began to look over the spell.

"What tool, exactly?" Cadence asked.

The grey mare put a wing into her own mouth, pulled off a quill from it, then passed it to a mildly speechless Cadence. "Regular ink will do fine."

"Can I ask what your name is?" Paper interjected.

Change of Plants

The rocks were evidently active at that point, but the stallion chose not to test them out just yet. Instead he moved on to the next side, and there began to look for another branch. He found it a little farther away from the square, hidden behind some grass, and again he used it to properly activate the rock pile. He did it again for the two remaining sides, finding each branch in a different and slightly hidden position, and finally every set of stones was properly set up.

Carefully he looked at the little pile in front of him, then at the square and the trees and the two large jutting rocks in the clearing. He put a hoof over the stone on top of the pile, and turned it slowly to the side. The trees moved. Or, to be more precise, their trunks remained in place anchored to the ground, but they rotated, shifting the position of their branches.

He smiled brightly, and turned the stone like a knob some more, getting a good and proper look at how it caused each tree to move. Eventually going far enough made them return to a previous position, and continue from there on the same path as before. More curious, and already forming an idea of what he was supposed to do, he tried a few other freely turnable stones and confirmed that the movements they caused were slightly different.

He then moved on to the next set of rocks to examine that one. There too he had access to a few different ways of causing the trees to turn, each only mildly different from the other but all wildly so from the previous set. Direction of the rotation of each tree, speed of each one, orientation of the branches and more, each one of those parameters was different, and it similarly held true for the remaining two piles of rocks.

As he returned to the first pile, he had a pretty good idea of what he was meant to do. The two large rocks embedded in the clearing pointed at places where the branches could theoretically connect, and he was certain the next step was to either get those connections working, or form full loops that included those connections in them. So, he began to turn the trees back and forth.

He found the first one came quite easy. He was only trying to get the connection down at first, but a full circuit came alongside it by itself. To confirm his intuition, the relevant rock slid into the ground. Once he had to get the other done, though, he quickly realised the real issue. He could get the circuit fully closed in the second setup and lower the other rock with a fair degree of ease, which he did in only a few few minutes of fiddling around, but immediately he'd noticed that undoing the previous circuit brought the first rock back up.

The problem, then, was how to get a circuit that included both connections at the same time.

Cake Dressing

"Lovely day we're having, isn't it?"

Sugarcoat turned towards the dusty blue stallion who'd spoken to her. "I suppose so." She tried to bite her tongue, but couldn't really stop herself from being herself. "Do you always start talking to someone you've never met before like that?"

"You're new around here, aren't you?" the earth pony replied, mostly not caring for her question. She was actually somewhat glad that at least he didn't take offense at her manners. "I've never seen you around here. And I've seen a lot of ponies who live around here. I'm in the Guard, you see." He extended a hoof towards her. Part of his gold and orange mane was covering his face, but he didn't seem to care. "My name is Paper Letters. I can help you around town if you need."

Sugarcoat looked at his hoof, then at him, then back at the hoof. Finally she agreed with herself and shook hers with his. "Sugarcoat," she introduced herself. "I'm new here, yes. Just visiting."

"Unusual thing to do in the Empire, in the present time." Paper finally moved his mane out of the way, and for a bit Sugarcoat wasn't sure what colour his eyes actually were. She figured it was the sunlight reflecting in them that made them look weird. It could have been contact lenses, though. "With the Wall and all. I'm sure you're aware," he continued.

"I... Yes." Sugarcoat bit her lower lip. "My situation is complicated. As for needing help, I'm fine. Cadence has already given me an idea of what the city is like, and I'd rather look around on my own. Especially if the alternative is being trailed by a guard, I don't want to stand out like that."

"Most interesting. Her Royal Highness Cadence had not informed me we would be receiving a visitor. I suppose it is none of my business to interfere with your visit given that was the case." He smiled stiffly at her, but she felt it wasn't really done with malice. It was more like he was nervous about something else, unrelated, but still trying to be polite with her. "I assure you, I could be quite unnoticeable if I were to accompany you. But I shan't bother you further. I hope you enjoy your stay." He turned and walked away, muttering something about alicorns.

Watching him go, Sugarcoat had the odd impression that maybe his mane colour wasn't the natural one. Maybe he dyed it that way. Then she shrugged, and walked the opposite way.

Chalk on the Surface of the Sea

How hard could it be, realistically, to find one single pony in all of Equestria? It really depended on the approach. For the sake of having a lower boundary, she could assume the worst case scenario. Ignore that things like cities and population density existed, ignore that ponies wouldn't live inside lakes or rivers, ignore how much one of them could stand out and how much communication and word of mouth could help her research.

At worst, she would have to physically check the entire country. Every square metre, one at a time. Then, it was just a matter of how big Equestria was, and how fast she could go over it. And the answer to her little math problem, surprisingly, was that she could have actually checked the whole country pretty damn fast. In only a few days if she wanted to, actually. Sure, a huge task in terms of magical energy, and a physically and mentally taxing one. But she could do it, easily, if she really wanted to.

The real question, then, was another. Why didn't she do it? Why did she spend her time elsewhere, doing other things?

Stella bit the inside of her cheek, almost hard enough to draw blood.

Pumpkin

"I see Princess Celestia. She's not alone, she's with someone else. A pony. I can't tell if they're a mare or a stallion." Sweetie Belle squinted. "They're... There's something around them, a bunch of things. It's like trees in a forest, I think, I... I'm not sure." She was visibly struggling to hold her focus.

"That's enough," Twilight said, jolting down a few notes. She passed a mug over to Sweetie. "Have something to drink. Don't push yourself too far. It's supposed to come naturally to you, if you're struggling it means you haven't found the right way to approach it."

Sweetie took a few slow sips from the mug, then set it back down on the table. "I'm trying to do my best," she said. "I know how useful this could be, and everyone else is already much better at controlling their powers."

Twilight smiled at the younger unicorn. "No one expects you to master this easily, Sweetie. It took months for everyone else to get it right, and you're the youngest coil bearer we know of. Yours just emerged late, it's natural you'd be behind. There are probably other ponies out there who haven't developed theirs yet either, you shouldn't feel pressured."

Sweetie looked to the side. She made a weird frown with her mouth. "I understand that. But I feel like I could really make a difference with this, and you need it. As soon as possible. Not just you, everyone would benefit from it."

Twilight tilted her head to the side, studying the filly, then she moved closer to her. "You're good with magic, aren't you?"

Sweetie looked up at her, almost blushing at the sudden compliment. "Well, I wouldn't say I'm the greatest, but I guess I'm good."

"Don't sell yourself short," Twilight said. "I've seen what you can do. I knew unicorns your age that weren't half as good as you at Celestia's school."

Sweetie almost blushed again, and looked to the side. "Thanks. It's nothing, really, it just comes natural to me."

"And this doesn't."

Sweetie looked back to Twilight, puzzled.

Twilight smiled at her. "You're used to being good at magic, so it's frustrating to you that this isn't working out right. I've been there. I wasn't trying to figure out the same thing as you, but I can understand how it must feel."

Sweetie pursed her lips for a moment, thinking. "So... What should I do about it?"

"Well, first off, acknowledge that the problem you're dealing with isn't like what you usually deal with," Twilight explained, walking to Sweetie's other side. "A coil is not the same as regular magic," she added. "Second, realise that that means your approach is wrong. Different problems require different kinds of solutions." She leaned over Sweetie's shoulder. "Third, accept that it's okay to struggle and go at your own pace. Everyone is different, everyone is better at some things and worse at others. You don't need to be as good with everything as you are at magic, because no one is like that, and that's okay."

Ec\o

"So how's that game going, anyway?" Indigo asked, bored, from the other girl's bed.

"Pretty well," Lemon replied. "I've gotten to the part where I have to grind an event a bunch to get better equipment to defeat a hard boss that'll give me even better equipment, all because I'm making this harder on myself by having picked a class that the developers had to balance around the fact that its weapon bonuses are passive and therefore can be used by other classes too, but it's going well."

"Huh." Indigo stared aimlessly at the ceiling. "Do you even like this game?"

"A lot, actually," said Lemon. "And the music is great."

"At least one of us is enjoying herself." Indigo blew a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"Yep." Lemon didn't even look at Indigo.

Plastic

"I was supposed to do some research yesterday. I can't believe I lost five hours texting you." Twilight sighed.

Sunset shrugged. "Hey. At least it was fun."

Twilight smiled. "Yeah. I suppose it was. I did enjoy myself."

"Me too," Sunset replied. "But maybe we should hold back on it a little next time."

"Definitely." Twilight nodded. "Definitely."

Sunset moved closer, and hugged her. "I'll help you out with the research, alright?"

Twilight hugged her back. "Thank you. But try not to distract me too much."

"No promises." Sunset smirked. "Try not to distract yourself too much."

"I will." Twilight pulled back and stretched her arms and shoulders. "We should get to it then."

"Right now?"

"We need to make up for yesterday."

Until

The Sun was almost setting at that point. He'd taken a pause to eat and rest at about what he'd guessed was noon, but still he'd been working on the puzzle for most of the day. He was sure he was almost at the solution, though.

It didn't feel frustrating. Part of it was his own attitude towards that sort of things, but part of it was the puzzle's design itself. Whenever he thought he'd found a way forward and instead ran into a wall, he always came back feeling like he'd learned something from it. It never felt like he was out of options or like randomly twisting things around would have achieved more.

Of course, that was in part because a random and brute force approach simply wasn't feasible with the amount of variables he was faced with. But even still, it never felt necessary. He had so many roads ahead, and all he had to do was go down them. Whenever one way closed, it felt like another opened, like something that hadn't seemed a possibility before became worth considering.

He was definitely getting closer. It was all about going through the correct process of logical elimination. Those branches there and there could only connect this and that way, and so they had to be like that by the end. It was just a matter of figuring out the right set of inputs that would make them land there while making everything else fall into place too.

It was rather nice that it was so easy to go back to a previous state. Every single stone eventually made the motion loop around, so there was no real way to get stuck or screw up irreparably. Which was really just a matter of good design, assuming the purpose was to figure out the solution eventually and not on a time limit. More of a process of attrition than a test in the traditional sense.

That was part of why he liked puzzles in the first place, all things considered. Their stability, their reliability. A puzzle would always be there where it had been left when you came back to it. Of course not all of them were like that, and he didn't mind the occasional different one, but it was still important to him that puzzles would wait.

The other big reason he liked them was getting to see and understand how the different pieces fit together. How they worked together with each other, what correlations and causations existed between them. It was always very satisfying to finally get it, to see the design in its entirety and understand it. That moment when things clicked.

Things still hadn't gotten there when it came to the puzzle he'd found himself a part of, though he was working towards understanding that one. But for the one immediately in front of him, he had a pretty good idea of what to do next.

A push on a stone, a click, and both rocks inside the square lowered themselves at the same time. Then the whole clearing followed them, revealing an opening that led to a cave, too long to see the end of it.

The stallion smiled, and followed the glowing trail into the newly opened squared tunnel ahead.

And Another

"It happened again."

"Twilight."

"It happened again."

"Not exactly, really. It was different this time around."

"That's not the point."

"Fair enough. Sorry, my fault."

"Not just yours."

"Mostly mine."

"No. Mostly mine, really."

"Okay, yeah, mostly yours."

"Hey!"

"What? You said it. Don't pout like that."

"Shush. This is your fault."

"I thought you'd said it was yours."

"I said shush."

In The End

"What about this one?" Twilight asked, stopping in front of a crystal sculpture of Celestia. What was there was of remarkable quality, but about half of her body wasn't yet, the rest instead still attached to a thick block clear mineral. "It looks unfinished."

"It is." Celestia stepped up to her. There was a note of sadness in her voice, and in the way her eyes fell on the statue. "The artist died before he could complete it. That was a couple hundred years ago, at this point. You can still find his other works around the country, but this one never left the castle. We moved it here from his workshop, and it's stayed here since."

Twilight looked back to the statue. Looking closer, she could see all the work and detail that had gone into it, from the alicorn's feathers to the curves of her mane, even down to her individual eyelashes. The subtle tensions in her muscles and the slightest irregularities in her coat, all perfectly replicated and immortalised. "I've never seen crystal worked like this before. I didn't know it was even possible."

Celestia nodded. "He was a master in his craft. And this would have been his masterpiece. Or at least, I believe that was his intention." She sighed. "It just ended up taking him too long to finish. Then again, maybe it wasn't his fault. Some things take time, and some things can only be as good as they are because of all the time that's needed for them. He just didn't have enough of it."

Twilight continued to look at the sculpture. She was almost mesmerised by it, some of the details so minute they could only be noticed by staring at it from so close she feared her breath alone would be enough to break them. "It really is beautiful. It's a shame he never got to finish it."

"It's a reminder of what was for a while one of my greatest fears. Something I shared with many artists, I'm sure. With many creatures, really," Celestia added, unprompted. And sensing Twilight's question, she explained, "Running out of time. Leaving a project incomplete. In my case specifically, leaving my country without a worthy leader. Especially after Sunset left me, for a while I feared there would be no one to take my place if something went wrong. Then Luna came back, and finally you took our place." She smiled at Twilight. "I'm glad not to have this kind of unfinished business anymore, even if it meant I had to pass some of its weight on to you."

Twilight looked to Celestia, then to the statue again. "I think I understand. The fear of leaving something unfinished, a project uncompleted." She tilted her head to the side, still looking at the sculpture. "At least we can hope those that come after us will appreciate what is there, if it's not all finished. Some things take time, like you said. One can only hope they don't run out of it too soon."

"One can only hope," Celestia agreed, "and do their best while they still can." She stepped a little closer to her uncompleted crystal replica. "I don't think he died all too sad that he hadn't finished this. I knew him. Disappointed, surely at least a little, but not too much. He enjoyed carving the statues more than he ever enjoyed looking at them afterwards. I think he was more at peace with the knowledge that he'd done his best, and content with the beauty of the act even with an unfinished result. Maybe that's what one should strive for."

Another Line Crossed

"I take it this is serious," Cadence said, sparing a glance at the door to make sure it was closed properly.

Sitting at the table, Twilight nodded. "I'm here for other reasons as well, but yes. Not that I think our communication lines are compromised, but I still felt more comfortable talking about this face to face."

"Is it about that carcass we found in the palace?" asked Shining, leaning a little closer.

"That too," Twilight said. "I've had some time to analyse the data properly, and I'm fairly sure that's a part of this too." She shifted a little in place, then looked at both her brother and Cadence. "I guess I should start at the beginning. You both know about scales already, right?"

Both the other ponies nodded. "We've read your reports," said Cadence.

"None seem to have been found here in the Empire yet," Shining added.

"But we have informed the citizens of what they look like, and that they should report any findings of one," Cadence continued.

"Right." Twilight nodded. "In my reports, I believe I talked about how all worlds scales lead to seem to be in some state of ruin, all at least past the point of housing any form of civilisation and most forms of life."

"Right." Shining nodded to. "Except for..." He looked around, even though there was no one else in the room but the three of them, and lowered his tone nonetheless. "Except for that one."

"The Nightmare Moon world," Cadence recalled. "Knowledge of it is still not more widespread, correct?"

"Correct." Twilight took a deep breath. "I'm sure you remember the incident we had at the laboratory in Ponyville."

Shining cocked an eyebrow. "Does this have to do with the thief?"

Twilight shook her head. "There was something else that happened then. Something I didn't include in the reports. In my defence, it wasn't relevant information at the time."

"What was it?" asked Cadence.

"One of the worlds Chrysalis entered was the Nightmare Moon one." Twilight chewed on nothing for a moment. "I believe we might have been spotted while there."

Shining frowned. "So the carcass..."

"It came from there, most likely, yes." Twilight shifted in her seat again. "It's not all. There was a recent discovery made near a city south of the Wall. Some kind of creature, we believe, appeared in the forest next to it and eventually disappeared. We only found the traces it left, but the readings from the crater it seems to have either arrived in or left from lead me to believe it also came from the same universe as what was found here."

Cadence drew back in realisation, much like her husband did. "So they have a way to send something here?" she asked, worried.

"Not a perfect one, the process they're using seems to be a risky and unstable one," Twilight replied. "And they still haven't been here directly as far as we know, so they're likely only taking shots in the dark. But they're working hard on fixing both issues, if I had to guess. Having seen what they've sent so far, I think you can imagine it's not peaceful contact they're looking for."

Shining leaned a little closer to Twilight again. "What should we do?"

"Prepare," Twilight replied. "I think things will only get worse from here. I will see what I can do on the other side, but I'm afraid it won't be enough by itself. We need to be ready for what will come next."

C Mi

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6

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Still Here

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Dot

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Ssu

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ragG

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Knock

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Rune

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Tod

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Yr

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Stains

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DSL

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Missing

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Imaginations from the Other Side - Episode 10

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Calc

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Prisma

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Raft

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Living in

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Nitro

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Sun

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Abyss

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Nu

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Still Ble

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Security

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What to do

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Pit

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Inconsistency

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Two Thrones

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Padding

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Antipodes

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Snake Egg

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As Tray

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Over

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Shooting Stars

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Call

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Understanding

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A Little Less

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Abyss

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Coming Home

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World's End's Length's

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Burden

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Subjective Mortality

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Shellshock

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Mount

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Warhead

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Sky

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Title

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blanK

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Lost

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Loss

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Elements

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Who We Are in the Dark

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Good Day

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Never Meant to Know

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Rock

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Turn The Lights Off

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Writing

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Close Range Startracking

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Justice

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Weather the Storm

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Flare

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Imaginations from the Other Side - Episode 11

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Thimble

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Closing Time

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Opening

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Post Mortal

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End Less

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Review

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To Lie Beyond

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The Leviathan swam to Akalop - Part 1

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The Leviathan swam to Akalop - Part 2

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Infinite Shapes Most Dreadful - Part 6

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Typhoon

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Without Colour

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Twirl

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Asteroid

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Late Not

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Twice

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Writing

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Are you there?

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Carve

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4

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Genesis

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Placeholder

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Infinite Shapes Most Dreadful - Part 7

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Voice of the Souls

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Vi

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T0VCH

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Sea

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ov M4

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Elven

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Shot

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Salt

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Factory

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DD66

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Shovel

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Stampede

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Somebody

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Only Thing

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Settle

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AD

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\\\

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Losing

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Infinite Shapes Most Dreadful - Part 8

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Remorsq

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Dymonds - Part 2

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All That Was

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All That's Left

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Ultimatum

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 1

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3rd

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2nd&1st

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 2

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Journey Through the Dark - Part -1.37

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Bloodlight

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Insonnia

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Post

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 3

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 4

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Deaf

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 5

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 6

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Spheres

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Anew

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 7

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 8

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Quo

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Sleep

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Bury

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13

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5K

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New

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Epitome

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Vessel

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Bastion

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Post Pone

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25%

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Modus

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Re View

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 9

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Kingdom

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Ve

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Hello

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Mercenaries

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Buried

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Return Later

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Shadow

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New Blood

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 10

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 11

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 12

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Alight

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Star

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 13

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 14

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 15

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Stayn

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 16

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Twilight \ Interlude (Journey Through the Dark - Part 16.5)

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Blade

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Temples of Ivory and Blood

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 17

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 18

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 19

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Air

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Love

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Static and Noise

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The Otter Side

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 20

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Roll

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 21

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 22

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Unfinished

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 23

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 24

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 25

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Longing

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 26

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 27

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 28

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 29

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Hung Up

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 30

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SDGL 0.02

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SDGL 0.98

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 31

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 32

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Sun's Light \ Interlude II (Journey Through the Dark - Part 32.5)

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Journey Through the Dark - Part 33

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Thy Home

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2M2M I

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Unfinished II

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All That's Been

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2M2M II

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Meanwhile

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Sestri

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The Stars' Come Night

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Day of The Moon

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Drift

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Deliver Us

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Silver Tears

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Ignite

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Sing

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Grey

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Unfinished III

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Sel

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Break

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Mindfulness

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Eco

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Tick

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.FM

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Jingle

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400

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Jangle

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Wake

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Tr

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DrDm

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Risk

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Progress

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Purple

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Lux

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Destati

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Silver

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Scarlet

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Onyx

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Shimmer

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' '

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Cross

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Stabilise

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PS

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Breach

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Tomorrow

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After

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Posthaste

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Monument

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Raw

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Anger

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Voltage

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Unbeknownst

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Chrome

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Complicate

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Obfuscate

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Fundamental

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Repay

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Redeem

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Reclaim

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Wane

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Rekindle

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Shiny

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Unleft

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Unsigned

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Countenance

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Sickness

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Bound

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Shine

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Strap

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Converse

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Tox

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Magus

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The results of electricity being absent due to the lines being worked on, for a longer period of time than initially declared

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Thagomizer;

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The last word of Book 1 will be 'Thread'

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Spyke

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Source | Trice

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F1N4L3

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Anguish

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Vector to the Heavens

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Spear

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"Of [something]."

