The Adventures of Color Splash

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Chapter 1

By Penguifyer

“Oh my god! You got cutie mark!”

Color Splash shifted her eyes from her painting to her flank, noticing a blue spot on her white fur. “Really? What is it!?” She dropped her paintbrush and spun around in circles trying to look at it.

Her mom giggled, trotted up to her, and caught her with a hoof. Looking for herself, she squeaked, “It’s a paintbrush!” She picked Color up and held her in the air. “We have an artist in the family!” she celebrated as she lowered Color and squeezed her.

“Artist?” Color murmured to herself. She had lost herself in the painting, losing track of time in the process. Her painting of a tree looked better than she ever could’ve expected and her mind ran with excitement. There were so many possibilities with just painting, let alone other mediums like sculpting, woodworking, and even fashion. She smiled in anticipation as her body tingled with excitement.

“Uh-huh, let's go celebrate. I call dad and your brother right away.” Her mom plopped her on the ground and darted out of the room. Color turned her head and looked at the mark herself. It was a paintbrush with a splash of rainbow-colored ink on its tip, the whole thing against a background of blue paint splotches. It felt just like her.

— — —

The New Ponyville Founding Festival was in full swing celebrating 70 years since its founding. New Ponyville was itself a small and quaint town with only twenty or so festival booths lining its main street, which was just a dirt road.

Color Splash sat on a bench licking a double-stacked ice cream cone in her hoof. Beside her sat her mom with a foreleg wrapped around Color while across from her sat her brother and her dad. She took a lick from her ice cream. “Dad, why do they call it ‘New’ Ponyville?”

“That’s because west of here and deep inside the Forest lies the old Ponyville.”

She took another lick of her ice cream. “Has anypony been there?”

“Well, anypony who has hasn’t returned. They say vicious beasts and monsters of great power lie in there waiting to prey on any trespassing ponies. And if they don’t get you, a magical barrier that can only be entered traps you inside to die.”

Her Mom squeezed her in defense. “Don’t scare her on her big day.”

Dad giggled as her brother rolled his eyes. “That’s what Dad did to me when I got my cutie mark.”

Dad grabbed him and gave him a nuggie. “‘Cause that’s what I do to my Night Light.”

The four of them laughed before Dad raised his hoof. “I will say, I don’t know if anypony will believe this. A studious unicorn and an artist, it’s like you two complete each other.”

Night rolled his eyes again after giving his horn a poke. “Come on, dad. I’m only nine.”

“And I already hear wonderful things from your teachers.” He turned towards Color. “That being said, I’m proud of you too, Color. Who knows, you might even surpass this kid.”

“Dad…”

“What, you don’t like being teased?”

Mom squeezed Color with one hoof while pointing to the booths with the other. “How about you two have a little fun for a bit?”

Dad laughed again. “You don’t know what you’re asking.” Night’s eyes widened as Dad pulled him away toward the booths.

Mom giggled. “Don’t worry about those two. They’ll be fine.”

Color took another lick of her ice cream before noticing something odd across the street. “Mom, what’s that?” She pointed to a strange, tall, and slender creature sitting at a table holding a book.

“That’s a human, like the ones you see on TV. Although, we don’t get many of them here.”

Color thought about it for a sec, recalling some of the shows she watched which included the occasional human. However, they were never important and still alien to her

“Don’t worry, I hear they’re not dangerous to us ponies. I’d be careful though.”

Color nodded as she licked her ice cream again, not giving it much thought.

“I know your brother tends to steal the limelight a bit. Dad pushes him a lot, but that’s what he does. I just want you to know that you don’t have to be like him.”

Mom squeezed her again as Color took another lick and stared at the human. He sat there content with his book with no sign of ill intent. She lost interest and instead leaned deeper into Mom. Everything felt alright and okay.

A rumble shook the ground. A loud crash came after.

Mom perked up. “What was that?”

Another rumble and another crash. A large dark figure appeared down the road.

Mom grabbed Color and rushed her away. Her ice cream fell to the ground. “We gotta get out of here.”

They darted into the closest building and ducked underneath a table. Mom put a hoof to her mouth. “Shhhhhh…”

The crashes continued as thundering footsteps drew closer. Screams and cries accompanied the turmoil. The thumping escalated.

For a second, the world stopped. Nothing sounded except for a faint “hmm?”

Suddenly, the roof and front walls of the building were torn off revealing a towering centaur.

“Heh, trying to hide from me?”

He held out his arm as his pointer finger extended like a needle and pierced the table. Mom leaped out of the way with Color still in her hooves.

“You think you can hop away from me?”

Three of his other fingers extended and shot toward them. Mom sidestepped the first finger and hopped over the second. The third struck her in the side while she fell to the ground, causing her to grunt in pain. Color squeezed her back, eyes tearing.

“Fine dodging, but I have fused my cells with the strongest rubbers allowing them to stretch and deform with my levitation magic. As they stretch, the fibers weave together making them stronger than steel.”

The final finger began to stretch.

“I have ascended beyond pony and beyond human. I, the Elastic Centaur, shall rule this town and begin my conquest!”

The final finger shot toward them, aiming for Color. At the last second, Mom shifted Color and took the finger to the chest. She coughed up blood. Tears ran down Color’s face.

“Tenacity, I like it. But I have a whole other hand.”

He raised his other hand in front of himself as a metallic disc rolled in front of Color and Mom.

