The Unofficial Records of a Mare in Black

Chapters

10/24/1000
10/31/1000
11/1/1000
12/6/1000
12/13/1000
12/20/1000
1/3/1001
1/17/1001
1/20/1001
1/21/1001
1/21/1001 (part ii)
1/22/1001
1/22/1001 (part ii)
1/22/1001 (part iii)
1/22/1001 (part iv, I guess)
Cycle #583
1/24/1001
1/25/1001
1/29/1001
2/2/1001
2/21/1001
3/2/1001
10/21/1000
1/12/1001
1/24/1001 (part ii)

10/24/1000

So I thought about it and, while I am getting a bit more used to the general work, I don't think I'm ready to write about my first case just yet. It probably wasn't even as bad as I'm making it out to be, but for some reason what happened just... hit me really hard.

I don't even know why.

In any case, instead of writing about that, I'll write about some other things, like the fact that I actually got to personally meet Princess Celestia's prize student today. Yup, the one and only Sunset Shimmer herself. It was a very... eye-opening experience. If I were asked to describe the mare...

She's... not the kind of mare I thought she'd be.

Don't get me wrong, she's actually a fairly decent pony for the most part and we did actually hit it off eventually, but I think I saw a side of her I wasn't really supposed to see if that makes sense. We all have a nasty side to us, and Sunset is no exception. After listening to her and just generally observing her for a while though, I've come to the conclusion that much of her attitude might stem from the immense pressure of being the Princess' personal protégé, but that's just my guess.

Okay so maybe I should explain.

My senior partner and I had traveled to Rainbow Falls to investigate a report regarding strange distortions in the thaumic field in that area. By the time we got there the field had settled down and there wasn't really anything left behind for us to investigate so we headed back with nothing to show for the trip.

It happens a lot more often than you'd think and it's always a pain when it does. You hype yourself up for some big discovery and then when you get there, poof... nothing. Some of the more jaded agents see it as a relief, but as much as I complain about my job, I can't help but get excited at the thought of finding some otherworldly thingamajig. Well, I mean when we're able to find it before anypony else does that is. The best part of my job is finding out how these objects work in a controlled environment... but I'm getting off-topic here.

My point was that the trip was a bust and we had to slink back to the boss with nothing to show for our efforts. He's usually pretty cool about things like that, but because we had some unexpected free time he gave us, or rather my partner, another job to do. The only reason I was able to meet Sunset Shimmer at all was that I was left with nothing else to do for the moment. My partner decided that wasn't fair so she ended up dragging me along while she spoke to the Princess about approval for some expedition outside of Equestria's borders.

She brought me along but I still didn't have much to do there so I stood out like a sore hoof. Thankfully the Princess noticed how awkward I was just standing there while my partner did all the work and gave me a job. I didn't really know she could just do that without any input from the boss, but she is the Princess so even if there was some kind of protocol, following her orders was kind of a no brainer. Well, it was because she was the Princess, but I was also happy to do it because the job in question involved finding and retrieving Sunset Shimmer from wherever she'd snuck off to within the castle.

Apparently, the mare had a habit of running off to who-knows-where to do who-knows-what without informing anypony of where she's going. My job was to find her and bring her back to the Princess like she was some foal who'd run off when her mother wasn't looking. Was it an important job? Maybe not, but I didn't care. I was going to meet one of my idols next to the Princess and Star Swirl. It was going to be awesome and I'd get an autograph and all that other happy horse manure.

Cut to about forty-five minutes and many, many searched rooms later and I find Miss Shimmer holed up in the restricted section of the Royal Archives. One of the perks of my job is that I just have to flash my badge to the guard and, as long as it's for work, I get unrestricted access to the entirety of the Royal Archives, including the restricted section.

It's a really, really nice perk.

Getting back to Sunset Shimmer, the mare is sitting at a small desk near the back, book in hoof and looking for all the world like it was her Goddess given right to be there. By the time I found her I was more than a bit fed up with the search, but when I actually saw the mare that irritation went right out the window. I won't say I squealed like a filly because that didn't happen, although a polite cough was enough to catch her attention.

The first expression on her face was shock, then confusion, then annoyance. I didn't really know what to say, but before I got the chance to say anything she up and teleported right out of the room, book and all. It took me a second to process the turn of events, but her disappearing from my sight wasn't exactly a problem in and of itself. Now that I found her, I could use the remnants of her own unique thaumic signature to track her. I may still be a rookie, but I took my training seriously, and just so happened to be particularly good at tracking magical signatures.

I was also pretty adept at teleportation myself.

What followed was a sort of cat-and-mouse game that lasted for at least a good twenty minutes. She'd teleport all over the castle and I would use her thaumic signature to track and teleport right after her and the cycle would repeat itself endlessly. Neither of us spoke to one another during the whole thing, but the funny thing was that neither of us needed to. This might sound strange to anypony who isn't a unicorn or has much interest in thaumotology, but during our little game, I think Sunset and I ended up... connecting somehow, like through our magic rather than words.

I felt it in the way she would try to trip me up by suppressing or artificially changing her thaumic signature or adding other magical twists and turns to throw me off. Chasing her was like trying to solve an ever-changing puzzle that got more difficult each time I found the answer. By the end of the chase, a mutual sense of respect had grown between the two of us. That's not just me interpreting what I want either; Sunset had said as much after my partner (and brother of all ponies) stepped in and finally ended the game.

In the span of about half an hour or so, we'd gone from frustrating one another to Sunset mocking and frustrating me, to just playing a fun game of extremely advanced teleportation tag. It was incredibly foalish I admit, but it really was fun in the end and I think I might've made a friend out of Princess Celestia's protégé in the process. We talked for a bit after that and though she had her... less adorable qualities, I realized we had a lot in common.

The mare was every bit the thaumatological whiz kid the stories made her out to be and she knew it too. On top of her excessive confidence in her own magical capability, I also noticed she had a nasty habit of looking down on others. Still, neither her arrogance nor her conceit was so bad that we couldn't get along, and we did. Not a lot of agents bothered to make friends outside of the agency and those that had friends before then tended to cut ties with them—something about never knowing when you might die a horrible death and leave them behind.

I myself had never really been a social butterfly and hadn't gone out of my way to make any friends, but I realized today that sometimes friendship can just happen. Like, out of nowhere when you least expect it and with ponies you never expected to be friends with in the first place. Well, maybe it's a bit too early to call Sunset a friend, but the potential is definitely there, and you know what? Celestia willing, I think I might actually pursue that friendship.

Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, there was something I overheard the Princess talking to Sunset about as my partner and I were leaving that I found a bit strange. She had asked if Sunset had fun, and while that sounds like a benign enough question, something about the way she said it stuck out to me. I looked back to see Sunset rolling her eyes at the question as though she'd been asked that kind of thing a hundred times, but it was the Princess' look that caught my attention.

She had this weird smile on her face, the kind of smile that hid a thousand and one secrets. I'd learned to read faces during training and I'll be damned to Tartarus if Princess Celestia wasn't wearing one then. What was even stranger was that she'd noticed I was watching and gave me the same smile. Now it might just be my imagination going wild, but I'm starting to wonder if she'd planned the whole thing to play out the way it did...

No, that's stupid.

Not only does Princess Celestia have better things to do with her time, but what would even be the point? Maybe some kind of practical joke? A prank played on the castle staff? Nope, I just can't see that being the case, but at the same time, I know I didn't imagine the look she gave me. I don't know, maybe I'm just looking too deep into it. I'm tired and I tend to overanalyze everything when I'm tired.

I guess that's my cue to end things here for the night.

10/31/1000

Tomorrow night marks the start of a major joint operation between the POUT and SMILE agencies as well as a covert team from the Guard.

By the Princess' own decree we're supposed to cooperate to take down a Nightmare Cult whose leader managed to get ahold of something he calls the Left Eye of the Nightmare. I've been selected to join in the operation and as such, was given the full rundown of what we know about Nightmare's Left Eye so far. Apparently it's a jewel that resembles an icy blue iris, complete with a slit pupil in the center, much like how Nightmare Moon's eyes were said to look. We questioned a couple of the cultists we'd captured after their last attempted gathering—an incident the media has dubbed the 'Everfree Blunder'.

They had quite a few things to say about their Glorious Mistress' return but didn't get much on the Left Eye other than that they've had it in their possession for some time and that they were finally ready to use it. Well, we also learned that it was supposed to make way for Nightmare Moon's return by tearing open an honest to Goddess gate to Tartarus so I guess we did get a decent amount of info. We asked if there was a Right Eye, but none of the cultists said one way or the other. Incidentally, I had to interrogate one of those cultists, a madmare that wasn't interested in making things easy for a rookie. The psycho just laughed at all my questions. As it was my first time interrogating anypony, my anxiety was through the roof—mostly due to the possibility that I'd have to pick her brainif you catch my meaning.

To my own credit, I was able to hide it pretty well, but my stomach was twisting up in knots throughout the entire session.

In the end, I did have to apply some mental pressure to the mare but thankfully my partner and another agent were there to oversee the questioning and they stepped in before I was forced to do too much damage. It was clear we weren't getting anything else out of the cultist and my partner realized that early on. I still wound up throwing up my entire lunch and dinner later that night.

Yeah, I'm not cut out for that kind of thing as it happens.

Seriously, if there are any more Nightmare Cultists to be interrogated, count me out—or so I'd like to say, but if they make me do that again I can't really refuse. It sucks, but it's my job, what I signed up to do. My partner and some of the other agents I work with swear up and down that it'll get easier and I don't doubt that, but right now I still feel a bit overwhelmed by a lot of what I have to do. Okay, so I still feel really overwhelmed by a lot of what I have to do.

I mean, Nightmare Cultists? Artifacts that could potentially tear open a gate to Tartarus??? That's the last thing I expected to have to deal with, but there it is. Just goes to show how insane and naive I was to take up this kind of work so readily.

Oddly enough though, after thinking about it for a good long while, I've decided that I don't regret taking up the boss' offer after all. I can't explain why just yet, but when I really dig deep down inside, those were my true feelings on the matter.

Anyway, the Nightmare Cultists.

I'd actually heard about the Nightmare Cults back before I joined POUT. I overheard a few students who were into the occult talking about them back in school. Since it was just in passing, I didn't really know much, but apparently there are these nutjobs who go around calling themselves the 'Children of the Night' and have been trying—and failing—for hundreds of years to resurrect their 'Dark Goddess', Nightmare Moon. In reality, they're just psychos in dark cloaks who use illusion magic to make themselves look like the 'Children of the Night' of old. In reality, nopony's seen the real deal in something like 200 years.

So here's a little history lesson for the uninitiated.

And yes, I know I'm writing this with absolutely no intent to show it to anypony, but it helps if I write as though I am. It's like the journal is a therapist and I'm the patient talking about my problems or something like that.

Don't judge me.

Anyway, Nightmare Moon is supposedly one of Equestria's greatest villains of all time. She was the very antithesis of our current Princess—the literal shadowy night to her brilliantly shining day. She was an alicorn who, in ages past, attempted to overthrow Princess Celestia and plunge the world into eternal night, or so the stories go.

This year actually marks the one-thousandth year since she was slain by the Princess. It's said that the battle between Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon was such an earth-shatteringly historical event that we started our calendar over and started using 'Anno Tenebrae' and 'Anno Solis' to label the years before and after Nightmare Moon.

There's a bit more to it than that though. We refer to the time before Nightmare Moon's death as the Dark Era, not just because of Nightmare Moon herself, but because Equestria was... well, let's just say that in general, our now relatively peaceful country wasn't always quite so peaceful back then. After Nightmare Moon's fall though, things got a lot quieter for Equestria, thanks in large part to the Princess' efforts. It was in thanks for all Celestia had done for Equestria back then that we refer to the current era as the Age of the Sun.

And I just realized this history lesson has gone on a bit longer than I meant it to but I'm on a roll so I'm gonna keep going.

There were some ponies who wound up falling under Nightmare Moon's sway. They became her loyal pawns during the war preceding the final battle between the evil alicorn and the Solar Princess. The way the history books tell it, Nightmare Moon used her twisted dark magic to transform her follower's into actual 'Children of the Night', or 'thestrals' to use a more modern term.

When Nightmare Moon fell, her followers scattered, but it wasn't long before they came crawling back out into the open vowing vengeance against the Solar Tyrant. Well, that and to bring their beloved Nightmare back to life. That is how the Nightmare Cults were born, and for the last several hundred years, it's been their mission to bring down Celestia and resurrect Nightmare Moon. The Princess and her Solar Knights of the past and Royal Guard of the present have always managed to take them down (with a bit of help from us from time to time), but like clockwork, a new Nightmare Cult pops back up again eventually and the process starts all over again.

They're like weeds and for some reason, the Princess has never been able to find and tear out the roots. That's a big part of why she created agencies like POUT and SMILE according to some rumors circulating within a few of the agencies. We're the bloodhounds that are meant to sniff out the source of these neverending Nightmare Cults.

Here's another interesting tidbit.

Shortly after Nightmare Moon's death, Star Swirl the Bearded transcribed a prophecy foretelling her resurrection and her intent to drag herself back from the deepest pits of Tartarus to seek her revenge on Celestia and the rest of Equestria. According to the prophecy, Nightmare Moon is supposed to return right as the Summer Solstice hits on the thousandth year following her death at the hooves of Celestia—a prophecy that was obviously a load of horseapples because the Summer Solstice has long since come and gone this year.

And then there's the Everfree Blunder.

A bunch of Nightmare Cultists attempted to gather at the Old Castle deep in the Everfree Forest to await Nightmare Moon's return because that's where it was supposed to happen. I say 'attempted' because the idiots just waltzed right into the Everfree at night without considering how dangerous the place is. Well, it would be more accurate to say they underestimated the forest. Based on the reports, several members were mauled and/or eaten by the timberwolves and manticores whose nests they disturbed in their mindless fervor. The rest of them barely managed to make it out alive only to be met by the contingent of Royal Guards waiting just outside the forest.

The story hit the papers and went public a couple of days later and the Nightmare Cults essentially became a laughingstock overnight. I didn't really pay attention to the news back then so I wasn't aware, but now that I've looked into it I have to say, they deserved every bit of misfortune they got. Not because they were cultists, but because they were dumb enough to think they could trek through a deadly forest like it was their own backyard.

Now that I'm jotting all this down though, I have to admit that there are a couple of things that are bugging me.

So in this operation I was recruited to be an observer—somepony who's not part of the actual operation itself, but is sent with the operatives to observe, document, and report the results of the operation should the worst come to pass and nopony else makes it out. Since the whole point of me being there is to make sure somepony 'lives to tell the tale' as it were, I won't be in the thick of it, thank Celestia. That's said, it's still a rather depressing job to have been saddled with.

I was present for the initial briefing of the mission, and it was during that briefing that the boss revealed that the Nightmare Cult—which had rebuilt itself again after the Everfree Blunder—was attempting to gather and enact their resurrection ritual in the Old Castle.

Again.

I'd like to say they don't learn, but the boss informed us that they came prepared this time. We know that, we know when they're going to gather, and we know that they're looking for something in the Old Castle. Unfortunately, that's all we know for the moment. Some of us suspect they're trying to find the Right Eye. Some suspect that they already have it and that there's some kind of apparatus hidden beneath the Old Castle that will activate once they use both jewels. Others suspect there is no Right Eye and that the Left Eye is a red herring meant to distract us from their real objective.

One thing we all agree on is that we don't have enough information and that's part of a slightly larger list of things that are bugging me. For one thing, I'm worried about the disturbances in the thaumic field. I mentioned something about a weird shift in the thaumic field around Rainbow Falls in my last entry, but that wasn't the first or the last time the thaumic field had acted strangely, nor was it isolated to just Rainbow Falls. Believe it or not, it was Sunset Shimmer that first noticed the odd thaumic phenomenon near Ponyville.

Evidently, she'd gone out to the podunk village at the behest of the Princess to scout the place as a potential candidate for the annual Summer Solstice Festival. While she was there she felt some odd changes in the thaumic field in certain areas, particularly near the Everfree Forest. When she returned to the Castle and told the Princess, the Princess somehow found the time to do some investigating of her own. She was the one who discovered that, while the thaumic disturbances were the strongest near the forest, they were happening all over Equestria, and there was no real rhyme or reason to it either.

The disturbances in the field would more often than not settle just as quickly as they started. As far as we know, the thaumic shifts haven't had any adverse effects on anything. Still, the Princess warned all citizens to avoid these thaumic shifts at any and all costs as we didn't—and still don't—know much about them. Unofficially though, she had a few agencies, including POUT and a few of the brainier members of RIDES (the Royal Interdimensional Expedition Squads), look into the matter privately and report any additional abnormalities to her.

She does a good job of hiding her worry, but I've had a few more chances to talk with Sunset and I got her to open up a bit about Princess Celestia. From what she tells me, the Princess has been on edge ever since she was told about the thaumic anomalies—anomalies, mind you, that are still being reported even now. Then she revealed that the Princess had just up and vanished the night before the Solstice. The Festival had been rescheduled due to the Everfree Blunder, but the Princess still appeared after all was said and done to raise the sun.

If what Sunset says is true though, Princess Celestia had been gone for most of the night during the situation in the Everfree Forest and hadn't told her student where she'd been before she showed up at the Festival. When she asked about it, the Princess told her she'd just been out for an evening stroll. It goes without saying that neither of us believes that for a moment. But it's not like there's anything I can do. I can't confront the Princess about it, and I don't know if telling the boss or even my partner is a good idea so I feel kind of stuck in the middle.

The thaumic anomalies.

The Nightmare Cult's activities and the use and origin of the Left Eye.

Princess Celestia's sudden disappearance before the Solstice.

I don't what's going on or what it all means, but I'm starting to get the feeling everything is connected somehow and that this operation isn't going to go so smoothly. We're effectively going in blind, but it's by Princess Celestia's orders so what can we do? If anypony were to ask me, I'd say the Princess is hiding something and I'm sure Sunset would agree. The last I heard from her, she said she was going to try and find out what her teacher knows.

I wish her luck because right now, there's a lot of things that aren't adding up. The operation is set to take place tomorrow night just before midnight and I don't really want to admit this but I'm scared out of my mind about what'll end up happening once that operation begins.

Well, the only thing I can do for now is hope for the best and expect the worst.

11/1/1000

Okay, I know this is a huge invasion of privacy, but I can't even begin to tell you how much that doesn't matter right now. If you want to know how I found your diary and how I know your real name is Twilight Sparkle, I did some snooping around in places I wasn't supposed to be and found out some stuff. It wasn't all that hard really, seeing as there wasn't anypony around to stop me.

If that's not a good enough explanation then oh well. Deal with it. I've got more important things to tell you than how I found your name and the hidey-hole for your private diary. Anyway, I don't know where you vanished off to, but I'm writing this so that you have an idea of what the buck is going on here in Equestria. I figure if you come back and find this, you can tell me more about what's happening on your end because I can't get anything out of Celestia.

By the way, I decided to just use the blank page after your last entry so hopefully, you won't miss this.

Here's what I do know:

After you and a bunch of other suits and some Royal Guards left for the Old Castle in the Everfree we wound up losing contact with you all. Celestia sent another team to investigate the castle, but they came back saying there was no sign of any of you. No agents, no Guards, no Nightmare Cultists, no sign of a struggle... nothing. Well, they did find some kind of creepy gem or jewel or something. The thing looked like a dragon's eye, but it was cracked down the middle. It's been like three weeks and that's the only clue we have about what might've happened to you, and really it's no kind of clue at all.

Mind you, I actually didn't find out about all of this until a couple of days ago, and I had to dig deep, believe me.

Now to get to the real meat of the problem.

About a week ago, those thaumic anomalies started getting more severe and yesterday all Tartarus broke loose. Literally. It turns out those thaumic anomalies were the result of dimensional rifts trying and failing to stabilize themselves over and over again all over Equestria. I asked one of the guys from RIDES about it and got him to spill some info. Evidently, they hadn't been able to gain any headway in researching the rifts because they never stuck around long enough to get any decent readings, and it was only recently that they got anywhere.

Apparently, something had been trying to force its way into Equestria from somewhere else, but the suits from RIDES had no idea why or how. Well, yesterday something must've given because whatever was trying to break through the thaumic field finally succeeded. A big tear opened up in the sky right above Canterlot for everypony to see and you'll never guess who came flying out of out it.

Yeah, it was Nightmare Moon.

I've only seen artistic renditions of her, but those didn't even come close to doing her justice. She was just as terrifying as the history books made her out to be. The first thing she did was pull the sun right out of the sky, probably trying to bring about her 'eternal night'. Before she got a chance to do much else though, Celestia showed up and they started fighting and...

It wasn't good, Twilight.

I watched it all happen from one of the castle's balconies. A lot of ponies got hurt and I'm pretty sure a few of them died due to the collateral damage the city took in the attack. Thankfully the fight didn't last long. Celestia managed to pin Nightmare Moon down somehow and then she pulled these magical gems from out of nowhere. They weren't like the creepy jewel they found in the Old Castle. These were, I don't even know, but they started spinning around the Princess, and then she fired this giant rainbow beam at Nightmare Moon.

I don't really know how to describe what happened next other than that the blast knocked her into the moon. And I mean into the moon. If you look up at the moon now, you can see this pockmarked image of Nightmare Moon's face. I asked Celestia about it later and she told me she sealed Nightmare Moon away and that she wouldn't be able to escape for another one thousand years. So yeah, that happened.

To summarize what happened:

You all disappeared during that major operation and are still missing, Nightmare Moon waltzed out of a dimensional rift in the sky looking very much alive and well, Celestia fought her off and used a bunch of magical stones to sealed her in the moon for a thousand years. The Princess swears up and down that she'll be ready when Nightmare Moon inevitably escapes, and yeah, I guess I can see that if she has a thousand years to prepare.

That's about all I know and that's more or less the entire situation as it stands at the moment, but there's one last thing I need to tell you.

What I haven't told anypony else is that during their battle, I could've sworn I heard Nightmare Moon call Celestia 'sister'. I didn't even bother asking the Princess about it because I know she wouldn't tell me. I can't stop thinking about it though, and it's driving me crazy. Canterlot is a mess right now and I don't even know what to think anymore, but I do know that I need to talk to somepony about it—somepony that isn't Celestia.

Seriously, wherever you are, I hope you show up soon because this diary is a poor substitute for a friend.

12/6/1000

Where do I even begin?

Well, to start off with, I guess I'll begin with the fact that I don't remember anything about what happened to me. Absolutely nothing. None of the ponies who disappeared do. The last thing any of us recall is infiltrating the Old Castle. We searched the castle for a bit until we reached an old library where we discovered a switch of some sort hidden behind an ancient bookshelf.

I know. Classic, right?

Anyway, the switch opened a secret door that led further down into the Old Castle. I'm pretty sure the spiral staircase we took led us down good half-mile below the castle, or that's what it felt like anyway. Eventually, the rest of the team and I heard a bunch of voices chanting some creepy incantation in a language I didn't recognize, and I picked up quite a few languages from both some extracurricular studies during my school years and my training in POUT, including Old Ponish.

This wasn't Old Ponish, but it had some similarities in tone and structure which leads me to believe what we were hearing might've been a lost dialect from a long, long time ago. Getting back to what happened, we finally reached the bottom of the staircase which led to a frankly ominous-looking corridor, at the end of which was a massive set of these ornate wooden double doors. We could all hear the chanting from behind the doors so we figured we'd found our cultists and had caught them right in the middle of their ritual.

Now at this point, I was told to stay back along with a few of the other members of my team. They were meant to stop any cultists from trying to escape while the rest of the group stormed the room to take down the ponies inside. I, of course, had my own job to do. I didn't need to actually be in the room they were in to observe the events because I was taught what was essentially a spell of clairvoyance. Okay, it's not technically clairvoyance, but to make a long and complicated explanation short, it might as well be. Point is, I could use it to see what was happening to the assault team while staying out of harm's way.

Well, that was the plan anyway. It didn't quite work out that way in the end as you'll find out in a moment.

Before I continue, I should probably explain that the original plan had been for me to observe what was going on from outside the castle, but that was before we realized how far down our objective was. The clairvoyance spell only works within a certain range so I had to be a lot closer than I wanted to. To be fair, I was given permission to flee if things escalated, but things ended up escalating a bit too quickly I guess. What happened next is that last thing I remember.

I cast my clairvoyance spell, the assault team stormed the room and a battle broke out. Spells, hooves, and blades started flying. Lots of terrified screams and angry expletives. Things got intense and it feels kind of strange and I feel a bit guilty and embarrassed for admitting this, but I was kind of there for it all. Not in the sense that I was literally there, but more in a sense that I found it kind of exciting. A bunch of ponies got hurt pretty bad, but since I wasn't actually in the thick of it, it felt more like I was watching a play or one of those picture shows.

And then one of the cultists—the leader, I think judging by the fact that the stallion's dark robes were a lot fancier than the others—tried to make a run for it with the Left Eye in tow. I remember seeing a few of the cultists trying to clear a path for him to escape, but then one of ours, my partner, in fact, caught on. My partner is a unicorn, but the mare is built like a brick wall and hits five times as hard, so taking out the small fry wasn't difficult.

Now that I'm thinking about it, her personality is completely different, but in a way, she actually reminds me a lot of Shining.

After she'd mopped the floor with them, she went after the leader and fired a bolt of lightning at the guy. I guess she missed the mark because the arc went off course and my partner somehow managed to hit the Left Eye instead. The next thing I know, everything goes white, I suddenly feel like my head is about to literally explode... and that's it.

That's all I've got.

The rest is a big blank.

The last thing I remember after all of that is waking up in the castle's infirmary—Canterlot Castle, I mean. The rest of my team, the guys from SMILE, and the ponies we borrowed from the Guard were all much in the same condition when they woke up. We were all suffering from the worst migraines we've ever had and none of us recalled a thing. We were told we'd been missing for an entire month and when they finally found us, we were all lying blacked out and near freezing to death just outside of the Old Castle with the cultists nowhere to be found.

Winter is practically here so it wasn't exactly a good time to be passed out in that kind of weather.

That was back on the 1st and we've all gradually been waking up since then. I was actually the last one to come to and that was only yesterday so I haven't really got a chance to wrap my head around things. And that brings me to what happened while we were gone.

I got your message, Sunset, and all I can really say is that I don't know what to think either.

The first thing I did when I heard Canterlot was attacked by Nightmare Moon was check on my parents. Thankfully they're okay. Shaken like most of the ponies in the city, but okay. What happened to us all was kept under wraps at the command of the Princess, so my mom and dad didn't really know what happened to me. The relatives of all the operatives who took part in the raid were subjected to the reflection deflection spell and fed different stories to keep panic at a minimum.

I get why they did it, and honestly, I'm kind of grateful for it. That said, it still hurts a bit not being able to tell them about what actually happened to me—not that I'd be able to tell them much anyway. Well, it was probably a lot worse for my brother. He knew about the operation, but he had to sit on the fact that I'd gone missing and that couldn't have been easy for him. I actually got the chance to talk to him after I woke up and we sorted things out so we're both feeling a bit better about the whole thing.

But wow, Sunset, you weren't kidding when you said Canterlot was a mess. The Princess is doing a great job getting everypony's fear and anxiety under control and repairs to the city are going pretty smoothly from what I can tell, but still...

Nightmare Moon.

The Nightmare Moon.

I can't even imagine how terrifying that must've been to see, and yet, I kind of wish I was there to see it. Is that strange? I can't really explain it, but I feel like I missed out on something I was supposed to be here for. In fact, I've felt a bit off ever since I woke up—like something's missing or something's wrong somehow but I don't know what. When I first saw the moon in the sky—when I saw that image of Nightmare Moon's face, that feeling only got stronger.

I don't know what to make of what you heard during the battle between Celestia and Nightmare Moon, and I don't know anything about these 'magical sealing stones', but maybe there's some information about them in the Archives? Either way, there's still a lot of questions that need to be answered, but that can wait for now. I know we haven't been able to talk since I woke up, but I'll try to get in touch with you tomorrow and we can talk about it all. I know I've been out for like five days, but it seems like all my body wants to do right now is go back to sleep, and since I'm still recovering somewhat, I'm gonna listen to it.

And you're right. As much as it helps me clear my mind, this thing really is a poor substitute for a friend. Oh, and don't worry about finding my journal and snooping around for my actual name. To be honest, I was probably gonna tell you about both of them at some point in the future anyway. But I suppose I can just tell you all this when I see you.

I just hope you don't go blabbing about my little secret to anypony else...

12/13/1000

There's been a dearth of fieldwork lately, so I've had a bit of downtime the last couple of days. The boss is having us do deskwork mostly, but that's not really a problem for me. I may be greener than freshly cut grass where most of my job is concerned, but if there's one thing I can do just as efficiently—if not more efficiently than my seniors, it's deskwork. I sorted and wrote all of my reports in about three days and was given some time off a few days ago.

Normally I'd be down in the labs helping the other researchers see what makes some of these 'treasures' tick. I hinted at this before, but the other part of my job has honestly become my favorite part of the job. With my credentials, I was able to land a part-time position as one of POUT's OOPArts (Out-of-Place Artifacts) researchers, so I get to mess around with some of the insane things we find in a controlled environment. I realize it can be just as dangerous as being out there in the field, but we eggheads are considered a valuable asset to the agency, and as such we're guaranteed a certain degree of safety—at least in the labs.