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Off T

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Lygt

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=

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Canyon

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Sliver

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Drinking

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Mythosis

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Crystal

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Radiate

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Irate

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Excavate

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Era

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Morphology of Storms

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Fabrications

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A Stranger I Remain

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Infuse

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Exo

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Emerald

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Staff

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Storm

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Dra

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Crab

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Same

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Descent

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Root

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Paid

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Terra

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Starwrath

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Gallivanting

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Astrum Aureus

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States of Matter

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Ravine | Famine

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Wicked Symphony; The

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Escalate

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Heart Over Matter

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Tide

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Blind

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Iron

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Un

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Thrhndrd

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Survival

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The Slow but Inescapable Process of Reality Unravelling Around a Single Specific Point

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Echelon

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Losing My Insanity

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Chapter 705

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Wings o' | Lost in Translation

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Aspire

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Slaughterspire

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Heartdive

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Piurr Voyd

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Stargazer

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Shyneon

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Drea.

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Pendulum

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Sway

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Bleach

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Virus

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Running Out

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Gomma

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Skayl

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Thear

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Pitch

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Danxs

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Speck, The

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Leashn't

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Railing [pfm]

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Rev13

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To Borrow

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Lor

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Hor

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Deny

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Ondulate

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Desecrate

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Lo'TC

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Cael

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0r

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Falling Apart

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Unbeliven

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Aryze

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Undeliver

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Broadside

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Undefined

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Unresigned

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Enunciate

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Mind's Nail

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Mind Snail

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Decaplicate

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Exradicate

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Exaway

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Crab

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R£v

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World of Felt

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Concerto

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Ima

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Ata

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Layt

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Song

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Densh

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Starbleed

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Hvn'snt

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Haunting

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DliverS

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BTL

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DTr

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Water Slide

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Msr

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Deaf

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R9p

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Ter

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Rar

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Aby

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AG

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Quit

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Ajead

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Erase

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esarE

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Fish

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Lion

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Taketo

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Tired

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2

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Settler

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Burnt

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Treeson

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Cuttle

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Untamed

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ldp

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An Emad

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Lost and Found

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Song of Sorrow | Song of Storms

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Deliver Us From Evil

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Music of The Spheres

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Lost in Space

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Your Precious Moon

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Found and Lost

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Antimony

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Frost M

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Moonage

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Transience

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Ambience

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Retur

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Scatter

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BarArtGenPie

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Imaginations from the Other Side - Episode 12

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Yl

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Ioo

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Moonflower

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Unveiled

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Levity

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Brevity

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Shatter

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Gravity

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Parity

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Celery

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Promised Landing

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Inter Bell

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Babylon

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Angel

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Senerii

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MR/SM

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Saa

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Hedven

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Point Me To The Sky Above

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Leaving

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Parakeet

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Revel

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Survivor's High

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Scrambled

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Filly

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Dayleever

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Sanke

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Dwel

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Letitshine

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Misfitting

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Above

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Crawling

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Scrawling

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Demons

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Checkmate

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Burden

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Dm

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Dreams

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Partners in Dime

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Cancer

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Pisces

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Aquarium

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Scorpio

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Unwitnessed

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Toll

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Sii Mii

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Meddle

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Mud

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Blade

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Chess, but not really again, but differently this time

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Hatone

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The Sound of Crabs

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Death Beyond The Spheres

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Ghostlights

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Yzhg

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Damnation

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679738482

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Doreign

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Getfli

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The Leviathan swam to Akalop - Part 3

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Catching Up

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Let There Be [BuffID39:CursedInferno]

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Snurch

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Desoulhate

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DyguppR035

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Belfry

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Devil In

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MaPaMoMy

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Yt Lyvds

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The Rush of Eternity

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Lead (as in the metal)

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If you go through the secret chapter link and put in the password you can see all unpublished chapters, not just that one, which means if you happen to check at the right time you can see new chapters being written before they are released.

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Lemon Demos

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Touch-Mare Telecare

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S#allow

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Chss Dyebis

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World Enough and Crime

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Deylyvyrynx (pronounced as 'deliverance')

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De(

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Portrait in III Acts

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5

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FlarBlaz

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Blooddering

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Count Down

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TGMHM

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Temple of Mood

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Taxo

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Bed

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The second word of the title of the first chapter of Book II is 'Crusher'

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Denv

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Huefology

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Endless Sea of Nothingness

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Pape

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Trauma

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Ma

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Damnation

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Ruination

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Octave

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Secrets

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Lies

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Hierarchy

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Wrapped in Loss

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Nucleogenesis

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Angel of Babylon

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Eter

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A'rkhaidyea

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Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

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Royalty

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Late

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819 (so I don't forget)

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Transfusion

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Dig Up Mare Bones

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Switch

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Click

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Cleck

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Clack

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Clock

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Cluck

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Spleck

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Out Of The Sky

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- 75

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Tft7fuocfgjcotupi7t

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Ra

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Iris

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Revynd

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Mental Gravity

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Endure

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Forged

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Boiling

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Assay

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Salt

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Last Fall

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Pink Wine

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Oon

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Blackout

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Zor

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Purplee

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Cor

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Con

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Zon

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Vot

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Rot

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Vot

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Deelayn

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Dog

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Aeth

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Cog

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Zeit

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Rox

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Vvixs

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Vox

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Xov

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Hare

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Fox

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Roj

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Loi

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Toy

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Xor

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Sot

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Kilter

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Row

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Ion

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Poi

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Noi

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Dragonfruit

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Rok

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Pain Away

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Tod

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Doq

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Top

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Voi

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Lot

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Noi

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Break The Cycle

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Slaughter Thy Wants

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Sightless Through The Fire

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As Blood Burns

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As Winds Blow

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Time Onward Flows

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You Take Your Turn

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Heedless In Your Ire

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Crumbling Fronts

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Close The Circle

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And Yet Still A Spark Remains

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Trace

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Face

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Race

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Affiliate

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Reverie

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Consequences

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Blot Out The Stars

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Thus Wilts

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Book of Shallows

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Parting of One

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Cry a Cheer for the Missing

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Reunions and Departures

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In the Dead of Dawn

The Everfree had grown restless in the months after the Behemoth's arrival. One could not walk inside it without hearing a commotion all around themself. There was a nervousness to the creatures and to the forest itself, something that could be felt thrumming up your legs from the ground beneath. Like a subtle vibration, a restless unease.

The forest was used to change. It itself was the product of change, a continuously shifting maze that evolved with time, carefully balanced just enough for its inhabitants to make sense of the pattern behind the evolving landscape, though still rather stable in its outer reaches.

But things wouldn't be the same. Change from inside was what the Everfree Forest thrived on, change from outside threatened to forever shatter the delicate balance of chaos that regulated it. Every creature knew that the forest would never be the same.

It wasn't an easy decision for Zecora, but seventeen weeks after the Behemoth came to Canterlot, she abandoned her house and moved to Ponyville, carrying as much as she could with her. No one was ever able to find her old house again.

Read 238368

From her position near the crystal tree castle thingy she was planning to destroy at some point, Stella perked up as she noticed the approaching group of ponies, though she was a little disappointed to see the magical bubble preventing her from hearing what they were saying. She was at least happy to see that some of them seemed to be arguing with each other, and others awkwardly trying to ignore said arguing. The only exception being Starshine, who looked as happy and carefree as a little filly in a candy store.

The ponies finally reached the castle, and stopped talking as they arrived at the door. Stella couldn't tell if the discussion had actually come to an end or if they'd just cut it short, but it didn't particularly matter. She waited at their side for the door to open, and stepped in alongside Twilight through the magical scans and past the guards. It did bring her glee to so effortlessly pass through all the security measures installed specifically because of her, but she managed to contain her cackling into a bout of hyperventilation. She didn't want to look too much like her mother.

The rest of the ponies walked in the building as well, all but Starshine who instead disappeared and reappeared inside with a different coat colour. They looked briefly at each other, then silently split up, leaving Stella to ponder who she should follow. She was interested in what Twilight would be up to, but she could always get to her later and her study was in the castle anyway. Sunburst could be fun, but she wasn't particularly interested in dealing with Starshine. Trixie was of no interest to her.

Shrugging, she decided to follow Starlight, who seemed to be heading for her own room. She wasn't sure if she would do something with her or just watch. She could, maybe, but it was a lot harder to impersonate someone than to simply move around invisible. Nothing she couldn't do, of course, but it would be such a bother. Then again, maybe she could use some other of her tricks.

Ring a Prayer for the Falling

The sky was clear and the air was still, when the Behemoth came to Canterlot, and the sound of its steps over the mountain echoed in every street and through every window and door.

No pony dared speak, as the Behemoth walked through Canterlot, and the shadow it cast made the citizens shiver and the fountains freeze and flowers and plants close up as if it was nighttime.

And the souls of the living shrieked as they were ripped from their earthly shells and carried along with the storm, and the souls of the dead were raised alongside them and all they headed to shatter against the Behemoth.

Corpse-Watching

The city was in ruins, as were many others. And as with many others, rebuilding was in progress. Attempts at it at least, the early stages, digging through the rubble to find anything of value, moving things out of the way so it was possible to pass through. It was a slow process, and one not many enjoyed.

But it was a necessity, and there were always those willing to help. Not always out of the goodness of their heart though. It wasn't unheard of for some to keep what they found for themselves, and perhaps it wasn't unusual either. But at least the rubble was moved, and work moved on.

It was in one of those circumstances that the first scale was found. The first recorded finding, at least. Of course, no one knew what it was at the time, all they knew was that they'd never seen anything like it. And so, of course, everyone could guess it was there because of the Behemoth.

This caused quite a bit of controversy, at the time. Some wanted to get rid of it. Some wanted to study it. Some didn't want to even acknowledge it was there, and a few were rather interested in getting a good look at it. But, of course, the final decision came to the pony who'd found it. Though, arguably, only because the mare whose house he'd found it in was all in favour of getting rid of it.

Stone Brick, on the other hoof, happened to be among those interested in keeping the thing for himself. If nothing else, he thought it looked pretty, with its oddly glittering colour. He recalled quite well how he'd first found it, and how he'd not been the only one there.

There had been another stallion. Both of them were there to steal. Both of them knew they were there to steal. And so, of course, both of them had to pretend they were there to help. It had been only by luck that Stone had happened to spot the scale before the other. It had felt like the thing was calling for him, and luckily, it had fit beneath his hat. A quick sleigh of hoof had been all it took to hide it while the other was turned.

And so the first scale was found, back when they weren't yet even known as scales. A few more popped up around Equestria before the term came in use, after one was sold to Princess Twilight. Selling did seem to be the only use they had, but Stone didn't sell his. He felt there was something more there. Something to uncover.

And so much did that thought gnaw at him, that Stone Brick left the city a few months later, headed to the castle where Princess Twilight was said to be studying the scales.

No-one's Land

It was mostly grey, about the size of a small village, and the fillies and colts liked to watch it sometimes. Some of the slightly older ones, those in the age where one tends to think of oneself as older than they are, occasionally dared each other to slip a hoof inside, or quickly jump in and out of the outer rim. No one ever did though. And they all knew better than playing near it, lest they lose some toys inside it.

It was cold, just to stand at the edge of it. Unnaturally cold. Even in the most scorching of summer days, it still sent chills down creatures' spines that no one wanted to experience. It wasn't safe to drink near it, or touch anything made of metal, and birds and other animals had long since learned to avoid it while travelling. Very rarely, someone came from around Equestria to see it. Even more rarely did they not regret the decision.

There was a section of it, just a bit, that was still inside Canterlot. But no one went there. No one lived in the portion of the city around it, and no one had any interest in getting close to it. A few said the cold grew even stronger there, and though no one bothered to check, no one doubted it was true. The rest of the city was still in use, if not as lively as it had been before, but that area was completely deserted.

Not that there would have been anything to see. All the trees had died, just like all the grass and flowers. The buildings had crumbled and turned to dust. The ground inside it was naked, grey, lifeless and cold. Flat, featureless earth, like the fresh layer of skin beneath a wound. No one had bothered to check how deep it went, but after all the time it had been there for, everyone guessed it would be pretty deep. Trees around it didn't grow on the side facing towards it, especially the older ones, and digging they'd found their roots had died and withered on those sides.

Every once in a while, one of the few, more determined researchers attempted to study it more in depth. Oftentimes someone from Princess Twilight's institution, the only place with any considerable resources for research. And they always failed. And so, for a couple days, citizens were treated to the sight of abandoned equipment right past the edge. Then, that disappeared too. No one knew when, or where it went, no one had any interest in finding out.

One time, Twilight herself had come to see it. She'd brought no equipment, no materials, and no one else with her. And she'd sat there, for a couple of hours, looking at the strange, abandoned, deserted land where the Behemoth cast its shadow. Then she'd left, without saying anything. She hadn't gone to the opposite end of it either. There in Canterlot, where the shadow began, where the Behemoth still stood undisturbed over the city, like the day it had first come there.

Burn Out the Stars

It was a wonderful piece of silverware, Celestia considered, as the shiny grey metal tool glittered in the golden glow of her magic hold. Truly a beautifully crafted instrument. The fine engravings alongside its surface had been carefully carved in with marvellous precision, the geometric patterns pleasant to the eye but not too prominent or wide or deep, as to not be a distraction to the touch should a pony without magic have to hold it. The metal itself was some of the finest, a flexible but sturdy league of steel with inserts of gold in a weaving pattern reminiscent of wheat.

It also cut wonderfully well into her cake.

The alicorn brought the tiny bite at the end of her fork to her lips, quickly wrapping them around it as the morsel of sugary deliciousness melted inside her mouth. Cream, mostly, but with just a hint of cherry laced into it. Just the right consistency for it to disappear inside her mouth without the need for chewing, while still not leaving her unsatisfied, still having a certain weight she enjoyed feeling over her tongue before it disappeared.

It was a very nice cake. She would have to make sure the restaurant was paid for it, as they'd insisted she eat there for free. She expected it would be a fair amount of bits to cover for the whole thing, she was eating in the town's priciest restaurant after all.

It wasn't hard to see why their prices were so high though. The food was fantastic, the service impeccable, and the view...

Celestia looked to the side, past the confines of the relatively tiny disk of floating rock her table was seated on, away from the set of crystal staircases connecting it to other such disks below it and further inland and eventually leading back to solid ground. She looked instead towards the larger floating crystals not too far from her, and at the rivers of water that streamed around them in all directions, and at the way the light was caught and warped by them as the Sun set behind them.

Yes. The view was certainly worth it.

Bit of a shame about the ponies whose houses had used to sit on the portion of land that had suddenly decided to ignore the known laws of physics and scatter into tiny floating fragments hanging in the air between land and sea, but at least it made for a very pretty piece of scenery.

Celestia took another bite of her cake.

She'd need to invite Twilight there at some point. The younger alicorn would surely enjoy it.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Clocks

Twilight sat on the wooden bench in the shop, looking at the clocks hanging from the walls around her. There were a lot of clocks there. None were particularly loud, but all together they made quite the amount of noise. It was at least a regular noise, and after a while it was easy to ignore it, as her brain treated it as just a background to her thoughts.

She unfortunately didn't have much else to do. Just wait, and stare at the clocks. It was actually quite convenient that there were clocks there. That way she could easily tell how much time had passed. It shouldn't take too long. Maybe just a few more minutes before she finally got something else to do beside waiting and looking at the clocks.

They were nice clocks. Some were metal, and others wooden, and they all must have taken quite a while to make. There was something funny in there. About clocks, and the time spent making them. Definitely something to work with. Maybe she could do that. Write something about the clocks. Not then though. Nothing to write on, not enough time to do it. One day, maybe. When it was all over. She didn't exactly have much free time. She didn't allow herself to.

There were a whole lot of clocks there. Maybe she could count them? Maybe not. It would be boring. Waiting wasn't the most entertaining thing, true. But counting the clocks might have been even less entertaining. And she wouldn't have time to count them all. She wouldn't have to wait much longer. She could tell, there were quite enough clocks around her to tell that she clearly wouldn't have much longer to wait.

Why there? Why by the clocks? Not that it was a bad choice. Most other choices, while deemed safe, could perhaps hide some unforeseen danger. Perhaps just to reduce the risks to a minimum? It could certainly make sense. And yet it didn't, not fully. It felt like a justification. It was too peculiar a place for it to be just a matter of safety. No other place was quite like that shop, and clearly it had been picked for a reason.

So, clocks. Maybe she would ask why. It wouldn't take much longer before she got a chance to, she confirmed with a glance at the clocks. What colour was the wall? White? Yeah. It was white. It was hard to spot behind all the clocks. Was it white behind the clocks too? It was probably yellow, or grey, or maybe black, after all the time it had been covered by the clocks. Was the wall really white when most of it wasn't?

Maybe Twilight would buy a clock, one day. A pretty one, not too big, not too fancy. One made of wood, with floral patterns carved on the surface. With large painted numbers that made it less precise when read, so for twenty minutes straight you could still say it was twelve o'clock. And she'd hang it in the kitchen, where she could see it from the table.

A set of clicks, and the door slid open.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

A Rock and a Sharp Place - Part 1

The sunlight took on a green tinge as it passed through the leaves of the trees above him, with occasional patches of yellow cast on the path in front of him where it passed unobstructed between them. He hadn't started moving until about halfway through the morning, having slept in late, but it likely wouldn't be a problem. He was pretty sure he was close to his destination.

The portion of the path he was on went up a small hill, the space behind it hidden from sight. Sure enough, once he actually made his way to the top, the city of Ponyville appeared to him further down the road, still maybe an hour's walk away. He would be there before noon. Then he'd decide whether to go to Princess Twilight's castle immediately, or find a place to eat and possibly stay first, depending on what the locals said.

Speaking of the castle, it really was rather jarring to see it stand out like that against the plain scenery around it. Ponyville was no different from what one would expect when picturing a small town in the countryside, with perhaps a few more modern additions, and the building instead looked more like something out of a toy set. Although, to be perfectly fair, the crystal-tree-castle hybrid would have looked out of place just about anywhere in Equestria.

Perhaps it was more in line with the architecture of the Crystal Empire? He'd only ever seen a few pictures of it though. Never been one to travel much at all, something he was actually starting to regret a bit. There was a lot out there, such a shame he had to wait until it was all in ruins before going to see it. Then again, he would not have travelled in the first place had it not been for the Behemoth. Maybe he would visit the Empire too, one day, even if what he'd heard was not encouraging.

"Hey you, down there!"

Stone Brick suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky, where the voice had come from. Sure enough, a pegasus was there, hovering in the air, staring down at him with his green eyes. "You going to Princess Twilight's castle?"

"How did you guess?"

"Well, it's either that or the School that creatures go through the trouble of coming here for nowadays," the other replied. "You look too old to be a student, and not responsible enough to be either a teacher or a parent, so I figured it had to be the castle."

"Maybe I'm here to be janitor, what do you know?" Stone said back to him, barely holding back a smirk.