“Huh?”

A burst of blue energy lit up the room. The centaur’s fingers went limp and retracted.

“What? Why aren’t they stretching?”

The human dashed in front of Color and Mom. He spread out his legs and raised his hand.

The centaur stopped. “Who are you?”

The human raised his head to the centaur. “No one special.”

“‘No one special?’ Even without my elasticity, my grip strength tops out at two million pascals. What makes you think you can stand in front of such a superior being? I have fused with both exotic beasts and plants alike! These muscles can crush…”

The human flattened his palm to the centaur. A circle appeared on the centaur’s chest. The top half of the centaur exploded as the bottom half rolled across the street. A brief moment of silence followed.

“I’m just a guy currently on duty,” he said, brushing the dust off of his jacket.

The human turned to Color as she cried holding on to her mother. He knelt down, placing his hand on her mother’s neck. With a light sigh, he closed her mother’s eyes and carried Color away.

— — —

Color was in the hospital for a month. For the first week she drifted in and out of sleep, too exhausted to do anything. The second week she could stay lucid and even move, but soreness enveloped her body and prevented her from getting out of the bed. During this time, she heard Dad argue with the doctor about magic and her cutie mark. When she checked her flank, it wasn’t there.

This was also when she was told her mom had passed. The second finger pierced her heart. She died with Color in her arms.

The third week she could get out of bed, but standing proved to be difficult as she would lose her breath once on her legs. By the fourth week, she could walk and move around the hospital. She also noticed that her cutie mark returned, but only faintly. When Dad noticed it too, he hugged her and cried. At the end of the week, she was discharged from the hospital due to her steady recovery.

It took her a year to fully recover. In that time, her stamina couldn’t keep up with her friends which made play difficult and she struggled to focus on classes. Her cutie mark slowly returned to its original vibrancy, but she couldn’t feel it in the same way she did before. It didn’t stop her from painting though, even if it was a difficult task at first.

— — —

Color Splash opened her eyes as she knocked a canvas off of her head. She knew she stayed up late last night as her eyes struggled to open. Looking around her makeshift studio revealed several canvas stands, most with ongoing projects on them while a couple of them laid flat on the ground. Knocking another canvas off of her back, she realized she fell asleep on her pile of fresh canvases. Beside her was a stack of paints with colors randomly arranged and lids screwed on tight. However, they were arranged by paint base since she has ruined a few projects by using oil paints on acrylic paintings. The only organized part of the studio was the shelves and wall used for drying paintings as each one was tagged with the name of the recipient and date of completion.

She rubbed her eyes. Didn’t she have to do something today? Glancing at the clock revealed it to be half-past ten.

She jumped out of her canvas. “Shit! I gotta paint a mural for the Cakes today!” She grabbed a sketch she made the previous night off of a desk, fished through her sets of wall primer paints, threw them into a saddlebag, and bolted up the stairs.

Dad sat a recliner sipping his coffee as Night Light laid on the couch reading yet another book. “Got somewhere to be, Color?” Dad teased her.

“I do and I’m late.” She poured herself a mug and proceeded to down half a glass on the spot.

Her brother chimed in. “Color, it’s Sunday.”

“Every day’s a workday when you’re an artist.” She finished her coffee before coughing. “God, that’s hot.”

Dad chuckled. “You’re supposed to let it cool.”

“I’m aware!”

“So…” Night closed his book and sat up. “…what do you have planned then?”

Color dropped her mug in the sink and grabbed two pieces of bread, stuffing them in her saddle pack. “I gotta start working on the mural for the Cakes.”

“They actually commissioned you?”

She nodded. “Uh-huh.”

“How much?”

“Enough.”

He crossed his hooves. “That’s fair.”

“Anyway, I gotta go. I’m already late.”

Dad interjected. “Don’t die!”

“I won’t!” Color shouted as she dashed out the front door.

Thankfully, the Cakes’ bakery was only a short jog away through town. Stumbling through the front door, she tossed her saddlebag onto a table and pulled out the primer paint. “Sorry Mrs. Cake for being late. I’ll get started right away.”

“Uh, Color… it’s okay. We’re not in any rush.”

Color didn’t listen to her as she pulled out a brush, dipped it in the can of primer, and splattered primer on the wall. She paused. “Please tell me you guys washed the wall.”

“About that…” Mrs. Cake trotted from the counter to a mesmerized Color, whose eye twitched in frustration, and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Breath with me In… and out…” Color matched her breathing, letting her eyes fall to the floor. “In… and out… better now?”

Color looked up at the wall. The paint was still wet. She stood up on her hind legs and snapped her body into a pose, pointing at Mrs. Cake. “I need a rag.”

Washing the wall didn’t take long, only thirty minutes with another thirty for the wall to dry. The primer application only took an hour too, putting her completion time just after noon. After applying the final strokes in the upper corner of the wall, she hopped off of her stool and dropped her paintbrush on a table. “All done for the day.”

Mrs. Cake stared at the wall next to her. “I know you said it’ll take a week and I know primer is important but…”

Continuing Cake’s sentence as if she already knew the question. “It won’t start looking like a mural till Tuesday. Today was for the gesso primer layer. Tomorrow, I’ll grid out the whole wall and start chalking out the mural, cross-referencing with a scaled-down version I have at home. The next day will be for finalizing the design and beginning the painting with the next three days being exclusively for painting. Finally, on Saturday, I’ll apply a clear coat to finish it off.”