For us eggheads who are greenhorns, it's a bit of a different story. Our job description states that all agents are required to gain at least a minimum of two years worth of field experience. This is regardless of whether or not we want to be researchers or field agents or what have you. My ultimate goal is to become a researcher full time, but I need to survive my current position as a jack-of-all-trades rookie first. I have my issues with the way this job structure works and I've brought it up with the boss before, but all I got in response was a shrug of the shoulders or a shake of the head and some horseapples about how 'he doesn't make the rules he just lays them out'.

It sucks, but what can you do?

Maybe if I moved high enough up in the ranks I could actually do something about it, but until then I'll just have to make sure I don't die long enough to earn my full-time researcher job. Getting back to the point I was trying to make though, a lot of the paperwork I was doing was mostly research reports detailing what we'd found out about the Left Eye and what we found... was nothing. Zero. Zilch. We couldn't even get it to activate again, most likely thanks to the damage it had sustained from Tempest's lightning strike.

Oh, yeah. I haven't mentioned my partner's name up until now, have I?

Her name is Tempest Shadow.

No, that's not her real name, but I get the feeling that's probably what she would've gone with even if our job didn't require us to use an alias outside of the agency. Yeah, it sounds like something an edgy teen would've come up with, but none of us have the proverbial stones to question or make fun of the name. Besides that, her actual name is even more ridiculous so we're all just fine with calling her Tempest Shadow, and honestly, it isn't the most 'out there' name I've heard. My alias, by the way, is Dusk Shine. I don't know, I thought it was appropriate, and feels right somehow.

Getting sidetracked again.

Long story short, I finished all my paperwork in record time and was given some time off, which I've been enjoying for the last few days. Tomorrow is my last day before I have to put my nose back on that grindstone. I spent some more time with Sunset and also got an opportunity to meet up with Prism Streak, another pony I met who works for the SMILE agency. Given her boisterous and self-aggrandizing personality, we wouldn't normally click but like Sunset and me, we had something in common we could bond over.

Evidently, we were both victims of the CSGU incident.

Remember how I mentioned POUT talking about some pegasus they had to find? Yeah, that pegasus ended up working for SMILE somehow. She hasn't told me how she wound up with the job, but from what she tells me, it was by pure chance. Sort of. She was originally offered a position in POUT, but she found out about SMILE and decided that was more up her alley. They gave her a chance and she managed to prove she wasn't just all talk. Prism Streak is her alias, but most ponies in her line of work have taken to calling her the 'Runaway Rainboom'.

Apparently she was racing across the sky and broke the sound barrier when the OOPArt we uncovered (which has been dubbed the 'Wizard's Tuning Fork' by the research team and what I called the 'black box' in my first entry) was activated. The unique thaumic energy she unleashed gave what should've been a normal sonic boom some very interesting properties. I was too busy causing a thaumic explosion to see the effects, but I'm told it was a beautiful sight. The 'Runaway' part comes from the apparent fact that her crash and the resulting collateral damage caused by said crash was just as spectacular as the 'Rainboom' itself.

For reasons I can't fathom, she wears the nickname with pride.

I didn't and still don't understand how somepony like her could work in such a secretive environment given how boastful she is of her own abilities, but she makes it work somehow. I have a couple of other acquaintances in both POUT and SMILE and one in RIDES, but that's really all they are and I don't get a chance to talk with them all that much. If the rumors I've been hearing around the office are true, then I might end up having even less time to see anypony I know.

Rumors have it that the higher-ups are going to be assigning agents to start working undercover for an extended period of time. Various suits will be posing as ordinary civilians in different towns and cities across Equestria while on the lookout for anything that shouldn't be here—be they monsters or OOPArts. It's supposed to be mostly SMILE agents, but there might be a few members of POUT from my division participating as well. I don't know if I'll be chosen, given my lack of tenure, but it's a possibility I'm not really sure how I feel about.

Some of the senior agents are allowed to live offsite so long as it's within the city, but most ponies who work for POUT or SMILE or any of the other agencies are given barracks to live in within the facility we have below the castle. It's kind of like the Royal Guards, but from what I'm told our barracks are much nicer. Having lived in our barracks and having been given a tour of the Royal Guard's barracks through my connection with my brother, I can honestly say this is one hundred percent accurate. My room is essentially a home away from home. All rookie agents are required to live here and for those with experience it's optional, but most of the vets choose to live in the barracks anyway.

You know, because of how nice they are.

Having said that though, it's not like I have any real attachment to my room. I don't think I would mind working undercover, but I guess it would depend on where they decide to have me stationed. I'm not going to worry too much about it right now given that they're still just rumors—rumors that are likely true, but rumors nonetheless. Instead, I'll talk about something I've been meaning to discuss and have been holding off for way too long. The last talk I had with Sunset was an enlightening one, and I won't go into detail for Sunset's sake, but as far as I was concerned, I was able to open up a bit more.

She actually got me to talk about my first assignment and having talked about it with her and having gotten it off my chest, I think I can write about here. Really, everything I've written up until this point was me trying a bit longer to put it off, but the more I think about it, the more I feel it would be best to just get it over with. Again, in hindsight, it probably wasn't even that big a deal, and Sunset managed to put things in perspective for me about the whole thing, making me see my issues in a new light. Besides, it's not a very long story anyway.

The short version is that I had an encounter with myself from another timeline and things didn't exactly end well between the two of us.

The longish version is that I was sent out on my first assignment with Tempest Shadow basically right out of training. According to my boss, I showed a lot of promise as a POUT agent and he wanted to test out my investigative capabilities ASAP. I wasn't so confident, but I didn't have the heart to tell him that when he was so optimistic about my future. Our job was to investigate reports of a table that had appeared out of seemingly nowhere in the middle of an empty field out near Ponyville.

Yes, a table.

I had to raise an eyebrow at that one, but evidently the table in question was giving off some strange thaumic readings. Things started out normally enough; Tempest and I reached the field where the table was supposed to be without any incidents. At first glance, it looked like a simple—albeit rather large—circular white table. It looked like it might've been a fancy dining table, though given the size of it, it might've been something used for meetings or conferences. During our investigation, we discovered the table was made out of some kind of pure white crystalline material that didn't appear to match anything Tempest or I knew of.

A thaumic scan revealed that there was a lot more going on than what we could see. Not only was the crystalline table practically oozing unknown magic, but there were clear signs of recent temporal displacement. In short, it was an OOPArt if I ever saw one, and it needed to be secured immediately. Anything that showed any evidence of temporal displacement technically fell under the jurisdiction of both the RIDES and POUT agencies and to that end, we had to contact a member of RIDES to assist us in the containment process.

They were there to essentially make sure the ponies handling the object in question and the object itself didn't cause any crazy time paradoxes that would tear the fabric of reality apart or some such horrifying nonsense. This might sound ridiculous coming from somepony in a similar profession, but I really don't envy their job in the slightest.

In any case, we contact RIDES and we've been waiting for a good ten minutes when we hear somepony shouting something from above. Tempest and I look up to see what we initially think is a pegasus mare in the distance. As she gets closer it quickly becomes apparent that yes, it's a mare, but definitely not a pegasus—or maybe it would be more accurate to say she was more than just a pegasus. However you slice it, the mare turned out to be an honest-to-Goddess alicorn.

Funnily enough for me, that mindbending fact took a backseat when I realized that alicorn matched my appearance right down to the streaks in her mane and the tone of her voice. There were some obvious differences, of course; the biggest one was that I didn't have wings and another was that the other me looked as though she'd gone through Tartarus and back. Her mane and tail were an absolute mess. The look in her eyes (my eyes I kept thinking at the time) said she'd seen things nopony should ever have to see. It was a horrifying sight, made all the more so when she finally landed and turned her wild gaze on me.

We stared into each other's eyes, and let me tell you, if looks could kill, I would've died right on the spot.

It was like she had some kind of personal vendetta against me, and I was so shocked that I couldn't do anything but stare. I remember she started screaming something about the table but I was too scared for my life to remember exactly what it was she said. All I could think about was that haunted and borderline murderous look in her eyes. Tempest tried to talk her down, but all that did was turn her more insane and before I knew what was happening deadly rays of magic were flying all over the place.

I managed to shield myself from any real harm (my skill in shield spells owed very much to my brother) but in my sorry shaken state that's about all I could do. Tempest did all the actual fighting and as tough as she is, the other me was an alicorn. My partner put up a good fight—a really good fight—but it still almost ended up being her last. Since I'm laying all this out now, I might as well mention that even as horrified as I was by the whole thing, somewhere deep down within the most primal part of myself I still found the whole thing exhilarating.

It was kind of the same thing as what happened with the assault on the cultist's ritual and it's only now that I can admit I felt something similar back then. I actually never told Sunset about that part because I'm still trying to figure it out myself. It doesn't make any sense given that ponies are primarily prey animals and our first instinct should be to flee at the first sign of danger. Yes, through evolution we've learned to conquer that instinct for the most part, but it's still there and it can still manifest under the right conditions, but this?

This feels like something different.

I don't know, like a lot of things lately I'm probably just looking too deeply into it.

Whatever that's about, I can deal with it some other time. The fight between my other—drastically more insane—self, and Tempest ended with my partner's loss. The only reason she wasn't vaporized by a giant magical laser was that the team we'd called from RIDES showed up and detained the other me before she got the chance. They were able to trap the madmare in a stasis field long enough to slap the strongest anti-magic horn ring they had in their arsenal on her.

I learned that day that RIDES really doesn't mess around when it comes to temporal anomalies. They came prepared and dragged the other Twilight kicking and screaming and spitting back with them to wherever they go to put displaced creatures. They eventually knocked the mare out, but not before I heard her give this loud, wordless, heartbreaking wail. I tried to ignore it but to this day I can still hear it perfectly in my mind. It was like she'd watched somepony close to her die a horrible death.

After she was taken care of, I contacted another team from POUT to collect the table because Tempest Shadow wasn't really in a state to do much. She wound up hospitalized for a few days and my other self was taken into RIDES custody where she might as well have dropped off the face of Equus for all the information I was given about her. I tried asking a couple of times, but I got nothing. My guess (my hope) is that they sent her back where she came from. I wasn't part of the research team at the time so I didn't know what became of the table or what it did and my superiors won't tell me either.

I found that odd given that most records were released to us after a certain period of time. Then I heard later that the Princess had issued an internal gag order on the case concerning my alternate self and the table. The case was shelved, the table and alicorn secreted away to nopony-knows-where, and nopony under any circumstance was to discuss what happened with anypony for any reason. That was the biggest ~~reason~~ excuse I hesitated to write about the incident up until now. Now that I've written it out though, I'm not sure how I feel. I don't exactly feel like a weight's been lifted off my withers, but I also don't feel worse off for having laid it all out either.

One thing I do know is that now that it's on paper, I need to take several additional measures to make sure nopony else finds this journal. If my job wasn't at stake before, it definitely will be now and my memory probably won't be safe either. I told Sunset about it, but I'm no longer worried about her talking about the incident or my journal for that matter. When I told her what might happen if word got out that I was telling her all of this, she offered to cast a geas of absolute secrecy on herself so that she couldn't tell a soul.

One thing I want to make abundantly clear is that I did not ask her to do this. In fact, I advised against it because if you even attempt to break free of a geas—whether it be cast on yourself or whether somepony else casts it on you—the effects are very... unpleasant to say the least. There's a reason geas spells aren't used to guarantee secrecy in POUT or any of the other agencies and why we use the reflection deflection spell instead.

I was sure Celestia hadn't taught her that spell, but then again I'm not sure where else she could've learned it. The restricted section of the Archives maybe? It was Old Magic, one of many spells thought to have fallen out of use literal ages ago. I told her I wasn't worth such a magically binding oath, but she did it anyway like it wasn't even a big deal. This mare, this crazy mare who I haven't even known a full month, was willing to go so far as to cast a geas on herself to keep my secrets.

If that isn't true friendship, then I don't know what is. Either that or Sunset is just as insane as the other me was.

As for the incident itself...

I keep saying it probably isn't that big a deal, but having to think back to it—both when I was talking to Sunset and writing it all down here—I can't in good conscience continue to say that. It was a very disturbing experience for me and I'll never be able to forget it. Even if I'm subject to the reflection deflection spell, I'm convinced the memory will always be there, lurking deep inside my subconscious mind. It was traumatizing and I'm ready to freely admit that, but whether or not I'm ready to accept what happened and move on is another matter entirely.

They say time heals all wounds, but nopony ever talks about the nasty scars those wounds can leave behind. Having written all this, I'm going to go to bed and try not to think about it anymore. Tomorrow's my last day off before I have to start working again and I'd rather not spend it brooding over what can't be helped.

12/20/1000

Something interesting was brought into the lab today.

Okay, well a lot of interesting things get brought into the lab to be fair, but this OOPArt, in particular, piqued my interest more than anything I've seen since I started working with the other researchers. Not only that, but the story behind the treasure we retrieved is just as, if not more interesting. Well, not interesting so much as absolutely horrifying. I'm not too sure where to begin, so I'll start with the events surrounding the retrieval of the OOPArt.

I'm pretty sure a good chunk of this journal is going to be redacted if anypony important ever finds out about this, assuming they don't decide to just outright wipe the thing from existence.

Alright, so a little under a week ago, the Royal Guard received an anonymous tip from a concerned civilian that another cult was gaining ground in a small nameless town on the northern outskirts of Equestria just short of the Crystal Mountains. I guess the stallion was afraid the cult's members would come for him because he wouldn't give any more information on the cult other than its location. Naturally, our first assumption was that another Nightmare Cult had risen so the Guard informed the Princess and the Princess brought the case to our desk so to speak.

Well, technically it was brought to SMILE's desk but since there was a chance the cult might've picked up another OOPArt, we were dragged into the case. Thankfully, I wasn't involved this time and was only briefed about the details once they brought said OOPArt back to the lab. As the briefing goes, they sent in one pony from POUT and one from SMILE to do an undercover investigation of the nameless town.

Interestingly enough, the SMILE agent just so happened to be Prism Streak, though I wasn't well acquainted with the POUT agent they sent. I think the mare's name was Rolling Stone? I'm not too sure, but from what I hear she's a fairly mellow earth pony. They make for a pretty intriguing dynamic, but it's honestly not the team I would've chosen for that kind of mission. Regardless, the two of them made their way to the town way out in the middle of a rocky desert to see what was actually going on, and what they found wasn't at all what any of us expected.

It certainly wasn't a Nightmare Cult.

What they found was a lot creepier than any Nightmare Cult I've ever heard about. What they found were ponies wandering about the town with smiles plastered on their faces, and these weren't normal smiles. To hear Prism talk about it, these were the kinds of smiles that gave you chills—the kinds of smiles born of fear and madness rather than joy or laughter. Prism Streak was a tough pony, but just thinking about it made her face grow pale.

And that wasn't all.

Rolling Stone and Prism Streak spent all of three nights in that town before they discovered the truth behind the cult and from what I heard, it wasn't a pleasant experience in the slightest. All sorts of strange and horrific things wound up happening. Unsettling sounds coming from beneath the floorboards, ponies pleading for help only to go missing the next day, displaced and incomprehensible whispers in the dead of night. The two agents had even witnessed multiple suicide attempts on the same day, and they weren't able to save all of them.

Frankly, I'm amazed the two didn't go mad, but that's not to say it didn't have an effect on Prism Streak, because it definitely did. After she told me about what happened she locked herself in her room and I haven't seen her since. Rolling Stone seems to have taken it a bit better, but then again, she tends to wear the same expression all the time, so it's harder to tell what she's thinking.

As for what actually happened...

The reports show that there were two ponies at the root of this morbid mystery cult. The first was one Starlight Glimmer, a unicorn mare who had allegedly discovered the abandoned ghost town in the middle of the desert. Through means that are still being investigated even as I write this, she managed to gather a whole town's worth of ponies and founded her own small village she called 'Our Town'. Not much is known about her past at the moment, but—and again, this is coming from Prism and Rolling Stone's report—she originally built the town on the idea that a pony didn't need a cutie mark to be happy or feel fulfilled.

She founded the town with absolute equality in mind, and while I can get behind the message of unity born of equality, I cannot and will not get behind such an idea if it means giving up one's talents and individuality—doubly so if the mare preaching such a message refuses to abide by said message herself. To make a long story short, the mare had put herself above the rest of the town and the ideals she preached, all the while magically removing each and every one of their cutie marks.

I'm not sure how she did it or what kind of spell she used, but I know a spell like that was never taught in any school I went to. In her report, Rolling Stone suspected the mare might've had a talent for spell crafting, so that might've played into it. Whatever the case and however she did it, the fact of the matter was that what she was doing was already morally questionable. But then a second pony arrived in town and things took a much darker turn.

An earth pony stallion dressed in black formal wear arrived seemingly out of nowhere one day and introduced himself to Starlight as Sound Mind. It was this stallion who supposedly twisted the mare's cult of personality into a true occult nightmare, and he did it all with a book—a tome to be specific. Once he showed up he was quick to integrate himself into Starlight's inner circle and in a matter of days, he became Starlight's righthoof stallion.

It's clear he was the one who gave her the tome, and as the story goes, she never went anywhere without it once she had it in her possession. She became obsessed with the thing to the point of neglecting her duties as head of the village she created. Some ponies in the village told Prism and Rolling Stone about how the mare's demeanor changed and how she no longer seemed to care about true equality. She suddenly started going on about how 'we mortal creatures were inferior and insignificant' and that 'true equality didn't and couldn't exist and didn't matter in the face of greater truths'.

In short, she'd gone quite mad. Some citizens had said that her physical appearance had even begun to change as if to reflect her loosening grip on reality. Then one day she suddenly threw herself back into her role as the head of the village. She started to preach of cosmic truths and eldritch entities which transcended mortal concepts. She asked her 'faithful followers' to peer into the void with her and that they would all be rewarded a far more fulfilling existence if they excepted some great eldritch deity called 'Azathoth' as the one true God.

All the while, the mysterious pony calling himself Sound Mind stood by her side each and every step of the way. It sounds like your typical crazy cult, but the problem is that she wasn't just spouting horseapples, at least not according to Prism Streak. See, most of the citizens were scared out of their minds, but Starlight did manage to get more than a few of the ponies to convert to her way of thinking. Those that chose to follow her and Sound Mind started to change and some of those changes were... well, they definitely weren't natural.

I actually saw some photos taken by Rolling Stone of some of the villagers who'd converted and a few of them made me legitimately sick to my stomach. Starlight had made good on her promise to show them these 'cosmic truths' and by 'cosmic truths' she meant horrifying abominations that didn't belong here. And I mean here as in they were twisted horrors that in no way belonged in this dimension. Needless to say Prism Streak and Rolling Stone had to call in backup from both SMILE and RIDES to take care of the problem.

Apparently that wasn't the first time RIDES and SMILE had to deal with something of this nature, but it was one of the more severe cases they'd seen.

Somehow they were able to send those things back where they came from and retrieve the tome Starlight was carrying but it came at a heavy loss. Both teams made it out okay for the most part, but the villagers and Starlight weren't so lucky. Some of those who'd embraced the occult had to be neutralized and others wound up committing suicide in the name of their eldritch gods. We were able to rescue the rest, but most of them would require intensive therapy, Prism Streak, and Rolling Stone included.

The Crown provides free counseling for ponies who worked for each agency and in some cases, it was required. I actually went through some therapy after my first investigation and it was partially thanks to that that I didn't wind up a complete emotional wreck in the long run.

Getting back to the story, Starlight was disposed of—courtesy of Prism Streak herself—but by the time everything was said and done, Sound Mind was nowhere to be found. We never found out who the stallion was or his motivation in giving Starlight that tome and somehow I got the feeling we never would. The thought sends chills down my spine for some reason, but the tome is a different story.

The book's cover was in a hideous state when they brought it in. The thing looked positively ancient with its worn dark leather cover and rusty metal lining. There were signs of some kind of symbol or insignia, but time had worn it away along with the title. The pages were yellowed with age from what I could tell, but I didn't get a chance to actually look through it, even though I really wanted to. I knew it was bad news, but I still had to resist the urge to take a peek, and it wasn't like I was the only one.

As it was being transferred to the Vault to await further study, I caught some of my colleagues casting longing glances at the tome whenever the ponies transporting it would pass by. It was a really good thing we had wards to protect against this exact kind of mental tampering (and that had to be what it was) or else one or more of us might've wound up like Starlight Glimmer. Since we couldn't determine the title of the book and none of our revealing spells seemed to work we chose to call it the 'Nameless Tome'.

We haven't given it a classification just yet, but given the reports we received and the nature of the object in question, it would be a bit hard to pin down. The book clearly has some kind of preternatural 'pull' about it but the real danger the tome poses has yet to be determined. If the tome itself is what allowed Starlight to summon those things, then it could be anywhere from a City Level Threat to an Extinction Level Threat depending on what kinds of creatures it could potentially pull into this dimension.

One thing I know for sure is that I'm glad we were able to retrieve and contain the thing. That being said though, I can't help but feel like I've seen that tome somewhere before. I don't know if it's just me or if the other researchers feel this way too, but something in the back of my mind stirs whenever I look at it. I find it infinitely fascinating but at the same time, I can't help but feel a horrible sense of dread—like if I even glance at a single page in that book there'll be no turning back for me, mental wards or no.

I'll be off the research team and busy with other duties for the rest of this week and next week so odds are I won't be looking into the tome, but I'm starting to think that might be for the best. I think maybe I'll talk to Sunset about it, or maybe I'll try talking to Prism one more time or even Rolling Stone. I don't know if either of them will be up to it, but they might be able to relate. It's worth a try, and they could probably use the company. I know I'd want somepony to talk to after everything they'd seen, that's for sure.

After hearing Prism Streak's account of what happened, what I went through during my first investigation seems horribly shallow and insignificant in comparison.

1/3/1001

Well, Hearth's Warming has come and gone but as usual, everypony refuses to fully let go of that infectious holiday spirit, even here in the office. I think this is the first time I've seen so many ponies around here smiling. It's especially surprising considering a lot of them didn't get to go home for Hearth's Warming. I myself was worried I wouldn't be able to spend any time with my family for the holidays, but then something unexpected happened.

So I never really brought much attention to it back when I was writing my life story up until I joined POUT, but I did in fact, hatch that dragon egg. I was kind of out of it at the time it happened and immediately went into a coma afterward so I think I could be forgiven for glossing over it, but yes, it did happen. I never really gave any thought to what happened to that dragon and actually completely forgot about it until roughly two weeks ago—a couple of days after I wrote my last entry actually now that I think about it.

What does this have to do with my unexpected visit home for the holidays?

Well, as I've probably said a ton of times now, I'm going to start from the beginning. It's a doozy of a story and my life has kind of changed a bit because of what wound up happening. I would've written about it sooner, but I didn't really get a chance until now due to how busy I've been. Well, that and I had to sort some things out in my head before I was ready to put it down on paper. I think that's about enough stalling though, so here comes the latest in a long line of insane things to happen in my life.

Not long after I wrote my last entry about the unspeakable horrors that happened in that nameless town, I tried to talk to Prism Streak and Rolling Stone. Out of respect, I won't write down what was said, but both conversations were definitely rough in their own unique way. They both still need a bit more time, but I do think I was able to get through to them. I decided not to tell Sunset after all, though—just didn't seem right. It was sometime later that night as I was heading back to my room for some much-needed sleep that I heard something strange.

It was a voice.

It wasn't very loud and it wasn't all that clear, but it was definitely some kind of voice. I looked around but didn't see anything aside from a few of the late-night staff from the office. I wasn't sure how I knew, but I knew it wasn't them. Naturally, I thought I'd finally gone crazy and didn't want to think about the implications, so I ultimately chose to ignore it and went off to bed. I woke up the next day with the weirdest feeling that something was watching me—not somepony, but something.

I went about my day doing what I needed to do, but the feeling never went away and I was starting to get paranoid at that point. I clock out for the day and end up hearing the same strange voice I'd heard the day before at around the same time. I wasn't any clearer than last time, but this time I got the impression that the voice was asking something. Needless to say, I didn't really get that much sleep that night. When it happened again the next day I surmised that something was trying to communicate with me through a telepathic connection.

It's a bit hard to explain how I knew, but the presence in my mind didn't feel like a pony. Now before you go telling me I'm crazy (you can't, you're a journal) there's been recorded instances of this type of 'psychic interference' in the past. Historically though, it's more often than not been some nefarious creature with a particularly strong thaumic presence attempting to lure unsuspecting victims into their clutches.

Part of our training actually dealt with how to resist psychic attacks and manipulation. It wasn't just standard for POUT, but every agency and even the Royal Guard to go through that kind of training. I wouldn't have been surprised if the Princess had Sunset learn a thing or two about it, or if Sunset had taught herself. Of course, when I realized what might've been happening I tried to implement what I'd learned, but it continued to happen regardless. All that said, and despite my fear, deep down I didn't really get a sense that whatever was trying to contact me was malevolent.

That didn't stop me from consulting with the research team about the issue. They ran some tests, but the initial test results came up inconclusive. After a few more tests, it was decided that I'd be confined to a chamber meant to block all thaumic waves until they could find out what the hay was going on. That was a miserable day filled with boredom and paranoia and walking around in circles wondering what was going on and... well you get the idea. It wasn't fun is my point.

The chamber did nothing to block out the voice either. I continued to hear it, but at this point, I was afraid that if I told the other researchers that I could still hear the voice, they would think it wasn't a psychic attack, but that I was just going mad. I was also afraid that they might've been right so I kept my mouth shut. This insanity went on for two more days, and with nothing but my thoughts and this incomprehensible voice to keep me company, I really did feel like was losing my mind. At one point I even blamed Prism Streak, thinking she might've brought some of that madness from that town back here and infected me somehow.

I did communicate with the researchers from time to time through a speaker installed in the chamber, and I was naturally given meals and something to drink, but that was about all the outside contact I had for those three days. It was on the third day that things started to change though. With nothing else to do and no breakthroughs incoming as far as I knew, I decided to try and find out what was happening myself. Through focusing on the sensation of being watched and the voice, I discovered a couple of things.

The first was that the connection was gradually getting stronger with each passing day, which was why I could make as much headway as I did when the other researchers couldn't. The second was that I wasn't actually being watched, or rather the presence—which would come and go at random intervals—was searching for something or somepony... at first anyway. Again, I can't really explain in words how I was able to figure it out, but I did.

The third and probably most important discovery I'd made (at least to me) was that I could finally understand what the voice was saying to a certain degree—not so much the words themselves, but the meaning behind them. What it essentially boiled down to was that the creature, presumably an adolescent of some sort, was looking for its 'mother'. By the time I realized this, it had more or less decided I was somehow its mother through the connection we shared and was latching onto me.

At first, I didn't know what to make of the situation; after all, I was—and still am—a virgin so I couldn't have a foal, not that it matters because as I stated before, the creature wasn't a pony. But then I thought about it. I thought about why it would mistake me for its mother. I searched my memory for any instance where I could've been mistaken as a mom, and that's when the answer hit me like a brick to the muzzle. Suddenly things made a lot more sense and even less sense at the same time.

The only plausible explanation I could come up with as to the identity of my psychic tormentor was that it was the drakeling I'd accidentally hatched during the exam. This didn't make sense to me for a couple of reasons; the first and most obvious fact was that, while dragons were magical creatures, their magic was of an entirely different breed than that of a pony. Dragons didn't share psychic links with ponies or any other creatures, it just wasn't a thing.

The second was that the CSGU incident happened about ten or so years ago, which would've made the dragon a drakeling of about ten or so years of age by pony standards. Granted, dragons did age far more slowly than ponies, but their mental acuity still developed at roughly the same rate. The voice gave an impression of the creature being far younger than ten years old, in fact, it practically sounded like a toddler who'd only just learned to speak.

Even if I were to accept that this psychic connection was normal (it definitely isn't) then shouldn't it have happened back then when I hatched the egg? Why was this happening now after so many years? As it turns out, I would get the answer to these questions, and more later that day. I can't remember what time it had been once the door to the thaumic isolation chamber opened up, but once the two researchers I'd been working with stepped inside I told them everything I both knew and suspected.

I was still afraid they'd call me crazy, but neither of them did. In fact, the two of them just kind of looked at each other with these weird knowing looks and told me to follow after them. The two led me deeper into the lab than I've ever actually gone—deeper than I was ever allowed to go with my level of clearance. I asked what was going on, but neither of them said a word the whole way there. They didn't even look back at me and I suddenly felt like an outsider all over again.

It kind of hurt, not only because I'd been more or less treated like a test subject/prisoner for the last few days, but because I'd actually gotten to know both scientists fairly well since I started my part-time work as a researcher. Don't get me wrong, I didn't find their treatment of me and locking me in the isolation chamber unethical or anything, I knew and agreed with why they did it in the first place. We didn't know what we were dealing with so it was better to be safe than sorry to keep me away from everypony.

It didn't make my experience any less harrowing, but I did understand.

Back to the two scientists, they led me down a corridor I'd never been to a locked and heavily secured door that I'd never seen. Standing there before the door like some kind of sentinel to my surprise, was none other than the boss himself. Evidently the researchers had taken it upon themselves to inform the boss what had happened and he had taken it upon himself to look into the matter. He had come to the same conclusion that I had, or so he told me once we reached him.

It made sense that he would know something or at least have some ideas I suppose, given that he took part in investigating that whole debacle all those years ago. I wasn't all that surprised that he'd come to the same conclusion, and I even had my suspicions about why they'd brought me there and what was behind that door. My main reasoning was that the connection had gotten much stronger the closer we got the door and standing in front of it, the boss didn't even have to explain anything.

I knew he was in there, he knew I was just outside. The connection had gotten so powerful that I could see what he looked in my mind. If I pushed past the sudden head rush I could see him. He was a little guy, a small purple wingless dragon staring back at me through some kind of closed-off chamber similar to the one I'd just been in, except one side of the wall was made of thrice reinforced glass—likely for observational purposes.