That got a chuckle out of the pegasus. "You know what? You got me there. Name's Soarin'. I was going back to the castle myself, I can lead you there if you want."

"Stone Brick. And sure, go ahead. I don't mind the company." The earth pony went back to walking down the hill, while Soarin' floated by just above him.

"So what brings you here to Ponyville, anyway?"

Stone paused for a moment, thinking back to the thing hidden at the bottom of his saddlebags. "Oh. It's a long story."

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

A Rock and a Sharp Place - Part 2

"Well, we have the time for it."

Stone Brick paused again, then resumed his walk, hoping the other hadn't noticed. And as he did, he said, "Oh, it's also a very boring one. You wouldn't want to have to sit through it. And I'm bad at telling it, anyway. Never was good at telling stories." He eyed the pegasus above him. "In fact, you should do the talking. I'm sure it'll be a lot more entertaining that way."

Soarin' threw a glance at the pony below him. "If you insist. Have I ever told you about the time I had to dive under a manateeagle to recover a package?"

For the third time, just briefly, Stone stopped. "No, you have not." He looked up at Soarin' again. "It might have to do with how we've never met before."

The pegasus sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

"And that's how Lightning got the scar behind her ear. Wanna hear about that time I-"

Stone Brick gave a brief cough. "Well, looks like we're here."

Soarin' stopped to look ahead. "Oh, hey! We are. Time flies when you're enjoying yourself, doesn't it?"

"Sure does," Stone answered, finally stepping into town. Even from there, the shape of Princess Twilight's castle was still clearly visible. "Do you think I should wait and find a place to eat at, or go to the Princess right now?"

The pegasus landed beside him, rubbing his own chin in thought. "She's probably busy right now. I say we find a place to eat something at and then go to her later. Unless you got some really urgent reasons to see her, of course." He looked towards the earth pony.

Stone Brick just shrugged. "Works for me. Know any places we can eat at around here?"

"Does Sugarcube Corner sound good?"

"First off, why are you asking me if you know I know nothing about this town?" Stone looked back at Soarin'. "And second, that sounds like a bakery. Or a pastry shop. Not like a restaurant."

But Soarin' was already a good few metres in front of him. "It's this way," he yelled, turning back to make sure he was being followed.

Stone sighed, shook his head, then began to walk behind the pegasus. He could probably at least convince him to pay for both of them.

After a couple more minutes of making their way through the busy streets of the colourful city, the duo finally reached a rather plain-looking building on the side of the road, the only indication that it was their destination being the name painted in bright pink letters above the entrance, over the already very bright and very pink paint job that covered the whole front side. Soarin' walked in, and Stone followed behind him.

"Hello and welcome to Sugarcube Edge," a voice immediately greeted them as they stepped through the door, its owner a moving set of plate towers underneath which was presumably a mare. "Take this, please." From beneath the spires of ceramic a hoof passed Stone a note on a piece of paper, then the strange creature walked away from them and towards the other side of the surprisingly full interior.

Soarin' called to grab Stone's attention after the peculiar encounter. "Hey! Come here and have a seat."

With no real other option, the earth pony followed him towards one of the very few still unoccupied tables.

Peace Shells

"It's like a cancer. A disease. A virus, but one that only exists within the creatures it infects. It's an idea, or a set of ideas, a concept. It warps the way you see the world. It spreads through writing, dialogue, images, it gets into your head and suddenly it just makes sense to you. It's how you see things now, and you no longer understand what it was like before, what it was like to be normal. You're tainted, and you end up spreading the virus yourself without even realising it.

"But it's not right. It's a lie, a fabrication, a construct, and just because it's infected your mind the way it has now that doesn't make it good. You're still in the wrong. There's a demarcation line, a wall of knowledge separating normal creatures from seeing things the way you do, one you no longer understand is there. It's all the same to you, and so you spread the word, and force it down other's throats, and warp their minds until they come to your side.

"But the truth is that there is no understanding. There is no knowledge to be sought, no key to unlocking the meaning. The words remain empty, devoid of significance. But you've been enslaved, conditioned, and now you believe in them and repeat them. And you give them the meaning the hivemind enslaved by the virus gives them, but there is no truth. No gradual shift from one side to the other. You wear creatures down with your empty rhetoric until they snap and accept it and worship it and repeat the chant.

"It's a disease, it spreads like a virus and warps the minds of those who fall into its trap, and it needs to be stopped."

"Ma'am, this is a cutlery shop." The cashier looked above his glasses at the mare, a tired and unamused expression on his face.

She placed a fork over the counter. "I will have this." She then paid for the fork, placed it in her mane, and silently walked out of the shop, while the stallion stared in a mix of annoyance and stupor.

Once outside the shop, the mare moved towards the first lone pony she spotted, fork still in her mane, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Excuse me. I'm a blue pegasus mare with an orange mane whose cutie mark is a seashell."

The pony looked at her, confused. Hesitantly, he replied, "No? Ma'am, are you alright? You're, um, a red unicorn with a light pink mane." He leaned lightly to the side to get a better look. "And your cutie mark is an open book."

"Oh." The mare looked at herself. "Thank you." A line of coloured flame ran over her body, and she turned into a blue pegasus with an orange mane, and a seashell as her cutie mark. She blinked towards the speechless stallion, her large bug-like eyes staring right at his face, then began to walk away, with the fork still in her mane.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

1N51D3

Applejack sat, on her spot on the train, looking out the window as the city slowly gave way to open fields. Her arms dug deep into the pockets of her coat, one hand balled up while the other's fingers clutched her phone almost too hard. Every once in a while, she could feel it buzz and shake, but she refused to take it out and look at it.

The snow on her coat was slowly starting to melt. By the time she got to her destination, it might have dried entirely. It looked like it was snowing less outside too, or maybe it was just because they were moving. The fields were covered in white, and they'd probably have quite a bit of snow on them the morning after.

The Sun was almost down at that point. From where she was, she could almost make out the orange lights of the sunset on the opposite side, reflecting on the glass alongside her own face. She tried to get her eyes to focus on what was outside again, though it was getting harder the darker things became there. Her phone buzzed again.

This time, it didn't stop. She tried to ignore it for a few moments, then bit the inside of her lower lip. She gave a look around. Only a few other people there, and none seemed interested in her. Slowly, she took out the phone and stared at the screen. Her thumb moved over it, but then she hesitated. And after a moment, she slid the phone back into her pocket, where it buzzed a while longer before finally stopping.

She could always call or write to them later. When she was finally done getting things sorted out. But she may be too tired at that point, so perhaps the day after. And not the morning, she would be busy getting everything set up. She'd see about the afternoon, about whether she had time for it, or if she'd have to move it to the evening. If she wasn't too tired then, of course.

Her head softly hit the glass. It was easier to look outside that way, and impossible to see her whole face reflected in it. Not that there was much to see outside. It was too dark, and the sky was covered in clouds. At most, she could spot a few white flakes streaking by just outside the window, and maybe one or two clinging to the glass and starting to melt there.

And the snowflakes would melt and turn to drops of water, and the water would slide down the window and disappear from sight. And the way she was sitting, with her head against the glass, with her coat still on and the snow on it melting too, no one would notice if some of those drops were on the inside instead, no one would question them even if they did notice.

At that point though, she wouldn't have cared about it either way.

Author's Note

Proofreading by IncongruousAndHarmonious

Wish Upon a Burning House

They sat in the middle of the field, watching the house in front of them burn. "I used to live there when I was younger," they said. "It wasn't a fancy house or anything, but I liked it. Of course I did. It was home, after all."

A chunk of the roof caved in, falling into the rest of the flaming building.

"And what do you think this represents?" Luna asked.

"Well I'm not an expert, but this does seem like a fairly straightforward metaphor. The whole crumbling of the world I was familiar with and lack of stability and all that. Just a product of the stress of my daily situation, I feel," they answered.

Luna nodded. "It would seem so, yes."

They looked towards her. "Want me to give you a tour?"

Luna looked between them and the burning house. "I think I will pass."

A wall collapsed as hundreds of orange sparks were sent flying towards the sky.

"It's always such a shame to see the places you used to love go up in flames." They sighed. "And over such stupid things too. Sometimes it'll be a coal from the fireplace. Sometimes the oven left on and open for too long. Sometimes it just happens. One time I even found matches, but that doesn't make much sense. Matches don't light themselves."

Luna studied their expression. "If you don't like it, why don't you change it?"

"It's a silly thing, really. I hate to watch my home burn, yes." They shook their head. "But I like to watch the fire. I know the house isn't real here, I know it's still there near the fields and my parents still live there. And I know it never caught fire." They stepped closer to the burning building. "And that's the thing. I never saw this place burning. These flames are all my imagination."

Luna looked back towards the house, now halfway destroyed.

"And that fascinates me, you see?" they continued. "These flames are just the product of my mind. And I can see every flame and fire I ever saw, broken apart and put back together, shrunk or inflated, all of them reflecting in this fire. From the light of candles and lamps to the dancing of bonfires and fireplaces to the forest fire tearing through the trees that summer when I was young. This is the sum of every fire in my life, of every memory of fire in my head. It's fascinating how one single image can hold so much, make you think of so much."

Luna walked up to their side. "I understand." She, too, looked at the fire. "To me though, that's just fire."

"But does it look real?"

Luna paused for a moment. She studied the remains of the building more attentively. "I could not tell it from a real fire, though I must make it clear I have never stared at one for long. Not with the intent of studying it, at least."

And the two of them sat there, watching the fire consume the building and then slowly give out.

Constructivismysm

"Oh! Can we stop here? I saw a thing over there, can we go check that out?" The stallion pointed a hoof towards a very small clearing in the trees, bouncing up and down on his other legs as he looked towards the alicorn, excitement evident on his face.

Twilight's less colourful imitation rolled her eyes. She didn't want to entertain the stallion's doubtlessly nonsensical request, but she knew well she wouldn't hear the end of it for the whole rest of the trip if she didn't. Begrudgingly, she began to walk towards the designated spot. "Okay. What is it?"

Truth be told, she was tempted to shoot the pony in the back and leave him there. But she wanted to avoid the risk of someone coming to look for him and stumbling into her hideout. She'd need to move out of it at some point, she'd always known that, and it looked like the time had come.

She would have been working on preparing her things right that moment if she hadn't been forced to walk with the stallion all the way back to the town. She'd tried to give him directions, of course, and he'd even tried to follow them, but in no more than ten minutes he'd always turned up back where he'd started, lost again and once more asking for guidance.

"It's a puzzle!" the stallion replied, moving some leaves out of the way and staring intently at the wooden stump sitting in the middle of the small patch of grass. "I like puzzles. You still haven't told me if you like puzzles. Scarlet likes puzzles, but she says I've gone crazy. I haven't gone crazy. You don't think I'm crazy, right?"

Eyeing the off-size mare-model clothes the stallion wore, which she'd gotten a better look at after taking him out of the cave, the mare chose not to answer that question. "How exactly is this a puzzle?" she asked, seeing him fidget with a few pebbles on the ground and a tuft of grass slightly taller than the rest.

"Well, this is a lever, as you can see." He tugged onto the grass. "Then there are these buttons here." He tapped the pebbles. "All I need to do is figure out the right combination I need to press, and then it should open. You can clearly see the cables leading to that cut off tree there in the middle."

Twilight's clone reconsidered the idea of actually ending the pony's life, or at least knocking him unconscious and dragging him back to the town. Her patience past its limit, she was about to point out how nothing of what he was saying made any sense, but a sudden cheer from him blocked her. Then came a click, and the tree stump in the middle of the clearing opened up as a small platform rose from it, a bowl on top of it.

"Oh, nice. Soup." The stallion walked towards the bowl and gave a few experimental licks to the contents. "It's still warm, and really good. Do you want some soup?"

K~tt~nm~~s

Magic flames swept over Chrysalis's body as she donned her previous disguise once more, then she stepped out of room eight-thirteen and gave a look around. "Are you coming?" she asked, turning her head back to the pony still inside.

Twilight's clone walked into the corridor and shut the door behind herself. She gave a look around as well, then motioned for Chrysalis to follow her, beginning to head towards the stairs.

Somewhat surprised, Chrysalis started to walk behind her. "No disguise spells?" she asked in her altered voice. "Twilight Sparkle is not exactly the kind of pony that can pass unnoticed."

The alicorn smirked at those words. "Don't worry about it, Chrissy. I've picked up a few tricks of my own." As she said that, they turned a corner, and a couple of other ponies passed beside them and continued along their way.

Chrysalis followed them with her gaze for a moment, then focused on the alicorn once again. "Don't call me Chrissy," she hissed under her breath, despite knowing she couldn't stop the other from doing it. Wanting to divert the conversation before she was reminded of that fact, she asked, "What should I call you, anyway?"

"Hmm." Twilight's clone stopped in front of a door, and her horn lit up as she began to fidget with the lock with her magic. "I could always call you mommy if Chrissy doesn't suit your tastes. As for what you should call me, I was thinking about Mistress. It might get you a few looks in public, but I doubt anyone will ask questions." The door opened in front of her.

Chrysalis growled between grit teeth, as she watched the alicorn walk into the room. "You wouldn't dare." Taking a look around to make sure no one else was near, she walked behind Twilight's clone, and closed the door behind the two of them.

"Oh, believe me, I would. But I don't think I will, not yet at least." The alicorn drew the curtains open, letting light flood into the room. "I think my title should be Princess, for the time being. I'm the copy of one and the daughter of a queen, after all. I'll switch to Empress when the time comes."

Chrysalis was barely listening to her, too busy having a look at the room around them. It was clearly set up as a laboratory of some kind, though she couldn't tell what over half of the equipment in it was there for. But it all looked surprisingly advanced, especially for something built in secret in a hotel room. The alicorn must have had some way to store and move the whole thing, the changeling thought.

"I don't want to go by Twilight," Twilight's clone continued, ignoring Chrysalis's reaction to the room. "I don't see why I would want to call myself after something inferior. No, I deserve a name fit for a real ruler. And I think Empress Stellaria has a nice ring to it, wouldn't you agree?"

L*ven't

L*ven't

Starlight flipped through the pages of her book, without paying much attention at all to the contents. Her mind was elsewhere, and it was hard for her to focus on her work. Rather, her thoughts went to Trixie and Sunburst, neither of which was there at the time. The latter was merely away for a few days, but his absence only accentuated her worry for the former's.

It had been about a week since Trixie had left. By that point, she'd no doubt reached her destination. And no desperate letters asking for help had come from the locals, so she most likely hadn't accidentally razed the whole area to the ground. That or there had been no survivors, or everyone had been enslaved and a seal had been placed around the area to prevent communication with the outside.

Starlight shook her head. No. She trusted Trixie. Well... If she was really being truly honest, she wouldn't have trusted her own self in Trixie's place, and maybe not even Twilight. But she had to trust Trixie. The unicorn was her friend, and much more than that, and not trusting her wouldn't have felt right. And unlike anyone else, Trixie knew what she was doing. She knew what it would be like. If she'd decided to take that risk, then they had to believe she could succeed.

And if she didn't...

If she didn't, they would stop her. They'd stopped her before, Twilight had at least, they could do it again. It wouldn't be pretty, and they wouldn't enjoy it, but it would be done. And they would move on from there. Most of all, if things came down to it, she was worried about Trixie's reaction. Stopping her would not be a problem, and if everything went well there would hopefully not be serious consequences for others involved. But it would quite hurt the mare. The plan had been her idea, after all.

Starlight sighed. She closed her book and set it down, then stood up from her desk. She walked up to the window and looked out, chewing on her lower lip. Maybe she could write Trixie a letter. Or maybe write to Sunburst instead, she didn't want Trixie to feel like she wasn't trusted. Or maybe write to Twilight. Or to anyone else. She grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill from her desk, then set them back down.

She began to pace up and down the room, her hooves clacking against the wooden floor. A few minutes passed with her moving back and forth, then finally she stopped in front of the door, and took a deep long breath. Then another. Closing her eyes, she kept on breathing, slowly in and out to calm herself down. She opened her eyes again, opened the door and walked out of the room.

She needed something else to focus on. Something to take her mind off of Trixie. Walking down the corridor, she considered her options. Perhaps some ice-cream would do it.

Wish You Were Here

Applejack stared at the lights of the town outside through the glass wall of her hotel room. She would pull the curtains once she chose to go to sleep, but that wouldn't happen for a few minutes at least. Or maybe she wouldn't, and she'd keep watching the city as she fell asleep. Whenever she actually decided to go to bed.

She should have gone to sleep minutes before. She had planned to. She was ready to. In her pajamas, all ready and set to slip under the covers, done with everything for the day. She didn't need to wake up all too early, true, but she still would have preferred not to get up late.

It was her only night in the hotel, she would finally move to the new place the morning after. Maybe she could blame it on that. On the new room, or on the nervousness from moving, or on the lights coming in from outside. Or she could blame it on the thin walls and the people in the rooms next to hers, even though the night was completely silent.

She looked at her phone for a moment. Resting on her nightstand, sleeping. She didn't want to open it. Nothing new of what she could find there would make her feel better. Nothing old of what could make her feel better was something she wanted to see at that moment. There were things there she wouldn't delete, but she knew it wouldn't be right to go back to them. Not right then.

Not right then. Not with the direction her thoughts were sailing towards, not with the memories they were worming their way to. She couldn't stop those from being unearthed, but she could at least limit herself to her own memories, instead of the digital ones her phone held of those same events. She would regret it in the morning otherwise, far more than she knew she would either way. It would feel dirty.

And yet she couldn't help but wonder if Rarity felt the same. If Rarity did what she was doing, and what she was stopping herself from doing. If Rarity had even held onto those recordings and pictures, or deleted them in a fit of emotion. And Applejack hated that she thought of all that, but she didn't stop herself. Deep down, she wasn't sure if she wanted to stop herself.

Her thoughts went to Rarity, still, and she couldn't find the strength to divert their course. And to a memory, or maybe a dream. Rarity, there on her bed, hair messy after a stressful day. Her makeup just slightly smudged, her clothes a little ruffled. Lying on her back, breathing slowly, almost panting. And her blue eyes half closed, her wrist on her forehead. The painted nails on her other hand like birds gliding over the sea of her dress.

Applejack turned off the light, but she left the curtains as they were. She pulled away the covers and laid down, but didn't pull them back over herself. Not yet. She'd blame her loss of sleep on the lights from the city outside, or maybe on the walls being too thin. But her eyes and ears were focused on the fantasy of Rarity in her mind, and her hands soon began to follow the other girl's in their movements.

Nothing

"Doesn't it look like that painting is set askew?"

The guard leaned forward a bit, to get a better look at what the other was staring at. "Maybe? Maybe it's just perspective."

The other guard kept staring at the painting. "I think it is. Should we do something about it?"

"Like what?" asked his companion.

"I don't know. Fix it, I guess?"

The guard shook his head. "It's not our job. We shouldn't be worrying about it."

"But it looks wrong."

"I'm telling you, it's not our job. We shouldn't worry about it. Leave it to whoever is in charge of taking care of the paintings."

"Who is in charge of taking care of the paintings, anyway?" asked the guard.

"I don't know. Maybe the maids. Either way, someone is, and you should leave this to them," said the other.

"Look, I'm just trying to do a nice thing here."

"I get that. But you don't know what you're doing. Maybe it's not actually askew, it just looks like that to you. Maybe it's intentionally like that. It's someone else's work, you shouldn't go messing with it if you're not sure of what you're doing."

"No offense, but I think I know how a painting is supposed to go up on a wall. Whoever put it like that did a poor job, and I intend to fix that."

"How do you even know it's actually askew? It just looks like that to you. Maybe you're seeing it wrong. Maybe the floor here isn't level. You don't have the tools to check if it's actually right or not."

"Well, first off, this is Canterlot Castle we're talking about. You can't seriously be suggesting the floors aren't level here. I'm pretty sure someone would have noticed that in the single most important building in the entire country. And second, I am perfectly capable of seeing if a painting is askew or not. I'll remind you that I have much better aim than you do, so if anything you're probably the one seeing it wrong."