“That’s quite a process.”

“It is, but judging from how much you two loved the small version, I know you’ll love the finished product.”

“Oh honey, I believe you. Just can’t wait for my husband to see it.”

“Don’t worry, It’s what I do.”

As the week went on, she stuck to her schedule, for the most part. Monday and Tuesday saw her sticking to the plan with her finishing the chalking by the end of Tuesday. The mural itself would have the old Sugarcube corner on the left with the current location on the right. All of the different Cake generations would be found in between the buildings with the oldest to the left and youngest to the right.

Mr. Cake finally came home late that Tuesday night too and got his first look at the mural.

“Looks nice, Color.”

“I tried my best with the old Sugarcube Corner but all I had to go off of was the couple pictures you gave me.”

“You know, it’s not like anypony is gonna notice.”

“How come?”

“Well, it’s in the old Ponyville. Probably still standing too.”

“Hmm…” she muttered as she finished up the chalking.

The next three days brought the fun, and aggravating, process of painting. She loved to paint, but the process of painting a spot for an hour, cross-referencing with the grid, realizing it’s off, and strategizing a solution exhausted her. To make matters worse, by Friday evening, she realized she still had a couple of feet of wall left. She worked past closing and right to the last rays of the summer light when she laid her last stroke and called it a night.

“I’m so sorry for keeping you here so late, Mrs. Cake. I swear tomorrow won’t take that long.”

“It’s okay, Color. You know I live upstairs.”

She grabbed her bag and darted for the door. “I know but I gotta go.” Outside, she slowed to a trot as the exhaustion from the days prior caught up to her. Slowing further to a stop, she rubbed her eyes only to reveal a black figure standing ahead of her in the twilight.

“A lone filly after dark, heh?”

She rubbed her eyes again and focussed on the figure. Although the colors weren’t discernable, a large meat cleaver glistened on top of a stallion. The cleaver itself spanned three pony lengths with its handle resting upon the stallion’s shoulder. He gave a devilish grin and put his hoof on the handle.

“You wouldn’t happen to be related to that one smartass, would ya?”

Color stepped back. Everyone knew Night was a unicorn prodigy, but she didn’t recognize the stallion, giving her a chance at lying her way out of this. “Who are you talking about?”

With a smile, the stallion grabbed his cleaver and lifted it above his head. Color lunged out of the way, screaming as the cleaver slammed into the ground.

“And you think I’d fall for a blatant lie like that!”

Color fell to the ground and scuttled to her hooves, noticing a faint nick on her hindleg. As she lunged toward the closest building, the stallion landed in front of her, raising his cleaver in the air.

“Don’t think you can just run away! Now that my Fate Dance has tasted your blood, I can smell, even taste your presence!”

He laughed with his cleaver in the air. Color covered her tearing eyes and braced for the impact. Instead, she heard a loud crash along with a grunt from the stallion. Something grabbed her by the chest and hurried her behind a building on the other side of the street.

Once plopped against a wall, Color opened her eyes. Before her stood a human with relatively dark hair and lighter skin, although she couldn’t quite tell in the twilight. His dark jacket and jeans further obscured his figure in the dark.

“I’m just gonna say it, that was close.”

Color stuttered. “Cl-cl-close?”

“Yeah, I mean, what else could it…”

The stallion dashed behind the human, taking a swing with his cleaver. “I can smell you, dumbass!”

The human planted his feet, thrust his hand out, and caught the cleaver. Blue sparks emanated from his hand to the blade, traveling down it and electrocuting the stallion. With a scream, the stallion stumbled to his hooves as the human pulled Color with him and ran down the street. After being plopped down again, she noticed blood dripping from the human’s hand.

“Your…”

“Yeah, I can feel it. Can’t keep running away like this.”

Color couldn’t stop her stuttering. “What’re we gonna do?”

The human placed a hand on a metal disc attached to his belt. “I got one last trick up my sleeve.”

— — —

“Strength and electricity!” Meaty shouted. “Godammit, what’re you gonna do next? Breath fire?”

He knew humans were tough and that their magic was far more potent than pony magic. However, he knew that they rarely wielded more than two spells. He knew all of his tricks by now, and if he had another one up his sleeve, he knew to prepare for it.

He also knew of that device the humans had. But as long as the two of them were together, he wouldn’t dare use it.

Jumping on top of the building, he sniffed the air and released his Fate Dance. Two glowing trails of scent hovered behind the buildings, a blue one for Color and a brown one for the human. Meaty darted along the trail, following it through an alleyway, across the street, and through another alleyway. The two trails veered to the left behind the buildings while a fainter human trail veered to the right. The human probably threw off his jacket trying to divert him off of their trail. It was more important for him to protect Color anyway.

Meaty dashed left and followed the trail to the edge of town. The scent for the human waned but Color’s scent remained strong.

Slowing to a trot, he saw a faint pony figure glow from the street lights in the town. He found her and now it was time to close the deal.

His eyes adjusted, revealing Color’s signature paint-splattered mane and white fur. But something was off. She was wearing the human’s jacket.

At that moment a flash of blue light appeared behind him. His cleaver vanished. Turning around, he saw the silhouette of the human in the town’s light.

“You’re ruthless, aggressive, and focussed, aren’t you.” He walked forward, picking up a metal disc from the ground. “But that also means you can be tunnel-visioned.”