He was just standing there at the glass, tiny little claws on the wall, and his face full of a strange sort of detached curiosity. It was almost as if I was the one in a test tube and he was the one on the outside looking in. His eyes were the same shade of amethyst as my own and had this strange unnatural glow about them. Contrary to what I thought previously, they were also brimming with intelligence, but at the same time, there was still something innocent and foal-like in those draconic eyes.

He was the source of the connection without a doubt.

Like everything else I knew about that situation, I just... knew. I had to see him for myself with my own eyes. I don't if what I felt could be called a motherly instinct—I don't know if I'd go that far, but there was definitely something there. I told the boss as much and once he gave the go-ahead, the two agents guarding the door stepped aside, the scientists bypassed the thaumic security lock attached to the door and pushed said door open to reveal exactly what I'd seen in my head moments before.

The room was a bit bigger than I imagined with several smaller chambers and a lot of miscellaneous lab equipment lined up on either side of the wall. Most chambers were empty, but there were a few that had some... very interesting things in them. Since they aren't really important to what happened and I feel I should keep at least a bit of POUT's secrets intact, I'll omit them from my story. Suffice it to say that there's more to what POUT does than I initially expected.

In any case, the boss and the other two researchers explained what they knew as we made our way over to where the drakeling's chamber was at the back of the lab. The explanation, barring most of the complicated technical terminology, went something like this:

When OOPA-2374 (the Wizard's Tuning Fork) activated and caused my magic to go out of control it had an unexpected effect on the egg itself. The thaumic waves injected into the egg were so potent that it caused the infantile dragon inside to mutate. The only physical side effects of the mutation came from both the drastically accelerated growth—an effect the Princess managed to reverse thankfully—and its eyes.

Once the incident was under control, the baby dragon had been secured, contained, and studied extensively but considerately under the Princess' direct order. According to one of the researchers, amethyst was not the drakeling's original eye color—or rather, it wasn't supposed to be, but my unique thaumic signature changed that. It also seemed to have had a far more profound and unseen effect on the drakeling's dragon based magic. That, however, wasn't discovered until later and the discovery itself was only surface level and didn't yield very much outside of making the researchers aware that it could happen, not exactly how or why.

As an aside, I find Princess Celestia's handling of the dragon slightly questionable given it's a living, breathing, thinking creature and not a pony to boot. I wonder what the dragons would've done if they'd found out about the incident. Then again, they probably wouldn't care all that much given their 'survival of the fittest' nature. That actually also brings up the issue of where and how the school even got the dragon egg in the first place, but that's an issue probably best investigated by somepony more qualified than me.

Still, it is kind of sketchy... just saying.

Like me, the dragon had fallen into a sort of coma after it was returned to its original size, or so it was believed at the time. In actuality, it was more like the baby dragon had entered an early hibernation and had been sleeping for the last ten or so years. Observations showed that the baby dragon had basically nearly overdosed on thaumic energy and had apparently gone into early hibernation in order to absorb the excess energy—a phenomenon dragonologists had never observed before.

Frankly, this discovery is a major breakthrough in dragonology, although it has yet to be officially documented as of right now as far as I know. Unfortunately, no further progress was made and research halted to a standstill after a few years. It wasn't until now that progress picked back up and it was all thanks to my connection with the dragon and the boss' hunch that the dragon had something to do with it.

Seriously, that stallion is pretty brilliant in his own right.

When I asked to see the dragon, the researchers were, of course, baffled as to how I knew for a fact it was in the lab. They were even more confused and surprised to find said dragon awake and fully active in its chamber. It seemed the strange ethereal glow in its eyes hadn't been a thing until now. For me, he looked exactly how I pictured him and when we saw each other in person for the first time something must've clicked, because the rapidly growing headache I was beginning to feel vanished and I suppose you could say the psychic connect stabilized.

His carefully curious expression didn't change, but I could tell he was both relieved and confused at the sight of me. I could also tell that he knew I was also curious and more than a little anxious about what all of this meant. There were no actual words exchanged between the two of us, but we both understood that this wasn't normal—the baby dragon perhaps instinctively. Once the initial shock passed, we all tried to communicate with the dragon vocally, but it didn't say a word.

In the end, he just curled back up and went to sleep again, apparently bored with the proceedings and satisfied that it was finally able to find out who and where his 'mother' was. He 'told' me he'd be hungry when he woke up again and I let the others know so they could get him something to eat. I stuck around for the ensuing discussion about how to proceed now that the baby dragon had regained consciousness, but I couldn't really contribute much to the conversation other than that he didn't particularly seem to mind being cooped up in his chamber so long as he could get something to eat.

One of the scientists wondered whether or not it was alright to continue keeping him there, but seeing him so comfortable and hearing what I had to say, we left it at that. There were still a lot of questions to be answered and probably some more tests to be done, both on me and the drakeling, but the boss—bless his kind soul—let me go for the day. Not only that but because of what I went through he allowed me to stay with my family during the holidays the next day, with the agreement that I wouldn't tell anypony what happened.

I agreed and that's how I was able to return home with Shining to enjoy Hearth's Warming with my family. I didn't bring my journal back with me so there was no writing to be done, but the break was nice. It allowed me to process everything and I went back into the office with a clearer head than I probably would've had if I'd continued working as if nothing had happened.

As things are now, the baby dragon (whom we have yet to give a name to) is still in containment and I'm supposed to come into the lab three times a week for an hour for testing and psychological evaluation. Things are still a bit weird and I'm still getting used to the psychic link thing, but my connection to him is still stable and while I do catch an occasional stray thought from him from time to time, his presence has become relatively easy to push to the back of my mind if I need or want to.

I don't know where this is going to go, but having thought about it long and hard, I'm starting to think this weird connection won't be so bad. I'm still curious about it but I'm sure it'll all make sense in due time. That said, seeing the baby dragon in that chamber triggered another one of those feelings of familiarity, like I'd seen the baby dragon before, and not in the sense that he was there at the exam. It was like I knew him before that or something.

With what happened with my alicorn self, the incident with Nightmare Moon, and now this, I'm beginning to think the universe is trying to tell me something. It's stupid, but hey, you never know in this line of work, right?

1/17/1001

It looks like things are finally starting to pick back up again and now I'm kind of wishing that work had stayed slow and easy. Then again, that's just my nerves talking, for you see, dear journal, I have recently been assigned an OOPArt investigation and retrieval job... a solo OOPArt investigation and retrieval job. That's right, the top brass (the boss) has decided that I've gathered enough field experience to start taking on field missions alone.

Well, part of the reason for the decision is because that whole extended undercover operation deal actually got approved. In an effort to better keep an eye on the public and preemptively prevent any OOPArt related incidents, a few chosen agents from POUT are being sent out all over Equestria to pose as normal civilians for an indefinite amount of time.

The operation already went through in SMILE and a ton of ponies from that agency were already sent out awhile ago, but we only just got approval for POUT agents to do the same. My partner Tempest Shadow was among the few POUT agents to be assigned to said operation and rather than assign me another partner, the boss decided I'd do just fine without one. I for one believe that sending me out there alone is a mistake, but apparently that's just me.

Sure I've trained and studied and taken tons of notes and run through countless scenarios in my head and more or less memorized just about every agent field manual I could get my hooves on, but that still doesn't mean I won't run into a situation I'm not at all prepared for! If I had the choice I would've taken Tempest's place in a heartbeat. And why Tempest Storm of all ponies anyway?

She doesn't exactly strike me as the 'ordinary civilian' type, nor does she in any way look the part. Okay, I'm going to stop myself here before I write something I'll regret. I don't mean to blame or badmouth Tempest, but I can't understate just how much I don't want to take this assignment. Oh, and lest I forget, apparently Prism Streak was also assigned a few days ago to work with another agent working undercover in Ponyville and she doesn't even want to do it! Can you believe that?

We both joined our respective agencies at around the same time so she's still more or less a rookie like me, and yet she gets to take things easy out in the country. To be fair though, SMILE is a much bigger agency that can afford to send rookies out on assignments like that. They also do a lot more work, and a lot of it is way more dangerous. Odds are she probably won't have too much time to relax given how close Ponyville is to the Everfree Forest.

And don't get me wrong, I do enjoy my job... for the most part. It's not like I want to shirk my duties or anything, and normally I wouldn't even care that Tempest Storm and Prism Streak were part of the operation. Again, my biggest issue is that I'm just bitter and nervous about taking on my first field mission alone.

That's not all that's bothering me either; Spike's been acting weird too. Lately, whenever we talk he seems... distracted. It started a few days ago when he asked me something that completely caught me off guard. I could tell he was worried about something through our link and when I asked him about it, he had asked me if I was okay. Apparently he'd been hearing my voice late at night—hearing me cry out for help.

According to him, I sounded desperate, angry, lonely, and scared. It worries me because while I have felt some of those things to a smaller degree separately every so often due to the nature of my job, I've never felt anything like what he described. No, that's not true. I do remember feeling all of that back during the CSGU incident, but that was ages ago now and I've never once felt that way since.

Then again, he said it only happened the one time and it was late at night, so maybe it was a result of some nightmare I was having that he picked up on? I'm not sure, but it really seems to have shaken him up because I can tell that it's still bothering him. I don't want to leave him like that, and with how far my destination is from HQ, I'm not sure if our link will hold up. I told him I was leaving and that I probably wasn't going to back for some time and I saw his expression shift ever so slightly.

It was such a subtle change that most ponies probably would've missed it, but to me, it was practically heartbreaking. He didn't want me to leave, I don't want to leave, but neither of us were going to get what we want because this was my job and it needed to be done. My only saving grace is that I've finally just perfected the minor pocket dimension spell I've been working on enough to take my journal with me when I go.

Yeah, that's right, I said 'pocket dimension'.

This one I'm actually extremely proud of and might just be one of the most useful spells I've ever learned. The pocket dimension spell was originally theorized by Star Swirl, attempted by early mages with disastrous results, and much later successfully performed on a much smaller scale by none other than—you guessed it—Sunset Shimmer.

Remember when I mentioned how Sunset had discovered that interdimensional travel was possible at thirteen? This was essentially the prelude to that discovery, and it was this feat that caught Princess Celestia's attention originally. It's what led to her becoming the Princess' student and a few years later on the founding of the RIDES agency. With all this in mind, I cannot stress just how amazing Sunset is and how happy and lucky I am to have her as a friend.

She started teaching me the spell shortly after the Nightmare Moon incident. It was also after she'd cast the geas spell on herself and was entirely her idea. Naturally, since there was no way anypony would be able to discover my journal if it were hidden in a pocket dimension I asked her to remove the geas from herself—not knowing if there even was a way to do so.

The crazy mare told me there actually was a way to remove it, but that she wouldn't until I could show her that I mastered the minor pocket dimension spell. 'Think of it as an extra incentive to succeed' she'd said with that infuriating smirk she would get sometimes. There are times when I can't wrap my head around that mare's thought process and this was one of those times. Still, she's a really good teacher, no doubt due to the Princess' influence.

With her help, it only took me roughly a month or so to finally get the spell down fully. The first few times I successfully cast the spell I could only maintain it for a little over five minutes. Then I learned to maintain it indefinitely but only in a fixed location. Now I can cast it whenever and wherever I want from anywhere. Being a 'minor' pocket dimension, it's only just big enough to squeeze in my journal and maybe one or two more roughly journal sized things, but that's good enough for me for now.

I'm going to show Sunset that I mastered the spell before I leave and then I won't have to worry about whatever horrible fate would've awaited her if she broke the pact enforced on her by the geas. That'll be a huge weight off my back. I just hope removing the geas doesn't require her to do anything too strenuous or painful.

As for where I'm headed on my little investigative expedition...

I'm going north. Like, very, very north. Like, all the way to the Crystal Mountains north. The boss is sending me to the freezing cold north alone to search for an OOPArt that might not even exist. Granted if it does, then suffice it to say the trip to find and secure it will have been more than worth it. Still, maybe now you can see why I was more than a bit hesitant to accept the mission. Of course, as a greenhorn, I had no say in the matter anyway.

The OOPArt in question is one the Princess herself has evidently been trying to find for literal ages and recent reports show that we may have finally located its general location. Something I find rather fishy is that the Princess didn't really give any kind of detailed explanation as to what the artifact—simply referred to as the 'Red Crystal'—actually does. The only thing she mentioned is that, if left unchecked, it has the potential to bring ruin to Equestria and the countries beyond.

This potentially bumps the Class of this thing up to a Worldwide Threat, and yet the boss is fine with sending just me to deal with it. He was promised by the Princess that this 'Red Crystal' would be inert and that it should be safe to retrieve, but she also gave us permission to destroy it if we couldn't retrieve it successfully. It's not just me, is it? Doesn't something stink about all of this? For one thing, how would the Princess know the thing is inert if she's never been able to find it?

What isn't she telling us about this Red Crystal? What isn't the boss telling me? Is this just one of those things where I just have to trust that the higher-ups have everything under control? Are they hiding the details for the greater good? For my sake? Or is there something else going on? And why in the deepest depths of Tartarus am I being sent in alone to do this? Yes, I'm being given the necessary tools for the job and a few communications scrolls should I need to report any anomalies or if I need backup, but will that be enough?

Just thinking about all of these questions and about all the ways this can all go horribly wrong is literally making me sick to my stomach. Normally jotting this all down helps keep me calm, but now I'm more worried than I was before I started writing. I'm going to get something warm to drink, head to bed, and try (and probably fail) not to think about it for now.

At least I'll have you to keep me company, journal. Thank the Goddess for small miracles.

1/20/1001

I have to once again mention how great this minor pocket dimension spell is, even if I'm just using it to hide my journal for the time being. It actually feels pretty good to be able to write something down here outside of my own room back at HQ.

As I jot this entry down I'm currently on the Pony Express bound for Manehattan. Unfortunately, the train doesn't go as far as the Crystal Mountains so I had to board a train heading east from Canterlot to Manehattan and then board an airship once I get there. There's a railroad running west of Canterlot that would get me a bit closer to my destination but I decided not to take it.

The problem is that the railroad is unfinished and only goes about as far as the Galloping Gorge. Not only that, but I'd have to travel by hoof or hire a coach to take me the rest of the way, and while an airship is more expensive, it's also a lot faster. Bits aren't an issue anyway seeing as how the agency—and by extension, the Crown—is paying my travel expenses for me.

There are those agency perks at work again. Gotta love 'em.

That aside, the ride's been pretty smooth and painless so far. I've had nothing but time on my hooves since I boarded the train so I'd been catching up on some reading up until now. I'm still worried about a bunch of things, but I have to say, this has been a fairly relaxing trip. It's gotten pretty late out and the unscheduled rain beating against the window next to me is doing wonders for my nerves.

I've always liked the rain, but Canterlot never seems to get enough of it. I've heard it's because the Princess hates it and ordered the weather team in Canterlot not to let it rain unless it was absolutely necessary. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if that old rumor turned out to be true.

Sunset already told me that the Princess could be foalish when it came to certain things so a foalish demand like that evidently wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility. In any case, I'm kind of glad there are areas like this where the influence of pegasus magic doesn't reach and nature is free to do whatever it wants.

Sure, the Everfree Forest goes a bit overboard with its weather from time to time, but that place is far from normal. It's excessively violent, unpredictable, and uncontrollable storms are more an exception rather than the rule. Everywhere else that lacks a weather team to keep things under control is far tamer when it comes to the weather thankfully.

Look at me, just sitting here writing about the weather like nothing is wrong in the world.

It almost feels like I'm going undercover like Tempest and Prism Streak, and in a way I guess I kind of am for the moment. I've forgone my black suit in order not to draw too much attention to myself and now I'm basically posing as a tourist out to see some eccentric sights up north. At least, that's the story I'm giving to anypony curious enough to ask me where I'm headed or what I'm doing.

In reality, though, I'm still very much wary of my current mission and this 'Red Crystal' I'm supposed to find. I tried to get a bit more info out of the boss just before I left, but the stallion was like a steel wall. I couldn't get anything else out of him other than some basic safety tips for climbing the Crystal Mountains—tips which, I might add, I'm already well aware of.

I've already fully prepared for the trip and any supplies I couldn't bring with me or that haven't been provided by POUT I plan to pick up in Manehattan. Speaking of preparations, I also made sure to visit Sunset before I left and let her know about my mastery of the minor pocket dimension spell.

She was shocked, to say the least. Apparently she hadn't actually expected me to pick it up so fast even after she'd told me when I first started trying to learn the spell that she believed I'd master it in no time flat. I called her out on her insincerity of course, but her response was that she was just trying to be supportive which, okay fine.

I can appreciate that she was trying to help, but give me honest support! Don't tell me I can do it if you don't mean it! I'd rather she give it to me straight and just tell me that she had doubts than pile on empty words of encouragement, y'know? It's fine I guess, and I'm not too mad about it; that's just how she is sometimes and I can accept that about her.

It also helps that she's keeping her promise of getting rid of that horrible geas she inflicted on herself. Although, I'm not so sure I believe her when she told me it would be a fairly painless process as long as she did it right. I was and am suspicious of the fact that she didn't tell me what the process of dispelling the geas would actually entail.

That has me worried, but then there's Spike.

I also took the time to see him one last time as well. On the bright side, we've finally gathered enough data on the little drake to satisfy a few conditions. Namely, we can start treating him less like an experiment and more like an actual living, thinking creature. Don't get me wrong, all of us had reservations about keeping Spike locked up in that overblown container, even if Spike himself didn't really mind all that much.

The problem was that the Princess had the final say in the matter and decided it would be best for our own safety to keep him contained until we knew more. Well, now we know more and have finally been given the okay to move him to an actual room, albeit with some added restrictions and security measures put into place so he can't wander about where he's not allowed to.

The room itself is still located down in the lab and it's not exactly up to the standards of the kind of bedroom I have, but I've seen it personally and I think it's nice enough. Spike doesn't really care either way as long as he still gets fed and gets to see me.

That, though, is where the problems begin.

See, Spike understands that I have a job to do; He doesn't like it, but he understands. That's not what's bugging him the most anymore. The issue now is that he heard my voice again the night before I came to visit him for the last time before I left. It was the same sort of situation as before and now it has him scared.

In all honesty, it has me a bit scared too because according to him, I'd started calling out to him, begging him to come back. Again, I'd like to point out that I'd done no such thing and in fact, had some fairly restful sleep for how anxious I was. Now he really doesn't want me to go if only because he's starting to think this might be some kind of omen or prophecy or something.

His own anxiety was so bad that he had actually spoken out loud for the first time, shocking not only me but the other scientist who'd been present at the time. It was in a slow, halting, stuttering sort of voice, slightly cracked from lack of use, but the question he'd asked was as clear as day. He'd turned to me and the other researcher with that same blank expression and asked aloud if he could go with me.

At that point, I was ready to scoop him up and take him away with me, but of course, that was out of the question. There was no way in Tartarus the higher-ups would allow something like that even though I really, really wanted him by my side. He didn't fight or argue against the obvious denial but not even the other scientists could miss the disappointment and worry in his eerily glowing eyes.

Yes, him actually speaking out loud was a breakthrough, but I just wish it had happened under better and less ominous and heartbreaking circumstances. Up until a few hours ago, I was able to ease his mind through our mutual telepathic link, but that got weaker and weaker the further I moved away from Canterlot and now it's gone completely.

This might sound silly—especially considering it hasn't been all that long since the link was established—but without Spike's voice in my mind, I feel kind of lonely. The whole world seems a bit quieter and I somehow feel like I lost a part of myself. The sensation isn't exactly stifling me or anything, but I'm worried about how it's affecting Spike.

It's not the first time I've traveled far enough for the link to weaken considerably, but it is the first time I've put enough distance between us that the link has vanished entirely. I've been to Manehattan once before while on a mission with Tempest Storm, but that was before Spike had hatched. Now things are different, but even so, what can I do?

I suppose I'll just have to deal with it and pray that Spike is okay without me. In the meantime, it looks like the train's made it through the Shady Mountain Pass tunnel so it shouldn't be too much longer before I reach Manehattan. I'd give it about another two or three hours before the Pony Express pulls into Manehattan Station.

I'll be arriving a couple of hours before Celestia raises the sun so I won't be able to head right to Manehattan's Landing Port right from the train station. Thankfully a hotel has already been booked in advance for me to stay at. I'd rather not drag out this little adventure any longer than I have to but at the same time, I don't want to rush things and make a mistake either.

As things are, it might actually be better for me to stay in town for a bit and ask around to see if anypony knows anything useful about the Crystal Mountains. My flight won't be leaving until just before noon anyway so I don't think it's a bad idea. The problem is where would I even start with my questions? Who would I even ask?

Well, I'm sure something will work itself out... probably. Hopefully. For now, I'm gonna get a bit of shuteye before the train pulls in. As always, here's hoping everything goes well in the end.

1/21/1001

Life has a funny way of turning things around on you when you least expect it.

Here I was worrying myself to death about having to do this mission alone, and now I find myself riding aboard what was supposed to be a private airship provided by the agency with a new tag-along. It was supposed to be just me, the pilot, the co-pilot, and a few crew members. I'm not even entirely sure how it happened, but that turned into me, the pilot, the co-pilot, a few crew members, and probably the most stubborn unicorn I've ever met.

Don't get me wrong, the mare isn't abrasive or anything, just very... insistent. She's also incredibly perceptive and has a certain way with words that not even I can match, and I pride myself on knowing just what to say and when to say it to get what I need—at least when it comes to my job. It's not that I couldn't out-logic the mare, it's more that she somehow managed to make me unsure of whether or not she's actually another agent working in Manehattan.

With the way she spoke, the things she said, it all seemed to imply that she knew exactly why I was in Manehattan and what I was looking for. I know now that wasn't the case and she just so happens to be really, really good at reading ponies and their intentions. At the time though, her terrifying insight convinced me that POUT had sent another agent to help me after all.

So just who is this mysterious unicorn mare who was able to talk her way into joining a POUT agent on their potentially dangerous excursion into the Crystal Mountains?

Her name is Rarity Belle and when this is all over—if we both manage to make it back to civilization—I'm going to ask the boss about her. If she isn't an agent already then I'm going to ask the boss to scout her as a possible POUT agent. Hay, I'd do it myself if I had the authority. I think she has that much potential—far more than I probably did when the boss recruited me all those years ago.

I'm still a bit hesitant about involving a civilian, but after hearing what the mare had to say, and hearing that her talent somehow gave her the ability to magically 'sniff out' precious gemstones, I think she can help me. And besides that, it's not necessarily against protocol to bring her along. Strictly speaking, POUT does give us a bit of leeway in certain circumstances such as this.

So long as I don't divulge mission details and am able to ensure her safety, I can take her with me without having to worry about getting in trouble with the agency. A big part of why this is allowed is because we can just use the reflection deflection spell if a civilian sees something they shouldn't have. Yeah, there are still risks, but when push comes to shove, POUT agents are supposed to do what's necessary to complete the mission successfully.

As for how I met Rarity...

Well, it happened while I was gathering information for my mission in the city. I did some research at the St Germane National Library (the largest font of knowledge in Equestria after the Royal Archives), talked to a few ponies here and there, and—through word-of-mouth—eventually wound up on the doorstep of a seamstress who also worked as a professional lapidarist on her off days.

As you may have guessed, journal, that seamstress just so happened to be Miss Rarity Belle. I asked her a few things, got some... very interesting answers, somehow she was able to work out my intentions to some degree, and before I knew it she was offering to drop everything and join me on my journey.

I don't know, maybe it was me. Maybe I just wasn't careful enough when I was asking for information. Even if I had been the one to make a mistake though, that didn't change the fact that the mare's perception is just... downright eerie. Despite all that, she's actually a pretty pleasant mare (when she's not reverse-interrogating you) and really easy to talk to.

Her practically superequine perception is the biggest reason I want her to join POUT, but that's not all. I don't know what it is, but for some reason, this mare and I just seemed to... I don't know, click I guess. It was the same with Sunset Shimmer and Prism Streak too now that I think about it. Yeah, it took a bit of time to warm up to Sunset but once I did, being her friend just felt... natural, like maybe we'd been friends in a past life or something.

Actually, looking back on the past few months there've been a lot of things that have felt like that—familiar, I mean. I'll see something, hear about something, or meet somepony and something just... falls into place somehow. I can't really explain it but now that I'm thinking about it, the sensation might be worth looking into at some point.

And come to think of it, I'm pretty sure the alicorn me mentioned the name 'Spike' at one point. I didn't really register it back then, but maybe she also had a baby dragon to look after that she called Spike? I don't really want to think about the implications of what she might've gone through if that is the case...

I guess that might also explain why the name 'Spike' felt so right. And now I'm thinking about a million other possibilities and making some unsettling connections and I'm going to just stop myself here before I fall headfirst into a rabbit hole from which there is no escape.

Important mission from the Princess first, potentially crippling existential dilemma later.

In any case, I managed to avoid telling Rarity exactly was my mission was so she's still in the dark about the Red Crystal. I'm fairly sure she does at the very least know that I'm searching for something up in the Crystal Mountains. That makes sense though given the questions I was asking so I only have myself to blame for her knowing that much.

Apparently she was due for a vacation and felt she could find that 'special something' that couldn't be found in the city. That was the reason she gave for deciding to join a mare she only just met on her trip to a frozen tundra far away from society. I did point out just how hasty and asinine her decision was, but she just waved my worries away saying that she could handle herself and that I seemed like a trustworthy sort.

I mean to be fair I'd like to think I am, but she doesn't know that for sure. Besides that, if worst came to worst I might have to do something unsavory. I don't know what it would be, but in this line of work, you never know what you might have to do. Ultimately my attempts to dissuade the mare failed miserably and I got caught up in her own pace. When I say 'her own pace' I mean she was literally heading out the door even before I was ready to go.

By the time I was ready, she was the one leading me to the landing port where the agency's private airship was docked. Mind you, this mare did not look like the type to take a leisurely hike up an icy mountain. If anything her mannerisms and the way she spoke reminded me of those stuffy nobles you see buzzing around the castle like well-dressed fruit flies.

Not to mention the amount of care she puts into her appearance. With her pristine white coat, the lavish curls of her violet mane and tail, and all that makeup, I just can't see it her roughing it in the mountains. But again, she swears up and down that it won't be a problem and to not worry about her.

Having written all this, perhaps you can see why I had my suspicions about her already being an agent of some kind? I'd still believe that if it weren't for the answer she gave when I asked her about her own intentions in joining me.

When I asked about this 'special something' she was looking for she just laughed it off saying it was something she was lacking as both a seamstress and lapidarist. Her excuse for joining me sounded shaky at best, but something about the way she said it and the look in her eyes told me she wasn't just making excuses. There was a weird sort of sadness or melancholy or something behind her polite and playful smile.

Yes, the mare was a natural at reading ponies, but thanks to my training I wasn't exactly a slouch at seeing past a mask either. I wasn't sure what her deal was but her words and expression were definitely giving off some soul-searchy vibes. That was probably another factor in me letting her tag along. Don't ask me why that was a factor, I couldn't tell you. Maybe I just felt bad.

It was almost like she was waiting for an excuse to leave Manehattan behind—like she was expecting somepony to come and tear her away from her mundane existence. She was more than ready and willing to go on an adventure to who knows where with a complete stranger. If that alone isn't a cry for help, then I don't know what is.

Whatever her reasons and however I feel about it, she's here now, and there's no turning back. We've already set off for the Crystal Mountains and to turn around now would only waste more time. I'm still worried about what will happen when we get there, but at the same time, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little glad to have some company.

And with all this written I think I'll stop here. The only reason I was able to jot this all down now was that Rarity was taking a nap. We're supposed to arrive at our destination before nightfall so I let the mare use the guest room, as I wasn't really planning to use it at all during the trip save for maybe a quick shower. She's up now though so I think I'll talk with her some more for a bit.

Maybe I can get her to tell me what's going on behind the scenes. I know there's something she's not telling me and I don't really want those unspoken issues getting in the way of my own work and possibly getting us both killed somehow. Yes, I know this is the pot calling the kettle black but unlike Rarity, I have some idea of what I'm getting myself into.

At least I hope I do...

1/21/1001 (part ii)

Well, we've made it to the base of the Crystal Mountain range safe and sound, and sweet Goddess it'scold. Like, really cold. I was expecting it to be cold, that much was only natural, but wow. We were supposed to make it just before nightfall, but evidently, somepony had miscalculated and we wound up touching down in the dead of night.

I personally wouldn't have minded if it weren't for a few things. Namely the drastic drop in temperature, but also the fact that—aside from the small lodge where we were to stay for the night—there were no other buildings around. There were no ponies to greet us except for the wrinkled old stallion running the lonely little lodge.

Now I was really glad Rarity had decided to come along because right now, the only ones keeping us company in this place are the freezing weather and howling winds outside. Granted, things are pretty cozy right now; It was quiet inside the lodge save for the small but very warm fire crackling in the hearth.

I'm wrapped head to hoof in a nice and comfy wool blanket, sitting at a small table near one of the windows as I write this. Rarity had pulled out some kind of chintzy romance novel and made herself comfortable in one of the velvety armchairs near the fireplace. That's to say nothing of the surprising quality of the hot cocoa and herbal tea—of which I had the former and Rarity the latter.

The old stallion in charge is a bit... strange, but I have to admit he keeps a very nice lodge. It was actually far nicer than I was expecting for being all the way out in a mountain range I'm sure nopony bothers to visit very often. I had to wonder how the guy could afford the upkeep living out here on his own. Speaking of the lodgekeeper though, he's a nice enough stallion, just... strange.