"Hey now, I agree with you that it looks like it's leaning to the left, but I'm just saying-"

"Wait, to the left? It looks like it's leaning to the right, not the left!"

"Our right or its right?"

"Our right! Why would you use stage directions for a painting on a wall? Of course I'm talking about our right."

"I'm just used to it."

"And that's why you're not in charge of directing military operations."

"Neither are you. And neither are there military operations to be in charge of, at most we'd be directing parades. Anyway. I'm not saying it doesn't look askew. I'm just saying you shouldn't touch it. You wouldn't want someone else doing your job without properly understanding it."

"My job right now is standing in front of this door, even a foal could understand it."

"Then maybe you should do your job and continue standing in front of this door instead of going there to move the painting."

Finally, one of the tremors was strong enough for the two to notice it past their bickering, as the walls and floor of the castle shook.

"Well, it's definitely askew now," one of the guards said, as the castle shook again and the painting fell.

"And maybe we should leave now," added the other, hearing cracks begin to form on the windows and outer wall.

Planning?

"Hello. I'm Starshine Flicker."

Starlight stared at the pegasus in front of her, while Sunburst's face began a throughout meeting with the surface of his desk. "How did you get in?" she asked.

Starshine just stretched a wing towards her, clearly wanting to shake her hoof. Her coat was a very light blue and her mane short and pink with flashes of yellow shot through, but her cutie mark was the same as when Sunburst had last seen her.

Starlight very reluctantly brought a hoof up to shake Starshine's wing. "Do we know each other? At all?"

Starshine gave Starlight's hoof a brief but violent shake, then she began to prance towards the stallion still sitting at his desk. "Did Sunburst not tell you about me?" she asked. "Sunburst, did you not tell her about me?"

"I spared her the insanity," Sunburst replied. It came out a bit muffled, since his face was still on the desk's surface.

Starshine pushed his head up with a wing. "It's alright, dear, don't worry about it. I can introduce myself." She turned towards Starlight. "I'm Starshine Flicker." Then she returned to looking at Sunburst, and propped herself up on the desk, lying on her side. "So, how are things going here, sweetie?" she asked, twirling the end of a feather around Sunburst's nose.

"Sunburst?" Starlight asked from behind the pegasus, in that tone of restrained anger that demanded an immediate and satisfying explanation.

"She's been following me around," the stallion replied. "And trying to get me in bed with her. I have no idea who she is. She just appears and disappears."

"How can you say that after the night of passion we had, my dear?" Starshine asked, sliding her face closer to Sunburst's.

Sunburst pushed her face away with a hoof. "The only thing that happened between us that night was card games. And only because you wouldn't leave."

"But I did end up in bed with you."

"Only because you teleported there after I'd already pulled up the covers. And I did not stay there after you did."

Starshine pouted. "But you did say you would want to have sex with me."

Sunburst bit his lower lip. "I did. If it wasn't for the fact that it would mess with my current relationship. And for the fact that you're creepy and weird and I have no reason to trust you." Sunburst leaned to the side to get a proper look at Starlight, just to know if running away was advisable there.

The other unicorn's expression only showed confusion. "And why are you here now, exactly?" she asked.

Starshine curved her neck and back to look at Starlight, her face upside-down. "Still trying to have sex with Sunburst."

The stallion in question pointed at her as he looked at Starlight, his expression saying more than his words ever could.

"...Seriously?" was all Starlight managed to ask at first. "Right here? Right now? While I'm here?"

"Hey. If I wasn't open to a threesome I would have waited until you left." Starshine winked and spread her hind legs.

Starlight and Sunburst looked at each other.

No Pulse Left

Sunset reached for the top of her nightstand, nails tapping against the wooden surface as she blindly searched while hair covered her face. Her other arm was trapped, Twilight doing her best impression of a koala on it.

"Come on," Sunset said as she finally found and grabbed her phone, even though her heart wasn't into it. "We're already late. The girls will be furious if we don't make it there at all." Pushing aside the hair over her eyes, she took a look at the screen. Her tone dropped as she saw the amount of notifications. "Maybe they already are," she said, sitting straighter.

Twilight, who'd partly let go of Sunset's arm to get a better look at the screen, fully let go once she saw what the other girl had. She slid towards the other side of the bed and went to grab her own phone, while Sunset unlocked hers.

Forcing her eyes away from the direct messages she'd received from the other girls, Sunset opened the Rainbooms's group chat and immediately scrolled up to the start of the commotion. And then she stared at the screen for a moment, rereading the same message over and over.

Then she glanced to her right, and noticed Twilight was about to do the same. The word left her mouth before she could even realise she was about to speak. "Don't!" she said, closer to a yell, as she reached out with her arm towards Twilight. Almost as if she could physically stop her, somehow.

Twilight did stop, her finger hovering over the screen just a moment away from entering the group's chat, and she turned towards Sunset. "Why? What happened?"

Sunset opened her mouth to speak, and found she couldn't. She looked back at the message, then back at Twilight, then sighed as she placed a hand over her forehead. "I... Come here." She moved a little to the side, and motioned for Twilight to sit next to her. "We'll read this together."

Closing her phone, Twilight moved on all fours towards her girlfriend. In different circumstances, Sunset might have found the scene sexy, Twilight still being naked and all, but her mind was elsewhere at that moment. Tilting her screen so Twilight couldn't see it just yet, she wrapped an arm around the girl and squeezed her tight.

There was a moment of silence as the two just sat there, then Sunset took a deep breath. "I'm not sure if there is a good way to learn this, and I don't think this message is it. But it does a better job than what I would do telling it." She turned the screen towards Twilight. "So here you go."

Twilight's eyes fixed on the message in the centre of the screen. She understood it just fine the first time around. It took reading it seven more times before she actually acknowledged its meaning, and five more before she finally accepted it. Then she looked at Sunset, and Sunset looked back.

And then they both looked back at the screen and began to scroll down, to see how the others had reacted to the news of Applejack and Rarity breaking up with each other.

Restart

"It's pretty late. You shouldn't be out here by yourself."

Cadence was startled by the voice. She turned, a quiet smile on her face. "And what about you?"

"I can't sleep well in an empty bed. Not used to it." Shining took the last few steps separating him from Cadence, then sat at her side. He looked up at the night sky, like she'd been doing a moment before.

Cadence looked at him instead. "Who's watching over Flurry?"

"She's asleep. Don't worry about it. I asked a couple guards to guard her door just in case."

"But what if she wakes up?"

"Don't worry. They're good guards, they'll survive long enough for us to get back."

Cadence's smile widened, and she looked up at the stars again. "Did you seriously walk all the way up here?"

"Ha!" Shining smiled. "Of course not. I used teleport jumps most of the way. I walked that last portion just to look cool."

Without taking her eyes away from the sky, Cadence punched her husband in the shoulder. "How did you know I was here?"

"It's your favourite place to come to, lately," Shining replied. "And I checked the kitchens, you weren't stealing cake."

"It's not technically stealing if I do it. Princess of the Empire and all." Cadence leaned to her side, and wrapped a wing around Shining.

"Not that either of those titles makes any sense. This is more like a city-state and being a princess in Equestria is dependent on your appendages. Or marrying one, somehow." He stopped there, feeling Cadence's teeth around his ear.

"We've had this conversation already, sweetie. At least once a month." Cadence kissed Shining's ear as she let go of it.

Shining smiled, and extended a leg to wrap it around his wife. "Why did you come here in the middle of the night?"

"I'm nervous." Cadence leaned against Shining. "I'm worried about everything."

Shining leaned against her. "Me too. But I'm sure we'll figure things out. We'll make it through this, together."

"Together."

Carried Along

Adagio was the first back out of the portal. And she almost made it there still on her feet, but Sonata crashing into her as she stepped out behind her brought both of them on the ground. Aria was not as hasty as either of them as she stepped back into the human world, but the pile of bodies right in front of her feet as she walked out of the portal still meant she lost her balance, fell down and became part of it.

At the bottom of the pile, Adagio propped her head up with an arm, and resting her chin on her hand began to drum with her fingers on her cheek, waiting for the other two to take themselves off of her, an unamused expression decorating her face. Aria, being the one on top, was the first to get off, and after dusting off her clothes she helped Sonata up with a hand. Feeling the weight over her lift, Adagio too stood up, cleaning her clothes as best she could and then posing as if nothing had happened.

"So much for finally getting our revenge," Aria said, her arms crossed as she looked at the portal with spite.

"We'll go back," Adagio replied. "We just need to wait for the other side to be clear." There was a distinct growling sound underneath her words, like that produced by a cat who's ready to lash out against someone.

"If the other side ever is clear," Aria said.

Sonata just stood in a corner, looking sad and miserable. "I miss flying."

Adagio ignored her. "We'll wait here. We're going back in later, tonight if we have to. We are not leaving this place until we have magic again, and we're writing down the coordinates."

"Do we have food with us?" asked Aria.

"I don't care if we have food with us! We'll have all the food we want once the people of this world are crawling beneath us," Adagio snapped.

Aria and Sonata looked at her for a moment, silent, eyes wide. "I do want food," said the latter.

Adagio growled at her.

"I'll go check if we have food," Aria said, walking towards the van.

Adagio turned her head towards the portal and began to glare at it, a mix of frustration and desire on her face. Then sometimes else caught her attention, and she placed a hand on her chest, her expression at once confused and concerned.

"We do have food!" Aria announced from inside the van. She then stepped out, just in time to see Adagio sliding a hand beneath her clothes. "Did that thing finally stab itself in your ribs? I get keeping it, but don't you think it's kind of obsessive to wear it all the time?"

"Shut up, will you?" With a tug, Adagio pulled out the necklace she wore, and stared at the red gem attached to it. And a grin slowly spread over her lips.

Seeing her, the other two did the same, fetching their respective gems from within their pockets. And both of them were slowly overtaken by excitement, as they watched the red sparks of energy dance and crackle within the crystals.

"Maybe we can leave for now, after all," Adagio purred, donning her necklace once again.

Additive | 65

Sugarcoat stared at the dress for a few seconds, as the mare walked closer to her. "No. That's hideous. You should bring it back to the dark backroom you dug it out of."

The mare stopped and stared at the dress. "Yeah, I know. But for a moment I hoped we'd finally get rid of it. Can you blame me?" She set the thing down on the nearest shelf.

As the other mare searched for something, Sugarcoat took a brief walk around the shop. Her gaze fell on a clothing rack, and something caught her eye. "What about this one?" she asked, pointing at a dress with a hoof and lifting her head, looking around for the other unicorn.

The mare in question slid her head out of a drawer and turned towards Sugarcoat. "Yes?" She walked up to the girl, and pulled out the dress that was being pointed at. "This one, dear?"

Sugarcoat gave it a better look. There wasn't some sort of grand shining revelation inside her, but a reaction was there. A sensation, kind of weak but there nonetheless, a gentle warmth like that of the embers after a small fire has died. It was nice. Not spectacular, not earth-shattering, but she liked the dress. It was more than she could have said about any other one she'd seen. "Yes," she said, turning to the other unicorn. "I'll take this one. No, I don't need to try it on first."

The unicorn had a look at the dress, then at Sugarcoat. "I think it will look nice on you." She nodded, and carried the dress towards the counter.

Sugarcoat watched her walk for a moment. And she smiled.

Fluttershy opened her eyes, and she gasped for breath like someone coming up for air after a long swim underwater. Around her darkness punctuated by beeping red and green lights. There was something on her body, attached to it in different places, but she couldn't understand what it was.

She would have looked, but she was too weak to. Or maybe it wasn't that. She couldn't focus on anything, the images before her eyes seemed to dance and melt together. She wasn't sure where up and down were, she couldn't move, she felt hot and cold at the same time.

Her eyes started to close again. Her eyelids were getting heavy, it was a struggle to keep them open. The edges of her vision darkened, a blurry blanket of blackness spreading towards the centre. She was lying down, she realised, her head over something soft. She was comfortable. Maybe it was better to sleep.

She heard sounds coming from somewhere. But they were muffled to her, she couldn't make out anything. Her vision grew darker and darker, her eyelids heavier and heavier. There was no point in keeping her eyes open when she couldn't see anyway, and so she decided to close them. It wasn't so bad after all. Sleep would make her feel better.

There were a few more sounds, closer this time. Someone touching her. But by that point, she was already unconscious again.

The Solitaire

It all started with a letter. Twilight found it on her desk one afternoon, after coming back to her study. At first she didn't notice it, but once che actually sat down her eyes fell on the grey envelope there in the corner. She picked it up, assuming it had been left for her while she was away, and opened it.

The sheet of parchment she pulled out was blank. She frowned, turning it around in her magic to make sure it actually was, and she hadn't just been staring at the wrong side. She was about to switch to revealing spells to check for hidden messages, when the itching in her horn told her that something was happening with the scroll. She set it down just in time to see words appear on the surface.

Princess Twilight Sparkle, I presume?

A spell similar to the one she used to communicate with Sunset, mostly likely combined with a trigger when the envelope was opened to warn the one on the other side. That was ingenious, and a good way to communicate without risking someone intercepting the letter itself, assuming some sort of password was established between the ones meaning to use it. She needed to study the scroll, the spell could turn out useful in the future.

Putting those thoughts aside, she picked up a quil and wrote her answer. She did wonder who it was on the other side though. A few moments later, more words began to appear on the parchment.

Check behind the desk, on the wall, near the ground.

Twilight paused for a moment, staring at the letter. She got up, pushed her desk away from the wall just enough to slide behind it, and looked down. There, cut into the wall, was a rectangular hole not much deeper than a hoof. And inside it something, wrapped around in a grey cloth. She carefully took it out, but didn't check the contents immediately, instead going back to the letter.

Who are you?

The answer didn't take long to arrive.

Not anyone you would know.

Twilight's breathing was just a bit faster, less steady. They'd reinforced security after the incident, specifically to avoid someone sneaking in again. She unwrapped the cloth. Inside was a glass box, and inside the box what looked like the feather of a very large animal. But its off-white, reflective colour was all too familiar to Twilight, and the way it seemed to shine a light of its own sent a shiver down her spine. She set the box down on her desk and covered it with the cloth.

What is this?

She waited for the answer, breath shaking. Again, it didn't take long.

Your world is in danger, more than you realise. I want to talk. I'll contact you three days from now, in the laboratory.

Twilight stared at the letter. After a moment, more words appeared.

Treat the feather like you would a scale. The spell should be stable enough for it too. See where it takes you.

To Me

"So I'm back to looking like my normal self, to you at least." Twilight's clone studied her reflection in the mirror. "I did feel something there."

"Do you think you could replicate it?" the stallion asked, hopeful.

Twilight's clone pursed her lips. "No. I couldn't quite pin it down. But I know it's there now, at least. I'd need to do it again to figure out where it is exactly. Any idea on how we might trigger that?" She turned towards the stallion.

"I do have one, actually," he said. "It seems we need you to subconsciously recognise a need for the camouflage in order to control it, so far at least. I think we can work with that, by making you convince yourself that you need something, before you manage to figure out where the switch is and how to control it."

"And your idea is?"

"Well, you need to understand how your power works. It would be highly beneficial to you. And you would also highly benefit from seeing how exactly you look like to others right now, since you didn't have a clear idea of what you were going for when you camouflaged." The stallion pointed at the mirror. "So, we could say that you need the camouflage to affect yourself as well."

Twilight's clone was following along with the thread of his speech, but then a thought occurred to her. "Wait. When I looked inside Scarlet's eyes, I saw myself as the unicorn she sees me as. Why is the mirror different?"

"Probably a matter of your powers working in a directional fashion by specifically targeting the light that moves towards the receptive apparatuses of the creatures you're camouflaging yourself to. So that image was different because it was from light being sent in Scarlet's direction, but what you see now is sent in yours."

Twilight's clone blinked. "Does that mean mirrors can mess with the camouflage?" she asked, suddenly worried.

The stallion shook his head. "It didn't do it for me. It actually worked better, considering wires don't reflect, but that's not something that would probably be relevant to anypony or creature other than me. Well, no, maybe there are some creatures out there who can see what I see, but you get my point. For all we know your power takes effect right on creatures' eyes and not on light as it leaves you, either way it seems to know what to affect and what not to."

Twilight's clone chewed on nothing for a moment. She would need to conduct research on the matter, once she had more time. And once she actually knew how to properly use her powers. Which brought her back to what she was trying to do in the first place, and what the stallion had been saying before she'd derailed the conversation. Turning her head, she focused on her image in the mirror. She needed to understand her power, and she needed to know what others were seeing her as.

There was another click, inside her, and the image she saw in the mirror shifted, matching the one she'd first seen in Scarlet's eyes.

Dance the Death of Fading Peace of Mind

The two guards sat down on the grass, although collapsed might have been a better term. Still panting, both of them silently looked towards the castle and the thing near it. "Well that was... something," the first one said after a while.

"Yep," replied the other. "Definitely something." He kept looking at the creature as its shape seemed to flare in and out of sight. "What the fuck."

The first guard looked at him, but seemed to pause for a moment. "Yeah, okay. Appropriate here." Then he looked around, noticing the crowd that was gathered in the park. "I hope no foals heard you say that."

"I ought to not be the only one," the second guard said. Then he too had a look around. "Isn't that one of Princess Twilight Sparkle's friends?" he asked, pointing at a white unicorn with a purple mane.

"Huh." His friend looked in the same direction. "Yeah, I think so. Ra-something, wasn't it?"

The stallion put a hoof under his chin. "Rainbow Dash?"

That got him a weirded out look from his companion. "No. Rainbow Dash is the one with the rainbow mane. And she's a pegasus. And a member of the Wonderbolts."

"You know I never cared for sports."

"That is massively beside the point." The stallion looked back towards the distant unicorn, and was silent for a few moments longer. "Rarity!" he finally exclaimed, standing up.

The other looked to her as well. "I guess she does look like a Rarity."

"What does that even mean?"

"I mean..." The stallion waved a hoof towards Rarity. "Look at her."

"That's what I'm doing. Your point?" The other stallion looked back at him.

The guard just sighed. "Forget it." He looked back to the castle instead. "So... What now?"

"That is a great question," said the other. "And I don't have an answer for it."

"Well, at least we're alright." The stallion shrugged.

"That we are." The other guard nodded. "That we are." His gaze swept over the park. "And hopefully, so is everyone else in town."

"Hopefully." The stallion stood up. "We should help out." He looked towards the Behemoth once more, and at the trail of destruction it had left behind. "And we'd rebuilt town less than a year ago, too."

Juliet

Cautiously, Sunburst stepped back into the room. Somewhat to his surprise, the mirror was still there. So were the book, the mop, the bucket, and everything else that shouldn't have been in that room in the first place. Starlight was there too, but that at least was expected.

She looked up at him as he walked past the door. "Where's Starshine?" she asked. "I thought she was with you."

"She was," Sunburst replied, "until she wasn't. We had a bit of a discussion in the corridor."

"Where is she now, then?"

"Nowhere, according to her." Sunburst sat down on the first chair he found. "Or wherever it is she goes when she's not pestering me. I don't know. She's not my daughter, I'm not supposed to keep track of her."

"I don't think she'd be young enough to be your daughter." Starlight shook her head. "What do you mean with nowhere?"

Sunburst leaned back in his seat, sighed, and gave Starlight a look she'd learned to recognise over the years, and particularly over the months spent in charge of the school, as that of a pony who's absolutely done with something and wishes to talk about it as least they can. "Trust me, the less you hear about her, the happier you will be."

Starlight nodded in understanding. "So, found anything out there?" she asked, walking up to Sunburst. She sat down at his side, looking at him.

"Nothing," the stallion said. "I had a look around the building, but there wasn't anything, and every spell turned up empty. Same as here. You?"

"Nothing." Starlight leaned into her chair. "I had a look around some books, but I couldn't find anything like what we're dealing with. Nothing that doesn't involve regular unicorn magic, at least, and we'd have picked up on that already. Any other strange occurrences out there? Nothing showed up here after you left."