Meaty growled in confusion. “When did you…”

The human raised his hand. “I used the electricity to burn my wound close, reducing my scent. And with that, I figured you wouldn’t follow the weaker scent trail even when it jumped up and skipped over the buildings.”

As the human got close, Meaty lashed out with a hoof. But with a quick sidestep and a tap to the back of his head, his vision went black.

— — —

Underneath a town street lamp, the human tied a bandage around Color’s nick in her leg. Meaty sat beside them with all of his legs tied together and still unconscious. After he was done, Color examined her leg.

“You know, my cut wasn’t that bad.”

He chuckled. “I know, but I thought you would appreciate it.”

She set her hoof down. “How’s your…” She stuttered, not knowing the word.

“Hand?”

“That’s it. I see you guys on TV all of the time and I keep forgetting.”

He held his hand up. “The cut’s gonna leave one hell of a scar but it’ll be fine. I might stop by the hospital just to get it checked out.”

“Would they know what to do?”

He wiggled his fingers. “Everything’s moving. He probably just broke through the skin. They’ll be able to stitch it up.”

“By the way,” she tugged at the jacket, “you want this back? It’s not really cold out or anything.”

He stood up as she pulled the jacket off. “Sure.” After grabbing it, he examined the blood drops scattered on it. “Even though I think they saved my life, those stains are gonna be a bitch to remove.”

She chuckled back, standing up herself.

A police pony came by, eyeing Meaty. “Yep, that’s him alright.”

The human pointed at Meaty. “You mean him?”

“Yeah, he somehow broke out of prison a couple weeks ago. Didn’t think he’d end up here.” He walked and examined Meaty’s face. “Moreover, reports claimed that he traveled with a human.”

The human glared at him. “Are you trying to push your luck?”

The police pony sighed. “I would if she wasn’t right next to you. Then again, for every human who helps us out, there’s another that causes trouble.”

The human smirked at Color, pointing at the police pony. “Is everypony like this?”

Color swallowed. “My memory is a bit blurry, but when my mom died, I remember being saved by a human.”

The human stood up and stretched out as a couple more police ponies trotted over and carried Meaty away. “Welp, gotta get this hand checked out before I can sleep. I’ll be here for the week anyway.”

The police pony raised his voice. “I want a word with you.”

The human raised his hand. “Be careful what you wish for.” He stretched out his arms before turning to Color. “By the way, I don’t know how this affects you as an earth pony, but if you have any issues doing any magical things, it’ll come back in an hour.”

She nodded in response. As he turned to take a step, she mustered up the courage to speak. “Thanks.”

He stopped. “Huh?’

She spoke up. “Thank you… um…”

With a wink, he held out his hand, giving a thumbs up. “Call me Saul.”

As he walked away, the police pony whispered to her, “In my experience, they’re all like that.”

She let out a faint “hmm,” before standing up herself.

— — —

After a brief questioning and an affirmation from the police pony, Color started on her way home. The few street lights the town had still managed to mask the starlight from the now night sky. Although she was used to staying up late, she usually did so in the safety of her makeshift studio. Still, the night only distracted her from the onslaught of questions that filled her mind. Where did Meaty get that cleaver and why did it disappear? Was that what he called his Fate Dance? Did the disc that made the blue flash make it go away? Is that related to what he said about her magic coming back in an hour?

Two thoughts connected. Was that disc the same one the other human used when she was little? It seemed reasonable, but she’d have to ask Saul tomorrow. The exhaustion from the fight and even the mural caught up to her, causing her to yawn. She decided to leave it for now and make it tomorrow’s problem.

Arriving home, she noticed all of the lights were off, at least from what she could see from outside. Stepping through the door, she checked the clock which displayed half-past eleven. Though she knew she stayed up the latest, Night usually didn’t go to bed till after midnight. Even Dad stayed up this late on a Friday.

She tiptoed through the entryway, stretching her hoof out and flipping a light switch. Bright light strained her eyes as they slowly adjusted. Broken photos scattered all over the floor, gashes littered the furniture, glass and splinters stuck out of the wall, and Dad laid down in the middle of the room motionless.

“Dad!” She rushed to him and put a hoof to his neck. Several gashes cut into his barrel and back, but his neck still gave a pulse. She sighed in relief, knowing she didn’t have much time.

Her attention shifted to her brother, who wasn’t in the room. She dashed over to the kitchen, but to no avail. She ran through the dining room and hallway next but still couldn’t find him. None of their rooms yielded a Night, nor did her basement studio. Even when she ran around her house and screamed out his name, no response came.

Tears filled her eyes as she stumbled back inside and saw Dad still sprawled out on the floor. She needed to find Night, but if she didn’t act now, Dad would die.

Bawling, she laid down next to him and rolled his body onto her back. Slowly standing up, she inched through the door and outside. Dad’s body went limp over her as she stumbled every couple of steps from the weight. She had to get him to the hospital. If he died, she’d have no one left.

“Help!” she screamed, tripping again before catching herself. “Somepony, hel…” she tripped again, falling to the ground. Dad’s weight crushed her torso, causing her to gag. “Somepony… please…” she whispered with the last of her air before gasping. Her vision blurred as she saw two figures approaching in the town’s light. Darkness filled her eyes as her consciousness faded.

Chapter 2

“Color?”

Night opened the door, bringing light into the pitch-black room. Covers sprawled all over the bed with a small mound in the center where a faint sob could be heard.