Whenever he talked to me or Rarity I got the sense that he wasn't all there—like he was constantly distracted by something or his mind was off somewhere far away in another time and place. A bit of a melodramatic way to describe it I'm aware but that's just the kind of vibe he gives off. Naturally, Rarity had also noticed something was off.

She tried to pry in that persistent way that she does, but the only bit of his story she was able to get out of him was that he used to be some hotshot mountaineer. He certainly looked like he was bred for it—burly physique, thick off-white coat, full beard that had gone fully grey but was still very impressive.

Apparently, there used to be a small little hamlet at the base of the mountain a long time ago. Back when he was still climbing mountains the folks in town called him the Yeti, presumably because of his climbing skill and the fact that the stallion could probably blend right into the snow around him. When I asked what happened to the hamlet, he told me there'd been some horrible accident.

To hear it from him, there was a massive avalanche that buried most of the town, killing dozens and driving the rest out of their homes. Ultimately those who survived tore down what was left of the town and left the mountain for greener pastures (probably literally). We asked why he was still here and he told me he couldn't fully let go of the life of a mountaineer. The problem was that he wouldn't tell us why he quit.

We assumed it had something to do with the avalanche he talked about but he never actually said that outright. He did mention we could actually see the remains of the town a couple of miles west of the lodge, but I had and have absolutely no desire to do so. In fact, both Rarity and I agreed that his story seemed a little... suspect. The whole thing reeked of a ghost story, with the stallion as the ghost and Rarity and I as the unsuspecting victims.

I didn't use to believe in ghosts, but I've seen some things since I started working for POUT and now I know better than to dismiss the seemingly impossible. In all honesty, a part of me expected to wake up in the morning and find the stallion gone, along with the entire lodge, or the lodge itself in complete ruins. I ran a thaumic scan of the place just to be sure and I didn't pick up anything out of the ordinary, but you never know, y'know?

It was better to be safe than sorry after all, and this mission is stressful enough as it is. In any case, that's where we are now. We made it to the lodge, unpacked our gear and we'll be heading up the mountain starting tomorrow with the Yeti as our guide. I'm not exactly the mountaineering type and it wasn't exactly something we covered in basic training. I did read some books on the subject though.

It doesn't seem too hard and Rarity assures me it'll be fine but I don't know. She's pretty enthusiastic about the whole thing, oddly so, if I'm being honest. I still don't really know what her deal is actually. I tried talking to her some more in an attempt to glean a bit more about her personal situation, but she just smiled and pulled that 'every mare has her secrets' line out.

I couldn't really say anything against that because I had some secrets of my own to keep, and she knew that. I knew she knew that and we both knew that she would've just turned the whole thing around on me and I'd be the one on the defensive and it would all be a huge waste of time. We'd get nowhere and I'd likely lose any rapport I had with the mare.

I didn't want to lose that rapport, I like Rarity. She was essentially a more ladylike version of Sunset now that I thought about it. Not nearly as smart and far kinder, but just as perceptive and good at getting what she wanted—for the most part. So yeah, I just left the matter alone for now. I figure she'll open up eventually and depending on how things go, she might end up finding out about my mission one way or the other.

The thing is, I don't really want to wipe her memory if that does happen. It'd be a huge violation of protocol if I didn't but even then I'd still rather not. Call it a hunch, but something tells me it might actually be better if I let her in on the details. I'm not too sure what I'll do in the end, but for now, I'm keeping my mouth shut. I'll cross that bridge if and when I come to it.

At any rate, I tried asking the lodgekeeper if he ever encountered anything strange during any of his climbs, but as I expected, I got nothing out of him on that front. Rather, he just told me a few meaningless anecdotes about some of the encounters he had with the local wildlife or some injury he sustained while hiking.

It wasn't anything I couldn't have guessed on my own, but sitting here now, I'm wondering if maybe I might've missed something in what he said. I'll go over what he told me once I'm ready to go to bed, which shouldn't be too long from now seeing as how it's gotten so late. And as much as I'd rather not, I should probably check out the remains of that old hamlet too if I get a chance.

I only just got here and already things don't seem right. I'm just hoping the lodge is still here and still as cozy and welcoming as it is right now when I wake up.

1/22/1001

Well, it's morning, I just woke up, and the lodge is still here—still the same as it was when I went to bed. I've chosen to be optimistic for once and assume that it means this place isn't haunted and that Mister Yeti isn't the ghost of a mountaineer who couldn't find peace after his home was destroyed. That said, there is something else that has me kind of shaken right now.

I had a very strange and very eerie dream last night.

This wasn't meant to be a dream diary and it still isn't, but I'm writing this down right now so I don't forget. I sort of want to forget, but I feel like I can't—or rather like I shouldn't forget what I saw. I don't think it has anything to do with what I'm doing right now, but it does play into some of my worries about the weirdness that's been going on around me lately.

I can't remember when the dream started or when I became lucid, but I do remember this empty blue void that went on and on forever. It felt like some otherworldly cage that I couldn't escape from no matter how far I walked or how much or how loudly I screamed for help. I was completely alone, with nopony there to hear my cries.

At some point, after what felt like an eternity, I finally heard something in that void—a voice in the otherwise dead silent nothingness. I think it was calling out to me, it might've even said my name, but I'm not really sure. I remember thinking the voice didn't sound right, but I was so desperate for somepony to respond that I didn't even care.

I ran toward the voice hoping for some kind of liberation from that horrible place. As I ran, I was able to make out a shape in the distance. Now, this is where things start to get eerie and make even less sense than it already does. The shape in the distance, as I got closer and closer I could see what I thought was the Princess at first... but then it changed.

One moment, it was the Princess—snow-white coat, warm magenta eyes, motherly smile, everything that made Celestia, Celestia. She was calling me, I saw her mouth move, I heard the words, heard my name, but the closer I got, the farther away the voice seemed. It echoed endlessly in that bright blue void warping and twisting into something more and more unnatural with each repetition.

In the next moment, just as I reached a hoof out to do... something—I'm not exactly sure what—she changed. It wasn't Celestia anymore. I don't know what it was and the memory of it still gives me chills just thinking about it. If I were to describe it in a word, I'd say it was something eldritch, probably closer to what Prism Streak and Rolling Stone came across in that town than anything else.

The problem is I'm not one hundred percent sure it was some horrible eldritch monstrosity though. I didn't really get a good look at whatever it was because in the next moment I was suddenly falling down and away into a different sort of Tartarus altogether. It was a nightmare made up of countless thoughts and images and emotions and memories.

I saw so many things, so many different creatures and memories that both amazed and horrified me. Most of the creatures were ponies—most were mares, but there were fillies too. I saw several alicorns and horrible abominations wearing pony skin. There were creatures who fit the description a few of the RIDES agents gave of what 'humans' looked like.

In one instance I could've sworn I saw some strange amalgamation of what I think was both a human and a pony—like it was mostly a pony, but it walked on two legs instead of four. This part of the dream is a bit hazy in my mind and I can't recall a lot of what I saw in any great detail. What I do know for sure though, is that as wildly different as each of these creatures were, they all had one thing in common.

They were all 'Twilight Sparkle'.

The unicorns, the alicorns, the mares, the fillies, the abominations, the humans, the weird pony-human hybrid... something in my mind told me they were all me. I could see as much for myself for the most part that they were Twilight Sparkle, of course, but it wasn't just their appearance. At least, it didn't feel that way. It was like I instinctively knew they were all me.

It was like those thoughts and images and emotions and memories were mine, but I know for a fact I never did or saw any of what was shown to me. I barely remember a lot of what was shown to me, and what I do remember I can't make any Goddess damned sense of! The only other thing I can recall about the dream is a blinding white light and then... nothing.

Evidently, I was saying some nonsensical stuff in my sleep according to Rarity. She's the one that finally shook me awake out of whatever that nightmare was. After apologizing for screaming bloody murder right in her face and making up some excuse to be alone, I started writing this. Even as I write this a lot of the latter half of the dream (nightmare?) has already faded, but there are some things that remain crystal clear.

Mostly it's the sensations and emotions I felt, both from being trapped in that blue void and what I experienced from my other apparent 'incarnations'. There were a few positive emotions but so much of what came across was just sadness and fear and a vague sense of hopelessness and despair. Really, I'm surprised I didn't wake up crying into my pillow.

I'm almost certain this is related to everything else that's been going on, but in what way I have no idea, just like with everything else. Was it really a dream? Or was the whole thing itself actually a memory buried somewhere deep within my subconscious mind? Could that horrible blue void be where I wound up after the Left Eye incident? If so then where was everypony else who vanished along with me?

And why is the universe so keen on making me face myself? First that insane alicorn version of me, and now this? I want to believe it's a coincidence but frankly, I have some strong doubts that's the case. There's nothing I can do about it now though so I'll leave it at that. I have what promises to be a rough day ahead of me as it is. I don't think I can afford to worry about what I can't control at the moment.

Still, I have to remember to ask the other agents who disappeared during the Left Eye incident if they remember anything. Maybe it isn't just me, maybe they've also had weird dreams and other strange things happening to them as well. I'll talk to Sunset too and see if she can research a few things. And he might not have anything to do with this, but if I can, I'll try to get Spike alone so I can talk with him too.

Goddess, it's only been a couple of days and I already miss the little guy so much it hurts. I really hope he's doing okay without me.

1/22/1001 (part ii)

I know it was only just this morning that I wrote my last entry, but it already feels like forever ago. I've done a lot of moving around since then and I'm sore and tired and hungry and cold and... well, cold and sore mostly. Not long after Rarity and I finished breakfast, we gathered our hiking gear and headed out to the remains of that old hamlet with Mister Yeti leading the way.

I know the stallion has a name and yes I'm addressing him by it, but I'm just going to keep calling him Mister Yeti here because it's grown on me and it's not like he's going to be reading this. Besides, he doesn't seem to mind the nickname anyway—in fact, I think it's a point of pride for him.

When we arrived there wasn't really much left to see. The snow had all but buried most of the ruined structures and what was left didn't give any clues as to what might await us further up the mountain. I didn't want to waste any more energy than I had to, so I just suggested we leave the place be and start heading onward and upward.

Rarity had no complaints and neither did Mister Yeti. He actually seemed kind of uncomfortable wandering around the buried ruins of his hometown. Understandable—I would be too, probably. So we left and started our jolly mountaineering adventure up the Crystal Mountains, and let me tell you, journal, hiking is no joke. Well, actually, it's somehow both easier and much harder than I expected it to be.

Evidently all that physical training is paying off because I was able to get the basics down easily enough. The climbing itself isn't so much an issue, but my endurance is another matter entirely. I'd be outpacing even Mister Yeti if I didn't have to stop every twenty minutes or so for a moment to catch my breath. Because of that, I was kind of lagging behind, but that's what I get for neglecting cardio I suppose.

Rarity, on the other hoof, is the complete opposite. The mare's climbing skills—contrary to her boast that I would have nothing to worry about if I brought her along—are just shy of abysmal. Mister Yeti and I have had to help her up a number of times, but what she lacks in climbing ability, she more than makes up for in sheer stubbornness and a seemingly bottomless well of energy.

Seriously, she never gets tired... ever.

Mister Yeti led us to a small mountainside cave to rest in about a third of the way up and we got a fire going, to try and warm ourselves up. I'm writing this from that very cave and when I'm done, I'm taking a nap. And then there's Rarity who looks like she's taking it easy, but I can tell she's still probably good to go for at least another couple of hundred yards or so up the slope.

No, I'm not jealous.

Moving on from that, though, Mister Yeti certainly lives up to his moniker. Not only is his pacing and climbing technique practically flawless, but there've been a few times where Rarity and I genuinely lost track of the stallion in all that snow. Myself, primarily because I was also on the lookout for any strange crystal formations and Rarity... probably because she was doing the same now that I think back on it.

I think I missed it through the howling winds and pure white landscape, but she was probably using whatever spell she knew to seek out the gems. The fact that she hadn't said anything most likely means she hasn't found anything yet. I'll have to remember to ask her after I write this just to be sure, and I'm a bit annoyed at myself for forgetting to ask in the first place.

Still, we have a lot of ground left to cover and our veteran guide assured us back at the lodge that most of the caves where the crystals form are a lot higher up. I was a little skeptical, but for now, I'll just take his word for it and trust in Rarity's gem finding ability. Speaking of 'the little fashionista that could', she is aware that I'm writing in my journal but thankfully has at least enough tact not to pry.

'Every mare has her secrets' after all.

I figured I wouldn't be able to keep her from seeing it forever and I'm honestly not too worried about it all things considered. More importantly, I need to decide what to do about Mister Yeti if I do end up finding that elusive 'Red Crystal' the Princess is looking for. Once when Rarity was distracted I tried asking him off-hoofedly about any weird crystals he might've seen during one of his treks—any gems that stood out as strange or ominous.

He said he hadn't seen any that he could remember, but I have my doubts. Apparently, all sorts of gems and crystals form in these mountains. What you find depends on the season and where you look, which I found rather odd given how wintery everything always is. Still, rubies, sapphires, jade, even the occasional diamond all form in different parts of the Crystal Mountains.

I'm no geologist, but I get the feeling that so many varieties of crystal and gem growth shouldn't be possible in one location, let alone under these harsh weather conditions. Then again, I did read that these mountains have their own kind of natural magic, kind of like the Everfree Forest, but more... benign. I guess there's a reason they call them the Crystal Mountains.

The effect magic can have on nature can certainly be fascinating sometimes, granted it can also be horrifying, but I don't feel like going down that rabbit hole right now. Instead, I'm going to ask Rarity what she thinks and then I'm going to take what I think is a well-deserved nap. Maybe I should also get a few tips on pacing myself so I don't wind up dead on my hooves every twenty minutes.

1/22/1001 (part iii)

I've decided from today forward that I'm going to split same-day entries into parts to make it a bit easier on myself. It was bugging me for a while, but given everything that's been happening today, I just never got around to it until now.

Now, though...

Well, now I have nothing but time at the moment. In all honesty, the only reason I started writing now was that it helps keep my nerves in check. Right now it's just about the only thing keeping my nerves in check. The good news is that we—that is, Rarity and I—found another cave to rest in just as a truly monstrous blizzard hit the mountainside.

The bad news is that our so-called expert mountaineer has gone missing.

It happened about a half-hour or so before the blizzard really kicked in. Like I mentioned before, this stallion was practically invisible in the snow, even with all his gear. It wasn't really that big of an issue during the first half of the climb, but it got harder and harder to make him out as we ascended the mountain because of the constant snowfall, but that fact alone wasn't actually why or how we lost him.

As we passed the halfway point, visibility tanked completely, and ultimately, due to that and the increasingly steep climb, we all decided to form a rope team. Probably should've done that earlier now that I think about it, but we hadn't expected the snowfall to get this bad. In fact, our guide had assured us that the sky was going to be clear for the majority of the hike.

I was a bit skeptical but he knew these mountains like the back of his hoof, or so he claimed. Had we a pegasus traveling with us, I'm sure they could've told us otherwise. And really, 'knowing the mountain' doesn't exactly mean that you know the weather surrounding said mountain. I knew that, but I hadn't said as much and now I'm regretting it with every fiber of my nearly frost-bitten being.

Getting back on track, the whole safety rope thing worked pretty well for a while. With Mister Yeti at the head, Rarity in the middle and me taking up the rear, we all made it a good way up the rest of the mountain without any major issues. The problems began once we tried to cross over a narrow pass. It wasn't icy, but the snow was loose and as we made to round a bend, a large pile of it gave way.

What we all thought was solid ground wasn't so solid and our guide ended up taking a tumble off the side. The only reason I'm here with Rarity instead of lost or worse out there in that icy nightmare is that the stallion unhooked himself as he was falling. Wasn't sure how he managed it in that instant, but thanks to his quick thinking neither of us was dragged down with him.

Thankfully the drop wasn't too steep and he managed to get away with just a sprained leg. Still, the ledge was too high for him to climb back up and the rock that made up the cliffside was evidently too fragile to support his weight so ice axes were out of the question. Ultimately there wasn't much choice left other than to find another path up. Rarity wanted to go back down the trail and try to meet up with him, but Mister Yeti wasn't having it.

He called out to us to keep heading up and that we should find another cave not too far from our location. He said he'd meet us there and went on his way, sprained leg and all. That was the last we saw of him and it's been well over two hours since then. It wasn't long after we parted ways that Rarity and I found the cave, or rather it was Rarity that did most of the finding.

The entrance was kind of hidden beneath another ledge and I would've missed it entirely if it weren't for Rarity's gem finding ability. Apparently, the cave had quite the deposit somewhere deeper within. With some careful maneuvering, we made it inside, set up a small campfire, and waited. The blizzard started not long after and it's been going strong ever since.

All we can do now is hope Mister Yeti made it somewhere safe in time. Since the stallion knew his way around the mountain he let me carry the map we'd brought with us, so there's that, but the problem is I can't make heads or tails of it. I did learn how to read maps as part of my training, but this map was hoof drawn by Mister Yeti himself and mapmaking is clearly not the stallion's forte.

I told Rarity we have the map so we should be good to head down on our own if necessary, but that was a lie, and judging by the look she gave me when I told her, she clearly knew it was a lie. If Mister Yeti doesn't make it back then we'll have to find our own way down the mountain as best we can with this two-bit map. Still, she didn't say anything about it so I have to assume she's aware that arguing won't change our situation.

Really, I don't even know why I bothered lying to her. It's not like either of us gain anything out of it, and she's a grown mare who's already shown she really can handle herself.

Guess as a professional I just wanted her to think I could handle the situation.

Heh... 'professional'. Not likely. Not yet. Far from it.

In any case, this cave, unlike the one before, actually goes a lot deeper. Rarity thinks it might be connected to a whole system of caves leading further up the mountain. If that were true then that means we were probably not too far from our—or rather my goal. When I asked her how she knew about the cave system and again, it all came back to her gem finding ability.

An ability that I'm finding increasingly strange the more I think about it.

As far as I know, cutie mark talents don't give you extrasensory abilities—at least not to the extent that Rarity seems to show. Yes, cutie marks do have an effect on our innate magic and I will grant that I'm no expert on the study of cutie marks, but something about Rarity's 'talent' seems... off. Most talents act more like a sort of small nudge, pushing a pony's mind, body, and/or magic towards a certain affinity for a certain thing.

But whenever Rarity uses her 'talent' it almost looks like it's using her rather than the other way around. It's like how my magic went out of control during the exam all those years ago, or how Prism Streak couldn't control her speed...

But no... that couldn't be it, could it?

...It's getting late and I honestly don't think our guide is going to make it back, at least not today. Not with conditions as they are now. We may end up having to stay the night in this cave if this blizzard keeps up, which I'm honestly not too broken up about. Thanks once again to my training I've had experience with camping out in the wild and at least this time we have a few provisions that will make things a bit easier if it comes down to that.

I mean, the specific scenario of sleeping in a cave on a snowy mountain never came up back then, but I'm sure it isn't too different from what I went through... hopefully. More importantly, if this cave really does lead to more caves further up the mountain, then maybe it might be best to move on soon. We're not exactly equipped to go spelunking, but we're not completely without options or supplies either.

With Rarity's 'talent', navigation wouldn't be too much of an issue, at least it shouldn't be. If it comes down to it, I'll do what I can to get us both off this mountain alive and in one piece. That's all I can do right now, and even if Rarity herself insisted she come along, I still feel like I have a responsibility to see her safely home. All that said, I also have another—arguably more important responsibility to see my mission through, and whether I like it or not, Rarity has a role in that mission.

Possibly a much bigger role than either of us realize if my suspicions are correct.

I'll wait a bit longer to see if Mister Yeti makes it back before making the suggestion to Rarity that we move on. In the meantime, I'm going to try and ask the mare more about her 'talent' and how she actually got her cutie mark.

1/22/1001 (part iv, I guess)

Hey, Twilight, it's Sunset.

Knowing you, you're probably freaking out about your missing journal, asking how in Tartarus it could be missing when it's supposed to be in a pocket dimension. Or maybe you haven't checked yet and are just confused about the new entry you didn't write.

Well to answer your question either way I kind of... borrowed your pocket dimension for a bit. I can explain the 'how' once you get back to Canterlot from your big important mission—it's the 'why' that you need to hear right now.

I'll start off by saying I'm frankly hurt that you never mentioned anything about your little draconic friend (or would 'son' be a better fit?) and the special 'link' you two share. I'm only kidding of course (mostly) but I am serious when I say that this Spike is a little troublemaker. How do I know about all of this you ask? Well, I'm currently wandering an abandoned mine somewhere deep below the castle with the little guy in tow.

I don't mean to imply that I foalnapped him (drakenapped?), it's more like we found each other, and things just kind of worked out that way.

Okay so it's like this:

I was out on a bit of a... we'll call it a midnight stroll around the castle when I just so happened to spot who else but a little purple dragon with creepy glowing eyes skulking around the castle courtyard. Now I don't know too much about dragons, but I did know their eyes didn't glow in the dark like that. I also knew they weren't too commonly seen in Equestria to begin with.

My first thought, naturally, was what was this dragon doing here and how did it get past the night watch? Even if it was just a tiny drakeling, the Guard wouldn't have missed something like a dragon walking around the castle. I mean I like to sneak out every so often, but I know this place like the bottom of my hoof and how not to get caught, but a dragon? Even—no, especially a baby dragon?

Something just wasn't adding up, and I was beginning to suspect this little intrusion had 'agency business' written all over it. Wasn't sure which agency was involved, and I probably shouldn't have gotten myself involved, but you know me. I couldn't leave something so interesting alone so I decided to get involved anyway.

I cast a cloaking spell and watched him for a bit and from what I saw, it seemed like he was searching for something. He spent a good half hour looking in bushes and behind statues and would occasionally stop and cock his head like he was listening to something or somepony I couldn't hear. I think he was just about ready to give up after a while when we both heard some very urgent and very professional sounding voices coming from past the gates leading into the courtyard.

The little guy panicked and what happened next... I don't even know. It defied everything I know about both dragons and magic. Hay, I kind of have an idea of how it happened, and having seen it and gotten a plausible explanation I still don't believe it. As I watched, right before my eyes, Spike's eyes flashed and he just... disappeared. Vanished. Poofed right out of existence in a purple flash.

He just up and teleported away.

The dragon teleported away, Twilight.

I don't think I need to tell you how insane that sounds, and that's not even the craziest thing I found out. The moment he teleported, a bunch of suits burst through the gates and started swarming the place. I wasn't about to get caught up in that mess so I tried following Spike's thaumic signature to teleport to where he'd gone, figuring if he could teleport then he should've left one behind, and yeah, he'd left one behind alright.

It wasn't his own unique thaumic signature I felt though, it was yours.

Fancy that, huh?

A dragon that could not only use magic but was using magic that wasn't even his own. You know, when I really stop to think about it, I'm not even surprised that it's your magic. Finding that out answered a few questions I'd had about your tight-lipped attitude lately, but it raised a whole bunch more. At that point, I didn't care if I got caught by the suits or Celestia, now I really couldn't leave well enough alone.

I followed Spike's—well, your thaumic trail, and it led me to... I don't even know where. From what I can tell, I'm pretty sure I'm in some kind of underground cavern. There's a bunch of crystals everywhere and after looking around a bit, it seems like the cavern is connected to series of tunnels that lead to who-knows-where.

I found some old railroad tracks leading deeper into the cave I'm in so I think it might be safe to say that this is or was a mine and a massive one at that. It was probably built to mine all the crystals here, but I think it's been abandoned for a while now—years or centuries possibly. I can't begin to understand why or how the drake wound up teleporting here of all places, but thankfully it didn't take me too long to find him down here.

Well actually, he was the one that found me, and what made it weird was that he didn't seem all that surprised to see me. In fact, he already knew who I was and that I knew you. We talked for a while and it was a bit awkward at first. He sounded like he wasn't used to talking at all, but as we talked he got better at it and I was eventually able to get most of the story about you two, at least from his perspective.

I'm not gonna lie, Twilight, I was really thankful he found me when he did. I would never admit this to anypony but you, but... this place really gives me the creeps. Seriously, I think I might've started to freak out a bit if Spike hadn't shown up then.

The way he tells it, Spike woke up earlier because he heard your voice desperately calling out for help. Apparently, that's been a regular occurrence for him lately, but he says it was different this time—like you knew exactly where he was and were talking directly to him through your mutual psychic link. You pleaded with him to save you, said that you were being held prisoner somewhere beneath the castle by Celestia.

Okay, so when Spike told me this part that raised a red flag in my mind. Spike says he was convinced it was you before, but now he has his doubts just like I do. See, when he mentioned that you'd been sent on a mission to the Crystal Mountain you told him that was a lie and that it was all a setup by Celestia to capture you.

We both know this can't be true because 1) Spike could feel you moving further away from the castle through your link and not below it, and 2) I have your journal and having read through your last few entries (sorry about that by the way, but I kind of had to given the circumstances) I know you're nowhere near Canterlot. The problem is that when Spike concentrates, he can also faintly feel the bond between you below that castle and he doesn't have a connection with anypony else.

With all this in mind, Spike and I have both come to the conclusion that it's not you he's hearing, but another Twilight—specifically the alicorn you ran into back then. I mean, that's the only thing that really makes sense, right? You told me that you don't know what happened to her after RIDES captured her, so maybe Celestia really did hide her somewhere below the castle and these crystal mines seem like a pretty good place to hide a secret like that.

One thing that was still bothering me though was that even though Spike had already suspected it wasn't actually you calling for help, he still broke out of the agency and came searching. I brought it up with him and... wait, Spike wants me to let him explain so I'll let him take it from here I guess.

Hey, Twilight, this is Spike.

I know it hasn't been that long, but I really miss you. I kind of wish I knew how to do the trick Sunset used to take your journal so I could write to you more often, but as things stand, all I really know how to do is teleport, and even that I sort of learned by accident. I still don't have full control over where I end up, but it seems like if I focus on your thaumic signature I can teleport closer to where you are, or at least that's my working theory anyway.

I think that's how I was able to find my way down here in these caves. I definitely didn't mean to teleport down here, but here I am. Sunset followed after me, but I don't think she likes this place as much as I do. I mean yeah it's dark and quiet and, to be fair, it is pretty eerie, but as far as I'm concerned, this place is practically an endless treasure trove of food.

Seriously, with all these crystals I'd never go hungry!

But to get back to the actual topic, I know now that it wasn't you who was calling out to me, but that other Twilight you told me about. I had to concentrate really hard to feel the link, but it was there somewhere really deep beneath the ground—even deeper than the labs at the agency. It was strange because I know I felt you getting farther away from Canterlot and if you were taken below ground I still would've just barely sensed you.

The only reason I didn't sense the other Twilight right away I think is because I was focused on you and she was just far enough away that I wouldn't have noticed without concentrating. So I know it wasn't you, but I decided to escape and find that other Twilight anyway because, well... I feel kind of bad for her. Based on what you told me about her, it seems like something terrible happened to her.

I know you'd probably tell me to ignore her and that nothing good would come of listening to her—Sunset basically said the same thing when I told her—but neither of you could hear her, not like I could. That pain and grief in her voice wasn't an act. She's really suffering down here, and I want to help her get back home or at least free her from this place so she can find her own way back.

I know she lied to me, but she's desperate, and I'm sure you or Sunset would've done the same if either of you were in her position. So yeah, I decided to find a way to escape the lab so I could help her escape her prison. I remembered you and the other researchers talking about the possibility that I might be able to harness your magic as if I was a pony and I know the basic principles of teleportation so that's what I tried.

It didn't work the first few times, probably because I was trying to use a catalyst I didn't have to channel the magic—namely a unicorn horn. So after a few failures, I chose to ditch the idea of using a catalyst altogether just focused on releasing the magic in one big burst and poof! I was out of my room. I half expected some kind of alarm to go off or some magic blocking shield to activate or something, but nothing happened and I was able to escape no problem.

At first I found myself in what I think was the castle's kitchen. I remember the pictures you and the others back in the lab showed me of what the castle looked like and I knew that wasn't where I needed to be so I tried again a few more times and after freaking a few ponies out, I wound up in the courtyard. The other Twilight had told me that there was a way to get to where she was through the courtyard but didn't exactly know how, so I figured there might've been some kind of secret passage or something. That's what I was looking for.

When I didn't find anything I got the idea to focus on the link we shared and use that to teleport straight to her, but just as I was about to try and teleport again, a bunch of ponies from POUT showed up. I panicked, released the spell, and ended up down here in this giant crystal cave. I didn't know Sunset was following me, but it wasn't too hard to find her with her calling out like a lost little filly and we've been wandering around trying to find the other Twilight ever since.

Sunset wanted us to find a way back to the castle, but I told her I'm not leaving until I find the other Twilight. We argued for a bit, but I guess she realized how serious I am about this and decided to help me instead. I appreciate it because, if I'm being honest, I wasn't sure if I could've done this on my own. I still would've tried don't get me wrong, but I wasn't sure about what would've happened, y'know?

It's weird though.

We've been down here for a while now and I can feel the link to the other Twilight getting stronger, but I haven't heard her voice in my mind since I arrived here. I tried calling her through the link, but... nothing. Not even a peep. Honestly, I'm starting to get a little worried that something might've happened but... wait, I think Sunset found something stran—

It's Sunset again.

Sorry to cut the written reunion short, but we've got a problem.

I think I just found the place where the other Twilight is being held, but we're not alone. Not anymore at least. I figured if these mines really were where the alicorn version of you was being held, then there'd be some kind of security and I was prepared for that. I also figured it would only be a matter of time before the suits followed mine and Spike's thaumic trail and found their way down here and I was also prepared for that.