"Nothing," said Sunburst. He was silent for a moment, then sighed again. "Starshine, she... She said this was all me."

Starlight looked back at him, frowning. "This what? Stuff showing up out of nowhere?"

"That. And not just that." Sunburst clicked his tongue a few times, buying time. "Her as well. She said she's here because I want her to be. It's... confusing. And complicated. And I'm not sure what to think."

Starlight moved a hoof towards one of Sunburst's, hesitated, then pulled back. She sat in silence for a moment. "So, uh..." She gave an awkward, forced cough. "If you had sex with her, would that make it count as masturbation?"

Sunburst just turned towards her.

Starlight placed a hoof to her forehead and sighed. "Sorry. I should leave this kind of things to Trixie, I'm not good at breaking tension properly." She chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment. "So do you think she's got a point, or is it all a lie? You should know better than me, it's you we're talking about after all."

"I think it would be closer to incest than masturbation, or maybe a mix of the two." Sunburst clicked his tongue. "And I need time to think about it."

Mo

"You know, I've been thinking."

"How unusual of you."

"Oh shut up. Anyway. What if there is no point? What if we're all going to be forgotten eventually? What's the reason to go on if it all ends in the end?"

Silence followed.

"Oh, I get it. Yeah, you can talk now."

"It wasn't that." Indigo swallowed. "I just didn't expect you of all people to raise some existential questions. And I don't think I'm the right person to answer them, I'm sure brighter minds have tried already."

Lemon rolled onto her belly and turned towards her. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to find your own answer. Not like you to live your life the way someone else tells you to."

"Maybe you have a point. But right now I have more immediate questions to focus on." Indigo studied one of her wings as she brought it between her eyes and the stars in the sky above her. "For example, should we tell someone about the magical horse portal that opened up in the middle of our room?"

"Would they let us keep it? Because the answer is the same, and I'm pretty sure it's no." Lemon looked at one of her hooves.

"You've got a point." Indigo let her wing fall back. She was, in truth, a little worried about the prospect of something coming out of the portal and into the room. But she'd worry about it after she'd had a chance to test out her wings.

Honey

"Honey?"

Twilight's clone looked at the little open jar the stallion was holding out for her, then shook her head. She watched him close it and put it back on top of a shelf, the teaspoon still held in his mouth after he'd taken some for himself. "Don't you feel bad about stealing your friend's food behind her back?" she asked, turning back towards the window.

The stallion took the teaspoon out of his mouth and slipped it in a pocket of his jacket. "Scarlet hates honey," he said.

Twilight's clone looked back to him, then at the shelf. "Why does she keep it, then?"

"Because those coming for a visit might like it." The stallion sat down at the alicorn's side. "If you don't like milk, you can't really keep milk around in case someone comes to visit. It'll go bad sooner or later. Most things do. But honey doesn't, so she can just keep a jar around." He looked at the jar in question. "That one? That one's been there for four years or so. I always get a spoon when I pass by, and I'm not the only one, but it still takes a while to empty the thing. And Scarlet just needs to leave it there, and change it if it ever runs out." He looked back to the alicorn. "It's easy, and it does others a favour. Why shouldn't she keep it?"

Twilight's clone wriggled her lips for a moment, but didn't comment further on the stallion's explanation. "Seems weird of her not to like honey."

"Well, you don't like it either, no?"

"I didn't say that." Twilight's clone paused for a breath. "I'm just not in the mood for honey right now."

The stallion shrugged. "If you ever are, remember there's a jar here waiting for you. Just make sure you don't steal more than a spoon or two, Scarlet might notice otherwise." Twilight's clone turned towards him, and he smiled. "I never said I had her permission to steal it. But it's not like I'm stealing from her." He thought about it for a moment. "It's a gift from my future self. I have his permission to take the honey that was supposed to be his."

"But you'll still have honey when you come here," Twilight's clone noted. "Sure, it'll run out faster, but at least some of what you're eating now would have gone to someone other than your future self. You're not the only one who visits."

"Then I will make sure to inform my future self that he made a grave miscalculation in gifting me this honey, and that others suffered because of his lack of restraint in his own actions after he'd already shared his portion with me."

Twilight's clone rolled her eyes. "With how you keep this bit up, I'd almost believe you believe in it."

The stallion shrugged, and smiled again. "Who knows. Future me might really be a different pony. I used to be different before they started calling me mad, after all. Who's to say I won't change again?"

Pentagramma - Part 4

It was Indigo's turn to play her card. She hadn't noticed Sour mouthing to Applejack, too focused on the girl's hands instead. "Good thinking, Lemon," she said. "We just need to take this trick, and we got it." She placed down the Three of Swords, promoting a subtle reaction from both Applejack and Sour Sweet. Indigo didn't seem to notice that either, though. "Applejack, it's up to you now," she said, looking towards the girl. Then she turned to Sour. "I'm onto you."

Sunny's next play didn't take long. After only a moment spent looking at the state of the game, she laid down the Knight of Cups. The gesture seemed almost mechanical in its calculated poise, graceful yet cold. Like an eagle diving to catch a prey.

Applejack drew a slow breath as she realised she had nothing to take the cards away from Sunny. She must have known as much, or she'd have dropped the ace instead. She couldn't risk it, when thirty points were enough to stop her from winning and Lemon already held eleven. So she had the King of Cups in her hand, too. Setting down the Seven of Wands, Applejack exchanged a look with Sour. They both understood. Indigo was playing with Sunny, and they'd win the last three tricks by default assuming they held on to their high rank cards. There were certainly still a couple of ways to win the match. But could they do it?

Sunny opened with the Knight of Coins. Sour's look, uncertain until a moment before, lit up as gears began to turn in her head. Applejack and her exchanged numbers, unspoken, fingers held over the backs of their cards as they pretended to look them over. Two, five and six. The four and seven were out already. Two words, breathless. They both looked to Sunny and Indigo, then at Lemon. It was a gamble. A nod, and Applejack placed the Knight of Wands on the pile. "Lemon?" she asked.

"Yeah?" Lemon asked back, stopping before playing her card.

"Can you take this?"

"Yeah-"

"Don't." Applejack looked at her. "If you trust me, load this one up."

Lemon was hesitant for a moment, looking back at Applejack. Then, she settled onto a smile, and placed the King of Swords on top of Applejack's knight.

Smiling, Sour put down the King of Coins atop it. "Your turn, Indigo," she said, looking to her right.

Indigo grit her teeth, visibly tense. The other girls could practically hear the gears whirring in her head. "I'm not falling for it, Sour," she finally said, placing down the Five of Coins.

Sour kept her smile as she gathered the cards. "Just three more points, right?" She chuckled, then opened the trick with the Page of Coins.

There was a light sound from beneath the table, though Indigo jerked upright from clearly more than just that. She looked at Sunny, who was very not subtly mouthing the word points to her. Then, she played the Knight of Swords. Sunny's eyelid jerked.

Pentagramma - Part 5

The way she was munching on the inside of her lower lip evident from outside, Sunny made the only play that wouldn't result in a loss, and placed the King of Cups on top of Indigo's knight.

It wasn't really any question what the right play was at that point. Applejack casually added the Five of Cups to the pile.

Lemon placed the Two of Swords on top of it, smiling. Sunny gathered the cards to herself, grumbling. She stared at her hand, taking a long, long moment to decide what her next play would be. They were guaranteed to take everything in two out of three of the next tricks, but they needed to choose which. Sighing, choosing to stave off their defeat for a while longer, Sunny opened with the King of Wands. She gave Indigo a look, one that didn't need words to be understood. Four points were already too many to let someone else take them.

Applejack played the Six of Cups, initiating the gritting of Sunny's teeth. Lemon followed with the Four of Coins. Sour added in the Seven of Swords.

Indigo made the only play she could, and took the cards for herself with her Three of Cups. To no one's surprise. She then played the Six of Wands.

Sunny almost practically slammed the Ace of Cups on the table. Applejack added the Three of Coins without much thought. It was the lowest of the cards she had left, after all. Sunny swallowed as she saw it.

"Good acting there, Indy," said Lemon. "I actually fell for it before."

"Give her the Page," Sour Sweet said, without looking away from her cards. "Don't worry about it. I've got this."

Lemon looked at her confused for a moment, then she shrugged. She moved her hand away from the card she'd been meaning to play, and placed the Page of Cups on the table instead.

Smiling in a way that bordered on looking sadistic, Sour placed the Three of Wands on the pile. It got her more confused looks from all the other girls, but the way her smile stuck to her face made Sunny's confusion shift to worry as she gathered the cards for herself. She placed down her last card, the Six of Coins, and realisation began to dawn on her face.

Applejack played the Ace of Wands.

Lemon played the Five of Wands.

Sour Sweet turned to Indigo. "Mind going first? It's not like it matters at this point."

Biting her lower lip, Indigo cautiously placed the Seven of Coins on the table.

Sour stood up, pushing her chair skidding back in her haste. "How does it feel to lose to a two?" she half-yelled, grinning, as she slammed the Two of Cups on the table and took the last eleven points for herself and her team. A moment later she sat back down, as if nothing had happened, and began to count her total points.

Indigo stared at her and blinked, mouth agape. "Did you really throw twelve points our way just to rub it in?"

"I sure did." Sour set down her cards. "Twenty-five for me."

"And eleven for me," Lemon piped up. "Since Applejack got nothing, I guess that's eighty-four for you girls."

"Sixty-six. And Indigo got eighteen." Sunny slumped back into her chair, deflated and defeated. She smiled. "Good game, girls."

Fear of the Dark

Starlight's first instinct was to cover her mouth with the back of her front leg. Partly to stop herself from vomiting, partly to block the smell. Judging by the sounds Twilight made behind her, the alicorn's reaction hadn't been much different.

"I don't like this place." Starlight looked around. Or, at least, she tried to. The curtain of pitch black darkness around her was too thick to see anything, and the light of her magic failed to illuminate anything beyond her own body. It did mean she got to look at her hoof, though.

When first stepping through the portal, she'd assumed the ground was muddy, perhaps a swamp. She was pretty sure mud wasn't that shade or red, and it didn't clump like that. "I really don't like this place."

"You're not the only one." The sound of Twilight's voice, and the uncomfortable squelching of her hooves on the ground, told Starlight that she had moved up to her side. Despite this, she still couldn't see her. Not until Twilight lit her own horn, at least.

"Do you think this is blood?" Starlight asked, holding up a hoof.

Twilight looked at it, then at her own hooves. "Could be. Either we landed on top of a giant corpse, we landed on top of a battlefield, or this world has flesh instead of soil. I don't know which one would be worse."

"Cool. Let's leave, then." Starlight looked back at the portal, hopeful. "Just note this down as freaky flesh world with abnormal darkness, and move on to the next one." She looked to Twilight again, forcing a smile.

"I'm as tempted as you are," Twilight replied. "But we both know we should do more exploring here." She took out a small vial from her saddlebags, and collected a sample of the ground. She was just as unnerved as Starlight by the way it remained shrouded in darkness up until being inserted into the vial. They couldn't even see the ground, only guess it was there by the way the vial stopped when moved downwards.

Starlight frowned. A small orb or light detached itself from her horn, and floated higher in the air in front of them. It remained there, perfectly visible, illuminating nothing. "Do you think this is magical darkness?"

"Probably." Twilight cleaned the bloody outside of the vial, and stowed it away back in her saddlebags.

Starlight looked down. She could barely see her own hooves. "I don't think there's much of a point in exploring this place, if we can't even see where we're going. What if we fall down a cliff?"

"We both know how to fly," replied Twilight, but her tone was a bit uncertain.

Starlight had another look around. "And what if we run into something?"

Twilight also looked around. "Like what?"

Starlight didn't answer that. Slowly, she began to step back, and cut off the light she'd left floating in the air.

Twilight swallowed, and did the same. A moment later, they both reached the portal, and left through it.

Crack

One set of slim fingers curled around the wand's black handle, lifting it from the table. The other picked up the golden metal rod and slipped the round end into the opening on the handle, where it locked in place. Eyes set on the tip of the rod, thin and pointy, like a bullet. A customised variant, they'd even sharpened it enough for it to draw blood if pressed hard enough. A soft smiled curled their lips, and they set the assembled wand back down onto the table.

Black gloves slid over their hands, stopping just short of the elbows. Straps and silver buckles at the end of each one tightened them around their forearms. The clicking of boots against the floor echoed around the square confines of the room as they took hold of the wand's plug and first slid it through the metal rings on the table's side, then carried it to the electrical outlet on the far end of the room. Then again, as they walked back the distance to the table.

They picked up the wand again. It was the strongest model they had, and combined with the rod it would provide the most intense results. Exactly what the client wanted. Given what she'd asked for, it wasn't hard to see which part of the experience she was most interested in, and they were happily going to provide. They were actually considering upgrading to a stronger model, sometime in the future. Likely custom ordered from some independent manufacturer, or maybe they would build one themself. No company out there was selling anything stronger than what they already had.

Wand in hand, they walked to the centre of the room. They threw a look at the contact cable left over the table, wondering if they would have time to use it. Then, they focused their attention on the centrepiece of the scene. The X-shaped cross of dark grey metal stood just tall enough not to prevent comfortable access to the top with their hands if necessary, but still made for quite the impressive sight.

They tugged at the chains on the upper section, making sure they still held and twisting them around to check if they were getting stiff. Everything seemed fine, and so they did the same with the lower ones. Everything was fine there as well. They wondered if they should have swapped out the padded cuffs. They did have a set of metal ones in the drawer under the table, and the client would probably ask for it. They'd have to be a bit more careful, and make sure to check on her wrists and ankles afterwards, but it could be done. They'd take care of that in just a moment.

Smiling, they brought the tip of the rod against the cross, then pulled it back just a bit. Their fingers moved over the handle, and there was a click as the wand was turned on.

Electricity arched through the air between the wand and the cross, and they smiled. They would have so much fun that night.

Winter

Snow slowly, lazily drifted through the air, pushed this way and that by the wind. It came down in soft, large flakes, clusters that peacefully set themselves down over the ruins once they touched the ground and remained there undisturbed, building up piles and coating everything in a thick layer of white. There was no heat to warm up what was left of the city, no ponies living there and no other animals either. The stone was cold, and the snow didn't melt. It was undisturbed, free to build up without being crushed.

Soon it would cover the entire city. If it kept snowing long enough, even the tallest pile of rubble might have been submerged. Assuming the snow didn't collapse under its own weight before growing that tall, of course. It would be, perhaps, fun to see some pony or other creature walking through the place once it had stopped snowing. See them fall deep into it, in holes tall enough to fit their whole height, and see them stumble around as they ran into the hidden remains of the city under the snow.

But then the snow would be ruined. It would have holes, and places where some had melted down. To be fair, yes, all the snow would melt down in time. The seasons would shift again and the temperatures would rise and the snow would all melt or evaporate. It would turn to water and soak the ground below, and then mix with the mud and turn dirty. And perhaps it would melt in the day, but freeze again in the night, turning to ice. And the ice would melt again during the morning, in ugly and half-frozen puddles filled with dirt.

But that wouldn't happen for a while still. It was snowing, right then. Still snowing. Snow coming down from the sky in large and soft flakes that danced through the air on the soft bouts of wind and then touched the snow already on the ground and stayed there, not melting, building higher and higher. The sky was cloudy, but not quite as dark as a storm would make it. The Sun was still there, behind the clouds. But covered, so it couldn't warm the land and melt the snow. The snow wouldn't melt for a while still. The air was cold, and the sky was cloudy, and more snow kept falling down and piling up.

It wouldn't have happened like that, had the city still been inhabited. The warmth from the houses and the ponies and the busy streets and all the buildings with their fires and their life would have melted the snow when it first fell. It would have taken long for it to cool the streets and the rooftops and the walls, sacrificing itself. And then, what? Ponies would clean it away, and push it out, and salt the streets so no more snow would pile up in them. Maybe out of the city, in the fields, snow would be allowed to grow, but even then they would walk over it and ruin it.

One had to wonder if it would have been possible to build tunnels, underneath the snow, if it was left to build up for long enough undisturbed. But then, there was the risk of ruining it still. Better not to try.

Into the Swarm

The key turned in the lock, the door opened, and the unicorn stepped into his house. He cleaned his hooves on the carpet at the entrance, turned to close the door again, then began to walk towards the kitchen. And as he stepped through the door between the kitchen and the entrance he fell to the ground, unconscious, zapped by a bolt of green magic.

Chrysalis began to drag the pony towards the wall near the sink.

"Do you need help?" chimed in Stellaria, from the entrance room, munching on a bag of chips she'd borrowed from inside a cupboard.

"No." Chrysalis placed the stallion on top of the cocoon base she'd already built, and then began to spin the rest of it around him.

Stella smiled. "Good." She downed the remaining chips, then crumpled the bag and threw it towards the nearest trashcan. Then she walked into the kitchen, and started rummaging through cupboards in search of more food.

Chrysalis threw her a side look, then focused back on the unicorn. "You could leave some."

"You won't need it." Stella downed several slices of bread and swallowed them whole. "You'll get plenty of love to feed yourself with at your new work place."

"Unlike the current one," Chrysalis hissed. She looked at Stellaria again, while the alicorn swallowed the remaining slices of bread. "Sometimes I wonder if there wasn't a snake in the tree I made you from."

"Sometimes I wonder if changeling queens are supposed to be stupid, or if your egg was dropped before you were born." Stellaria's horn flashed, and Chrysalis's muffled grunts filled the room, along with a sound not too far removed from water sizzling when touching heated metal.

Chrysalis wanted to say something else. The pain in her chest told her it was better to shut up for the time being. She closed the top of the green cocoon, and began to fill it up. As she did that, her eyes wandered over the rest of the room, without paying any particular attention to anything. They'd already throughly explored it in the previous days, there was nothing really noteworthy there. Just a regular kitchen in a regular house in Ponyville, owned by a stallion who worked as a researcher at the local castle, lived alone, and wouldn't be getting any visits. The perfect target to replace.

There was just one last thing to take care of. Ignoring the way Stella was eating through a bag of crackers so fast she may as well have been inhaling them, Chrysalis focused instead on the stallion, still unconscious, floating inside the cocoon she'd just finished filling. She just needed to make sure he wouldn't be a nuisance, business as usual for her. But as she fired up her magic, a thought wormed its way into her head. She looked at Stella again, still busy eating, then back at the stallion.

Her magic slowly flowed through her horn and towards the pony. It wouldn't hurt to have a backup plan, after all.

Casing

The pegasus looked around one more time. It wasn't safe to be there. The ruins hadn't been stable before, they were it much less after whatever had happened to them. Clean cut, square and rectangular holes on every surface and structure, like portions of matter had been severed away by someone or something. What had been there before nowhere to be found. Some form of magic, no doubt. At any moment something there could break down and fall to the ground, and they were planning to avoid being there when that happened. But just as they were spreading their wings, ready to leave, their front hoof slipped inside a small hole in the stone pavement, and they found it annoyingly refused to come out.

Firecracker struggled, trying to pull their leg free, but no matter what they couldn't manage to pull it out. Their hoof was stuck there. Just then there was a cracking sound from higher above, and the pegasus looked up along the length of the tall column next to them, all the way to its tip. Just a little lower, a chunk had been removed, and the thin portion still holding the top had just split. And a second later, that top part slid forward.

They saw the rock coming down towards them. They tugged their leg, still stuck in the ground, and knew they wouldn't be able to pull away in time. And they watched, as the chunk of stone made its way sailing across the air and headed for their body, too large to hope it would somehow miss them, ready to crush them with its weight. Then, a hoof touched their shoulder, and they were no longer there.

They were floating, somewhere. Or at least, it felt like it. It was like the beginning of a dream, that odd mental space one drifts into when falling asleep, the one the slightest shock knocks you out of. But nothing came to shake them, and they didn't fall asleep. Instead they floated on, as time seemed to slow down to a crawl, while the world around them twisted and bent at impossible angles. Until suddenly it all stopped, and they were ripped out of it, and time was again and they had an up and down and things were normal again. And they were standing, somewhere.