Color had been home for a month from the hospital. Their mom died two months ago. The time had taken its toll on the three of them as this wasn’t the first time Night and Dad noticed Color away in her room for a while.

Night walked up to the bed and sat down on it. The squeeze of the bed alerted the mound, causing it to stir. “Color?”

“What?” she sniffled back in the midst of her sobs.

“Um…” He breathed in and out, pushing past his own pain for a moment. “You can’t hide in your room all day. Dad and I miss you, you know?”

She squirmed some more before falling silent. After a pause, he laid down on the bed next to the mound. “You know Dad and I are sad too. If anypony is sad, it’d definitely be Dad.”

Another pause. “Is it…” she sobbed again, “...gonna happen to us?”

Night placed his hoof on the mound. It squirmed for a second before settling down. “The truth is… it will.” He rubbed the mound. “But it won’t happen for a long time. At least, I won’t let it happen.”

She poked her muzzle out of the covers and let out a sniffle. “What if it did? What would I do?”

He pulled his chest closer to her muzzle, curling around the mound. “Dad will still be here, and don’t forget about the Cakes too. They’d be kind enough to take you in. Even if they aren’t around, somepony is bound to step up.”

“B-b-but, what if nopony helps me?” she stuttered.

“Then you’ll have to ask for it. More importantly…” he wrapped his forelegs around her head and squeezed “…we have to be strong.”

“I know, but it’s hard”

“Do you remember the story of Ulysses, about how he came to Equestria and uncovered a massive evil hidden within it. It is said that he was cast aside by the ponies of the time and had to work in secret to cast out the evil. Imagined being thrown aside because you revealed the truth.”

Color pressed her head into his chest, easing her sobbing. Night squeezed in return, shedding tears along with her. “We have to be strong just like he was. Even if it’s hard, even if it hurts, even if we cry, we have to be strong.”

“I don’t know if I can,” she whimpered.

“Yes, you can,” he sniffled back. “Even if you feel it’s impossible.”

— — —

“Be careful, those things are important.”

The nurse pony’s magical aurora enveloped a stitching needle, slowly guiding it through the cut in Saul’s hand. Her sagging eyes and constant stare reeked of frustration. “Sorry, but I’m doing what I can.”

Saul chuckled. “Treat it like you would a face.”

“Uh-huh,” she sighed, sticking the needle back in his hand.

With a jolt, Saul pulled his hand away causing the nurse pony to jump too. “Shit, too deep,” he grunted.

She sat down and took a breather. “It’s fine… it’s fine.”

“Just saying, it’s sensitive.”

She levitated the needle and brought it close to the hand again. “Yeah, right.”

“I mean, they actually have to be for how much we use them.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” she muttered, carefully guiding the needle into his hand. Within five minutes and a bandage later, Saul’s hand was stitched up and ready to check out.

Moving to the front desk, the nurse pony read off her clipboard. “Keep it covered but replace the bandages tomorrow. Keep it moist and watch for any infe…”

“I know the drill,” Saul interrupted.

“I figured.” She dropped her clipboard and took a sip of her coffee. “Anyway, you’re all set.”

Saul nodded back along with a small wave before stepping towards the door. Commotion from outside the door caused him to slow his steps. With a crash, an emergency stretcher rushed through the doors and past him, forcing him to step aside. On it was a stallion with a dark grey coat but light blue hair, similar to Color’s. He shook his head, deciding not to assume anything too quickly. Turning towards the door, he saw a police pony holding Color up and guiding her to a seat. Dashing over to her, he assisted the police pony and laid her down on a bench.

“Color, you okay?”

The police pony interrupted. “She’s nearly passed out. Talkin’ won’t do much good.”

Saul nodded, pressing his fingers to her neck. “Her pulse is strong.” He quickly scanned her body. “No obvious signs of trauma or damage.”

“The doctor will take a look at her, but from what I can see, she’ll be fine.”

Saul stood up and looked at the police pony. “Who’s the stallion.”

He looked down, glancing at Color. “Her father, unfortunately.”

Leaving the police pony with Color, Saul darted out of the lobby, slowing down to a brisk walk in the hallways. A single room was lit at that hour with hospital staff moving in and out of it. He walked over and stood beside the doorway, listening in on the staff.

“...minor injuries mostly. Some cuts, scrapes, and a few bruises but no visible damage.”

“Broken bones?”

“Nothing either visible or life-threatening.”

“Ribs?”

“Possible but his respiratory system seems fine.”

“Could be internal bleeding. We’ll check for that after this. Anything else I should know?”

“Yeah, for some reason his cutie mark isn’t there.”

“That’s odd,” the pony doctor noted as Saul muttered a “fuck” underneath his breath. He pulled out a meter from his pocket before taking a deep breath and walking in the room.

The doctor pony stared at him as the nurse pony rolled her eyes muttering “what now?”

“You said he’s missing his cutie mark, right?” Saul asked.

The nurse pony sighed. “Yeah, what about it?”

He walked up to the bed, placed his meter on the stallion’s chest, and saw a number he didn’t want to see. “If this is what I think it is, he doesn’t have long to live.”

— — —

Color awoke the next morning in a hospital bed. The clock next to her read 11:34. The prior night hadn’t fully registered to her, even though she remembered passing out on her way to town with Dad on her back. Any more complex thoughts failed to materialize, leaving her with a dull and emotionless face. Within minutes, the nurse pony came into the room.