What I wasn't expecting was to walk into a barrier trap with an anti-teleportation field and a thaumic tracking spell woven into it. As things stand, it's only a matter of time before Spike and I get caught and face who knows what sort of punishment. Even as I write this I'm trying to dispel the barrier, but whoever set it up really knows what they're doing.

I want to say that there should've been no way I could've fallen for a trap like this, but I didn't notice anything was wrong until it was right on top of us. I would've been impressed with the spellwork if I weren't so furious at having been caught so easily. At this point though, I think we might be screwed, but I should still be able to get the journal back to you so you'll know what happened at lea—

Hello, Twilight Sparkle.

I'm terribly sorry for intruding upon your privacy like this—and I assure you that I will look no further than what has been written by my dearly beloved, if somewhat troublesome, protege—but I must insist on capitalizing upon this opportunity to reach out to you. I'm sure you have your hooves full with the task I've given you, and even once you've read this, if you haven't finished yet, I'd like you to continue focusing on that task.

That said, once you return there are some things I'd like to discuss with you—several things in fact. I'm not so blind as to not notice my student's growing suspicions of me about quite a few things and I know that you feel the same to some extent. Sunset is a clever mare, but her sleuthing skills are... somewhat lacking. Still, I feel I have nopony to blame but myself for the suspicions you both carry.

I realize now that I haven't been as subtle as I'd like to believe either. If I had, neither of you would've been so wary of me in the first place. Given what's happened here, I suppose I must admit that you two are not entirely wrong to be suspicious of me but rest assured I've had my reasons for the secrecy. You may take solace in the fact that I have no intention of punishing any of you—not Sunset, not Spike, nor yourself.

I will even overlook the fact that you've been keeping a journal and will continue to do so, so long as it remains undiscovered by anypony other than myself, Sunset, and the Chief. Yes, your boss also knows about the journal and we've already discussed the matter at length. As I said, you are free to continue your 'unofficial records' so long as their contents are not made public to unauthorized eyes.

Sunset and Spike are another matter, one we will all discuss once you've finished your mission. But know you this, Twilight Sparkle, if another creature other than yourself or Sunset lay their eyes upon even a single page, we will know, and there will be consequences. But beyond that, I'd like to talk to you all—that is, you, Sunset, and Spike—and clear the air a bit so to speak.

I'd like to explain myself properly and there are also a few things I'd like to ask about you and Spike. If you'd like an explanation about the Red Crystal, well... I'm sure you'll have figured it out by the time you come back to Canterlot, or maybe even by the time you read this, but if you still have any questions remaining I'll also be happy to answer them for you.

Until then, I'll return this journal back to its rightful owner and will be praying for your own safe return back to Canterlot.

~Celestia

Cycle #583

It's finally over.

After five hundred eighty-two attempts to lift this Celestia-forsaken curse I thinkI've finally done it. All the pain, the heartache, the suffering, the madness, the fear, the death... it's all over. I thought I'd be happier. I thought I'd be so happy that I'd break down and cry right then aFnd there and never stop, but I'm just... tired.

I'm just so tired.

I just want to go home and sleep it all away, but I know that even if the curse is broken, the nightmares still remain. Sleep won't bring me peace and I feel like the more... extreme alternative would spit in the face of everything I went through to save that mare and the rest of Equestria from their grisly fate at the hooves of those things. And it's just as well, really; I've had more than my fill of self-annihilation.

I promised myself that once this was all over, I'd destroy this journal—this temporal anomaly that's stayed with me through every horrible loop—but now I find myself somewhat reluctant to follow through. After all the hardships I had to go through, it doesn't really seem right. I thought I wanted to wash my hooves of everything to do with this wretched curse, yet here I am, clinging to this constant reminder, unable to let go.

Maybe it's because of her? Maybe it's her own diary?

I've lost count of the times I've seen that mare jot her thoughts and feelings down in that diary and yet every time she does, it seems to ease her mind. I've gotten her to show me the contents a few times, but after so much time spent just observing her, I don't need to see what she's written, I can see it in her eyes. Maybe it's that sense of relief—that feeling of knowing that outlet will be there when it becomes too much to handle.

And then there's Twilight Sparkle herself.

At this point I basically know just about all there is to know about her, and even now, after everything is said and done, she doesn't know a thing about me. She doesn't even know I have this journal—at least not in this cycle. Sure I've shown it to her a few times in an attempt to subvert the inevitable disaster that befell Equestria again and again, but it never worked out the way I'd intended and even made things worse in some cases, so I just... gave up that approach eventually.

In fact, I was ready to give up completely this time around. I was ready to leave Equestria to its demise—to let those horrors swarm the land and decimate everything I've ever known and loved. I'm not proud of my moment of weakness, but after watching the world crumble around me for almost the six hundredth time, I feel I can hardly be blamed for wanting to quit altogether.

At any rate, I was so sick and tired of it all that I decided this was going to be my last attempt. I didn't even care enough to put it all on the line. There were no gimmicks, there was no overarching plan of action. I just... played dumb for the most part, throwing in a bit of theatrics here and there for flair... and it worked.

All that effort and in the end all I had to do was to let everything play out the way it was meant to until the very last moment. Now that I look back on what happened, I feel like I didn't even contribute all that much this time around. It was Twilight that did most of the work in changing her own fate and the fate of Equestria. All I did was say a few inspiring words, and that was enough to get her to do what needed to be done.

That damnable Red Crystal—the root of all my pain and suffering—was finally destroyed and Twilight Sparkle is none the wiser of all my nightmarish trials. Now those trials are at an end though not everypony made it out unscathed. While she's fine physically, it seems Twilight saw something in that place—something that will probably stick with her for the rest of her life.

I can't imagine what it may have been, but I doubt it's any worse than what I've seen come to pass countless times myself. I'd like to say that I sympathize, but if I'm being honest with myself I really want to tell her to get over it even though I know that wouldn't be fair. I'm not quite sure what happened to the 'mountaineering expert' after the blizzard, but I'll just assume he made it back to his lodge somehow.

Still, despite Twilight's trauma and the missing mountaineer, we're both safely back aboard an airship headed back to Manehattan and I really couldn't ask for a better ending all things considered. I've all but demanded that Twilight get some rest, and after some light cajoling, she agreed, but I know better. I'm sure she's locked herself in one of the backrooms and is no doubt spilling her guts onto the pages of her journal.

I can't really blame her, and in fact, I've taken the opportunity to sit down and do a bit of writing myself, hence this entry. I don't know yet if this is to be the last, but whatever I decide to do, I can do so knowing that I don't have to worry about Equestria's destruction—at least, not at the hooves of ancient genocidal wraiths. Though, having said that, I do wonder what comes next.

I still have so many questions that even now I have yet to find the answers to. I called it a curse, but really, I still don't know what happened to me. At first, I didn't know why or how this time loop came to be, but I do know that it all started and restarted the moment Twilight Sparkle stepped into my shop. I don't know why I of all ponies, was dragged into helping that mare save Equestria, but with each passing cycle, I began to suspect it had something to do with this journal.

It's the only explanation I can think of, both because the entries I write don't reset like everything else and because of how I obtained it in the first place. It took me a good ten or so cycles to pinpoint the exact moment that horrifying invasion happened, and another few to actually get Twilight to take me with her to the Crystal Mountains.

The journal I obtained a few months before all of that began and it was only after I started using it that I remembered how I got it. The memory is still a bit vague, but I do remember a rather jittery customer leaving it on the counter after they came to pick up a custom order for an engraved jade cabochon. I hadn't even noticed it was there until the customer was long gone.

I wanted to return it, but strangely enough, I couldn't—and still can't to this day—remember the customer's name or face. So, I kept it in the back until the customer came to retrieve it, but I never saw them again. I completely forgot about the journal's existence up until the second cycle. I'd scared Twilight away from the shop after a mild panic attack, gone to the bathroom to collect myself... and there it was, sitting right there next to the bathroom sink—like it had always been there.

Like it belonged there.

Like it was expecting me.

For a moment it had a sort of hold over me and I remember opening the journal before I even knew what I was doing. I knew it was wrong, it didn't belong to me after all, but that didn't seem to matter at the time. To my surprise, there was nothing written in it, and for an instant, I felt a rather troubling compulsion to fill in those blank pages—though with what I wasn't sure.

At first, I thought the situation terribly ridiculous, that it was just a weird coincidence and I tried to ignore it. Then I got suspicious when it kept showing up in every subsequent cycle and tried to get rid of it. Naturally, that didn't work either as it would just show up again after each loop no worse for wear. In the end, I gave in and just decided to use it after the sixth cycle.

Funnily enough, my circumstances became easier to bear once I started writing—not by much, mind you, but enough that I could keep going for a while longer. Thinking about it now, I also wonder how I'd go about ridding myself of the thing. I know of Twilight's covert 'affiliations' and I know what her job entails. I've thought about giving the journal up to the POUT agency, but that would require me to explain my predicament and I'm not so sure I'm ready to deal with all of that nonsense when I've finally got my hooves back on the ground so to speak.

I know Twilight wants to bring me into her line of work, but I don't know. I mean, what else is there for me? I'm a seamstress and I wouldn't give that up for the world, but business hadn't exactly been booming in that regard and while lapidary does pay well enough, it's just not something I'm passionate about—not nearly as much as fashion anyway.

What's more, I've grown quite sick of the big city. I could say my disillusionment was all because of what happened, but that wouldn't be entirely true. Even before the cycles began, I was already somewhat homesick. And yes, I suppose I could pack my things and head back to Ponyville, but I'd already made a big show of leaving and fulfilling my dreams of making it big in the fashion industry. Unfortunately, that hasn't exactly panned out the way I'd intended.

So who knows.

Maybe I'll discuss things with Twilight when she feels a bit better—Celestia knows she deserves to know the truth. I still have time to decide and for now, I'm going to push the questions I still have to the back of my mind and use the rest of that time to take my own advice.

Maybe things will become a bit clearer once I've had a good, long, well-deserved nap. And who knows? Maybe I won't even have any nightmares this time.

1/24/1001

I'm stressed out, journal.

Rarity and I made it off the mountain somehow. We're back on the airship and headed for Manehattan, but I can't relax. I finished what I set out to do. The Red Crystal is gone, but it doesn't really feel like a job well done. I almost messed up and unleashed something that would've probably turned all of Equestria into a burning wasteland... for fun. On top of that, we left without ever having found Mister Yeti.

I'm tired and I'm hungry and I'm cold and I'm freaking out and I want to get some sleep like Rarity suggested. I'd love to sleep the rest of the day away and forget all about this horrible mission but I can't. There are so many thoughts and questions bouncing around in my brain that I feel like I'll never be able to sleep again. After the entries I just read that I didn't write, I feel like I should just burn these records to ashes and be done with it to save my own skin, just in case.

But I can't bring myself to do it. I need this journal, I think now more than ever. If I can't write my thoughts out onto these pages I might just literally go insane. Clearly, somepony's been keeping closer tabs on me than I realized because somehow, despite how careful I thought I'd been up until now, I've been compromised. Well, no I guess that isn't entirely true if the Princess is to be believed, but still...

I mean she and the boss evidently gave the okay for me to keep using the journal and I can't bring myself to let it go, so I guess I'll keep writing. But then there's the fact that Sunset somehow stole my journal from right out of my own personal dimensional pocket. If she can do that, then who's to say somepony else won't figure it out? What if I slip up and the wrong pony catches on?

I'd really rather not find out what the consequences will be, but it should be fine. Maybe. I mean, Sunset is a genius mage. The odds of anypony else managing to do what she did are astronomically low. It should be fine if I'm just more aware of what and who's around me when I start writing. Yeah, it'll be fine. But then there's this whole thing with Spike and what happened with the other Twilight. The alicorn me.

The entry Sunset wrote in my journal actually explains a few things about what I saw and what I heard in that place, but it doesn't explain why I saw her there. I saw her, but I don't how she got there or why she was there, to begin with. What was Celestia trying to do? What is she trying to do? Is she really planning to give me and Sunset all the answers or is she just going to reflection deflection us all to keep her plans from getting out?

Was she really just trying to prevent those nightmares from escaping out into Equestria by having me destroy that crystal or did she have another purpose? Some other ulterior motive? And what about Spike? What is she going to do with him? I know it hasn't been that long since he hatched, but that little dragon already feels like another part of me—almost literally. I honestly don't know what I'd do if she hurt him in any way.

Too many questions, not enough answers. I don't want to think about any of it but I can't help it. All these weird events in my life are messing me up. I know I haven't been working for POUT that long, but I already need a vacation. A long one. Maybe take a trip out to the countryside. Visit Ponyville or something. I hear it's a pretty relaxing little village out there when the Everfree Forest isn't acting up.

Is this getting incoherent? I feel like this entry is getting incoherent, or maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm probably just getting ahead of myself. I need to calm down, focus my thoughts. Breath in and out slowly. Deep breaths and start from the beginning. Right, that's done, so now where exactly do I start? If I look at my last entry, Rarity and I got held up in a large cavern near the top of the mountain because of that blizzard.

Right, it seems like forever ago now, but I do remember asking Rarity about her talent. All she told me was that she'd been able to detect gemstones and the like with her magic ever since she was a foal. Evidently, cases like hers do pop up on very rare occasions—unicorn foals whose magic affects their innate talent in weird and unexpected ways. When she explained that, it did bring to mind something, some small article I'd read years ago on cutie marks.

She claims she didn't really know much more than that, and that she never quite managed to fully control it. I could tell that just from what I'd seen as we made our way deeper into the cavern. We waited for a while for Mister Yeti to come back. We waited for I think something like an hour, but he never showed up. So instead we decided to get a bit of rest before we went on my 'impromptu' spelunking adventure with Rarity and her weird gem sensing talent leading the way.

Actually, now that I look back, I don't think I ever actually mentioned the actual excuse I gave to Rarity about why I was traveling to the Crystal Mountains in any of my previous entries. Basically, I tried to tell her I was a tourist who wanted to go out and try something new. I told her I just wanted that authentic hiking experience, but somehow—at some point during the interrogation conversation—the explanation turned into something about a discreet business trip involving the surveying of rare gems for some sketchy transaction.

Yeah, I don't know how it got to that point, but anyway...

There were a lot of long and winding paths and we got lost a few times, but honestly, the trip itself was rather uneventful. Uneventful... and quiet. It was weird, the further we went the quieter Rarity seemed to get. She struck me as a fairly garrulous mare and for a good while she kept going on and on, asking me all kinds of questions about my 'dubious dealings with the diamond dogs'. But after a while, she kind of just... stopped talking.

I asked her what was wrong and she told me it was just nerves. I could completely understand where she was coming from. After all, our guide was missing and we were wandering around a dark and labyrinthine system of caves that stretched Celestia knew how far into the mountain. It wasn't exactly an enviable position for either of us to be in, but somehow I got the feeling that wasn't the entire reason for the silence.

I wasn't fully buying it, but I didn't push the issue. I was sort of beginning to hope the truth about what was bugging her would come out naturally. It never did, but as we got closer to the heart of that ridiculously maze-like cave system that issue became the least of my worries. No, what was really starting to bug was the silence. It had gotten so quiet that I starting to think I was hearing things. Voices. Whispers specifically.

It started so subtly that I didn't even register it at first. When I did finally notice it I initially wrote it off as just some—I don't know, just a gust of wind that blew in from an opening somewhere in the cave. Then it got louder and I couldn't write it off anymore. I couldn't make anything out at first—just incomprehensible mumbles and murmurs it sounded like.

It didn't even sound like it was coming from inside my head like what you would usually get from this kind of thing. It sounded like it was coming from somewhere up ahead of where we were going. It was strange. It was as if Rarity could hear the voice and would follow it. Like if the voice came from a path to our left she would turn in that direction. The problem was that when I finally brought it up she just looked at me like I'd gone crazy.

I can't hear a thing, darling.

Are you feeling alright, Twilight, dear?

These caves are so dreadfully dismal and horribly confounding. Perhaps all this speleology is getting to the both of us? Perhaps we should turn back?

Naturally, I was the only one who could hear the voices whispering in my ear because of course, I was. Par for the course, really. At least she claimed she couldn't hear the voices, but I wasn't so sure that was the case. I know she was using innate magic to follow the path to the crystal I was looking for, but we'd made more than a few wrong turns and dead ends up until now.

Now though... now she was marching along with confidence like she knew exactly where she was supposed to go. She had to be hearing the whispers on some level... or maybe something had taken hold of her thaumic senses and was pulling her along without her even realizing it. Either way, I knew it was affecting her somehow and I got the feeling those whispers were leading us somewhere.

The further in we went, the louder the whispers got, and I had my suspicions about where they were coming from so I just pretended nothing was wrong and told her to keep going. We continued onward and eventually, the cave changed. The walls so far had been just dark and damp stone with not a single crystal to be seen. The freezing winds from earlier had given way to a chilly atmosphere that got warmer as we traveled deeper into the caves.

Now the caves were getting colder again, but this wasn't the same kind of cold as before. This wasn't the kind of cold you could keep away with a warm coat or a steamy bowl of carrot and onion soup. No, this was a chill that seeped into your mind and made you see things that weren't there. It made you shiver not because of any actual change in the temperature, but because it felt like something was slowly and softly raking its icy claws against your skin. It was an unnatural chill, all in the mind.

There were physical changes too. The cavern walls, though still made of dark and wet stone, now had small crystals jutting out of them. There weren't many and they only appeared every so often, but they were... wrong. The Crystal Mountains were supposed to be home to all kinds of different precious gemstones, but these were different. The crystals embedded in the walls were all as black as the void.

They shouldn't have given off any kind of light and yet every single one of those unearthly black crystals lit up our path in an eerie purple glow. The things were practically oozing dark magic, which was a bad sign if I ever saw one. As if that wasn't creepy enough, the whispers had also grown more coherent and the voice I heard was starting to sound like a mare begging for help.

I didn't think about it at the time, but I guess this was how Spike felt when he was talking about how he kept hearing my voice back at HQ—though now we both know the truth. I asked Rarity about the voice again, but she still denied hearing anything. Though given the foreboding atmosphere she no longer blamed me for hearing anything. I expected her to try and talk me into turning back, but oddly enough, she didn't say a word about heading back the way we came.

She looked just like I felt—a nervous wreck that wanted nothing more than to leave this place far behind—but she kept going regardless. We both just kept going, the two of us as silent as the grave, and then we found it. Past a series of narrow tunnels, tucked away within the smallest cave we'd seen yet, was the Red Crystal. And that's exactly what it was. A large red crystal.

It was about twice the average height of an earth pony stallion and emitted a soft violet glow similar to that of the smaller black crystals we'd seen thus far. I was also able to determine that—yes—this crystal was indeed the source of the desperate voice asking for help. The feminine voice was bouncy, pleading, almost foalish in tone. I didn't like it. It's like it was trying to lure me in—trying to play on my maternal instincts.

Rarity must've felt the same because she'd taken a few steps away from the thing with a look of... disgust? Anger? I'm not really sure, but there was definitely some vehemence in her gaze. She was eyeing the crystal like it had personally wronged her somehow. When she noticed I was watching her though, she just cleared her throat and shook her head, saying she wasn't really comfortable here.

I was torn.

On one hoof, I wanted to tell her why we were really here, but on the other, I realized then and there that things were probably going to get both very strange and very dangerous in a moment. It might've been best to just have her leave while she still could. Unfortunately, before I could decide what to do about Rarity, the filly-like voice spoke again, introducing itself as Rabia.

What followed next, didn't exactly surprise me at first. The creature, Rabia, started spinning a tale about how she'd been waiting for millennia for somepony to free her and her species from their imprisonment. She told me they had been oppressed and sealed away within another realm simply because they were creatures born of darkness. They hadn't asked to be born that way and it was all a misunderstanding and that they hadn't even been given a chance and you know the spiel.

Long story short, Rabia wanted me to free her and her own from their wrongful and eternal imprisonment and I wasn't buying a word of it.

I'd never heard anything about these 'Umbrum' personally, but then again it was SMILE's job to keep tabs on those kinds of things. Come to think of it, somepony in SMILE might've already known about the Red Crystal if it was meant to be a seal of some kind. I didn't think to ask because I hadn't expected to stumble across a magical prison. That little tidbit hadn't been explained in the slightest.

Go figure.

In any case, given the bad vibe I was getting from the crystal and just the atmosphere in general, I'd pretty much decided to destroy the thing and be done with my mission. Even if Rabia was telling the truth, I was highly doubtful that she wouldn't be harboring a powerful grudge after several millennia of banishment. I thought about explaining the situation to Rarity, but she had apparently decided that she'd rather not be involved after all.

On a side note, I wouldn't find out until later that destroying the Crystal outright from the outside would've been a VERY bad idea.

I was relieved when she turned tail and left back the way we came, but for some reason, I was also a bit disappointed. I knew I couldn't realistically expect her to help in any way, but the moral support would've been nice to have. Still, I didn't let it get to me and tried to go about my task, but—seemingly sensing my intentions—the creature called Rabia spoke yet again, and what she said next actually did surprise me.

What she said next shocked me so much in fact, that I canceled the spell I was charging to vaporize the crystal altogether. The creature calling itself Rabia had dispensed with the foalish facade, but the shrill and icy voice that replaced it was still calm, albeit sounding somewhat irritated that its ploy hadn't worked. Instead, she tried another approach. She called out to me by name, saying she knew of me.

She knew of Twilight Sparkle, and I couldn't help but ask how. That was when she laughed and told me it was because she'd stumbled across a pony matching my name and appearance. She said that a Twilight Sparkle had been wandering around that realm, lost and maddened by grief and rage. Needless to say, I was completely floored by the news.

Naturally, I didn't want to believe it. I couldn't believe it, but then again, how would she know about the other Twilight? Why would she know? Against my better judgment, I stopped the spell and asked her about it. She confirmed that yes, the Twilight Sparkle she was referring to was indeed an alicorn. A very sad, very angry, and very insane alicorn.

Questions I'd never even begun to consider starting popping up one after the other. What in Tartarus was my alicorn self doing there of all places? How did she get there? I still don't know. I never had the chance to find out, but you better believe I tried. I should've just ignored the voice and did what I came there to do. I should've walked away, but after hearing that, there was no way I would've ever been able to.

Not with the kind of curiosity that got me this Celestia damned job in the first place. I couldn't let something that mind-blowing go, so I asked more questions. Like the villain Rabia was, of course, she wouldn't tell me more unless I met her face to face, which I could evidently do by simply walking into the giant crystal. Somehow, the thing acted as a sort of gate that could let any curious idiot in but still kept the Umbrum from getting out.

So what did I do?

Well, like the curious idiot I was, I took the bait and went in... but that'll have to be an entry for another time. This is a very long story and after writing this much I actually feel a bit better—good enough to actually get some sleep anyway, and Celestia knows I need it.

Celestia.

That mare definitely has some explaining to do. Here's hoping she won't just wipe my mind and be done with the issue. Of course, if she does end up using the reflection deflection spell on me, either she or the boss will probably seize and destroy my journal. She said that wouldn't be the case, but after everything I've seen, I'm not so sure I believe her.

Well, at any rate, I'm going to try and get some shut-eye. I'll be in Manehattan for another day or so with nothing to do until my scheduled train back to Canterlot so I'll finish up this entry then.

1/25/1001

So somehow I was able to squeeze out a few hours of shuteye, so that's good. I didn't even have any nightmares like I thought I was going to, so that's great.

Got some breakfast at a diner Rarity recommended. Run by a mare named Fritter Latte. Fantastic place that serves great waffles and even better coffee. Also found out the mare that runs the place is Donut Joe's younger sister. Small world I guess. Explains the great coffee though.

Anyway, the point I'm trying to drive home is that my morning was actually pretty relaxing all things considered. I felt normal by the time I reached Rarity's boutique. I would even say I felt pretty good... and then I came back to Rarity's boutique to find the mare being escorted out of the building by an agent from RIDES.

Needless to say, this turned my entire morning upside down. The stallion wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he was an agent either. He showed up in more or less the same black suit I usually wore around HQ. What really got me though was the fact that Rarity herself didn't even look all that surprised by the situation.

Once I showed up and flashed my own badge at the stallion I asked Rarity about what in Tartarus was going on. If anypony was going to take her in it should've been me or somepony else from POUT. But no, for some reason it was this pony from an agency that should've had nothing to do with the situation.

He clearly hadn't come here to hit Rarity with the Reflection Deflection spell, so what was up? I asked the agent and got stonewalled which is fair I guess. Our agencies don't really get into each other's business unless the specific situation demands it. I still wanted answers though so I turned to Rarity instead.

Since Rarity had joined me on my mission I was still well within my rights to question her and even bring her back to Canterlot if I wanted. That should've worked to get the RIDES agent out of my hair at least for a bit, but it didn't.

As soon as I made my argument the stallion whipped out a missive from none other than the head honcho of the RIDES agency herself. He just had the thing ready like he knew I was going to fight him on this and the missive itself? Apparently, Rarity's retrieval by RIDES was supposed to take priority over everything else.

The real kicker was that the letter was approved and signed by Princess Celestia. My hooves were effectively tied and I had to give Rarity up. I had my suspicions that there was something going on in the background that I couldn't see, and Celestia's signature made my suspicions a certainty.

RIDES was going to get their grubby hooves on Rarity and there was nothing I could do about it. All I could do was watch her go and that frustrated me to no end because I was being left in the dark again about something I feel I should've known about.

It hit me just as I had that thought, that whatever was going on was probably what Rarity wanted to talk to me about. I could tell from the resigned look and apologetic smile she gave me as she and the other agent passed me by that I was likely on the right track.

I never would have known for sure if Rarity hadn't decided to take things into her own hooves. Just I was left to stand there in front of the boutique stewing in my own frustrations, Rarity suddenly made her way back over to me and dropped a set of keys back into my hooves.

Then she gives me this look and tells me to lock up the shop for her and that I can use the restroom if I need to before I go. Now, I'm not a stupid mare by any means but even if I were as dumb as a bag of bricks I would've been able to pick up on her meaning.

She did want me to know what was up and for whatever reason, the answer to my questions was in the bathroom? I tried asking her what to do with the keys once I did what she asked but she just told me to hang onto them for now before running back off to the annoyed-looking stallion in the suit.

I watched them go for a bit until they hopped into a waiting taxi carriage. Rarity gave me one last look as they left, but I couldn't really decipher what it meant. It honestly left me a little unnerved but I had other things to take care of so I let the feeling pass.

Once they were gone I went back into the boutique, all the while wondering not for the first time what my life was. I didn't want to waste any more time than I needed to in getting my answers so I made a beeline straight for the bathroom. That was where I found the journal, a simple brown journal a bit thicker than my own just sitting there next to the bathroom sink.

It had no title or markings on the cover and looked old, like something right out of antiquity. Just looking at it I knew it's was what I was supposed to find. Even if Rarity hadn't mentioned anything and I just happened to find it I would've known there was something off about the journal.

For one thing, it had a sort pull that drew you to it—not in the same way the Nameless Tome did, thank Celestia, but there was still some kind of mental compulsion at work here. For another, the journal just looked... out of place somehow. It stuck out like a sore hoof in a way I couldn't explain. At the same time though, it felt like I was meant to find it, and not just because Rarity was pointing me in the right direction.

No, this thing was giving off all kinds of OOPArt vibes right from the get-go. Now, the proper procedure for collecting a hypnotic or mentally suggestive OOPArt is to magically shore up your mental defenses before approaching anywhere near the object. Done. Wasn't an issue for me.

With that out of the way, I wondered if this was what the RIDES agent was after. And if so, how hadn't he seen it? Did the journal hide itself from him somehow? Was it sentient? What did it even do and why did Rarity have it in the first place? All these questions could have been answered if I just opened the journal, but I was understandably hesitant to do so.

I did eventually end up taking a peek after a bit of waffling on whether I should follow the rest of the onsite containment procedures. Wouldn't you know it though, the journal was completely blank. Not a single page had any writing in it. The only thing I did find was a note from Rarity that fell out when I was flipping through it.

The journal was a massive find in and of itself, but it was Rarity's note that more or less told me what I wanted to know. It essentially contained an apology that things had ended up this way and a brief explanation of what had transpired at the Crystal Mountains from her perspective. I was horrified to find out that what I had gone through was nothing compared to what that poor mare had to endure.

Apparently, Rarity had been forced into a time loop that was reset every time I failed to stop the Umbrum from escaping their dimensional prison. And it seemed that happened far more often than I was comfortable with. Knowing how much she had suffered for my apparent incompetence left me feeling sick to my stomach even now.

It also explained the RIDES agent and why he was taking Rarity back to Canterlot. They probably wanted more details before wiping her memory of the whole thing. In a way, that kind of makes me sad because not only would I not get a chance to apologize for my mistakes, but I also wouldn't get to thank her for what she went through for me and the rest of Equestria.

Even if I was the one to ultimately foil Rabia's plans and destroy the crystal, that mare was the true hero in my eyes. That said, while I've never been a big fan of the reflection deflection spell and its use, I can't deny that wiping her memory might be for the best in this case. Nopony should have to live through what Rarity did.

And it all started because somepony left this journal behind in her boutique. In her note, Rarity explained everything she knew about how the journal worked but she'd been scarce on the details of the supposed customer that ditched the thing. She hadn't even been sure the journal would remain behind when she was taken away.

Well, Rarity, I have it now, and I'm headed back to Canterlot with it. I really wasn't all that worried about the journal reappearing where I least expect it because we have a ton of measures back in the lab that specifically prevent things like that from happening. As long as I keep the journal on me until I get to the lab it shouldn't be an issue.