It was cold. Firecracker looked around. They'd spent enough time flying through the clouds to know they were fairly high up somewhere, but that was about all they could tell at first glance. They were standing on something, yet it almost looked like they weren't, staring down. Not quite like a glass pavement, but as if the thing below them was and wasn't there. But even still, they couldn't properly see the ground far down below. They looked around again, and froze.

There was a pony, there, sitting. A stallion by the looks of it, no wings or horn to be seen. A bit taller than average, coat of a light grey brown, and his mane a darker shade of the same colour. His cutie mark was hidden while he sat in that position. He turned his head towards the pegasus, and spoke. "Hello. Firecracker, was it?"

Disappearing Act

"I could fake my own suicide."

"What?" Indigo almost choked on her breakfast. She leaned to the side from her spot on the table and looked at Lemon.

Lemon was on her bed, still in her pyjamas, one hand scrolling through tabs on the computer precariously resting on her overcrowded nightstand. "I could totally fake my own suicide online."

Indigo wisely chose to swallow what was in her mouth before continuing on with the conversation. "Okay. Weird thing to say first thing in the morning."

"There's only about seven people I'd need to tell about it. Two of them are outside my circles, so they won't rat me out. Two of them I trust to stay silent about it. The last three I'm close enough with that it won't be a problem, once I've explained it all," Lemon went on. "If I'm smart about it, it'll never come out. Too little clues about my real self for people to figure out anything, and those actually close to me will be in on it."

Indigo had a silent, pondering pause. "Is everything okay?"

"It's the perfect crime." Lemon didn't move, still lying on her bed, her free hand still resting at her side. "Dozens get fooled, no one gets seriously hurt, and I get what I want. Freedom, a chance to start over, a kick in the teeth to those who deserve it. I can go out with a bang without going out at all."

"Yeah, no, you're seriously starting to weird me out with this now." Indigo took another small bite of her breakfast, and chewed through it as quickly as she could.

"I've got rope. I just need to look up how to tie a noose, and take a picture with a note. A date and a signature. Time everything right, write a post to go along with it, log out of my accounts on all social media and never look back. They'll never catch me." Lemon's free hand moved through her still messy hair, straightening out a few knots. "There'll be nothing to catch me for, anyway. Nothing illegal about killing a character, after all."

Indigo had already pushed her chair far enough from the table to get up if needed, but for the time she was simply sitting sideways on it and looking at the other. "Is this a roundabout way of getting me to come there so we can finally make out?"

Lemon yawned and looked away from the screen, towards Indigo instead. "Nah, don't worry about it. I mean, I wouldn't mind the making out part, but you don't need to worry about it."

Indigo just stared at her, mouth half open and an expression precisely halfway between annoyed and confused that perfectly carried the question "What the fuck are you on about?" without need for the girl to actually voice it.

"Chill, Indy." Lemon dismissively waved as she closed her laptop. "You really think I'd go through all the trouble of setting that stuff up when I could just kill myself for real instead?"

CbrpnkRd

The first attack came and went without anyone noticing it had really happened. It happened in the woods, too far to reach the town nearby. It was all done too quickly. It wasn't until a few days later, while a pony was taking a walk there and looking for any fallen branches they might have taken home to fuel the fireplace, that the first signs of what had happened became known.

They found an animal carcass, mauled. Splinters of bone jutting out at unnatural angles, the head reduced to a red splotch on the ground, the innards strewn about around the rest of the body. It was already starting to rot. Strangely, though, whatever meat had been stripped from it seemed to have been taken by other animals. Whatever had killed the thing had just left it there, with no interest in consuming it.

That was perhaps what pushed the pony to search further. That, and the rather obvious trail that whatever creature was responsible for the scene had left. Broken branches, deep cuts in the trees, and dug up sections of the ground that were all the more impressive given how hard the dirt got during the cold.

Just a dead animal wouldn't have been impressive enough to get the news out to Princess Twilight herself. At most it would have been shared with the rest of the town, someone might have advanced the hypothesis of some new creature, and maybe in a couple weeks a group of researchers would have been there. The crater the pony found at the end of the trail, with its rocky blue-purple surface and deep enough for a pony to stand in it, that was another matter entirely.

Cooldown

Chrysalis split her attention between the portal and the documents on her desk.

She had no plans of closing it. Whichever way she chose to go about it, she knew it would backfire. Close it and pretend Twilight had asked her to? She'd still have Stella breathing down her neck. In fact, she already knew how it would go. The alicorn would take out Starlight while no one was looking, then the two of them would play out a fake rescue mission for Twilight and end up replacing the two. The most she'd get out of it was a reason for Stellaria to keep her alive. Go in and come out pretending she was Twilight instead? Same thing, except Stella wouldn't need her alive then.

If Twilight did actually end up asking for the portal to be closed? She'd do it, and then deal with the consequences as things played out. But for right then? She was hoping the alicorn would come back out safe and sound. Or preferably badly injured and barely alive, so long as she did make it out. She already had other plans, and that was why she was focusing on the documents as well.

A part of it was actually taking care of the work she was supposed to be doing. It would have come off as quite suspicious if it turned out she had done nothing but study what Twilight had given her while the alicorn was away. But on a personal level she was far more interested in learning those spells, and so she was carefully balancing her attention between the two tasks, all the while occasionally throwing a new glance at the portal.

She had a plan. A plan to get rid of Stella, and Twilight along with her if things went well. But she could deal with the original purple alicorn staying around. She could even deal with having to reveal herself if things came down to it, as long as it meant she'd get rid of the overgrown log who'd done nothing but ruin her life ever since she'd been born. She'd regretted not burning her to stay warm back when she could have every night since she'd met her again. She would have even been willing to ask the regular Twilight for help, if she'd thought it would make things easier.

She'd genuinely thought about it. As much as she despised the pony and everything she'd done to stop her plans both directly and indirectly, as much as she would not have hesitated to strand her off in another world under any other circumstances, Stella was a bigger problem. Big enough to make her even willing to collaborate. Thing was, she'd thought about it, and she'd realised speaking to Twilight wouldn't help.

Because convincing the pony would take time. Too much time. Enough time for Stella to notice something was off, and when she did notice... Chrysalis had seen what the alicorn could do, if she wanted. If Stella chose to get to her, there was no way Twilight could stop her. She wouldn't even know it was happening. Chrysalis shuddered. For all she knew, Stella could be right there in the room, and it would be impossible for her to tell it was so. She focused back on her supposed job. She just had to hope that was not the case.

Reload

"You could at least help me carry all this stuff up the stairs. Especially when half of it is things you decided to buy." Indigo Zap set the two full bags of groceries down on the floor as gently as she could, but it still resulted in a heavy thud from how full they were. She took off her coat and hung it up on the wall-mounted hook by the door.

Lemon stared at Indigo while prone on the couch, head propped up on her palms and feet kicked up in the air, smirking like a cat. "Oh, come on, Indy," she teasingly replied, "I'm just letting you exercise."

"I can go to the gym if I want to exercise," Indigo replied, beginning to unload the bags of their contents. "And it would probably cost less than having to buy all this stuff." She paused for a moment, reading the info on the back of a bag of candy, then turned to look at Lemon who was getting up from the couch. "How do you even manage to burn through all this stuff and stay that slim?"

Lemon shrugged at the question as she walked up to Indigo, who was back to setting things either on top of the table or into the appropriate cupboards. "You could go to the gym, yeah." Lemon waited for Indigo to be standing and facing away from her, then hugged her from behind and slid a hand under the other's clothes, over her abs. "But I wouldn't get to watch you work out then." She gave a small kiss on Indigo's neck.

Restart

Lemon pulled the fuzzy blanket a little higher over their shoulders, then let her hand slide under it and wrapped her arm around Indigo's waist. The other was below Lemon's body as she laid on her side, the hand resting on Indigo's hips. "Are you sure you're comfortable?"

One arm bent to have her hand under her cheek, Indigo let the other rest over Lemon's, sliding their fingers together. "I'm sure, Lem'," she said, in a tired but affectionate tone. "Are you sure you're comfortable? You're the one sandwiched between my back and the rest of the couch."

"Implying I could ever be uncomfortable in a situation that involves being sandwiched between you and something else." Lemon leaned a little forward and gave a playful bite to Indigo's ear.

Indigo rolled her eyes. "I walked right into that one, didn't I?"

"Especially if it involves being naked," Lemon continued.

"We wouldn't need this blanket if you'd just let us get dressed again, you know?"

"Yeah," Lemon replied. She pushed herself forward until her chest was pressed against Indigo's back. "Don't pretend you don't like it."

Indigo was silent for a moment. "Shut up."

Lemon chuckled. "We still haven't done it on the other side of the portal."

Indigo blinked. "Do you want to do it on the other side of the portal?"

"You know it's me you're talking to, right?"

"Yeah. Point taken." Indigo silently pondered her life choices for a few seconds. "I feel like it would be awkward."

"Probably, but I wanna see what feathers can do."

"We can just buy some feathers."

"Not the same."

"You could fuck a bird."

"Find me a bird half as pretty as you and I'll consider it." Lemon rocked herself and Indigo back and forth. "I'm sure you're curious what a horse's tongue is like, anyway."

Backtracking

Chrysalis took a deep breath, watching the Sun rise through the blinds from the window in her stolen room. She'd had her rest for the night, and despite the fact that she'd woken up with still time to spare she hadn't tried to go back to sleep. The nervousness would have kept her up either way. Instead, she'd focused on mentally revising the plans. Both Stella's and her own.

The alicorn was still sleeping in the living room. Or as close to sleeping as that thing got, really. Chrysalis had watched her do it a few times, fully aware that Stella knew she was there. It was an unnerving sight, and one she occasionally wondered the origins of. Was Stella able to do that because of what she was and how she'd been created, or had she figured out a way to do it by herself? She certainly was the kind of creature to do something like that.

The Sun had gotten a little higher on the horizon. Just a tiny bit. Only a few minutes still left, and then they would leave the house for the last time. The unicorn it belonged to was already out of his pod, already instructed by Stella on what to do. If things went particularly smoothly, they wouldn't even need to run when leaving the castle. But things weren't going to go smoothly, not if Chrysalis had a say in it.

Things would start out the same as Stella's plan. They had to, she needed to keep the alicorn as unsuspecting as she could. Once she was out of the scene though, once it came to Chrysalis's part of the equation, she could start diverging from there. Stella had plans for that, of course, but those plans couldn't account for what Chrysalis had learned behind her back.

An alarm clock went off in the kitchen, for a single second, and then stopped. The sound of Stella's hooves came from the living room, and Chrysalis didn't wait to get up and walk out of the room. She met with the alicorn in the kitchen, donned her disguise, and then walked out of the house with Stella following close behind her. All in silence, no need to go over the plan again.

Because even if she screwed up, Stella had a backup plan, after all. Maybe the alicorn was expecting her to fail in the first place. Maybe it was all just a trap to get rid of her for good, and she'd get stabbed in the back the moment she walked into Twilight's castle again. But that wasn't Stella's style. She wasn't the kind of creature who left things up to chance for the sake of presentation, and she'd made it clear enough why she still kept Chrysalis around.

The two of them quietly walked their way to the castle, neither bothered by the cold morning air. Stella was smiling, of course, the same smile she almost always had and Chrysalis had grown to loathe over time. One way or the other, whatever happened that day, she knew at least she would never have to see it again.

Relax

"My dreams have been kinda weird, lately. Mostly ice and snow, as far as I remember," Applejack said, taking a sip of hot chocolate from her mug.

"Huh." Rainbow took a sip from her own mug. "Might just be the season. Anything else?"

Applejack briefly frowned in thought. "Well, there was yesterday's dream. I dreamt I was a cow."

Rainbow Dash almost spit out her chocolate. "A cow? That's honestly kind of hilarious. I wish I could have seen that."

"Hey now. I was out there saving the world," Applejack replied. "Something about a key or something. You were also there, I think? Not you you though. More like, this weird fire breathing lizard thing that I think my brain was basing off of you."

"So a dragon?" asked Rainbow.

"No, it didn't really have wings," replied Applejack, shaking her head. "And it had hooves, I'm pretty sure. It was more like a weird scaly dragon horse."

"Like a kirin?"

"Less horsey and more lizardy than that. No hair, all scales." Applejack drank some more chocolate. "She was also a lot nicer than you, I remember that."

Rainbow Dash pouted. A few seconds passed. "Maybe you wouldn't look so bad as a cow. Would I look bad as a cow? I mean I wanna keep the wings, of course, but I was just thinking."

"It wasn't really me turned into a cow, it was more like its own cow that also happened to be me. You know, dream stuff and all." Applejack set down her empty mug on the table.

"No no, I get that, I'm just saying. If it was us being turned into cows, I think it wouldn't look too bad on you." She took another sip of chocolate, nearly done with it herself. "And I could probably pull it off too. It's me we're talking about, after all. What about the others?"

"Well, Rarity's halfway there. Just slap some black spots on her, you're basically done. Reckon she'd make a pretty great cow, actually."

Rainbow stared into the distance for a moment, imagining the scene. "She would." She shook herself out. "But there's more to a cow than just colour. We should swap out her horn too."

"Hooves as well," Applejack went on, "lots of ponies who forget cow hooves are different. We ought to trim her tail, too."

"Oh, and we should probably give her a bell for her neck!" said Rainbow.

"And then we could mark her and give her an ear tag." Applejack fell suddenly silent. "'Kay, maybe that's going too far. She's still our friend and all that. Shouldn't treat her like that just because she's turned into cattle. We don't do that stuff with the regular cattle anyway."

Rainbow reluctantly nodded, still processing the mental images Applejack had conjured up. "Right. But she would make for a great cow." She forced herself to finish her chocolate so her mouth would stay occupied.

"That she would," Applejack agreed with a nod. "Rarity would make for one mighty fine cow indeed."

Tra

"Don't you think that carpet has a crease in it?"

The second guard looked in the direction the first was pointing at with his head. "Maybe? It might not."

"I think it does."

"It might, but I'd need to go there and check if I wanted to know for sure. I'm not doing that."

"Why?" The first guard looked at the second. "Do you have anything better to do?"

"Sitting," the other guard replied. "As a matter of fact, I do prefer sitting here, yes. Why don't you go check?"

The stallion looked at the two of them. "You'll need to get up if you want me to go check. And I don't want to walk there. Why don't you go? And anyway, it looks pretty clear to me. If you want to argue it's not creased you're the one who should check."

The second unicorn rolled his eyes. "I swear, I might go check just so it means I don't have to listen to you for a while."

"I'm just saying they did a pretty poor job putting this thing down if that's the case. They'll need to take off the whole thing and put it down again, it's all glued to the floor and tucked in at the sides. They'll have to redo the whole carriage," said the first.

"Or they could just not," said his friend. "Putting aside how it's probably not even creased, what if it is? It's no big deal."

"No way," said the other, shaking his head. "That's right in the middle of the passage. What if somebody trips over it? They can't have that happening."

That got him a look. "Do you plan to keep this up the whole trip?"

"I'm just trying to look out for the safety of others," the unicorn replied.

The other unicorn rubbed his forehead. "Did I have to be sent to Ponyville with you? What are we being sent there for, again? I get we're guarding the castle, by why now?"

"Increased security," replied the first guard. "Apparently, though this is just rumours I've heard, there was some sort of incident there. Someone sneaking in. Some say stuff got stolen, others disagree. Either way, it's apparently what convinced Princess Twilight to finally get tighter security on the place. And that includes us!"

"Should we tell them they got the wrong stallions for the job?"

The first unicorn threw him a look. "Come on now. We're great at what we do."

"We have an absolutely abysmal track record," replied the guard. "As far as the two of us are concerned, every single attack on Canterlot that we got to stand against was successful, and they all got through us pretty easily actually."

"Those are the ones that succeeded against all the rest of the guards too. It's just bad luck. And we were inside the castle, the only stuff that got to us was what had already gotten past the outer layers."

"I'm still not the happiest about that time a filly smacked me around and threw me out of the place."

"That filly was an alicorn," replied the unicorn. "And a psychopath," he added after a moment. "I'm just happy being thrown out was all she did with us."

Time Wasted

"Do you ever get to the end of a day and wonder where all the time went? How you could possibly have done so little, how you could possibly be late on something when you had the whole day to do it?"

"Sometimes. I guess it does happen sometimes. Although, for me, I'd say it's more about the times where I just forgot I had something to do and did something else instead. I don't really like not being busy."

"Ha! Don't try to fool me, I've seen you lazing around both in school and on that yacht."

"That's relaxing. It's different, and it's programmed. I don't laze around when I should be doing something else, I do it when I can afford to."

"I don't think you could afford to be sleeping in class with the kind of grades you were getting."

"Okay, that was lack of sleep. I had the bad habit of staying up too late some days, especially when I got nervous. At least I learned to talk myself into sleeping early when sports were involved. Get myself in top condition and all that."

"Had? Have you looked at the clock?"

"Got me there, I suppose. Maybe I still have it. But you're up too!"

"You get used to it when you're a performer. Some shows happen pretty late. At least I don't need to be up early in the morning."

"Oh, have you done any shows recently?"

"...No. But that's beside the point! The point is that..."

"Yes?"

"I'm not actually sure where the conversation was going anymore."

"Oh. I've got something. I could help you with your show! I could be your assistant. There has to be stuff you can do with me that you couldn't otherwise."

"Well, yeah, but that would be cheating."

"As opposed to? Come on, even I'm not that dumb. I know it's all tricks."

"Yeah but it's the honest kind of lying. The one that's fair."

"You're just afraid I would steal the show from you."

"Hah! In your dreams. Besides, I can always cut you in half and pretend the trick went horribly wrong."

"Sounds like you're scared to me."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Well, yeah. It is. Maybe you'll finally feel what it's like to realise you're only the second most awesome person in the room."

"Funny. You're the one who should be telling me what that's like right now."

Time Gained

"Ugh. Could you turn off the lights, please?"

"I'm pretty sure that's the Sun."

"Turn it off!"

"Come on, now. It's already late enough. I need to take you back to your place, your mother will get worried otherwise."

"How detestably responsible of you. And I thought you were the cool one. I should have picked my other ride."

"But you didn't."

"Silence. It's your fault I stayed up so late in the first place."

"I'm not the one who kept talking."

"You forced me to. You kept replying to me, and being wrong, and I just had to show you that you were wrong."

"I'm pretty sure at one point you literally woke me up right after I'd fallen asleep because you wanted to keep talking."

"Lies! Slander! I will not stand for this kind of blatant falsehoods."

"You will not stand at all it seems. Come on! Get up, I'll go make ourselves breakfast."

"...Do you have eggs?"

"Sure. Do you want some?"

"I... suppose I can join you for breakfast. If, and only if, you promise to make something worthy of my greatness."

"Well, come along then. You wouldn't want to not keep an eye on me while I do it, right?"

"Ugh. Fine. I suppose I can get used to your inhumane routines and habits if I at least don't need to cook for myself."

"Oh, please. This is already more of a brunch than a breakfast, and if we wait any longer it might as well be lunch."

"That's not how that works."

"Yeah, no, I'm pretty sure it is how that works."

"Clearly not! I just got up, this is the first meal I'm having, therefore this is breakfast."

"But the rest of the country has already been up for a few hours. Heck, some people are probably already having lunch. We're too far into the day to have breakfast."

"The day just started."

"Uh, you've looked at the Sun, right? Or at a clock?"

"Have you looked at me? I just got up. Therefore, the day just started. And it started early because of you, might I add."

"The day doesn't start when your day starts. You can't act like the whole world revolves around you."

"How can I not when it so clearly does?"

"Does not."

"Blasphemy."

"You can't expect to be the best if you think the world is gonna wait around for you. You need to chase it! Run after those opportunities!"