Color kept her head down. “Am I hurt?”

“No, actually,” she replied, rolling a breakfast cart into the room. “Just a few cuts that were already bandaged.”

“Huh.” Color looked away. “And my dad?”

The nurse took in a deep breath. “He’s in the ICU but is currently in stable condition.”

“I-i-is he gonna be alright?”

“I don’t know.” She pushed the cart in front of Color. “I’d eat. I know I’d be starving if I were you.”

Color nodded as the nurse pony left the room. She ate what was in front of her, burying her thoughts for the time being. She tried to think, but the onslaught of events failed to compute. As far as she could tell, her future was pure uncertainty.

Some fifteen minutes later, Saul entered the room. The sight of him hammered the reality in.

“Color?”

She kept her head down, refusing to look at him. Walking beside her, he pulled up a chair and sat down next to her bed. “I thought it’d be proper to give you an explanation since the doctor is busy and I’ve been looking into this for the last couple of years.”

She let out a light “hmm.”

“First things first, your dad isn’t going to die yet. You bringing him to the hospital along with the doctor being on point last night prevented that, even if he isn’t in good condition.”

She let out a deep sigh of relief. Knowing that she wouldn’t be alone softened much of the distress.

“Now onto the complicated part. What do you know about cutie marks?”

She paused. “What?”

“I’m serious.”

She put a hoof to her chin. “Um, they represent a pony’s special trait or talent, right?”

He nodded. “Anything else?”

“I don’t know. It’s not like it was a complicated subject in school.”

“I wouldn’t expect it to be.” He sat up straight. “But what your teacher didn’t tell you was that the mark doesn’t just represent your talents. It actually distributes magic across your body and uses that magic to amplify your talents. Moreover, it’s what allows pegasi to fly with such small wings and unicorns to cast spells with their horns. It’s why us humans consider it one of the strongest forms of magic.”

That all made sense. “So, what about it?”

He paused. “What if I told you that you could separate it from your body and harness its power.”

“Wait, is that what Meaty did?”

He nodded. “Believe it or not, but that large meat cleaver was his cutie mark. But to avoid confusion, we call them Fate Dances when separated, and their users, Fate Dancers.” He leaned forward. “However, separating the cutie mark from your body carries a risk. Without it distributing magic throughout your body, your organs and muscles slowly suffocate. If left unchecked, you will die.”

She froze, realizing what it meant with her dad.

He continued. “Fate Dancers have ways to avoid this with partial releases and such. Regarding your dad, his full Fate Dance was released, and according to most Fate Dancers, that means he has twenty-four hours to live.”

A tear swelled in her eye.

“Luckily, the doctor knows a spell that bathes him in magic, delaying his death for at least two weeks. It won’t get him out of his coma though. I made arrangements this morning for a more long term solution but it won’t be ready for a week and I’ll have to travel to the Crystal Empire to get it.”

Tears fell down her face. Even though her dad could survive this, chance had already played its hand. She buried her face with her hooves as Saul put a hand on her shoulder. “What am I gonna do?”

“I’ll do what I can.”

She sniffled. “I know, it’s just…” she wiped a tear running down her cheek, “…I don't know where to go or what to do or how I’m gonna…”

“Shh…” Saul put a finger on her lips. “Tomorrow will take care of itself. Just get through today.”

She nodded, letting out another sniffle. He sat with her for five minutes as she calmed down. Once she cried herself out, he stood up and turned toward the door. “I’ll be here at the Inn till Friday next week. Go there if you need me.”

She nodded as he walked out of the room. Laying back down, she let her mind wander. Her brother was still missing and she had no idea what happened to him. Dad getting hurt was one thing, but Night not being around was devastating. She didn’t mention it to Saul, but that’s what hurt the most. She tried to divert her attention from her grief to what Night would do if he was with her. He was always there for her, telling her to be strong and cunning just like Ulysses was. What did it matter though? She couldn’t bring him back even if she went looking for him. She didn’t have unicorn magic of the swiftness of a pegasus. She wasn’t even as strong as most earth ponies. She was just an artist who could paint and do nothing more.

But Saul wasn’t.

A crazy idea came to her head. After two seconds of pondering, she decided to go with it. Hopping out of bed, she ran out of the door, through the hallway, down the stairs, and into the lobby. Saul wasn’t there.

Not giving in, she ran past the nurse pony and through the doors. Outside, she scanned the area for Saul, seeing him down the road. “Saul!” she muttered as she dashed toward him. “Saul!”

He stopped and turned around as Color slowed, panting in front of him. After a couple of breaths, she breathed in and looked at him. “Take me with you. Also, teach me human magic.”

He stood frozen for a few seconds.

“What?”

“I’m serious,” she pleaded.

He sighed. “First of all, you don’t need to come. Second, I don’t even know if ponies can learn our magic.”

“Give me a chance. And it’s not just about my dad. I need it for my brother.”

“Your brother?”

“He went missing last night probably from the same ponies that hurt my dad.”

He looked around. “Damn, can you get a break?”

“I’m just an artist earth pony. If I want to get him back, I need to become strong.”

He pondered for a couple of seconds. Letting out a sigh, he walked up to her and reached into his jacket. Kneeling in front of her, he handed her a weird piece of clothing. “Take this and put it on.”