And even if they were looking for the journal, RIDES shouldn't have any complaints since the OOPArt would've been hoofed over to POUT for proper containment anyway. Still, even with these answers, something still doesn't feel right about all of this. I still feel like I'm missing some very important pieces to the puzzle.

Who was it that left the journal in the first place and why? I can see how Rarity would've realized that she'd inevitably be taken in by one of the agencies. I can also see how RIDES found her so quickly as they have their own methods for sniffing out temporal and dimensional anomalies. That still begs the question of why the Princess personally signed off on the missive though.

The signature of the RIDES Director should have been enough, so why the Princess? Was it because of the overlap in jurisdiction? If that was the case, why did she give priority to RIDES? Come to think of it, why hadn't RIDES detected the use of the journal sooner?

I spent the rest of my time in Manehattan pondering all of these questions and more. I tried using my limited free time to take in the sights of the city, but I couldn't get out of my own head long enough to enjoy anything. In the end, I did manage to find a nice and cozy out-of-the-way food joint for dinner.

Had a nice chat with a country mare who'd moved to the city to work under her aunt and uncle and their produce business. She hadn't said much about her hometown but though she was well-spoken she hadn't quite managed to rid herself of her southern twang entirely.

She was a nice enough mare but I got the feeling she was scrutinizing me the whole time we were talking. It was like she was trying to decide whether or not she could trust what I was saying. It was subtle enough that I wasn't completely sure and that alone was a bit disconcerting. There was also this strange air of sadness about her, or maybe existential dissatisfaction?

The feeling I got was a lot like what I'd felt from Rarity when I first met her now that I think about it. In any case, we hit it off, exchanged some information (not classified stuff about my job obviously), and I promised to reach out the next time I was in town. Overall the dinner had been a pleasant distraction but it was just that. A distraction.

The ruminations came flooding back in unbidden not long after I left the eatery. They continued on unabated as I headed for the station to catch my train back to Canterlot. They still plague me now as I sit here in my passenger seat writing all of this out. I've read over Rarity's note dozens of times now and thought about just keeping it.

I could always create a copy and turn that over to the head of research. But no, not only could I get in trouble for holding onto what would almost certainly become a classified document, but it wouldn't really do me any good. I was already on thin ice for keeping my own journal and I have no real reason to keep the letter other than sentimentality.

I'll just turn everything in and then get my explanation from the Princess. That'll be good enough for me and then hopefully I can put these qualms to rest finally. I'm actually not sure what my next assignment is supposed to be but hopefully I can talk the Boss into giving me some time off to spend with Spike and Sunset.

Yeah, that would be nice.

1/29/1001

Okay, I've got a lot to unpack here and I'm struggling to find out where to begin. I made it back to Canterlot safe and sound. I got my answers from the Princess—well, most of them anyway. Spike and Sunset are in the clear and the higher-ups are even letting Spike stay with me in my agency provided living unit. Everything has pretty much gone back to normal for me, or as normal as things get around here. Oh, I also found out that my brother—on top of being the Captain of the Royal Guard—is also part of a new top secret super elite military organization known as the Solar Knights. Yeah, those Solar Knights. The ones that supposedly laid the groundwork for today's Royal Guard all the way back during the Dark Era.

Turns out, the Princess has been building the foundation for this new military unit since long before I joined POUT and it was finally officially implemented as of a week after the Nightmare Moon incident. The actual scouting for members didn't start until a little before I left for Manehattan. Shining Armor got scouted along with about a dozen or so other soldiers and naturally, he jumped on the opportunity. Apparently he'd grown a bit envious of my position as a secret agent and wanted a piece of the pie? I don't know, that's more or less what he told me when I asked him about it later. He mostly acts as a sort of general go-between for the Solar Knights and the Royal Guard, with most of his actual work still falling on the Royal Guard side of things.

Apparently, Sunset hadn't known about the Solar Knights until Spike and I found out during the meeting. She practically begged the Princess to let her join the Solar Knights after the meeting, but the Princess denied her outright. I personally thought Sunset would make a great additional with her skills, but then I remembered what she's like and decided Princess Celestia's denial was probably for the best. Knowing Sunset, I wasn't all that surprised that the Princess chose not to tell her initially. Still, the ensuing argument that followed was pretty funny to watch from the sidelines.

What I found more interesting about all of this is that most of the other recruits were Guards who got caught up in that whole dimensional displacement debacle during the raid on the Nightmare Cultist's ritual. Like me, they still don't remember what happened during the displacement so I don't see where Celestia is going with the decision. It wasn't something that came up during our little chat which, by the way, left me with just as many questions as answers. I'm confused, frustrated, curious, worried, potentially traumatized, and hungry... but I'm home, and surrounded by friends and family. That definitely counts for something.

Setting my mental health and the creation of yet another secret organization aside for now, I suppose I should start talking about that long awaited discussion with Princess Celestia. It was certainly eye-opening and a lot of things Sunset and I had wondered about did end up making some sense in the end. The meeting itself took place in POUT's debriefing room and consisted not only of the Princess, Sunset, Spike, and myself, but the boss and Shining Armor. At first I didn't understand why my brother was there but then I found out about the Solar Knights and... yeah. Question answered. Now he gets to join in on all the secret meetings.

Now that I think about it, I'm wondering if the real reason he joined was to look out for me. It would be just like him, that freaking helicopter sibling from Tartarus. I love my brother to death, but sheesh...

As for where to start, I guess I'll begin with the whole Nightmare Moon situation. Yes, Nightmare Moon was once Luna and Luna was Celestia's sister, but that was pretty much already a given and quite honestly the least interesting part of this whole thing. In actuality, this whole thing was kicked off by the Princess several hundred years ago, just at the end of the Dark Era. Well, if you want to get technical, it was actually Star Swirl and his prophecy that started it all, but for the sake of the story and the proceeding facts, we'll say it was Princess Celestia.

Now, the prophecy documented in the Royal Archives states that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the Stars would aid in Her escape, and She would bring about nighttime eternal. Nopony knew what was meant by 'the Stars', but everypony who knows about the prophecy just assumed that Star Swirl was talking about Nightmare Moon escaping from the deepest pits of Tartarus. What the Princess revealed during that meeting was that the prophecy was, in fact, completely false. It was a fabrication she created to hide the true prophecy from the Nightmare Cultists. The cults posed a much more dangerous threat back then and Princess Celestia feared they would eventually discover the prophecy and ensure it came true on their terms.

Why yes, I am cognizant of the fact that I sound like a tinfoil hat wearing loon, but all of this comes straight from the Princess's mouth. If you want to call the Princess a tinfoil hat wearing loon, be my guest.

According to the Princess, the true prophecy claimed thus: On this day one thousand years hence, She will descend upon the world, a Dark Shade torn free from within the all-encompassing Eye of Infinite Realms, and the Blighted Night will return to reign eternally. The Princess intentionally changed the date of the prophecy and left her own falsified copy of Star Swirl's writings for the Nightmare Cults of old to find. The actual date was meant to be a thousand years from the day Star Swirl first spoke the prophecy and Princess Celestia was already making preparations. And then there was that middle line, the one mentioning the 'Eye of Infinite Realms'.

I had my suspicions and sure enough, when I asked about it, the Princess confirmed my fears. She hadn't been sure until recently, but it looked liked the prophecy was referring to the Left Eye of the Nightmare. It was already known that the thaumic anomalies that started appearing about a month before the Summer Solstice were actually micro ruptures in the dimensional wall—small tears in the fabric of reality forming and collapsing in a matter of moments. The researchers back at HQ hadn't been idle while I was away in Manehattan, and they'd discovered that those dimensional disturbances had been a direct result of the Left Eye 'waking up'.

I guess we're still sticking with that name as the Princess thinks its safer than calling it what it actually is according to the prophecy.

Nopony knows how or why the artifact activated when it did, but we do know that the Cult hadn't had the thing in their possession yet when the fluctuations started. Some agents from SMILE captured and interrogated a few cultists who'd somehow managed to escape the Old Castle before the dimensional displacement incident occurred. Through them, we discovered that it was the fluctuations that drew the Nightmare Cult's attention. One cultist said something about how the artifact had called out to them. Whispered sweet promises of future glory in their minds and told them how to achieve all that they desired.

At first I thought the Left Eye was a mind-altering artifact, but the Princess had other ideas. She posits that Nightmare Moon was using the artifact as a conduit to call out to the cultists from beyond this realm. If that were true, then it would fit with the whole 'Infinite Realms' thing, but I still had questions. Namely, hadn't the Princess killed Nightmare Moon? How was she reaching out to the cultists? Was she actually reaching out from Tartarus? Well, the Princess doesn't think so and neither do most of the researchers in RIDES. The more popular theory is that the Nightmare Moon that spoke to the cultists wasn't the real deal, but instead, some kind of thaumic 'imprint' left behind when she died.

Essentially, a ghost made of pure magic, hence the whole 'Dark Shade' moniker—but not like the Umbrum. This was more like a sentient memory or Nightmare Moon's will given form and a voice. Maybe calling the creature an echo would be more appropriate. Whatever she was, this is the prevailing theory and I'm finding it rather hard to dispute at this point. As a side note, Celestia also believes that the dimensional ruptures are what pulled the alicorn version of me to this timeline, but that particular subject is a whole different can of worms best saved for later.

Regarding where Celestia had gone during the night before the Summer Solstice Festival, she was in the Old Castle, or the Castle of Two Sisters, as I now know. The whole Everfree Blunder was actually a plan devised by Princess Celestia to capture the Nightmare Cultists. The SMILE agents would stir up the creatures in the Everfree and flush out the cultists while the Royal Guards waited at the edges of the forest to ambush and capture those that escaped. All the while, Celestia herself had quietly vanished from Canterlot and made her way into the Old Castle during the commotion.

Once inside, she'd retrieved the gems she used to seal Nightmare Moon's shade in the moon. The way she tells it, those stones were once known as the Elements of Harmony, and while I won't go into detail about how they work here, I will say that those little gems were a big part of how Both Princess Celestia and her sister stayed in power for so long. Evidently, the reason the Princess had taken so long to retrieve the stones was because they'd been locked away in a hidden vault deep below the Old Castle. The vault in question had been sealed by magic so powerful it had taken the Princess herself almost all night to break the enchantments.

Long story short, she finally got the Elements and stored them safely within Canterlot Castle before taking up her role as the main attraction of the Summer Solstice Festival. The Elements of Harmony had lost a lot of their potency over the last few hundred years and over the next few months, all the way up until Nightmare Moon's shade attacked Canterlot. The Princess had slowly been restoring the magic held within the stones. When I asked how she'd done it, she didn't really respond and instead just kind of looked sad, like she was remembering a lost friend... or maybe a lost sister. In any case we moved on without me getting any kind of answer.

Sunset had asked Princess Celestia why she hadn't just used the Elements of Harmony to seal away the actual Nightmare Moon. The Princess said that she'd tried. She'd given her sister a choice and Nightmare Moon had chosen the path of oblivion. In Nightmare Moon's own words, there were worse fates than death, and that she would choose a thousand times over to die rather than live for an entire age locked away in cold isolation, unable to move or feel anything. All she'd have to keep her company was her own thoughts, and that was no existence worth living.

We could all tell it hurt the Princess to recount her sister's words and I knew she would have preferred a different outcome. I didn't say it out loud, but I wasn't so sure I would've chosen differently than Nightmare Moon if I were in her horseshoes. I could tell by Sunset's look that she felt the same. And... that was it. That was the whole truth behind Nightmare Moon's return. There was some conjecture here and there, but the pieces seem to fit from what I can tell. The only major questions I still have are mostly centered around my disappearance and the Left Eye of the Nightmare, or rather the line about the Eye of Infinite Realms.

I told Celestia about the dream I had in that snowy cabin and what I saw while I was stuck in the pocket dimension inside the Red Crystal. She thinks the Left Eye definitely had some kind of effect beyond the displacement, but she has no idea why or how or what it means. None of the other ponies who came back had issues like mine, as far as the Princess knows. Maybe the other Twilight showing up had something to do with it? I don't know, but Princess Celestia promised to get a few RIDES researchers to run a few tests and try to get to the bottom of the matter. Given how this all started, my weird visions might fall under their jurisdiction, assuming its all connected.

They've already taken the broken Left Eye to study and at the Princess's request, I'll be spending the next few days in their labs getting tested for... interdimensional residue? I have no idea, but hopefully the guys in RIDES will find something to explain all of this. There's a lot more I haven't mentioned yet, but I've been told to get some rest so I'll call this part one and leave it here for now. There's still the matter of my alicorn doppelgänger from another timeline and that's... yeah, that's a story for next time.

2/2/1001

Alright, so the tests are done and the results are in. According to the fine folks in RIDES, my transition back to Equestria after the dimensional displacement incident didn't exactly go as smoothly as everypony else who got caught up in that mess.

Evidently, and this is just a theory at this point, but when I transitioned back to Equestria, a piece of me got left behind and is now floating somewhere out there in the space between realms. The scientists aren't sure if it was part of my consciousness or my thaumic energy or what, but something got left behind.

That something is apparently still connected to me and is trying to find its way back. That seems to be the reason I keep seeing flashes of several realities I've never experienced. It sounds insane and I have my doubts, but apparently, this phenomenon isn't entirely unheard of.

Though rare, this kind of displacement does happen from time to time, and sometimes the creatures involved (yes, it's evidently happened to other races before) come back altered or missing something. In my case, if their theory turns out to be correct, the only thing I can do is either wait for the missing bit of me to find its way back, or wait for RIDES to come up with another solution.

The safest option seems to be to wait it out so that's what we decided on for the time being. The visions, as unsettling as they are, don't seem to be harmful to my wellbeing so yeah, I'll just follow their advice and wait to see what happens for now.

In other news, the Princess has seen fit to return the crazy alicorn version of me to her own Equestria—mysterious magical table and all. I don't know all the details as the actual process fell under RIDES jurisdiction. I mean, hay, the only reason I know is because I just so happened to overhear the news from one of the RIDES researchers during the downtime between my tests.

I was able to find out why the Princess kept the psychotic alicorn captive for so long. Evidently, the Princess spent the whole time interrogating the other Twilight. What she was looking to find out I have no idea, but it wasn't exactly a good look on Princess Celestia's part.

Don't get me wrong, I've done my fair share of interrogations (whether I wanted to or not) but... I don't know. Just feels like the Princess should be above that kind of stuff. That's what she has us and the Royal Guard for. Maybe it wouldn't bother me as much if it wasn't, y'know... another version of me. It was no wonder my poor, insane doppelganger from another reality tried to escape.

Thinking back on it though, I probably should've known that's what was going on behind the scenes. I think I might've suspected as much, but just kind of brushed the idea aside because I expected more from the Princess. Having talked to her face-to-face and talking to Sunset, I know Princess Celestia isn't as squeaky clean as she leads her little ponies to believe—far from it.

That mare probably has more blood on her hooves than the entirety of the Royal Guard put together—and I'm talking the ones that actually participated in those brutal campaigns back in the day. Mentally, I know what kind of mare she truly is, but when you look at her, it's just... really hard to accept.

And again, the fact that it was me she was working over just makes the knowledge worse—even if it was my alternate self.

But all that said, I think I'm getting ahead of myself here. I learned way more about the Princess than I ever wanted to know and I guess it's just been on my mind. I talked to Spike about everything we discovered once the RIDES researchers let me go.

He and I both agree that, as crazy as my other self was, she was ultimately a victim in all of this. She didn't deserve to be imprisoned and potentially tortured for information. I don't know for sure if that's what happened during her questioning, but that's usually what our interrogations devolve into, as much as I hate to admit it.

Still, I am glad she was able to get back home. She'd clearly been through a lot, even before she arrived in this Equestria. I really hope whatever info the Princess finally got out of the other Twilight was worth the poor mare's suffering. Sunset knows about the situation too, and she isn't too happy with her mentor.

She doesn't seem as bothered about it as I am, though. When I talked to her about what I found out, it seemed like she was disappointed, but not entirely surprised. It wasn't until then that I remembered she and Spike had actually found out where she was being held. I guess she just put two and two together.

I know I'm just rambling at this point but I really needed to get all of this out of my mind and onto the page.

I've talked a lot about how the other Twilight is gone now but I haven't really followed up on what her deal was. While the Princess wouldn't tell me what she was trying to find out from Alter-Twilight, she did discuss the details of her arrival and how she wound up in the Umbra's dimensional prison.

As it turns out, the other Twilight's appearance in this Equestria was not due to the dimensional anomalies caused by the Eye. Apparently she was dropped here by some kind of time related spell gone awry. Her arrival in this time and place happened by pure chance. The table itself was a dimensional anchor of some sort. Not sure why she used a table of all things, but it is what it is I suppose.

Alter-Twilight's violent psychosis was evidently a result of two factors. Once factor was her uncontrollable leaps into what seems to be thousands of dystopia variant Equestrias. I don't like what her ending up here says about my own Equestria, but I won't dwell on it too much. I've already got enough on my plate to worry about without having to question everything I knew about my world—at least anymore than I already have.

The other factor—and the one I think affected her the most—was witnessing the apparently brutal death of her draconic companion. This also explained her weird obsession with Spike. I can still remember that horrible, heartbreaking wail she let out as the RIDES team carried her away that day. Now I find myself wondering if she'd just lost her very own Spike right before she was thrown into this timeline. It's a frankly distressing thought and I haven't really been able to get over it since I found out how she really got here.

That mare was a broken mess and it's a wonder the Princess was able to get anything out of her at all. What makes it worse is that we had the means to heal her mind magically. I asked the Princess about it and she told me that was the first thing they attempted to do. But no matter what was tried, nothing stuck.

Some spells were able to clear her mind for a short time, but most just didn't work at all. It was actually during her moments of clarity that she tried to escape. From what Sunset and Spike told me, there's actually an entire prison facility hidden deep within the Crystal Caves below Canterlot Castle.

It should be noted that we have your standard variety prison in the actual city. We also have the dungeons in the castle itself, though they're not really used anymore—not for holding criminals anyway. Come to think of it, it's said that Tartarus was a prison of sorts too. And now there's this prison deep below ground. Why do we have so many prisons? When I asked the Princess about the facility in the Crystal Caves, all she would say was that it was meant for 'a particular kind of threat to Equestria'.

See, this is just more of that off-putting sketchiness I was talking about before.

Anyway, it was this underground facility where Alter-Twilight was being held, and it was from here that she managed her inital escape. According to the Princess, she somehow managed to bypass the wards keeping her imprisoned and fled the facility. Mind you, she was both magically and physically shackled and still got out.

That alone was incredibly impressive I have to admit. Even Princess Celestia and the Royal Guard are still trying to figure out how she did it. Not only did she manage to escape the facility and make her way into the massive crystalline caverns, but she actually found a way to get help, and this is where things get interesting.

The Princess naturally led a ponyhunt through the caves to find the mare. I guess she was able to get pretty far because it took awhile for the search party to actually find her. My royal alternate made it past the old mines and way deeper into the more unknown parts of the caves by the time they finally did find her.

As a side note, nopony really knows just how deep those tunnels go. Even the Princess has yet to explore the true depths of that place and from the way she talked about them, I think she's afraid to.

The Princess herself eventually cornered the mare in a small dead end cave. Only the cave in question was more of a small shrine, at least that's what it looked like to the Princess. She hadn't known it was there before then and was just as surprised to see it as I was to hear about it.

The shrine itself wasn't anything super opulent or spectacular. In fact, it was apparently kind of shoddy, looking like it was hastily slapped together in a day. I didn't get any more details than that, but the real surprise was the altar at the center of the shrine and what the Princess found there.

Sitting on the altar was a small red crystal. Not just any small red crystal, mind you, but the exact same type of crystal as the one Rarity and I found in the Crystal Mountains. It was the same crystal that acted as a gateway into the Umbral prison, just on a much smaller scale. Needless to say, this came as a shock to the Princess who, at that point, hadn't given me my assignment in the Crystal Mountains yet.

Princess Celestia also found my other self passed out and completely unresponsive in front of the crystal, which I'm assuming made things easy. She, along with the rest of her Royal Guard retinue, took the fugitive alicorn back to the facility and that pretty much wrapped up her first attempted escape.

There's a bit more to the story though. The Princess recognized the crystal but she didn't know how it worked or what it would do. She chose to leave it while they restrained the other Twilight and she only came back for it after making sure the crazed mare was secure. The crazed mare in question only woke up once they were out of that shoddy shrine.

Unfortunately, the spell keeping the mare sane had already run its course so the Princess couldn't get anything about what happened out of her. In fact, it wasn't until I came back with my report about what happened in the Umbral prison that she fully pieced it together.

She'd already discovered the general location of the larger red crystal and had meant to assign the mission to seize or destroy it at some point in the near future. The discovery of the smaller crystal in the shrine just pushed her plans further up the list. As for why I wasn't given any details about what I was getting into...

The Princess just didn't have the details to give it seems.

She knew the red crystal was a prison for Rabia and her ilk but that was about it more or less. Luna was the one mainly handling that whole situation and apparently she didn't tell her sister much about what she was doing. She had no idea Rabia could communicate through the crystal or allow ponies in.

Her order to seize or destroy the thing was a precaution more than anything—a knee-jerk reaction if you will. She saw the smaller crystal, saw what it did to my alternate, and realized there might've been some connnection. Turns out she was right because we figured out that the other Twilight's brief trip into the Umbral prison lined up with her arrival at the shrine.

We don't know how the smaller crystal worked with the larger and we'll probably never find out now. We don't know how it transported the alicorn me to the prison, but what we can surmise is that she wasn't truly, physically there at the time. In the end, we were all left with more questions than we had when we started.

Still, it's probably best both crystals were taken care of—remaining questions or no. Not sure if I entirely believe everything the Princess told me, but I do agree that it's better to be safe than sorry. It also turns out that the airship pilot had orders to enact a search and rescue at his own discretion if he felt like anything was amiss. Evidently, this is standard procedure for all ships acting in the agency's interest.

Speaking of my harrowing journey in the mountains, I ran into Rarity while I was being tested over at RIDES. She's a RIDES agent now—well, a RIDES agent in training. I thought they'd taken her in to reflection deflection her memories away but I guess that's not what happened. We didn't get a lot of time to talk, but according to Rarity, they tried to do just that, but she refused.

Instead, Rarity, the crazy, determined, persuasive mare that she is, practically demanded RIDES to take her on as a field agent. RIDES gladly acquiesced, naturally. She told me that she'd rather use this chance to help others in similar situations. She wanted to hold onto those experiences and use them to become a stronger mare.

That, and she felt like her previous life hadn't been going anywhere for a long time now. She'd found herself in a years long slump and thought this might be just what she needed to get her life back on track. I was shocked at first, but as she explained her reasons, I realized I shouldn't have been surprised at all. That's just the kind of mare she is and I admire her for it.

I did have some doubts about her qualifications and said as much, but she just laughed that dainty laugh and replied 'well that's what the training is for, right?'. And I mean, yeah, but most ponies would need to have some kind of expertise prior to signing up for this kind of thing—especially RIDES.

As far as I know, I got into POUT based on my general intelligence, diligence, and borderline obssesive need to know things. Presumably. I'd like to think the first two things were a bigger factor anyway. I'm not too worried about Rarity, though. I get the feeling she'll do just fine. I mean, if Prism Streak can get a job in SMILE and do well enough to be trusted with an extended undercover op, then Rarity shouldn't have any issues.

Most importantly, I was able to apologize and thank her for everything she did for me. I was afraid I'd never get the chance so that was nice. The training process for a RIDES agent is a lot more extensive than either of the other agencies combined so Rarity will be busy for a long while. That said, we both promised we'd find some time to hang out at some point.

It also seems the Princess' decision in handing Rarity over to RIDES instead of POUT was simply priorities. RIDES handles victims of dimensional or temporal incidents and POUT handles the OOPArts. Even if the RIDES agent who'd taken Rarity were to find that journal, he would've given it to me anyway. I though there was more going but it was all just procedure.

The fact that RIDES already knew about Rarity was also easily explained. RIDES has methods and devices specifically made to track down the source of a time loop. It's a slow process because of the nature of looping time, but they get closer and closer to the source with each loop that occurs. I thought it was strange that they didn't track Rarity—or maybe the journal iself—to the Crystal Mountains.

I mean, that's where she was and she told me she brought the journal with her. This too was explained by the Princess as a simple case of not being able to make it in time. By the time I finally resolved the issue with the red crystal, RIDES lead only went so far as Rarity's shop. The explanation sounded a bit iffy but I didn't press any further.

Frankly, the only thing I care about is that the whole thing is done and that Rarity and I are safe and sound.

Getting back to the situation with my alicorn alternate, well, there's not really much else to say honestly. We found out that the other Twilight's ability to contact Spike had less to do with her own power and more to do with Spike himself. Well, specifically it has to do with our unique magical connection.

Even as an alicorn with way more thaumic energy than I'll ever have, that Twilight and I share the same fundamental thaumic signature. With that being the case, it would stand to reason that if I could telepathically reach out to the little drake—and after some testing it turns out I can—then she could too.

She felt Spike's presence from her prison, even through all the magical wards and enchantments. She'd tried to use that connection to have him help her escape, but that didn't exactly work out for her in the end either. After that failed, the Princess cut the mare a deal. Tell her what she wanted to know and she'd send the traumatized alicorn back home.

Not sure why that wasn't the deal initially, but at least she kept her word. I wasn't there for the actual transition, but I heard about it from one of the researchers that sent her back. I am glad the other me was able to return to her Equestria safely, but I couldn't help but wonder. How would that Equestria fair with that Twilight in her current state?

Being an alicorn, she likely has a lot of political power and we weren't able to heal her broken mind in the end. All we could do was send her home. I do feel like the Princess could've done more if she wanted, but I don't know all the circumstances. All I can do is hope for the best for her.

Who knows? Maybe the ponies in her realm can do what we couldn't. Maybe, if the Princess Celestia of that Equestria has the power, she'll be willing to do more than ours did.

2/21/1001

I'm so tired...

It's been a while since I've written anything down in here, but I've been... busy. A few things have changed since my last entry and I've been at least tangentially, if not directly involved in most of those changes. On top of my normal work in the lab, I had to meet with both the boss and the Princess (who's also technically my boss, I guess) to make a case for integrating Spike into POUT as an official agent.

That's right, the little guy wants to join me on my glorified treasure hunts out in the field. He'd made the plea at around the time my other self was sent back home—a couple of days after my last entry I think. Needless to say, I wasn't exactly thrilled about his choice given what I'd been through so far, but I didn't fight him too hard on the matter. I didn't have it in me, honestly.

I'd been ready to jump on the opportunity to join this agency as a foal, but that was mostly because of my curious nature. Spike wanted to join so he could more directly watch my back. He wanted to protect me. It was a sweet thought, really, but I was of two minds here. On one hoof, I wanted nothing more than to have him by my side.

I can't tell you how much I missed the baby dragon while i was in Manehattan. Being able to sense his presence nearby is like a balm for my frazzled nerves. At the same time, my job is dangerous. Even just being in the lab isn't a guarantee of safety. If anything, it has the potential to be even more dangerous considering the types of things we researchers handle on a regular basis.

Naturally, I wanted to protect him too, and for me, that meant keeping him away from all the unknowable danger. At the end of the day though, I just couldn't say no. Sure I tried to talk him out of it, but the look in his glowing purple eyes told me he wasn't backing down on this one. In the end, I just told myself that, at the very least, I could help prepare him for what was to come.

I didn't really get that chance when I joined. I just jumped in headfirst with barely a thought for the consequences and they don't tell you everything during training. And so, I raised my hooves in defeat and promised to take it up with the higher-ups. To my surprise and slight annoyance, neither the boss nor the Princess seemed all that surprised when I made the request.

They both just kind of gave me this knowing smirk that grated on my nerves. Then the boss pulls out this form, the same kind of recruitment form I'd filled when I joined POUT. It was already filled out and they'd already been ready to approve Spike for official training provided I could make a good case. They'd already known I would come to them with the request! The whole bucking thing was a formality!

Sure, I made my case, and it was a damn good case, too. I'd spent hours—days brainstorming the perfect pitch. Hundreds of well-reasoned arguments created and discarded because I thought this would be a hard sell. After all, normal policy didn't allow for non-Equestrians to join any of the agencies for “national security” reasons. I know what you're thinking, but despite the fact that Spike was technically born in Equestria, the kingdom doesn't allow citizenship to dragons.

Apparently, there was some major conflict between Equestria and the Dragonlands a few centuries ago. The outcome was a surprisingly peaceful one thanks to the efforts of the Princess, but it resulted in some lingering bad blood and while dragons aren't outright barred from entering the country, they're not allowed full citizenship.

And then I finally bring up the matter and it turns out that, despite the political ramifications, I could've just stood there slobbering all over myself and they would've given the okay! Isn't that insane? You can't blame me for being a little frustrated, right? I'm not the only one who thinks this is horseapples, right?! No, of course not. A little frustration is only natural. Only natural.

Alright, calming down now.

So yeah, I got the okay and Spike started his training about a week ago. I've been supplementing his normal physical training with all kinds of useful stuff I learned both in the lab and on the field by sharing the experiences through our psychic link. I've also been shoving everything in the field manuals I've read directly into his head. He's not happy about it, but we both agreed that if he was going to do this, we'd do it my way.

Is it cheating on his part? Maybe, but neither of us have been called out on it yet and I'm sure the trainers know something's up. But yeah, that's taken up a lot of my time and it's been way more exhausting than I'd expected. Even before all of that though, I'd been given another field assignment by the boss, but this one was special.