"That's what people like you, who are playing catch up, need to do. I, on the other hand, o- Oh, please!"

"What?"

"You're mixing them wrong."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are. Move aside."

"Wh- Hey!"

"This is how you're supposed to do it. Not that jerky stuff you were doing, you almost sent some in my hair."

"I..."

"What?"

"Huh. You're pretty good with that, actually."

"I've told you. You don't get good at sleight of hand unless you learn to control your movements and practise. If I can train for that while doing something else I might as well optimise time."

"Sounds a lot like playing catch up to me."

"Just pass me the salt, okay?"

End of the World - Part 5

"So. What's the plan?" Twilight asked.

"Look for something. Anything, really," the stallion replied. "I can give you a list of every world I've visited, and everything I know. Your research team seems to already be further ahead than mine ever was. I'll keep travelling around, and if any of us find something we'll write to each other. I know it's not that grand of a plan, but it's better than nothing."

"Why not come back with me?" Twilight tilted her head, curious. "We have a place for you. We can give you somewhere to stay, it has to be better than being out here."

"You need someone doing the dangerous exploration out here if you want to find something, and I'm more experienced than any of you," replied the stallion, while beginning to sort through one of his saddlebags.

Twilight shook her head lightly, watching what the unicorn was doing. "You can't just keep yourself travelling between worlds all the time."

"Why not?" The stallion looked up at her for a moment. "It's what I've been doing so far. For a while at this point, too."

"Think of how much you could help us with research. Of how much we could help you," Twilight went on. "You can't just expect me to leave you out here on your own."

"Like it or not, it's how things will happen." The stallion was holding a small, pearly white orb in his hoof. He let it fall forward and roll for a bit, then caught it in a spell and a portal opened from it. "Your world is not my own, Twilight. It's not my home."

"It could be," Twilight said. "After this is all done, if it ever is, you could stay. You don't have to be alone."

The stallion silently stepped towards the portal, and motioned for Twilight to follow him. Reluctantly, Twilight did. On the other side, they appeared in a swamp, not in any world Twilight was familiar with. "Wait here for a moment," the stallion said, then he disappeared through a new portal produced too quickly for Twilight to see what it had sprouted from.

It occurred to Twilight, in the time spent waiting there near the two portals, that had the stallion wanted he could have left her stranded there with no way to go back. Thankfully, he did come back, closing the portal he'd left from behind him.

Something else had occurred to Twilight, in the meantime. "Have you ever come across a library, while travelling?"

The stallion looked at her, puzzled. "You mean just a regular library?"

"Not quite," Twilight replied. "Don't mind that for now. Have you ever seen a draconequus?"

The stallion just looked even more puzzled. "I have no idea what that is."

"How familiar are you with chaos magic?" Twilight asked.

"Never once touched it, and I would like to think I'm smart enough to keep it that way," said the stallion. "Now will you tell me what this is all about?"

Assumptions

"And that's a three, a seven, and an eleven," Shining said, pulling away from Rainbow's side while watching the dice on the tray he held in his magic.

"Pretty good rolls, huh?" replied the pegasus. She tried not to sway too hard from side to side. "Anything else in there?"

Shining set the silver tray down on the table, and moved closer to Rainbow again, making sure not to step on his own entrails by accident. He peered at the exposed flesh, the tip of his horn glowing to help him see better. "Doesn't seem so," he said, moving strands of muscle aside with his telekinesis to make sure.

"Nice." Rainbow gave the closest thing to a nod that her upside-down hanging position allowed her to. "Moving on to the other side, then?" She tensed and released her wings, flapping then once, before letting them droop downwards again.

"I suppose so." Shining stepped back again, always carefully, and moved the tray and the little wheeled table it was on to the pegasus' other side. "The shackles aren't too tight, are they?" he asked Rainbow as he did.

Rainbow shook her hooves to test the metal binds wrapped around them that held her suspended in place, and looked upwards at the chains they were connected to, stretching on and on past her ability to see. "Doesn't seem so. I think they're just right like this."

"Good." Once the table was in place, Shining turned to examine Rainbow's flesh. "Oh. Definitely a lot of stuff here. Does it hurt yet?"

"Still can't feel anything but my tail," Rainbow replied. "Is it bleeding? I can't tell if the stuff on the floor is mine or yours."

"Don't worry, it's mine." As he said so, Shining grabbed a reddened cloth from the table and used it to soak up some of the blood slowly dripping from his chest and underbelly. "You still haven't given any problems with that. At least the drainage system seems to be working fine." He lit his horn again, peered closely at the muscular tissues in front of his face, and asked, "How do you want to roll?"

Rainbow pursed her lips for a moment. "Let's go with two six and one twenty, you got that?"

"Sure do." While holding up the now empty tray, Shining simultaneously took hold of the required dice in his magic. He pulled, ripping them from Rainbow's flesh, then let them fall down. "Oh. That's not good. Not good at all."

"What did we get?" asked Rainbow, a note of worry in her voice.

"Two, three, and just a four," answered Shining. "We needed a twelve to clear this one. Oh well." He took the saw in his magic, and used it to remove another one of his ribs, then added another mark to his bleeding hind leg in the form of another open cut. "I think I see a map in here, too."

"Should we take it out now?"

Shining shrugged. "I don't see why not."

Sirens

"This is all very interesting," Twilight said, looking over the notebook she held in her magic.

Sweetie Belle shifted in her seat. "It is? It all just seems kind of random to me. Is there anything you can figure out from there?"

"Yes, actually." Twilight stopped her back and forth pacing and turned back towards the unicorn. "Everything here is consistent, time-wise, and happening when it should."

Sweetie raised an eyebrow. "That means?"

"The things you get visions of are things you'd expect to be happening when you get those visions. Ponies eating at around midday or during the evening is the biggest giveaway there. House chores and walks in the afternoon, sleeping during the morning in the weekend, that kind of stuff," Twilight explained. "It's not conclusive evidence, but it does strongly point towards the idea that what you're seeing is really happening as you are seeing it, or at least somewhen close to it."

"So I can see what others are doing?" Sweetie recoiled for a moment. "I'm spying on them?"

Twilight had meanwhile gone back to reading through the entries in the notebook. "If you want to put it like that. But you don't have any control over it at this point, you shouldn't feel bad about it."

"And can I learn to control it?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"That's what we're here for," Twilight replied. "But first, we need to make sure we know exactly what's happening here." She paused, her eyes focusing on one specific entry on the page in front of her. Then she walked towards Sweetie's end of the table.

"What is it?" Sweetie asked, looking at Twilight.

"This one here." Twilight held the notebook up in front of Sweetie Belle's face, pointing with a hoof at a specific line on the page. "Is it correct?"

"Of course it is," said Sweetie, a little bothered by the question, as she looked over her own writing.

"The exact time and everything?" Twilight pressed on.

Sweetie nodded, saying, "Yeah. It was in my room, I had a clock nearby."

"Just making sure," said Twilight, pulling away the notebook. Then she closed it and set it down on the table. "I'll be gone for a bit, maybe a few minutes. It shouldn't be more than that. I need to check something."

Sweetie didn't have a chance to ask what Twilight meant, as the alicorn had already disappeared in a flash of magic. Instead she was left there waiting, alone, humming to herself to pass the time until Twilight's reappearance a few minutes later. "Did you go visit Celestia?" Sweetie asked immediately.

Twilight nodded, though she seemed strangely intent on staring at the tip of her hoof. She blew some white hair away from it, then shook her head. "I did. And it looks like my guess was correct. It's a stroke of luck that you saw something we could check so soon, but it was going to happen sooner or later."

"So what now?" asked Sweetie Belle.

Fixing

"What happened?" Scarlet Ribbon rushed towards Stella, shouting. "What happened?" she yelled again, louder.

Stella snapped towards her, her horn glowing, and Scarlet froze in place as she was hit by the alicorn's spell. Making sure no one else was there to see, Stella teleported both of them inside Scarlet's house. Once there she set the mare on the couch, and began to pace back and forth.

Scarlet just stared into nothingness, silent, eyes blank.

"Did he mention anything about leaving? Any places he would have wanted to go or was planning to? Any mention of anywhere outside of this town?" asked Stella.

After a moment of silence, Scarlet replied in a monotone voice, "Nothing."

Stella chewed on nothing for a moment. "Did he meet anyone from outside this town, after the last time I was here?"

"No," Scarlet replied.

"Did he meet ponies living in this town, besides you and your friend?"

Scarlet nodded. "Yes."

"When I deactivate the spell, immediately write down a full list of everyone he met and where they live, then leave it on the table, forget you wrote it, and never notice it's there. You won't question my absence, during or afterwards." Looking through and tweaking the mare's mind herself would have been a more efficient process, but Stella didn't have the time to properly set up the required spells, so she had to do it verbally. "Did he seem any different after any of those meetings?"

Scarlet shook her head. "He didn't."

"Did he seem any different at any point, like he'd found out about something?" Stella pressed on.

Scarlet's reaction was still the same. "He didn't."

"After you've written the list, you'll forget about seeing him disappear and you running towards me. What you'll remember is me coming back to you, talking to you, and us agreeing he would come with me so I can find help for him. After you don't see me for five minutes, you'll remember him walking away with me, us both leaving the town." Stella looked around the room for a moment, then grabbed hold of the honey jar on top of the shelf and quickly drew a mark on the bottom with her magic. "If he ever comes back, pay no mind to any contradictions between what he'll say to you and your memories, and come activate this as soon as you can without him noticing," she said, setting the jar back down as the mark slowly disappeared. "And don't let him into this room before that."

Scarlet nodded.

Stella grit her teeth. She reached inside her, shifting the way she was being seen by the mare, then her horn stopped glowing.

Scarlet got up from the couch and walked towards the kitchen, completely oblivious to the alicorn in the room.

Stella watched her go for just a moment, then her horn lit again and she disappeared from the room. She reappeared on a rooftop in a different city, staring straight at the crystal shape of the tree-like castle not too far ahead.

Deep

The staircase ended, and Twilight found herself in a corridor. It was poorly lit, but not properly dark. By how much time it had taken to get there and what she'd seen out the windows before, she was fairly sure she was underground at that point, and the way the air felt over her skin reinforced that belief. It was cold, but closer to a chilly spring breeze than to autumn's winds. Still not cold enough for a pony not to get used to it.

The walls were made from large chunks of squared stone, with the occasional torch giving off the cold light blue light that filled the corridor. No sounds as far as Twilight could hear. A couple of doors up ahead, one on each side, and then the corridor bent at a sharp angle. Twilight walked carefully forward, eyes and ears alert for anything beside the sounds of her own heart and breath, and as she reached the first door she inspected it with her magic.

No spells, as far as she could detect. She pondered about sending a magical wave to check for anyone behind it, then decided it would be more risky than doing it the old fashioned way. So she placed her ear on the door, and listened. Silence on the other side, and her hoof moved to the doorknob and turned. Locked, the door didn't move.

Twilight pulled back. Maybe it was worth it to try to magically unlock it, but it could be a major problem if someone came back while she was in there. She couldn't exactly open the door and leave while they were there, and she only had so much time to spend there before the portal was closed from the other side. So she turned, walked a bit farther still, and inspected the second door instead. No spells there either, no sounds on the other side. And somewhat to Twilight's surprise, it actually opened when she tried it.

The room she walked into was small, and somewhat barren in terms of furniture. A desk against the wall to her right, a chair in front of it, and a few filing cabinets that took up most of the remaining space. Twilight closed the door behind herself, and finally decided a minor light spell was a low enough risk that she could afford to take it there. She was curious about the contents of the cabinets, no doubt, but the stack of papers still on the desk was probably a better target to start with. She began with the one on top.

She was a bit surprised, but mostly glad, that the language they were written in was mostly the same as her own, only presenting minor differences as far as she could tell at a first pass. But she didn't particularly focus on the style and syntax of what she was reading, it was a bit hard given the contents. Though she did note, whoever had logged the test results had done so with surprising steadiness for someone writing about a pony screaming in pain and melting down in front of them.

Visual Silence

How is it so far, then?| Oh, it's been okay. Really, nothing to worry about yet.| I see. If you say so, Fluttershy. I was and still am quite worried about this, but like I've said before I won't interfere so long as you feel it is safe for you to continue. I just ask that you continue to be careful in your endeavours.| Of course, princess.| I'm not a princess anymore. This is a serious matter, Fluttershy. I trust your judgement, but do not put yourself at needless risk more so than you already are. Your ideals are admirable, but we will choose to save you over them if things come to it, and we would expect the same from you.| I am only one pony. This goes beyond me. I don't wish for any sacrifices to be made, but if things turned out so I believe I would be the preferable loss.| I would never willfully allow one of my ponies to die. I may not be your ruler any longer, but I still care for those whose dreams I watch over.| Then I hope you would care for their decisions as well. If my death was necessary, I would gladly sacrifice myself. I know you would do the same for something you held dear.| I would. And you would try to stop me from it.| I would. That does not mean I wouldn't allow you to, if no other alternative was found. Life often requires death to continue itself, I've long accepted that I am not above this cycle.| And yet you're trying to be. Choosing to sacrifice yourself, rather than to partake in it, and bring death so that your own life may continue.| It doesn't have to come to it. There can be balance. There is balance, for now.| For how long? You cannot sustain this forever. A host can only provide enough for so long to a parasite that keeps growing, and you do not wish to share your burden.| But a symbiosis can last forever.| We do not know if such a thing is even possible. Why take the risk? Do you not rid your animals of ticks, or worms?| My animals don't choose to keep them, though I might allow them to if one ever asked. But this is a far different situation, you know that much.| Maybe. Ticks and worms can't lie, after all.| Are you here to check on me or to change my mind?| Apologies. I'm merely worried about you. Please, do not make any rash decisions.| I won't. I know what I'm doing, Luna.| I believe so. And I hope you will be right in the end. This does not change the decisions I plan to make should you not be.| Then I hope you will not have to make those decisions.| This I hope as well. Now I shall leave you to your dreams. Be careful, Fluttershy.| I will be, Luna. I will call for you if I ever need your help.| And I will answer your call. Goodbye, for now.| Goodbye.

Author's Note

Made using 15.ai.

Incessant

"Ask away," the Charioteer replied.

"How do they get where they are found?" Twilight asked. "Do they appear there by themselves? Do they travel there? Are they there all along, waiting just to be found? Were they shed as the Behemoth walked, or are they being shed now as it stands?"

"It's more than just a couple things you still want to know," the Charioteer said. He seemed to be humming a tune to himself, but Twilight couldn't quite tell for sure. "Let's see." He cleared his throat, then continued, "They were mostly lost as the Behemoth first walked, and that explains why they are so spread out. That doesn't mean they are already there to be found." His eyes studied Twilight's expression. "And it should be noted that the Behemoth had been stepping on this land for a while already before you took notice of it."

The only visible reaction Twilight had to the revelation was a sudden blink of her eyes and a very slight tension in her legs, making her lean just a few millimetres back. On the inside though, the effects of having heard that were far more pronounced. But she could always ask clarifications at a later moment. "Are there still more to be found?" she asked, in the coldest and most detached tone she could manage.

"Indeed there are," said the stallion. "And there'll continue to be for, well, for long enough to see this world meet its end, though they might get a bit more scarce towards the end. And afterwards, scales are fickle things. I doubt whoever might wander in here from a different universe will find more than a few. Things would be quite too easy otherwise. And unfair, it's not like you're getting that luxury with the worlds you meet."

Stretching her neck, Twilight momentarily scrunched up her face. It felt stiff, but she couldn't tell if it was the Behemoth's presence or merely tension. "What of their connection with those who find them? Is there something special about it, or is it merely an effect of being exposed to one?"

"There is something there, yes." Once more, the Charioteer appeared to be studying Twilight's face. "Every scale only has one creature it's meant to be found by. A bond that can't be undone or modified, not by theft nor by other acts. And it does affect one, in particular, of a given scale's uses."

"Because scales do have multiple uses," said Twilight.

"Indeed, but you knew that already." The Charioteer took a short step forward, though nothing else came from it. "I'm sure you are quite tempted to ask me about them. But where would the fun be if you just knew? I want you to find out yourself. Besides..." For just a moment, he appeared to be looking towards something else at Twilight's side, an impression so strong the mare actually slightly turned her head to look at the nothing there. "Better to leave some things unsaid when someone else might be listening."

Cage

"Because that's not what I'm here for," Twilight replied. "I'm here to talk, not to fight. You know that much."

"You say that just because you're afraid," the Charioteer replied. "You're too scared to try to stop me, because you already know you'd fail."

"That's not-" Twilight cut herself off, noticing the Charioteer's expression. "You're messing with me, aren't you?"

"Absolutely," he replied, "and it's a great deal of fun."

"What are you getting out of this?" Twilight asked him. "Why? I thought you were the one who wanted to have this conversation."

"I was. I can't deny that I was." The Charioteer nodded. "But, well, all of a sudden I've gotten very bored of nothing happening. And you've made me realise there's something much more entertaining I could be doing. I was trying to get a reaction out of you, Twilight." He grinned. "But you're just so... indecisive. So static. So stuck in your own comfortable shell and refusing to take decisions. That's not good, Twilight."

"Ironic coming from the one who's sat here motionless for months," Twilight said.

"That isn't lost on me," noted the Charioteer. "But I am inherently a spirit of change, after all, perhaps I am allowed a pass. Although..." He had a vague look at the oddly translucent surface they both stood upon. "It has indeed been a while since the Behemoth moved. Maybe..."

Twilight felt her blood go cold as it raced up her back. "You wouldn't."

"Oh, but I absolutely would." The Charioteer returned to staring straight ahead at Twilight. "What better way to force a reaction out of you? You're too entrenched in your own beliefs about dialogue to ever take the first step, and me attacking you would ruin this whole ordeal. So why not, Twilight? Why not force you into action, why not give you something you need to stop? If words won't do it, why not this?"

"I thought you said the Behemoth wasn't supposed to move just yet," said Twilight, clearly on edge about the situation.

"One more step won't hurt the plan, and it won't bring about the end of the world." The Charioteer licked his lips and then clicked his tongue. "But it will be worse than the last one. I do wonder how the creatures down there will take it."

"Why?" Twilight asked again. "What's the point? I thought-"

"Because you are just so utterly, annoyingly nice, Twilight," the Charioteer interrupted her. "You can stop the oncoming destruction of your world just by stopping me, and you already know I'm responsible for what damage has already been done, and yet you'd rather just talk. If you're not going to do the sensible thing out of your own will, I'll have to force you to." He tensed his front legs, and Twilight saw the reins tightening around them.

"Wait! W-"

"I'm done waiting. You have about three seconds, I'd say." The muscles in the Charioteer's shoulder began to tense as well.

In a flash of panic, Twilight fired from her horn.

Missing Point

"You shouldn't be here. You don't really have a reason to be here, honestly."

"I thought I'd pay a visit. You know, to celebrate the occasion. Besides, the door was open."

"I've left it open a bit recently. I shouldn't have. I'm probably going to close it sometime soon, this whole thing wasn't the best idea."

"But you do have to admit, the occasion is special enough. And you're late again. You forgot, didn't you?"

"Maybe. And that's all of your business, yes. And I suppose you're right. You're here now, at least, so we might as well make the most out of it."

"See? It's not so bad, after all. I like your desk, by the way."

"No peeking."

"You don't keep notes. There's nothing for me to peek at."

"Maybe. I'm afraid we ran out of cake yesterday. And most other sweets as well."

"I can always get some more myself."

"That's nice of you. So, any plans on where to go next?"

"Asking me? Is it desperation or presumption?"

"Both."

"I'm pretty sure you can imagine the answer. I have a couple tricks I haven't used yet, it's time to have fun with those. You need me out of the way for a while anyway, don't you?"

"Well, yeah, it will be nice to have that covered. You just do your thing and have fun, I suppose. Don't mess things up too bad though, please."

"No distractions until we get to the war, right?"

"I said no peeking."

"You don't have notes."