She grabbed it with teeth and slipped on her hoof. Five digits flopped around her hoof.

“It’s called a glove, by the way. This one has something special on its palm though.” He adjusted the glove until a circle with three spiraling lines revealed itself. He then held out his own hand with his palm facing up and a pen resting on it. Suddenly, a similar circle appeared on his palm and the pen levitated in the air without any aurora. “If you can float this pen by Thursday, I’ll let you go with me.”

Color nodded as he placed the pen on her hoof and walked away. She sat there staring at the pen. How the hell was she supposed to do that?

— — —

Color checked out of the hospital later that day since she had no serious injuries. After hearing the news, the Cakes offered to take her in as her dad recovered. She couldn't bear to enter her home that day, even going as far as to buy a new paintbrush and gallon of clear acrylic varnish for the mural. Even with the materials, she just stared at the wall. A nagging voice inside her also reminded her that she should wait a week for the paint to fully dry, which she used to justify her idleness. That night, she pulled out the glove and tried her hardest to levitate the pen. But no matter how much she tensed up, grunted, and yelled, the pen laid flat on her hoof.

The next day, she worked up to helping the Cakes here and there with their bakery, but she still didn’t touch the wall. By evening, she worked up the courage to visit Dad.

Upon entering the hospital room, she saw him lying on a hospital bed motionless except for a gradual rise and fall of the blankets. The pony doctor sat beside him with a newspaper in hoof, his glowing horn enveloping Dad’s body in magic. She slowly approached him, not sure what to say.

“He’s alright if you were wondering,” the doctor interjected. “As long as I do this three times a day for ten minutes.”

She nodded, taking a deep breath. “Th-thank you.”

“No,” he paused. “I was told you carried him all the way from your home to here.” He closed his newspaper. “Or at least close enough for somepony to notice. In that case, thank you.”

A buzzer on the nightstand dinged as the doctor’s aurora dissipated. He slid out of his chair and passed by Color, pausing just behind her. “He wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for you, you know.”

He closed the door behind her, darkening the room. Standing there, she looked around the room not knowing what to do. Her eyes shifted to Dad as tears filled them up. She placed her hoof on him and rested her head on his chest, feeling its steady rise and fall. She told herself he’d be okay, trying to believe her own words.

The next two days consisted of Color helping out the Cakes during the day, frustration with trying to levitate the pen, and an insistence on staying away from her home. Her work for the Cakes centered around cleaning and final decorative work on food (relatively mindless work for her). Each night, she grunted and yelled trying to get the pen to levitate but to no avail. Mrs. Cake reminded her both days that she should stop by her home, assuring her that it’d be okay and help her move forward.

“I just need some time away from there,” Color would answer.

“I understand, but it won’t go away if you ignore it.”

“I know, I know. I just need to not fall apart for a day.”

“Falling apart hurts, but it can also help you stand.”

“I know, but I just want to feel like my world isn’t gonna collapse for once.”

Wednesday evening after the store closed, Color ran to the local hobby store and bought a sketchbook and pencil. Painting, or even just drawing in this case, would calm her down; she knew this as fact.

That night when she would’ve battled the glove, she sat down and sketched a picture of two ponies playing with a ball. Halfway through, she took a break and set the sketchbook down only to notice a faint feeling in her mouth. After a few seconds it dissipated, so she picked up her sketchbook and shrugged it off as something weird. After another few minutes of drawing, she noticed it again, dropping her sketchbook and pencil. It felt so familiar, but she couldn’t remember what it was. For a third time, she picked up her sketchbook and pencil and continued to draw, paying attention to her mouth. Within a minute, the feeling returned causing her to sit back and ponder what it was. She closed her eyes and thought about sketching and the feeling returned. Pushing it further, she thought about grasping a large brush with her hoof and painting a wall and within seconds, the feeling manifested in her hoof too.

A crazy idea came to her head. She tossed her sketchbook aside, grabbed the glove, and stretched it over her hoof. After placing the pencil on it, she closed her eyes and thought about painting again. A faint ringing tickled her ears as she squinted open her eyes. The circle glowed a faint blue causing light to shoot down the spirals and combine in the center. Then the pencil slowly lifted up above the glove, just as it did for Saul.

She forgot about the feeling, causing the glow to stop and the pencil to fall back on the glove. Dropping the pencil, she realized it would actually happen. She would leave in two days.

— — —

“Some of my colleagues finally got back to me,” the police pony began as Saul entered his office. “Close the door behind you, by the way.”

Saul complied, lightly shutting the door to minimize attention before sitting down. “And what did they say?”

“So, you know that human that supposedly traveled with Meaty?”

“I remember you mentioning that.”

“Well, reports say that there has been a human figure clothed in white and black robes seen all over Equestria. Canterlot, Manehattan, Crystal Empire, the Forest, and most recently around here with Meaty, although not much is known as to why he’s going to these places. What we do know is who he’s talking to.”

“And who’d that be?”

“Criminal organizations, government officials, business executives, there’s honestly quite a few and we don’t know what kind of relationship any of them have with the guy.”

Saul nodded. “I leave tomorrow. Anyone I should be aware of.”

“Crystal Empire, right? In that case, I’d look into Ms. Cadence.” The police pony tossed him a picture of a pony unicorn with a pink coat and light orange hair. “She runs a small theatre in the shopping district. But rumors say she does a lot more than just that.”

Saul slipped the photo into his pocket before standing up to leave the room. “I’ll look into it.”