Yes, you could argue the Crystal Mountain incident was a special case too, but this time, I'll have backup, and not just any backup either. One of my assigned partners is Rolling Stone. That's all well and good and I'm actually happy to work with the mare, but the real surprise came when I was told by the Princess herself that Sunset Shimmer would be joining us as well.

Evidently, Sunset caught wind of where we were going and wanted in. Somehow she wore the Princess down and convinced the mare to let her go. I was surprised at first, but then I thought about it. Either by way of happenstance or through her own obsessive investigations, Sunset's pretty much figured out what POUT and the other agencies are all about at this point.

I feel like she probably would've been a prime candidate for at least one of the agencies if she hadn't taken up the role of the Princess' protégé. Sunset herself told me that Princess Celestia hadn't even fought her that hard on the matter. I'd managed to convince myself that Sunset's inclusion made a kind of sense, but to barely put up a fight on the matter at all? That I found kind of strange and even a little suspect.

Overall though, I was just glad to have a friend with me this time around. I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't rather have Spike with me if I had a choice, but Sunset was a good friend. Come to think of it, I'd gotten along fairly well with Rolling Stone. Well enough that I think I could consider her another friend—Prism Streak too.

I respected Rarity plenty, but I didn't exactly know her well enough to call her a friend just yet. That said, we were getting there and I couldn't wait to see her again when we both had the chance. Tempest... well, I liked the mare and she was patient with me, but that had been more a student-mentor relationship than anything else. Very professional for the most part.

Rolling Stone was a far cry from either Prism Streak or Sunset Shimmer. The mare had a calming presence. For those who didn't know her, she came off as disinterested and completely unflappable, but like I wrote in an earlier entry, that wasn't the case. She just didn't emote very well. I'd talked to her quite a bit in the past, but I only recently found out her actual name was Maudileena Daisy Pie—or just “Maud” for short.

I found out from the earth pony that Prism Streak's actual name was Rainbow Dash. Apparently the two had really bonded over the Nameless Tome incident and Maud had been feeling a bit down since the brash pegasus left on her extended undercover op in Ponyville. I felt for the mare but I'm not really sure what I can do to help. I'll just have to be there as another friend, I suppose—somepony she can talk to if need be.

But I think I've gotten a little off topic. Again. The real reason for my exhaustion and why I decided to jot all this down after so long was because of my upcoming assignment. This time I'll be heading out of Equestria and naturally, that means a lot of paperwork. Normally that wouldn't be an issue for me, but I was also tasked with showing Sunset the ropes, so to speak.

Under the boss' and Princess Celestia's orders, I've been teaching Sunset the proper protocol when out doing a mission on the field. It's been just the basics as she's still not an actual member of the POUT agency. Just common sense things any good survivalist would know. The problem is that, because of Sunset's personality, she's never been an easy mare to work with.

I'm used to her more arrogant, abrasive, and condescending tendencies, but that doesn't mean it doesn't wear on my nerves every now and then. And to be fair, she does try to dial that side of her down where I'm concerned. Still, it does slip through occasionally—especially if she thinks something she's being forced to do is a waste of time.

I love Sunset like a sister, but there's only so much Sunset Shimmer you can take in one sitting, y'know? Frankly, I'm not sure how the Princess manages so well. Years of experience I guess. Regardless, I did what was asked of me, tiring as it was, and all the while, I also had to make all the preparations for the trip. Maud was at least able to help me out there and thank the Sun too, because I was also helping Spike with his studies at the time too.

And all this on top of my normal duties in the lab.

So yeah, you can see why I haven't written anything in a while. Just didn't have the time. What little time I did get to myself I spent passed out in my room. It's only now that all preparations are finally complete that I can update my journal and what a relief that is. I've even managed to muster up some excitement about where we're headed. And just where are we headed I hear you ask?

Asterios, land of minotaurs and home to some of the oldest existing ruins in the world. They're a rare sight in Equestria so not many ponies know this, but minotaurs are an ancient race—supposedly older even than the dragons. Some say they were the first race to gain true sapience and had ruled the world once upon a time. The history is pretty murky given how far back it goes, but to explore their many ancient ruins is the dream of any history buff.

I'm personally not a major historian myself, but I like to cast a wide net when it comes to acquiring knowledge. My curiosity alone was enough to get me invested in the trip, but Sunset and Maud apparently had their own reasons for wanting to go. Maud was interested in the ancient stone architectures themselves, The rock enthusiast tells me that the stone used to build the ruined structures is supposed to be unlike anything found in Equestria.

Then there's Sunset...

We're going to be taking a ship south across the Bhokt Sea to an Asterian port city. There we're supposed to meet up with a contact from Equestria who'll be guiding us to our final destination. That contact in question just happens to be famed novelist, J.K. Yearling—A.K.A. world renowned adventurer and archaeologist, Daring Do.

And wouldn't you know it, Sunset Shimmer just happens to be a huge fan of the mare. Oh, she gave me and the Princess all kinds of excuses—good ones, too. Of course, the Princess didn't buy any of her nonsense for a second and neither did I once she let Daring Do's name slip.

I still find it strange that the Princess let her go despite seeing right through her excuses. What is her deal, really? This isn't supposed to be a vacation so what gives?

Well, setting my suspicions about the Princess aside, I'd known Sunset was a huge fan of Daring Do and I guess she saw this as an opportunity to meet her idol and follow in the mare's hoofsteps. Come to think of it, Prism Streak—or rather, Rainbow Dash—was a big fan, too. Now that I'm thinking about it, I wonder if I should send a letter bragging about how I get to meet her hero.

Nah. It might be good for a laugh or two, but I'm not that cruel.

I'd never bothered to read J.K. Yearling's adventure novels myself, but her stories seemed to be pretty popular. I'd imagine so given most of them are based on her own actual exploits. Maybe I'll ask Sunset to borrow a copy of the first book once I get a chance. Then again, I could just get the details straight from the pony's mouth, assuming Daring Do is willing to share. In any case, I wouldn't have any time to read her books right now.

Right now I had to try and figure out how to not completely botch this mission. I feel like I got lucky with what happened in the Crystal Mountains. If Rarity hadn't been there, I likely would have died and put all of Equestria in danger. According to Rarity, both of those things had technically occurred. Multiple times.

It was honestly incredibly depressing to think about and the fact that I'd failed so many times still weighs heavily on me even now. That's why I'm going to do everything I can to make sure this mission goes properly. I've spent a ton of time gathering as much info as I can on both our destination and objectives.

Speaking of objectives, we're actually on a bit of a ponyhunt—at least, that's part of our task.

So, a while back, this mare stumbled upon a certain item in an old antiques shop. I don't know if the pony running the joint knew what he was selling, but the mare had unknowingly gotten her hooves on an ancient Equestrian artifact called the Alicorn Amulet. According to some old reports I dug up, POUT's been looking for this nasty little relic for quite some time now.

The Alicorn Amulet supposedly grants insane magical prowess at the cost of the wearer's sanity. What's more, the longer one wears the amulet, the harder it is to remove it. Wear it too long and the thing latches onto your soul and you essentially become the amulet. Effects at that point evidently include immortality, a drastic increase in thaumic power and control, and violent and irreparable psychosis.

So, basically you turn into my insane Alicorn self, minus the wings.

The amulet only works on unicorns, but it was, unfortunately, a unicorn that bought it. The unicorn in question was one Beatrix Lulamoon. The mare was a self-professed entertainer—a showpony who specialized in prestidigitation. Why a unicorn would take to making a living off of simple magic tricks I'll never know, but apparently she was actually pretty good at her craft so I won't judge.

The reports go on to talk about the mayhem the mare caused while wearing the amulet, but that's not important. Eventually, some POUT agents were able to track the mare down and retrieve the Alicorn Amulet. Now the artifact (designation OOPART-0175) is sitting safe and sound in the lab. We got the amulet back, but somehow Beatrix managed to escape custody and has been dodging the agency ever since.

This all happened before I joined POUT, but it's all relevant now because we finally managed to track the mare's whereabouts. I guess she realized she couldn't stay in Equestria and was able to procure herself a ride to Asterios. The mare is resourceful, I'll give her props for that, but unfortunately for her, we have contacts all over the world.

The reason POUT's been tasked with her retrieval is twofold. One of our assignments is to find the mare, drag her back to Equestria, and wipe her mind clean—not necessarily in that order. The other assignment is a little more involved and is, in reality, only tangentially related. An informant in Asterios discovered that Beatrix was last seen heading towards an isolated village somewhere in the mountain range east of the Asterian mainland.

The problem? This village in particular is said to be home to a trio of monuments said to have the power to change the Fate of the world. Literally. The monuments are said to reshape the past to fulfill a specific Fate with a capital 'F'. There's no info on how that's supposed to work and we don't even know if the monuments in question actually have that kind of power.

Now that the higher-ups know about them though, they don't want to take the chance and ignore the matter, and I completely agree here. Power like that, if it does exist, shouldn't be in the hooves of anypony—least of all, some no-name magician living out of her caravan. So that's what the mission boils down to. Find and retrieve Beatrix Lulamoon while investigating and potentially securing the monuments.

This time I've done my research and I know what I need to do. I have no idea what'll happen if we mess this one up, but I know it'll be world changing, for better or for worse—again, assuming the power of the monuments is real. I do wish I was able to get more info on the monuments themselves, but we still know next to nothing about them other than what I already wrote above.

We don't know what they're actually called, we don't know how they work or what their supposed power even really means. All we can do is try to learn more when we finally get there. Hopefully this Beatrix mare doesn't get in the way, and if she does, hopefully we can deal with the fallout. Hopefully Sunset stays out of trouble.

Great.

I was actually feeling pretty confident about this assignment, but now I've gone and worked myself into a nervous wreck.

Forget it. I'm just gonna go to bed and let future me worry about all of this.

3/2/1001

We've finally made it to the lovely port town of Paelys and I can honestly say I've never been so glad to be back on solid ground.

As I mentioned in my last entry, we'd be traveling to Asterios by ship—specifically, an agency-provided schooner we rode from Fillydelphia to Paelys. This trip, as it happens, marks both my first time on a ship, and my first time actually leaving the Equestrian mainland. Now, I've been on an airship a few times in my life, even before my more recent trip to Manehattan, and I've never had an issue riding the things. Not once.

Apparently, seafaring ships and the sea itself are entirely different beasts. I thought I'd been prepared for the trip ahead, but somehow, in my excitement or anxiety, I failed to account for the seasickness. We spent over a week out there in that roiling sea, and my poor stomach paid the price every step of the way. That was the main reason I didn't do any writing during the journey.

I wanted to, but the nausea was so bad I couldn't get through a single paragraph without feeling like I was going to upend all my guts. And hey, I wasn't the only one suffering. Turns out, my dear partner Rolling Stone doesn't do so well on the open sea, either. In fact, she had it even worse than I did. Somehow, her extreme aversion to ships doesn't surprise me. Maybe it's her whole thing with rocks, I don't know.

I did get to see a side of her most ponies probably don't get to see, even if it was a side I'd rather not have known about. I won't go into details for her sake, but suffice it to say, Maud gets very cranky when she's sick. But then you have Sunset Shimmer, who was perfectly fine with everything. This was also her first time on a ship, too, but she was probably the only one who got to actually enjoy the crashing waves and salty air of the ocean.

Maud and I mostly just stayed inside the cabin, but Sunset spent most of her time in the crow's nest. It didn't matter whether she was supposed to be up there or not. Sunset will be Sunset. Things did get a bit better as we neared Asterios, but it was Tartarus for most of the trip. Still, I'm glad at least one of us was able to have a good time. I'm even more glad that the trip is over and done with—for now, anyway.

More importantly, we're here now, and Asterios has been pretty neat so far. Just about every home and business I've seen so far is built of either marble or granite. You see a lot of marble in Canterlot the closer you get to the castle, but I've never seen a town with this much or designed in such a way. Everything is towering, but I suppose that makes sense given the sheer size of the average minotaur.

And that brings me to the minotaurs themselves. I've never seen an actual minotaur before, but I'd heard stories. According to old school rumors, minotaurs were supposed to be big, boisterous, and belligerent. I'd never put much stock into a rumor I couldn't confirm for myself, of course. After having met a few now, I can honestly say that, while the first two stereotypes certainly had a basis in reality and while they were clearly bull-headed in a literal sense, the last one didn't seem to be the case—at least, not for the ones I met.

On the contrary, a lot of them were pretty friendly. A little too friendly in one case, but I'd rather not talk about that particular bit of awkwardness. Setting that one incident aside, they all also seemed to have this palpable air of confidence in themselves, no matter what they were doing. There was a sureness in each of their steps that you didn't really see from the everyday Canterlot citizen, not even from the elites of the city.

It was honestly kind of refreshing to see, and needless to say, Sunset warmed right up to any minotaur she met. Maud's expression didn't change much, but that was only her outward appearance. I'd been around the mare long enough now to tell that she was drinking everything in with just as much enthusiasm as Sunset, if not more. Her eyes were glued to every building and monument she passed, her passive, borderline apathetic gaze shining with hidden glee.

For my part, I was certainly impressed by the layout of the small(ish) port town, but I more or less had my mind on the mission. It took some time for me to lighten up after the less-than-pleasant trip here. While I did appreciate the architecture and how surprisingly affable the townsfolk were, it was the local cuisine that really blew me away. We'd all arrived in Paelys sometime in the early afternoon and once we confirmed everything was in order at the inn the agency had paid for in advance, we decided to stop by one of the restaurants near the local market.

We weren't scheduled to meet with Daring Do until tomorrow morning, so we had some time to kill. I don't really consider myself much of a foodie normally. I'm content just to wolf down a granola bar and be about my business, but at the same time, I won't say no to a good meal, and boy was that meal good. Apparently, minotaurs are omnivores, and while I obviously wasn't a fan of meat, they had a lot of amazing exotic vegetable-based dishes—most of which I can't pronounce the names of.

Reading all of this back, it sounds like I'm gushing about a vacation, and in a way, at least for today, it kind of felt like it. It'll be all business starting tomorrow, but for today, I had a lot of fun. If there was one thing I'm worried about, though, it's Sunset. She seemed to be having the most fun out of the three of us, but that was only initially. As the day dragged on, I started to notice how, in between the jokes and the banter with us and the minotaurs we met, her eyes would drift to something I couldn't see.

It was like she was distracted, her smile slipping and her laughter growing quiet. I didn't bother her about it while we were out, but by the time we returned to the inn for the night, she'd stopped talking altogether and this troubled, contemplative look on her face. Eventually, I asked her what was wrong, expecting her to brush off my concerns like she usually did, but this time she didn't. She hesitated for a moment, sure, but then she spoke.

Evidently, as the mare explored more and more of Paelys, she started to get this intense sense of nostalgia—like she'd been here before. According to her, speaking to the minotaurs almost felt like coming home. That might've explained why she got on so well with them, but it did nothing to explain the strange sense of familiarity that she had in the first place. That strangeness, then, led to Sunset telling me a fact about herself that she'd never shared with me before:

Sunset Shimmer was an orphan.

What's more, she didn't remember a lot about her foalhood before being taken in as the Princess' protégé. She had vague memories of an orphanage in the slums of Canterlot, but they were all hazy and indistinct—or so that's what Sunset told me. I worried about my friend, but Sunset didn't seem to be upset per se. Rather, she just seemed... confused. I didn't blame her. After talking it out for a while, we both agreed that something smelled fishy about the situation.

Neither of us was fool enough to dismiss her strange feelings outright, nor did we dismiss the idea that her murky past and this strange nostalgia might be related somehow. Even Maud, who'd apparently been listening in, agreed that we ought to keep our eyes and ears open for any more weirdness. Having found myself thrust into the middle of a few conspiracies at the hooves of our Most Radiant Sun herself, I agreed wholeheartedly. If there was some other scheme or mystery in the works, I wanted it nipped in the bud—preferably before our mission got off the ground.

Honestly, I would've preferred we just ignore any possible distractions altogether, but I knew deep in my bones that Sunset wouldn't let this go. Not with the look she gave me before heading off to bed. There was an intensity in those brilliant cerulean eyes, an intensity that I didn't like one bit. I asked Maud to weigh in on the matter, but she seems content to go with the flow, whatever comes of it.

Getting no help there, I decided to shelf the issue for now and now here I am, finishing up this entry so I can sleep my stress away. We have an early day and a lot of work ahead of us, and I'd rather not spend too much time dwelling on the what-ifs and maybes of tomorrow any more than I have to.

With all that said, I'm calling it a night.

10/21/1000

I call this an 'unofficial record'—and it is, technically—but really I'm just documenting my personal experiences in an old diary I got from my brother years ago and never touched until now.

Now where to begin...

Well, I've been out of formal training for about a week and a half now, but I suppose it would be more prudent to start from the beginning. Yeah, that's probably a good idea. I'm writing this for nopony but me and I can only pray that my co-workers or anypony else for that matter don't find out about this. That said, if I end up a dark red smear in some remote location miles from civilization and somepony does happen to find this ~~diary~~ record of my work, I'd rather ease them into the madness that was my line of work rather than come out swinging so to speak. I only wish I'd gotten that kind of chance, but that's an entry for a different day. Probably the next entry.

Yeah. Definitely the next entry.

Maybe.

Wait, before that, I should explain why I'm even risking my job to write all this down in the first place.

So to make a long story short, my job isn't exactly for the faint of heart—at least not a lot of the time. I work as part of a certain agency to protect ponies and other creatures across the world from certain 'items of interest' that may or may not—but often do—cause harm or sometimes even death to those that aren't aware of what these certain 'items of interest' are capable of. Most of the time we're successful in obtaining these items before anypony gets hurt or even knows what's going on, but there are times when that's... not the case.

There are times when we're too late and somepony or multiple someponies get hurt or worse. And when I say worse, I mean some ponies suffer fates so horrifying to see that you'll wake up screaming for years to come. Sure, I don't have it nearly as bad as your average SMILE agent, but only a week and a half into my job and I've already seen something that I know is gonna stick with me until the day I die, and maybe even after that.

I'm writing this like I'm some sort of scarred and jaded veteran, but in reality, a lot of these horror stories come from firsthoof accounts from senior agents and some documents we had to read for training purposes. I only had the one case personally so far, and I'll get into it when I next get the chance, but for now, all I'll say is that this particular case is the reason why I decided to document everything I've seen and heard. Yes, this record is against regulations, but somehow I get the feeling I'm not the only pony that's done or is at this very moment, doing this. I know for a fact that there are at least two ponies in SMILE who have their own personal journal.

In fact, I won't name names, but it was one of those ponies that convinced me to keep this little unofficial record. I'm a smart mare, but I've been told before that I can be a bit neurotic. I don't really see it myself, but I do know that when I get overly stressed or anxious about something, putting my problems to pen and parchment or temporarily blotting out reality with a good book helps keep me centered. I chose the former because it's easier for me to pay attention to my surroundings when I write. Getting lost in a book is a problem of mine in and of itself and in this line of work that's one problem you don't want to have. But I think I've rambled on long enough. I said I'd start from the beginning after all, so it's time for a bit of backstory.

Picture a little lavender filly maybe seven or eight years old—smart as a whip for her age, bright amethyst eyes full of wonder and curiosity, a bit of a nut for the thaumic arts. She doesn't really have any friends to speak of aside from an older brother, but she's a happy and energetic filly nonetheless.

Adorable, right?

Okay, so picture that same filly about a year down the road. Entrance exams are coming up and she's studying to get into the one school that all unicorns striving to make it in the field of thaumotology one day hope to get into. Yes, I'm, of course, talking about the Princess' very own School for Gifted Unicorns, naturally. She studies hard day and night for weeks on end, barely getting any rest and worrying her poor mother and father and older brother. They tell her to get some sleep, they tell her to get some fresh air—to go out and play with the other foals her own age. They tell her all this studying isn't healthy and can only hinder her chances rather than help them.

They take away her study materials, they try to bribe her, they ground her, they practically beg her to stop... but nothing works. She doesn't stop. Against her family's wishes and despite their attempts, she always finds some workaround and continues to pour her every waking hour into her notes and textbooks. Mind you, at this point, the filly is still only eight or nine years old and all that studying is most certainly taking its toll. The filly was too blinded by the promise of a rosy and glorious future of magical and scientific greatness, far too eager in her pursuit of the subjects that were close to her heart for as long as she could remember.

And hey, if she played her cards right, she might even get to personally meet the Princess and her genius protégé Sunset Shimmer one day! The Sunset Shimmer! The filly who—at only thirteen years of age—had discovered and proven that interdimensional travel was possible!

As a side note, I found out much later that there was a lot more to this 'discovery' than the general public knows, but that too is an entry for another time.

Yes, the filly had high hopes for her future, too high by far. Her family had been right when they told her she was pushing herself to the breaking point and that she needed to stop. They'd been spot on when they said that if she continued at this pace, she would crash and burn when it mattered the most. She should've stopped, but by the time she realized all of this, it was too late.

Not only was the filly a smart cookie, but she wasn't a slouch when it came to magical aptitude either. Flash forward to the day of the exam and the filly is practically dead on her hooves. She's clearly in no shape to take any kind of test and her family—and anypony with eyes in their head, really—could see it. The only pony that doesn't see it is the filly herself. Yeah, she's a little tired, but she's confident that with all her studying she's ready for anything CSGU can throw at her.

And then the overseers of the exam plop a dragon egg down in front of the filly and tell her to try and hatch it using raw magical power.

Now, I should point out that none of the CSGU hopefuls or their families were told about what the exam would entail. This was, of course, to prevent any unlawful chicanery—although it didn't stop the wealthier parents from attempting to bribe the school staff into either accepting their foals no matter the outcome of the exam or telling them outright what the exam was. The filly, whose parents did not attempt to bribe the more influential members of the school board, only had assumptions to go off of. Common sense told the filly that the exam would be written, and that's exactly what she'd studied herself into a near coma for.

She was, in fact, not prepared for a practical exam—not one like this at least.

Oh, she understood the reasoning behind the test, there was no confusion there. Dragons were notoriously resistant to thaumic radiation in all but the rarest cases. This meant that most spells cast on or at them would simply bounce right off their scaly hides. A dragon's egg was no exception and making a foal whose magical strength—while somewhat exceptional—was still developing crack such an egg open using magic alone was asking for a bit too much. Not only that, but there was no need for any of the knowledge the filly had so desperately crammed into her head.

This exam was, in essence, the thaumatological equivalent of smashing a hammer against a rock with enough force to break it into smaller rocks! How stupid is that??? Seriously, just thinking about that asinine test still infuriates me to this day. All that studying, all for nothing. And you can bet I wasn't the only one who was mad about the way the exam was handled. Evidently the examiners were given the okay by Princess Celestia herself, but the school still got a lot of flak at the time for that little stunt.

Okay, I think I'm getting off-topic here and it's what happened during and after the exam that's important. Also, if you hadn't already guessed, I was that adorable little lavender filly.

So, I knew this was a lost cause the moment I laid my sunken, bloodshot eyes on the egg, but me being who I am, I tried to hatch the thing anyway. I tried as hard as I could, even as all the hope I'd had of getting into Princess Celestia's school died in my chest. I pumped every bit of magic I had in my wellspring into my horn and let loose, but it was all for naught... or so I thought at first.

Then came the 'incident'.

I was so focused on hatching the egg that it took me a minute to register a strange ringing in my ears. It was the kind of ringing sound you'd hear after an explosion if you were close enough. Somewhere in my sleep-deprived brain, I noticed the sound getting steadily louder and thought it meant I was actually having an effect on the egg. I pushed myself even harder, but this proved to be a mistake because a second later the ringing in my head gave way to an explosive migraine and everything went white for a solid minute or two.

I was vaguely aware of a ridiculous amount of magic leaking out of my horn—far more than I actually should've had. Well, it was less a leak and more a raging torrent of raw thaumic energy, but the point is that I had no idea what was happening or why. All I knew was that I felt like I was actually going to explode and that it was the worst pain I'd ever felt in my life. I really thought I was going to die then, but lo and behold, who comes to my rescue but Princess Celestia of all ponies!

Given my dog tired state and single-minded focus on success at the time, I hadn't even noticed, but apparently both the Princess and her star pupil had been in attendance. It was Celestia that saved me and reversed the rather alarming effects of my unorthodox magic surge. I don't remember it all that well due to some residual trauma, but apparently one of those effects happened to be not only hatching the egg but drastically accelerating the growth of the dragon inside.

While Celestia had come to the rescue and nopony else was seriously injured as a result, the school and I didn't exactly come out unscathed. The surge had put me in and out of a coma for about a week afterward and the school had to be temporarily shut down due to some major damages to the main building. The whole thing was a PR nightmare for the school and the Princess to some extent. Some ponies blamed her for allowing the event to happen in the first place and given that she gave the go-ahead for the exam, I can kind of understand their sentiments.

This is where things get interesting though.

As I said, I was in and out of a coma for about a week and, naturally, spent all that time in a hospital. During the times that I was awake, I started to notice some odd things happening around me. Ponies in clean, pressed black suits started showing up at the hospital where I was staying. Unbeknownst to anypony, I heard them talking to all sorts of ponies. They talked to my doctors, they talked to my parents, and I could've sworn one of them even tried to talking to me directly, but I'm still a bit hazy on that one. I do remember that at one point, one of them entered my room accompanied by the Princess.

I probably shouldn't have remembered any of this, but it was all so strange that it stuck with me even after I recovered. I remember certain words and phrases the black-suited ponies used too, things like black box and sonic rainboom and reflection deflection and find the pegasus and other things that didn't sit right with me even as a partially comatose filly. Looking back on it, I suppose the ponies in black thought I would be too out of it to remember anything about my stay in the hospital, so I wasn't wiped. That's the only reason I could think of as to why I was allowed to remember what they'd said.

When I eventually got out of the hospital I later told and asked my parents about the ponies in black, but they just smiled and dodged the question by offering me ice cream as a celebration for getting my cutie mark, which had happened sometime during the incident. I thought their reaction was weird and was smart enough not to bring it up again. I kept what I'd heard to myself and tried to focus on other things, but what happened during the exam and things I heard and saw in the hospital continued to gnaw at me for the next few years. Due to the circumstances surrounding Celestia's school, most students, including myself, chose to enroll elsewhere.

I managed to get into a somewhat less prestigious, but still very highly rated private school focusing on thaumatology and other sciences. I was doing well enough for myself, but I couldn't forget what all had happened back then even if I'd wanted to. I mentioned before that I was a curious little filly, but I feel as though I might've understated the fact; I was a very curious filly. If something caught my interest, I'd pursue it to the ends of the earth and back, heading into Tartarus if I had to in order to uncover how it worked and what secrets it hid. I wouldn't let it go until I was satisfied with my answer.

That was true then and despite my misgivings about my current job, it's still true now.

So when one of those ponies in black showed up at my family's doorstep one night, you can imagine my shock and excitement at the prospect of finally getting some closure. I didn't know why this stallion had chosen to show up out of the blue so long after the incident, but I didn't particularly care either. All that mattered to me was seizing the moment, and I tried. By this point, my older brother had left to start his military training at the castle so it was just me and my parents.

Oh yeah, my brother, Shining Armor, is the current Captain of the Royal Guard. He's one of the very few ponies outside my own circle who actually knows what I do for a living.

Anyway, my very nervous parents invited the stallion in for tea while they talked and it wasn't long before he asked, by name, to speak to me. He wanted to know how I'd been getting along and if anything strange had happened to me at all since the exam. Very nice stallion, handsome too. That still didn't stop me from asking some questions of my own. Questions that had been burning a hole in my psyche for the better part of five years by that point. Was it a bad move? Most likely, judging by the look on his and my mom and dad's faces as I went on.

I knew it wasn't a smart move to ask about the mysterious ringing in my ears or the 'sonic rainboom' or the supposed 'black box' that caused both that and my magic surge. I'd worked a few things out based on what I heard and had long ago come to the conclusion that what happened to me and this pegasus they mentioned was due to some outside element and not, in fact, a result of some hidden power awakening from within suddenly. I also surmised that we weren't likely to be the only ones affected at the time either. I had nothing concrete to base any of this off of save for what was said in the hospital, so it was all pure conjecture from my standpoint.

It was all just stuff I thought about every so often when I wasn't really doing anything important, conclusions I'd reached using basic reasoning skills. I knew it wasn't wise to just blurt all that out, but once I started, I couldn't stop. It felt like the stallion was tearing the words from my throat, and again, looking back on it, he very well may have been doing just that somehow. What finally made me realize that I might've really messed up was the reaction of everypony involved. I'll never forget the horrified look my parents gave me and the handsome, well-dressed stallion sitting across from me.

I'll never forget the utterly blank stare I got from the stallion and how he just suddenly burst into laughter when I was finally done spilling my guts. It was a deep and genuine belly laugh, too, like the whole thing had been one big elaborate joke that only he was in on. When he saw the confused looks my parents and I gave him, he only laughed that much harder before pulling a small white business card from his suit and handing it to me—not my mom or my dad but me. The card had a (fake) name, a business address I'd never heard of, and the word POUT printed on it.

I figured POUT was an acronym for something, but when I asked what it meant and what the card was for, he just smiled as he got up from the loveseat and told me to 'find him and ask again in six years'. He also told me to keep my suppositions to myself and that I wouldn't be getting another card if I lost that one. Needless to say, that answer was far from satisfactory. I had a mind to find the place right then and there, and the only reason I didn't start searching for the address on the card the very next day was because my parents convinced me to at least wait until I was older to find out what the stallion wanted.