"Right. Just, pretend you don't know about that, okay?"

"Oh, but I need to rehearse my line. I come in right at the end, I want to make sure I don't mess it up."

"Well, you can do that in private. I'm frankly glad things will get moving again in a few days, so I don't have to keep that line on stall longer."

"You dug yourself into this hole."

"You did."

"You asked me to. I was perfectly happy not doing that, but you just refused to have second thoughts on the matter. Too late for that now, isn't it?"

"I could always change it. I've already done it."

"That was different."

"It wasn't that much different. It was functionally the same thing, here it would just be explicit instead of implicit."

"I don't think anyone would appreciate it much, if I'm being honest."

"This is why I keep the door closed."

"Close it all you want, you can't shut the windows."

"This room doesn't even have windows."

"Well, there's your problem. You should add one. It'll be good for your skin to get some light in. Probably for your eyesight too. And maybe you could take a walk outside for once."

"I'm not going out, and you know that. But a window might be nice. I'll think about it."

"Have it ready when she visits. Then you can talk about it with her too."

"No peeking, I said."

"Maybe you should keep notes. Have a good one."

"Thanks, you too. Maybe I should."

A | R

"I came as soon as I could," Rainbow said, materialising in the forest and ducking out of the way of a severed limb being propelled her way.

"Good." Luna brought her axe down on the tangle of arms and claws she kept pinned beneath her hooves, putting a definitive stop to its writhing. "This place has been in a frenzy since the step."

"So it's finally time to kick ass, yeah?" Rainbow donned her silver armour alongside one of her smuggest grins, and a silver sword appeared floating beside her.

Luna gave something between a sigh of resignation and an amused chuckle. "You could put it that way, I suppose." She turned, slicing the shadowy spider tiger amalgam that had been pouncing towards her in half. "Don't get too carried away, or wander too far into the forest. I need someone to ensure none of the smaller creatures escape while I'm occupied with the bigger ones."

"I can help you with them too," Rainbow offered. "Don't leave me out of the fun."

"Rainbow Dash." Luna looked back towards the pegasus. "You're smarter than this. I'll call you if I feel I need your help, otherwise I want you to stay and patrol the outskirts."

Rainbow looked like she was going to answer for a split second, then the motion of her neck and face turned into a slow deep breath, and her expression grew serious. "Yes Ma'am!" she said with a salute.

Luna smiled. "Very well," she said as she turned, then she spread her wings and took flight towards the deeper reaches of the forest.

Applejack had to bite down on a piece of rope to stop her teeth from clacking against each other. Unfortunately, it did little to help with the shaking in her limbs and torso, but she still forced herself carry on with her work. She was in no condition to do any task requiring some level of precision, and she knew that, but she could still deal with anything more labour intensive and less skill testing.

And maybe it would warm her up, too. Even if the weather wasn't cold enough for it to feel as cold as it did, and even if she could tell it wasn't coming from outside. Maybe it would still help. She was afraid it would get to her if she lay down to rest.

Besides all that, there was work to be done, and someone had to do it. It needed to be done quickly, too, the buildings had to be fixed properly before they broke further. There didn't seem to be anything too bad in terms of damage, but that was no reason to leave what was there unattended. At least no one would blame her for wanting to get things done fast, and if she was lucky enough everyone would be too busy helping around to notice anything off about her, and it would be gone by the time things were finished. She hoped it would be, at least.

Exuvia

"Huh."

"Huh what?" asked Twilight.

Sunset put her phone back in her pocket. "I got a message from Wallflower asking about the situation."

"Huh," said Twilight. "Will you tell her about it?"

"Will you tell us about it?" asked Rainbow. Both Sunset and Twilight glared at her for that.

"I'll have to think about that," Sunset said, ignoring Rainbow's question. "On one hand, she's historically more involved with magic than the average person, so she kind of has a right to know. And I don't feel good about hiding things from a friend."

"On the other, she's not particularly involved with this specific case of horseworld magic, and we can't just go around telling everyone who asks every detail," said Twilight.

Sunset nodded. "Exactly."

Rainbow pursed her lips, perplexed. "So how come I can tell Trixie about it no problem?"

"She's somehow more involved in this than she has any right to be," Sunset replied.

"And she's your current girlfriend," added Twilight. "And she's Trixie. Those last two combined mean we couldn't keep her out of this even if we wanted to."

Pinkie silently played with her knife.

"So, hypothetically, would you tell Wallflower about it if she was your girlfriend?" Rainbow asked Sunset, pointing at her.

Sunset blinked at the question. "I guess? She's not, though. Maybe in a different universe."

"Hah!" said Twilight, but her laugh quickly devolved in a nervous one. "Please don't actually postulate the existence of multiple parallel universes with that level of similarity between each other. What we're dealing with is complicated enough already."

Sunset smiled at her. "Don't worry. This is the only version of this universe that exists in this version of the multiverse, as far as I know, and you're my girlfriend in it."

"But could there be a universe where I'm your girlfriend?" asked Rainbow. "Could there be a universe where I'm your girlfriend but also Trixie's girlfriend?"

"About as likely as a universe in which you know how to shut up," Twilight jokingly said. "Which I suppose is as likely as literally any other universe," she felt the need to clarify. "Maybe. It's complicated and I slept too little to subject myself to it."

B-side

"Do you remember when it happened?"

"Like it was yesterday. And not just because we just got a reminder, it's always in my head. Well, not always at the centre, but you know what I mean."

"Always a fresh memory, yeah. But you'd be surprised how much that can differ from one pony to another. Memory is a funny thing. You probably remember it all wrong."

"No way. That's not the kind of thing you forget."

"Like I said, memory is a funny thing. I've talked about it with a few others. Everyone remembers it a bit different."

"Are you sure they were sober?"

"This place serves more milk than it serves alcohol, and trust me, it doesn't serve that much milk. Anyway. What about you? Were there screams?"

"What?"

"When the Behemoth came to Canterlot. Were there screams in town?"

"Of course there were screams. You did see that thing, right? Do you think ponies were just cool with it walking around, wrecking the place?"

"Well, that's funny, you see. I've heard ponies swear it was dead silent when it got here. They say they were too scared to scream."

"Well, maybe they were. I'll tell you though, the ponies around me weren't."

"And you?"

"Me?"

"Did you scream too?"

"Well I... No, but it's not like that proves anything."

"That's also funny. No one remembers screaming. Makes you wonder where all the noise was coming from."

"Like you've talked to everyone in this town. A bunch of ponies left the place anyway. Can't say I blame them too much, especially those who got their house destroyed. Place ain't even really the capital anymore, what with Princess Twilight moving to her other castle and whatnot."

"Maybe you're right. But you still got to admit, it's pretty funny."

"If you say so."

Reverse

The train came to a slow halt at the station, and the doors opened. Twilight stood up and began to walk away, as the few guards coming with her did the same.

A few seats behind her, Wick Clip waited for the pegasus beside her to stand and then pushed past him as she rushed behind the princess, but then stumbled and slowed down as she got closer. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she forced herself to walk at a normal pace and got out of the train. Twilight wasn't hard to spot again afterwards, but she didn't approach her. She kept herself at a distance for the time, walking away from the platform but not too far.

Twilight looked around the place, then took out a map, had a look at it, and began to head towards the centre of town, with her gaurds following along. They were spread out, a couple ahead of her and a couple behind, not particularly close.

Wick Clip looked at Twilight as she left, then she too began to walk in that direction. The alicorn was, thankfully for her, receiving quite a bit of attention, so following her didn't make the mare look too suspicious. She just had to pretend she was going in that direction anyway, and her keeping her eyes on Twilight would just be brushed off as the normal curiosity any other citizen also showed.

Twilight took a right turn down a different street. Wick had figured she was probably heading towards the town hall, and was trying to find a suitable excuse to also be there. Maybe she'd slip into one of the nearby shops and keep an eye on her from there. Maybe she would be lucky and there would be some stalls outside. Either way she likely wouldn't be able to follow Twilight all the way in.

Another thought occurred to her, and she stowed it away for later consideration. It was a good idea though. In the meantime she focused again on Twilight, who was just walking through town and looking around. She waved back once at a pony who'd waved at her, but nothing else noteworthy. Wick checked to make sure she did have some bits on her so she could actually buy something.

The guards looked a bit more alert to the general situation than Twilight was. Although, Wick reasoned, it made sense for them to be. They were probably in far more danger than she was. On that point, it was interesting to see Twilight there with a set of guards. As far as she'd heard, even though she'd heard admittedly very little, the alicorn usually preferred to not be accompanied in such a manner. It was mostly a rumour that had spread around, though, and maybe things had changed.

The town hall was in sight at the end of the road. Twilight didn't accelerate, and Wick made sure to keep her pace and distance consistent and to look as natural as possible. She was just following the princess out of curiosity, after all.

Nothing

"Applejack?" Fluttershy called, stepping into the barn. "Are you here?"

"Fluttershy!" Applejack walked out from behind a shelf. "Yeah, I'm here. Why? Did you need something?"

"I wanted to check on you, actually," Fluttershy said. "Apple Bloom told me you looked sick yesterday and I wanted to make sure you're okay."

"Oh." Applejack paused for a moment, and looked to the ground.

"Something wrong?" Fluttershy approached her.

Applejack shook her head and looked up again. "It's nothing, I just didn't think she'd noticed. I probably shouldn't have stayed quite about it, I didn't mean to make her worry."

"It's not a problem. So you're feeling better now?" Fluttershy asked.

"Sure am," Applejack replied. "And what about you? Are you doing alright?" she eyed the stripe of colour in Fluttershy's mane.

"Oh, yeah. I'm okay." Fluttershy walked up to Applejack's side and joined her in heading out of the barn. "So what did you have yesterday?"

"I..." Applejack bit her lower lip. "I'm not sure. I felt really cold, like when you get a bad fever. Cold to my bones. But I wasn't tired or dizzy or anything else. It's passed now though."

"Have you told Twilight about it?" Fluttershy asked, as the two left the barn and moved towards the house. "Do you think it had something to do with the step?"

Applejack shrugged. "Maybe. Like I said, though, it's gone now, and it wasn't that bad. I've lived just fine through worse. I don't think I need to bother Twilight with it, she's busy enough already."

Fluttershy frowned. "What if it gets worse? We don't know what it is, it could be something serious."

Applejack gave an affectionate sigh. "You're worrying a little too much, I don't think it's anything. I'll get a doctor to check on me though, if that'll make you feel better."

Fluttershy nodded and smiled.

Fling

He'd been there for about half an hour already. A different pony might have considered that a waste of time when he was supposed to be moving towards his destination. A different pony wouldn't have seen what he was seeing right there. It was what his trail had led him to, and though it also continued past it he knew that was merely a secondary option.

It had been a while since he'd run into a puzzle so complex, or into one that existed on its own without his input. Maybe the latter was just a result of a still imperfect understanding of his own talents, and maybe the former a consequence of having grown rusty, but either way he was rather enjoying the challenge he found himself in.

The trail split up into a square shape surrounding a clearing in the forest. Four tall trees were near the corners, but not quite on them. They were instead on the square's edges, two on the side near him and two on the opposite one. No trees were inside the square, but instead there were two large rocks jutting out of the ground. One, taller than him, was in front of the left tree, about as far from it as it was from the corner, pointed left. The other was smaller, and symmetrically placed relatively to the first stone and the centre of the square. It pointed straight upwards.

He hadn't allowed himself to enter the square. He was fairly certain that would ruin the whole thing, and he'd need to take the long way around. He could see wires go up inside the trees, but past the base they disappeared from his sight. He'd found four small piles of rocks, one on each side of the square, and he was sure they were part of the whole thing, but he still hadn't managed to get them to work.

Humming, he began to walk around the square again, to check if he'd missed something. Surely he had, there weren't enough elements yet for him to figure out what he was supposed to do and no good puzzle would ask that he make blind guesses with a chance to horribly fail. That kind of thing was apparently reserved for life, the architect of which he would have much to discuss with if they ever happened to meet. If there even was one, the lack thereof would have actually explained away or at least justified many of his gripes with existence.

He paused. There was a branch on the ground, of the same kind as the ones on the trees. There were no wires on or in it, but he clearly could see he couldn't see all the wires there were. And maybe his problem had been growing too reliant on his vision and too little on his reasoning. He approached the branch and began to move it towards the pile of rocks closest to it.

He set the branch down, and nudged its tip towards the rocks. There was a clicking sound. The stallion smiled.

Around

"What do you think it was?"

"I'm not sure it matters much what it was," the unicorn replied. "I think the real question is where it came from, and how. Because wherever that is, it seems to have gone back to it."

"I think the ponies in town would like to know what it was, too," said the pegasus. "More than they care about where it came and went, probably."

"Maybe you've got a point there. I guess we'll have to wait and hear what Princess Twilight has to say to them about it."

"Why doesn't she let us get closer?" the pegasus asked, turning his neck slightly to get a look at what was behind them.

The other guard stretched her neck from side to side. "It's probably easier for her to run her tests with no one else there. We might interfere with the readings."

"I guess that makes sense." The pegasus clicked his tongue and looked ahead again, straightening himself. "You've seen that place, right?"

"I have. Got a good look at it when we got here, from outside. Never seen anything like it." She tilted her head to better look at a hint of movement she'd spotted behind a tree, but it turned out to be just a bird.

"Do you have any idea what it might be?" the pegasus asked. "It almost looks like something had a crash landing there, but the town would have noticed if a meteor had fallen from the sky or similar."

"Probably the result of some spell, or other magical activity if we assume it's natural," the unicorn said. "Looks like it could be the end point of something like teleportation or similar. It would explain how that thing got here and then left."

"Do we even know it left?"

"Buddy, you've seen what that thing did around here, right?" asked the unicorn, glancing at the guard beside her. "If it was still here, we'd know."

The pegasus was silent for a bit, just doing his job. "So you're saying that thing could just teleport here, out of the blue?" he suddenly asked, interrupting his silence.

"I guess so, yeah."

Razorblade

"Twilight! There you are."

"Ah. Starlight." Twilight looked to the side, unsure of what to say. "Sorry. I was busy doing a thing."

"It's no problem," Starlight replied, fairly cheerfully. "I..." She hesitated a moment, frowning a bit, then her expression settled into something more relaxed. "I'm sorry for jumping at you like that yesterday. I was pretty on edge after the step."

Twilight swallowed. "No, it's okay." She looked back at Starlight. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have been hiding so much from you."

"You were just trying to do the right thing for me." Starlight stretched out a hoof to put it on Twilight's shoulder. "And you weren't all too wrong about it. If I'd known there was someone on the Behemoth I would have freaked out even more." She smiled. "I should have trusted you."

"And I should have trusted you too," Twilight replied. She smiled at Starlight as well, then after a moment pulled the mare into a hug. Letting go of her after a bit, she sighed. "I'm going to need all the help I can get if I want to fix this mess. Do you think you're ready to get back into it?"

Starlight didn't answer immediately. "I'm not sure. I'm still trying hard not to think about the whole incident, and I don't know what would happen if I was forced into a similar situation. But I can still help with something unrelated to scales and portals." She perked up. "There's got to be something more for me to work on, and I'd be happy to help out with it."

Twilight continued to smile. "I'm sure we'll find something."

Starlight nodded. "So... About the Charioteer? Are you sure we shouldn't do anything there?"

Twilight nodded. "I trust him not to make a mess. It's weird, but I don't think he's doing this out of malice. He's... Maybe I'm just letting him get to my head, but if he's anything like he says he is, he's not going to cause any trouble while he's not on the Behemoth."

Starlight nodded back. "I trust your judgment on this. What's the plan now, then?"

Twilight began to walk down the hallway. "We've begun checking for any possible new mutations after the step. We only have minimal data to work with for now, but based on what Rose was able to gather yesterday it seems like any possible new variations introduced by the step were minimal. We can't confirm that yet though, of course."

"It would make sense," said Starlight, following Twilight. "The Behemoth's presence is enough to alter the world by itself, maybe its movements aren't as influential as it simply being there."

"A possibility," Twilight agreed. "We've begun work on strengthening the existing communications network. Yesterday's events showed pretty clearly that the current one was lacking, and I apologise for not realising this sooner." She took a turn to the right. "I've given the preliminary orders for the construction of a new laboratory. I'd like you to oversee the process."

Blue Sky

"Me?" Starlight asked, stopping and drawing back a little.

Turning to look at her, Twilight nodded with a smile. "I'm going to be busy with supervising research here in Ponyville, and you're the pony I trust most for the job."

Starlight hesitated. "Are you sure? I'm not sure if I can... I mean, if you want to, I'll be happy to, it's just..."

"I'm sure you can do it, Starlight." Twilight put a hoof on the other mare's shoulder. "I'll come check on things every once in a while, but I'm sure you'll do a wonderful job by yourself."

Starlight deliberately breathed a little slower to calm herself. She wasn't usually one to freak out much at responsibility, but it was a big task and she was still recovering from the stress of everything prior, so it was getting to her a little. "Thank you, Twilight. I'll make sure to do my best."

"I'm sure it will be far more than enough," Twilight replied as she resumed her walk. "It'll be far from any major settlement. Causing accidents is not the intended purpose, but it's always better to be safe than sorry with this sort of thing. I hope having to stay there for a while won't be too much of a bother for you."

"It shouldn't be a problem, I've always taken well to moving," said Starlight, once again following Twilight. She looked around herself. "Leaving this place for a while might actually help me feel better about things."

"Hopefully that will be the case, then." Twilight stopped in front of the door to one of the rooms. "Do you want to review the data I gathered from the Behemoth with me, and work on some other stuff?"

Starlight looked at the door, then smiled at Twilight. "With pleasure. It's good to be back to work again."

V-Br

Things were pretty dark down there in the tunnel. Not too dark, but dark. Maybe not dark enough considering he was underground. Or maybe it was, and he was just seeing things differently. He was used to seeing things differently, that was true, and he was seeing things others wouldn't. The glowing trails in the ground and walls, for example. In them. Not on them. Others would say on them, and wouldn't see them in them.

There was probably a way to turn on the lights properly. He didn't really care to, but there probably was one. He didn't mind the darkness though. He would probably sleep at some point. It was getting late. At least, he assumed it was getting late, given how late it had been once he'd entered there and how long he'd been there already. Not too long, but for a while.

It was pleasant in there. Compared to what else he could have been dealing with, at least. Not too cold, not too humid. Not too hard to sleep on, though he did have something to sleep on. Very squared. Like it had been cut out by someone. It probably had. Or maybe something was the right word. Whatever the case, it wasn't natural. Not that he was bothered by the fact.

Onwards

He had actually slept, in the end. Not before eating dinner, but he had slept. He regretted not bringing a clock along. He'd remember to next time, probably. He'd also woken up, after sleeping, and again he'd regretted not having a clock. He assumed it was morning, given how he felt well rested and had woken up by himself, but he couldn't be sure of it. He was starting to miss sunlight a bit, and also starting to wonder if a prolonged lack of exposure to it could have negative impacts on his physical or mental well being, both short and long term. He would need to read a book about the matter, or maybe ask someone more knowledgeable. Like Twilight.

He was trying to meet Twilight, after all. Going to Ponyville for that exact reason. But maybe it was too soon. It kind of felt too soon in some way. He wasn't exactly sure, he guessed he'd be more sure once he actually met her. He did know he would meet her at one point. Maybe it was the right time, but he just didn't want it to be yet, because he didn't know what would come after. He didn't even know if there would be an after. If there would be something more, or if he'd have done everything he needed to do. If he would become without purpose or point again, a tool for a job already finished.

Whichever the case, he did nevertheless need to meet Twilight at some point. Which he was trying to do. He was even travelling again, soon after having gotten up from his sleep. He'd only spent the time necessary to put everything he had back into his saddlebags, and he was eating breakfast as he walked. Not that he minded walking, walking was nice, and he did want to leave the tunnel and see the light of day again soon. And meet Twilight.

He really did wonder what their meeting would be like. More than he was worried about what would or could come after.