I mostly backed down out of surprise more than anything else. I was certain they'd object and tell me about the importance of stranger danger and whatnot, but they didn't. My dad had told me that, while he didn't know exactly what the stallion did, he was in the employ of the Crown and it was that stallion who had tried to talk to me back when I was lying semi-conscious in my hospital bed. My mom guessed that he was offering me some kind of important government desk job when I was old enough to work and to hang on to that card if I was really interested.

I told them I was most definitely interested and all things considered, they were strangely supportive of my immediate decision to work a shady desk job right out of school. Then again, my mom and dad had always been the supportive type and were fairly laid back when it came to parenting, so I guess it didn't come as that much of a surprise.

There isn't really much more to tell than that, honestly—nothing all that interesting anyway.

I switched to a much more difficult set of accelerated courses over the next six years and ended up graduating early at the top of my class. It was a bit of a nightmare, but I got through it all so that I could take up that stallion's offer as soon as possible. I figured it would be worth it in the end, and whether or not I still feel that way is... well...

Let's just say it's still up for debate at the moment.

I won't mention the name of where I'd gone or the address, but I will say that I'd actually passed by the place a fair number of times and never once suspected that it could hide the kind of secrets that it did. The experience was like something right out of a pulpy sci-fi novel; an innocent and unassuming front hiding the real facility deep below. I was placed in an empty, dimly lit room with what I assumed was a two-way mirror like some criminal suspect under investigation and thoroughly screened by some suited mare with an attitude problem.

It was a harrowing, but thankfully brief affair and the exam they had me take was written, albeit rife with very weird questions that even now still have me scratching my head. I wasn't sure what would come of my time there, but after all was said and done they told me they'd be in touch within the week and of course not mention any of what I'd seen and heard. I waited and sure enough, within the week I was escorted from my house to a closed-off sector of Canterlot Castle.

There, my official induction into the POUT agency as a trainee was overseen by the Princess, the mare with the attitude problem, the handsome stallion I'd met six years ago, and a couple of other suits that would end up becoming my seniors. It was all... kind of underwhelming actually. It was a bit intimidating seeing all those suits and the Princess lined up like that with all eyes on me, but aside from that, there was no real fanfare. I was congratulated on passing the screening, shown the badge and black suit I would receive once I finished training, and... that's it.

I started my training a few days later and the rest is history.

Oh, and that handsome stallion is now my boss and one of a small number of agents I've seen in this profession who can go around wearing a genuine smile from time to time. I've made a couple of friends along the way who are... normal enough. At the very least, the senior agent I'm currently partnered up with seems like a decent enough sort, but in general, I tend to stick to my own devices and stay out of the way of other agents most of the time.

I only now realize reading back on what I've written so far that I haven't really given away too much regarding specific names and places. I guess I'm still nervous about writing out my thoughts like this. It's either that or the training.

Probably both.

Well, I guess it's fine for now, and I do feel a bit better after getting all this off my chest. Maybe I'll feel more comfortable writing about my job and my colleagues later down the road. And who knows? I might even stop shaking in my suit long enough to actually write about my first case!

Only time will tell, but until then I think I'm done for the night. I've got a lot to do tomorrow and I'll probably be too tired to write anything. As long as I'm careful about keeping this thing out of sight though, I think I can safely say that yes, I'll be coming back to write more entries again in the near future. I just really hope the boss doesn't find out about these 'unofficial records'.

Oh, and before I forget, I never actually found out what the 'black box' that caused the CSGU incident was, but I know that one of the wealthy parents in the audience during the exam had it in their possession. I don't know how he got ahold of the thing, but I was able to get ahold of some of the classified documents. Apparently, once a pony generates thaumic waves of a certain frequency the device 'activates' and causes some rather interesting things to happen within a radius of approximately 500 miles. I guess the pony who'd brought the thing thought he could use it to boost his son's chances to succeed?

I don't know, it's stupid, but this is just one of the things I'll have to deal with, so now you know a bit more about what I do. There's still a lot more to the job that I'm not quite comfortable discussing just yet, but I'll get there... eventually.

Maybe.

1/12/1001

Things have been pretty slow lately.

You'd think I'd be relieved about that, but if I'm being completely honest, it makes me kind of nervous. Well, maybe 'nervous' isn't the right word; maybe 'antsy' or 'suspicious' would be a better fit. Yes research and the endless filing of reports keep me busy enough, for the most part, and there's the whole psychic connection thing with Spike, but aside from that, there haven't been any major incidents cropping up since what happened with Starlight Glimmer.

Oh yeah, the other researchers let me name the dragon so I chose the name Spike. I don't know, it just... felt right, and Spike seems to like the name, even if he doesn't show it on his face. I'm not sure what it is, but the little guy either can't or doesn't want to express emotions really well. He always has this kind of blank but weirdly inquisitive look on his face that never really changes. It's like he's constantly sizing you up and finds you... lacking in some way.

I mean, I know better that that's not what's actually going on (most of the time anyway, he actually is like that sometimes), but I can see how it would look like that to everypony else. It also doesn't help that he never says a word to anypony. The researchers who work with him have learned to more or less pick up what he tries to convey through his movements and non-vocal cues, but they struggled in the beginning to the point where I was called in far more than I was supposed to be to 'translate'.

Some of the researchers think he might've developed a sort of autism as a side effect of the extreme circumstances in which he was born. It's possible, but from what I and the other researchers and doctors can tell, the symptoms stop at the lack of facial cues and speech. It's been made very clear that he can understand what we're all saying and he has no trouble when it comes to learning. In fact, his comprehension skills have been shown to be far above average bordering on a genius level.

When I brought it up with Spike, he told me that he didn't really know how, but some of the stuff we were teaching him about reading, writing, mathematics, thaumatology, and a few other subjects, he already knew or had an idea of. I told the guys in the lab about it and another theory was crafted that he may have picked up echoes of the knowledge that I'd already acquired back then through my thaumic signature.

It's possible given how thoroughly magic affects and permeates throughout the equine body and mind. Whatever the case though, the little guy is no idiot. He actually kind of reminds me of myself when I was his age. He enjoys his lessons with me when I'm able to take some time to teach him and he's a hard worker; like mother, like son I suppose. ...That's just an expression, of course. I feel close to him, but not in any way I can really describe without sounding crazy. I'm fairly sure it's not in a motherly sort of way.

It's more like... like the two of us are one entity? Like we both share one mind? Something like that anyway. It's weird and I know I sound crazy, but that's just kind of how it feels to me. That aside, the researchers are working hard to unravel what mine and Spike's connection mean for us and what it could potentially mean for the world as a whole, but since it's only been a little under two weeks since it happened, they haven't made too much headway yet, and that's not the only thing we have yet to make any headway on.

We still don't know what happened back in the Old Castle or where we in the assault team went when we disappeared. To this day, not one of us remembers anything about it and we haven't found out anything about how or why Nightmare Moon suddenly showed up in Canterlot during said disappearance. We've surmised the two events are related somehow through OOPA-118 (the Left Eye of the Nightmare), but we have yet to determine the nature of that connection. Since the thing is busted I don't know if we ever will find out.

If the Princess knows something about the incident or the Left Eye—and both Sunset and I are fairly sure she does—she isn't telling. And speaking of Sunset, I haven't told her about Spike yet due to orders from the top, but I think she suspects something weird is going on. It's strange because I don't think I've given any kind of impression that I have a psychic connection with a baby dragon, at least not around her. The mare is scarily perceptive when she wants to be though so who knows?

Also, he hasn't directly said as much, but I think the boss is aware that I've been sharing a bit more with Sunset than I probably should be. When he told me not to tell anypony about Spike, I got the impression that he was also talking about a certain somepony in particular—like he was hinting at the fact that I'd been discussing confidential topics with Sunset off duty.

Maybe it's just me and my paranoia, but I should probably be a little more tight-lipped in the future just in case, this journal notwithstanding. There's no sign that he knows about it yet, and with where I've been hiding it, I highly doubt even he'd be able to find it so I'm not too worried about that.

Getting back to what I was talking about in the beginning, there's been no news of any major goings-on lately and we haven't gotten any reports of any new OOPArts that need to be retrieved either. In fact, everything is going swimmingly from what I can gather. The reconstruction of the city after the battle between the Princess and Nightmare Moon is coming along nicely and most of the buildings that were destroyed have already been rebuilt for the most part.

The majority of ponies that were affected by the attack are more or less getting back on their hooves again thanks to both the Princess' and Sunset's efforts. Yeah, Sunset actually volunteered to spearhead a relief effort for the ponies who lost their homes and loved ones with Princess Celestia's full backing. Now she's even more of a hero to everypony in the city than before. If I didn't know the mare personally I would've found it all very suspicious—like she was trying to garner public favor for the sake of some hidden agenda—but again, I'm just that kind of pony.

Like I said before, she has her more... unsavory quirks, but in general she really is a kind and caring pony where and when it counts. If anything it's the Princess that I kind of get that 'hidden agenda' vibe from sometimes.

Beyond that situation, even the ponies from SMILE and RIDES haven't seen much action at all. That I am actually relieved about, if only because it gives Prism Streak some time to relax. Thanks to therapy she's doing a lot better than she was before, but there's still some lingering trauma left and if I'm being honest I don't think that experience will ever fully leave her. Still, I'm glad she's doing better—both her and Rolling Stone.

I got to know Rolling Stone a little better through my talk with her and we've talked a bit more since. Like Spike, she doesn't emote very well through her expressions. She doesn't say much either and when she does speak, her tone is as dull and dry as the Saddle Arabian desert, but that's only on the surface. When you get her going, she actually has a lot to say, and a lot of what she says is pretty profound.

She even told me a bit about her family and how she used to work on a rock farm with her three sisters. Apparently she left the farm behind to pursue a doctorate in petrology but that fell through and she wound up joining POUT instead. She didn't really give me any details on why her career path had changed so drastically but something in the way she avoided the question told me her situation was similar to mine and Prism Streak's and that POUT had been involved.

Since things have been slow, I've gotten more chances to hang out with her, Prism Streak, and Sunset. With everything as it is right now, I'm becoming increasingly worried that something horrible is going to happen any day now—like this is the calm before the storm. Prism Streak thinks I'm just being paranoid (she's probably not wrong), Sunset didn't really seem convinced but she promised me she'd be on the lookout for anything strange, and Rolling Stone, to my surprise, agreed with me.

There's no evidence that anything is going to happen, but the feeling won't go away. All I can really do is hope my gut feeling is wrong and that we don't have another Nightmare Moon level disaster on our hooves, not when we just started recovering from the last one.

1/24/1001 (part ii)

So we wound up arriving back in Manehattan later than I expected because of the blizzard the day before. As it turns out, getting some shut-eye might've been a bad idea because now I'm back in my hotel room wide awake and writing this entry at about eleven o'clock... in the evening.

Potentially ruined sleeping schedule aside, I do feel much better than I did earlier. Well, I'm not panicking anyway so that's a start. Technically I have almost all day tomorrow to ruminate on recent events, but I'm writing this all down so that I can put that all behind me for the time being.

And before I forget, I also need to make a note to visit Rarity again tomorrow. She said she had something she wanted to discuss with me and from the way she sounded, it doesn't seem like the conversation is going to be a light chat between new friends.

No, this is going to be one of those life-changing talks—the ones that hold way too much gravitas for any one pony to handle. On one hoof, I'm glad that Rarity is finally going to open up, but on the other, I'm kind of terrified of what she's going to say.

But I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. For now, I need to get this whole Red Crystal business out of my mind and onto these pages. To start with, this was one of the most surreal experiences I've had since joining POUT and something I feel should've been investigated by RIDES instead of me.

For one thing, that wasn't just a dimensional prison on the other side of that crystal. At least, it wasn't when I went in. What I saw when I stepped into the Red Crystal was a world pulled straight out of one of those kirin sumi-e paintings.

I didn't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't open grassy valleys dotted with small patches of woodland. I wasn't kidding about the whole painting thing either. The grass, the trees, the sky, everything I saw had these muted colors and thick black outlines.

Every sound from the noise my hooves made against the ground to my own voice had this ethereal sort of echo to it. It almost felt like I'd walked into a dream and I'd be lying if I said I didn't find the supposed prison beautiful in a surreal, unearthly sort of way.

Or at least I would have if it weren't for the eerie atmosphere and massive grave-like stone structures with countless cells full of horrifying equine wraiths. It was an unnerving juxtaposition, to say the least, and instant regret didn't even begin to cover what I felt almost the moment I stepped into this place.

Despite the picturesque surroundings, the air felt wrong—cold in the same way the cave did as Rarity and I were approaching the red crystal, only a hundred times worse. I would've turned right back around and hightailed it out the way I came, but the way I came—namely, the big red crystal—wasn't there anymore.

No, what I got instead when I turned around was a brief but terrifying eyeful of inky black and white horse wraith. Before I could even take a breath to scream, its white eyes flashed and I was assaulted by a blinding white light, and then... nothing. I don't know if I passed out or what, but my world went black for an unspecified amount of time.

When I finally came to I wasn't in that eerie sumi-e world anymore. Suddenly I was back in my foalhood home watching my parents get slaughtered by psychopaths. Suddenly I was in some kind of black abyss watching some mare I didn't know get dragged kicking and screaming into the darkness.

Suddenly I'm witness to a desperate struggle as countless bipedal equines are torn apart and eaten by giant monstrosities. Suddenly I'm in a world devoid of any light or life, staring into the empty, sightless eyes of the Princess. And on and on it goes with no rhyme or reason or context, one terrible vision after another.

It was like that dream I had all over again, only much, much worse. This felt real, solid, grounded. This didn't feel like a dream or even some kind of morbid vision looking back on it. This felt more like I was living dozens of horrible lives in a single moment. I could smell the dirt and ash, taste the blood, feel the fear and horror, raw and unfiltered by any kind of dream-like haze.

It was too real to be a nightmare and for a while, I thought I was going to go insane. The possibility of some kind of attack of the mind or illusionary spell array being implemented didn't even cross my mind. I didn't have time to shore up my mental defenses or mount any kind of counterattack.

If Tempest had been there, she probably wouldn't have fallen for whatever that ghost horse did to me—or could of at least put up a better fight than I did. In the end, though, I only have myself and my lack of experience to blame for falling into that trap. And it was a trap, one I was totally unprepared for.

I was stuck like that for what felt like ages but I came to my senses eventually. Unfortunately, by the time I realized it was all in my head I was already in one of those cells, weak, tired, and cold right down to my bones. I felt drained and hollow to the point where I couldn't even muster up enough energy to stand on my own.

I was shaking like I'd been the one trapped out in that blizzard outside the cave. Any attempt to use my magic just resulted in a few feeble sparks and painful thaumic backlash. In other words, I was drained, both physically and magically. Whatever that thing had done to me sapped me of just about everything I had.

Normally the fear and panic would've set in at the predicament I was in, but I was too preoccupied with what I'd just seen—no, what I'd just lived through to really think about anything else. It was only the sound of an alien voice just outside my cell that snapped me out of my rumination.

I looked up to see the ghastly, ghostly face of my captor staring down at me with a look I couldn't even begin to comprehend. I didn't hear what she said at first and for a long uncomfortable moment, she chose not to repeat herself.

All she did was watch me with that inscrutable look, the pale white glow of her eyes boring into me. It was only after a hoofful of agonizingly slow seconds that she finally spoke again, just as I was about to say something. By the shrill, demonic timbre of her voice, I was pretty sure this could only be Rabia.

More than her voice though, it was what she said that shocked me. I expected some kind of gloating or villainous monologue or some heinous demand to set her race free with dire consequences if I didn't. I didn't get any of that—at least, not at first.

According to the ghost horse herself, she'd tried to show me some dark secret history involving the Princess and how she'd wronged Rabia and her race. Apparently, at some point during the Dark Era, the Umbrum roamed the now desolate rocky desert of northeast Equestria.

So, basically the area just about where Starlight Glimmer's creepy cult town is located now. Kind of fitting when you think about it, I guess.

The way she tells it, Rabia and her unholy brood kept themselves isolated from the rest of Equestria, living out their lives in relative peace. That all changed when two traveling alicorns, hearing a rumor about horrifying ghostly creatures plaguing the land, came to investigate.

One of those two alicorns was Princess Celestia, naturally, but the other mare's name I didn't recognize. Rabia called her Luna and given I only know of two alicorns (not including the other me) I have a fairly good idea of who this 'Luna' is supposed to be.

Couple that with her reference to the two alicorns as sisters and that lines up a little too nicely with Sunset's suspicions about Celestia's relationship with Nightmare Moon. Some of the pieces were beginning to fit but I still had questions.

Thankfully Rabia was feeling pretty talkative and that gave me a chance to not only get some answers but also recover a bit from her surprise mental attack. She went on to talk about how Celestia wanted to wipe out her entire race and how Luna was against the wholesale slaughter of an entire species, even if was born from dark magic.

Long story short, after subduing Rabia and the rest of the Umbrum, the two sisters settled on a compromise. Instead of killing all the Umbrum outright, they agreed to seal the Umbrum away in a dimensional prison of Luna's own making.

Celestia had evidently tasked Luna with overseeing the whole operation before returning home. It was Luna who used the Red Crystal as a catalyst and hid the prison far from civilization. I can only guess that Luna never told her sister where she actually hid the stupid thing and then it became my problem.

Anyway, as she did with me, Rabia tried to convince Luna to set the Umbrum free. Luna more or less gave her the same answer I did and left, but not before Rabia got her diabolical mental hooks in the mare. If I'm understanding this right, Rabia was the cause of Luna's eventual downfall and transformation into Nightmare Moon.

Rabia herself didn't say as much, but she talked about dark whispers and revenge and how Luna would inevitably come to free them all again. In other words, it was a classic case of long-term psychological corruption by way of magic.

It's much harder to pull off that kind of thing today because such methods are well documented and we have all kinds of protective and counteractive spells. Back then though, I imagine it was pretty effective. It must have been because if what that abomination said was true, then she was essentially responsible for one of the darkest times in Equestria's history.

I still don't know if it's actually true, but given what the Princess wrote in my journal, I'm sure I'll know soon enough. Maybe. In any case, that's what Rabia had meant to show me when she blindsided me with her illusion and drained me of just about all of my strength and magic, but clearly, that wasn't what happened.

Well, the strength and magic draining thing did happen, but she hadn't intended to show me the visions I saw and felt. No, apparently that was all me. Rather than Rabia forcing her (probably modified) memories of what happened in the past onto me, I somehow forced my own 'memories' onto myself through her dark magic.

This, of course, made no sense whatsoever and both Rabia and I were understandably confused by the situation. Well, I was confused anyway. Rabia had no idea what was going on but she just seemed angrier that she couldn't use the past and her dark magic to manipulate me—at least not in the way she'd intended to.

If I could pull away from the story for a second, the biggest reason I'm still awake and why I probably won't be getting any sleep any time soon is because I've been ruminating on those visions. It's not so much what I saw, but the implications of what I saw.

I actually have a few ideas bouncing around my brain on what it could all mean, but nothing concrete. That said, it probably won't do me any good to dwell on it. After all, I can just ask the Princess about it once I get back to Canterlot.

I don't know if she'll have the answers I'm looking for, but if anypony had any clue about what was going on, I'm pretty sure it'd be Princess Celestia. Rabia certainly didn't have any answers to give me, that's for sure. I was kind of out of it at the time so I don't remember exactly what I said or asked when I was finally able to get a word in.

I'm pretty sure whatever it was, was barely coherent and I don't remember Rabia indulging in my questions anyway. What she did do was try and force me to open the way into Equestria for her, but she made a mistake. She wanted to keep me weak and delirious and mentally malleable so she could manipulate me into freeing the Umbrum from their imprisonment.

What the ghost whorse didn't take into account when she tried to sap my intelligence was my personality. Dumb or not, I like to know how things work. I like to ask questions and I'm pretty stubborn about it when I want to be. So if I don't understand something I'll continue to poke at the problem until I get it.

Since I couldn't get it because of what she'd done, her demands never went anywhere. I guess she gave up at some point because she released whatever spell she'd used to suppress my mind enough that I could think clearly. She didn't lift the spell completely, but it was enough that I could come up with a plan.

Rather than try to explain verbally, Rabia had made several attempts to simply force the knowledge of how to release her directly into my brain. I don't know what it was with her and mind magic but she couldn't seem to get enough of it.

I continued to play dumb and put up with it until I got enough of my mental fortitude back to actually fight her influence. I don't really want to go into a lot of detail but suffice it to say that as her frustration grew, she started injecting a lot more than just instructions on how to get out of that pocket dimension into my brain.

I can only assume she found out what was wrong when she first cast her illusion spell because when she next used it, it worked just as intended. Unfortunately for her, she got sloppy and, while I was quickly becoming an emotional wreck, I'd still had some very good training when it came to fighting back against mind magic.

Separate. Locate. Retaliate.

There's a lot more that goes into it, but those are the three basic principles when defending against mind magic. It's basically all about compartmentalizing your thoughts, finding the thaumic 'link' connecting your attacker's mind to yours, and throwing it back into their face. Or mind. You know what I mean.

It's incredibly difficult to do, but I was pretty good at it as it turns out, and Rabia was getting sloppy in her frustration. So much so that even as I was beginning to spiral emotionally, I still managed to turn the tables. Once I found that link all it took was a simple mental twist and shove and suddenly I was in her head and it wasn't a pretty sight.

Her mind was strange and horrifying and twisted in a way that I can't even begin to describe. Just a glimpse of what I saw there was enough to almost make me back out entirely and run screaming for the hills. I did end up forced to back out, but not before witnessing a few important memories.

The first was of Luna casting her dimensional prison spell and sealing the Umbrum away. Seeing the infamous mare behind the legend was a surreal experience. She had a different sort of radiance and regality to her than Celestia and her spellwork was hooves down some of the most beautiful I'd ever seen.

Thinking back on it, I remember learning early in my career that Sunset hadn't actually discovered dimensional travel on her own. I didn't know the full story until I asked Sunset about it later.

It took a bit of digging and prodding Sunset for details, but I eventually got her to admit she'd found some old documents while exploring one of the forbidden sections of the castle one night. It was those documents that had given her the answer.

No, she hadn't been the first to discover interdimensional travel, just the first in over a thousand years to make heads or tails of the overly-complex formulae involved. She was sour about me finding out for a while but I still think that was an impressive feat. I've told her as much multiple times, but Sunset Shimmer will be Sunset Shimmer I guess.

Getting back on track, the second memory I saw was of how Rabia and her infernal brood of wraiths came to live in the desert. So apparently that hadn't actually been a desert before the Umbrum came. Apparently, that area had once been a verdant green woodland inhabited by the deerfolk, a sapient race I hadn't even known existed until that moment.

Then Rabia and her ilk had come along, systematically slaughtered their entire race, turned their home into a scorching wasteland, and moved right in, claiming the now burning rocky desert as their own. That was why the Princesses had come to confront them.

The real reason Luna had chosen to imprison the Umbrum instead of wiping them out was that she couldn't. She and Celestia had tried but as physical manifestations of magic, they can never truly be killed. Maybe dispersed for a time at best, but never killed permanently.

Ergo, the interdimensional prison solution.

I think the idea was not only to stop the Umbrum from laying waste to the rest of Equestria but to cut them off from Equestia's ambient mana. Being creatures made of the stuff, you'd think they would need it to maintain their form, but I guess that's not the case. I mean here Rabia is, trying to get me to release her from her prison and all.

But I digress, again. The most important memory I saw, at least to me, was the unexpected arrival of my alicorn self. Rabia must not have known how she'd gotten here because there was no memory of that. Instead, she'd seemingly found the mare wandering around in a maddened daze, babbling about some kind of map.

By her ratty appearance, twitchy movements, and the twisted expressions she was making, she certainly had lost it. She looked just as she had when I'd first seen her and the sight of her brought back some unpleasant memories of my own. Rabia, on the other hoof, had taken an interest in the mare and went to investigate.

As soon as the other Twilight noticed Rabia though, she panicked and used some kind of spell to teleport away, though I hesitate to use the word. It wasn't a teleport exactly—not a normal one anyway. Once the spell was cast she just seemed to sort of ripple and fade away like some kind of illusion.

I hardly had time to make sense of what I'd seen before I was finally shoved out and thrown back into my own mind. I was so caught up with the memories I'd witnessed that I'd forgotten to make a mental attack of my own, but thankfully my sudden intrusion into her mind had tripped her up.

Whatever she'd done to me had been undone by the time I regained my senses. Both my magic and my strength were back and the moment I realized that I didn't hesitate to put as much distance between myself and Rabia as I could.

With my magic back in my control, it was easy enough to get out of that prison, and wouldn't you know it, there, a ways behind where Rabia was still reeling, was the large red crystal I'd used to get in. Without another word or look back, I teleported to the crystal and threw myself out of that picturesque nightmare world.

After all the trouble I'd gone through, getting back out had been surprisingly painless. Unfortunately, things didn't end there because when I turned to blast that Red Crystal apart down to its last atom, I was stopped by Rarity of all ponies.

I thought she'd left me behind to deal with the Crystal on my own, but no. Out of nowhere, the crazy mare comes slamming into me just as my horn was lighting up to finish the job. When I not-so-politely asked if she was out of her mind, she just gives me this uncertain look and tells me that she came back because she was worried about me.

She goes on to tell me how she heard everything Rabia and I had been talking about from outside. I tell her that's all the more reason for me to destroy the Crystal, and then she comes back with the notion that destroying the Crystal might release the Umbrum. And then it hits me that she's right.

From what I'd learned of the spell, the Red Crystal was the linchpin holding the prison together. Destroy the Crystal and you destabilize not the dimensional rift itself, but the lock holding it closed. Without the Crystal, the rift would be thrown open and there'd be no way to close it back up again. The thought of what would happen after that still makes me shudder.

It was enough to bring me down from my fear-induced mania but the panic was still there. I couldn't destroy the Crystal from outside, but something still needed to be done. I could hear Rabia from inside her prison, ranting and raving and cursing and promising me all kinds of horrific harm.

None of it helped my nerves as I remembered what she'd shown me while trying to make me do her bidding. The nightmarish images made it hard to think and for a brief moment, I almost gave up. I was ready to take Rarity and flee the cavern altogether. Hay, I was ready to leave Rarity behind if that's what it took to get away from that place.

Am I proud of the fact? Of course not, but I'd just endured what basically amounted to literal psychological torture and I wasn't exactly in my right mind. It was Rarity who ultimately managed to calm me down enough to find a solution. I'd mentioned before that she had a way with words and by Celestia, I'd never been more glad in that moment that she hadn't abandoned me.

With her encouragement and the lessons I learned from Sunset about dimensional manipulation—thank you, Sunset, seriously—I was able to come up with a way to destroy the Crystal without releasing the Umbrum in the process.

It was actually pretty simple when you knew the science behind it. Well, no, it wasn't simple per se—not the process, I mean. Coming up with a solution was simple if I thought about it clearly. Essentially I needed to tap into the ancient spell matrix binding the dimensional rift and kind of... reverse it. Flip it around.

Make it so that if I destroyed the Crystal, the dimensional rift would collapse in on itself rather than tear itself open. It would sort of be like turning a white hole into a black hole, and would probably be just as dangerous as it sounds if you didn't know what you were doing.

The accidental creation of an actual self-sustaining black hole wasn't the only risk involved either. Reversing the dimensional spell matrix would take time, and for a very small window during the process, Rabia would be free to escape her prison.

Luckily the wraith didn't know a thing about interdimensional travel and had no way of knowing what I was doing from outside. I also had a really good teacher, and while the process wasn't easy—Luna's spellwork was really something for the time—I was able to pull it off.

Everything clicked into place and I blasted the Tartarus out of that stupid Crystal. After the rather spectacular light show that occurred as the rift collapsed, Rarity and I left. It took some time, but I guess Rarity had memorized the path because we made it out of those tunnels without any more issues.

The blizzard had even wrapped up by the time we came stumbling out into the morning sun. It was still freezing but I didn't even care. I was literally sobbing with relief at having gotten out of that mess alive and relatively unharmed. Since we never found Mister Yeti, I was afraid we were going to have to hike back down the mountain ourselves, but nope.

Apparently, the pony piloting our airship had gotten a bad feeling when he noticed none of us had come back to the lodge yet. That stallion, bless his soul, had brought the airship around and spotted me and Rarity as we were trying to struggle down the mountainside.

He dropped a rope ladder from the airship and with a brief explanation and a piping mug of hot cocoa in hoof, we were on our way back to Manehattan. When I asked about the Mountaineer, the pilot assured us he'd send a search party. That was fine with me. That meant the issue wasn't my problem anymore.

I know how that sounds, but I kind of had my own problems to deal with. My own issues to work out. I had a lot to think about. I have a lot I'm still thinking about even now. I left that mess behind with even more questions than before and the answers I did get just raise more questions.

I have to deal with the fact that if I had destroyed that Crystal without thinking about it first, I might've doomed Equestria. Or if I had missed even one step when I was reversing that matrix, I would've doomed not only Equestria but the whole freaking planet. I couldn't stop myself from shaking for like an hour after I realized that.

There was so much that could've gone wrong, but now it's over and I just want to go back to Canterlot. I want to see Spike again and tell him all about it. I want to see Sunset again and thank her in person for all she's done for me. I also need to thank Rarity for being there when I needed her the most.

Right now though, I think I need to find a way to get some sleep. I still have that conversation with Celestia to consider. Maybe I should make a list of questions to ask her when I finally see her.

Yeah, I think I'll do that tomorrow after I talk with Rarity.