“If we had a detective here, I’d look into myself. Unfortunately, our town’s a bit too small.”

Saul nodded reaching to open the door.

“One more thing,” the police pony interjected. Saul paused. “I heard you offered to take Color with you if she could do something with a glove. Am I right?”

“Did that really get out?”

“She did make a scene of it. I also have lots of friends.”

“What about it?”

“Do you actually plan on taking her?”

Saul paused. “I’ve never seen a pony do what I asked her to do.”

“What if she could? What would that mean?”

He sighed. “It wouldn’t mean something good, but I’d have to look into it.”

The police pony nodded as Saul left the room and headed outside. What he didn’t expect to find was Color eagerly waiting in the lobby. Upon seeing him, she darted to him and fished out the glove from her saddlebag.

“Saul! Saul, I searched for you at the Inn but you weren’t there. I need to show you something!” She slipped the glove onto her hoof and placed a pencil on it. Closing her eyes, the circle on the glove glowed as the pencil levitated above the glove.

Saul peeked to the side, noticing that her paintbrush cutie mark was still on her flank. He didn’t know much more about cutie marks than what he already told Color. So when he knew that human magic was mostly incompatible with ponies, and that cutie mark was the reason, he didn’t know why. Luckily, where he planned to go in the Crystal Empire could answer these questions.

She didn’t open her eyes yet. “I-i-is it working?”

“See for yourself,” he noted.

She opened her eyes and saw the pencil floating above her hoof. Just as she nearly squeed, the pencil fell down and off her hoof. Saul chuckled under his breath.

“Um, do I still get to go?”

Saul smiled. “Pack your bags, I don’t exactly know how long we’ll be gone.”

Chapter 3

“Eeeeeek!”

Night jumped at a screech from the bathroom. Concerned, he trotted over to the bathroom and placed his ear against the door. Color had a date in thirty minutes. Prior to the scream, Night had never seen her so excited, especially since Mom died eight years ago.

“No-no-no, there’s no way that’s correct!” A small scuttle echoed through the door, followed by a pause and then an “Ahhhh!”

Night stepped away from the door just as Color burst through it, knocking him over. “Night, I need your help!”

He stood up and brushed himself off. “Ok, what’s wrong?”

She inhaled. “I need you to check something for me.”

He blinked. “Uh, okay?” It couldn’t possibly be that easy.

Night followed her into the bathroom as she stopped in front of the scale. It was one of those fancy, "digital" scales the humans made. Dad bought it to help himself lose weight, making Color and Night suspect he was dating around.

She let out a deep breath. “Watch the numbers for me.” She stepped on the scale. The numbers slowly climbed up past 50 pounds, 100 pounds, and settled on 112. “Do you see what I see?”

He did a double-take. Dad complained about being 107, and Night himself was 96. As far as he knew, healthy mares rarely topped 100. What perplexed him was that Color looked normal, if not a tad thin. Something was fishy here, but investigating now could ruin her evening.

He let out a deep breath and smiled. “Color, you look fine.”

Her eyes twitched. “How am I supposed to believe that? I weigh more than Dad!”

“I mean it, Color. You look fine.”

“What kind of guy wants to date a mare who weighs one twelve?!”

“And do you want me to measure your barrel to prove it?”

She paused. With a jolt, she dashed to the cabinet, fished out a roll of measuring tape and tossed it to Night. He caught it with a levitation spell and sighed. Unraveling the roll, he levitated it under and around Color’s barrel, tightened the strip, and noticed something odd.

“What does it say?” she prodded.

He raised his hoof and poked her in the side. She winced. “Uh, what was that?”

“Just checking something,” he assured her while confirming his suspicion. Her body felt surprisingly firm, much more than he remembered.

He shuffled to her side and squinted at the tape. “Yeah, I have no idea what twenty-eight inches mean?”

“Twenty-eight?” She fell back and brought her hooves to her head. “How the hell am I twenty-eight inches and a hundred and twenty-two pounds?”

“Don’t worry about it.” He sat down next to her and wrapped a foreleg around. “You look fine. And if he doesn’t like what he sees, I don’t think he deserves you.” He gave her a squeeze. She was definitely firmer than she used to be. Hell, she was firmer than anypony he knew.

She looked down. “Do you really think that?”

“Why wouldn’t I? You are my baby sister after all.”

She leaned back into him and he hugged her back. After a pause, Night broke the silence. “So, when’s that date arriving?”

“Shit!” She pushed off of Night and dashed out of the bathroom and to the window. Peaking through the blinds, she jumped and called out to Night. “He’s here!” She darted for the door while waving to Night. “I’ll see you in a couple hours or so.”

Night watched her meet up with her date and walk into town through the window. Shutting the blinds, he walked to the couch, sat down, and smiled. Color’s weight confused him, especially considering her healthy build. However, tonight was her night and he had no intention of spoiling it.

— — —

Color stared out the train window watching her home drift away. Yesterday, she finally convinced Saul to take her with him. Now it was actually happening. Saul, sitting beside her, noticed her staring. “Never been away from home?”

“Not really.” She leaned back into her chair as New Ponyville faded from view. “I went to Canterlot once as a filly, but apart from that, I don’t remember ever leaving town.”

“Maybe you’ll catch the travel bug. I guess it’s one of the nice things about my job. I’ve seen some pretty cool places.”

“Your job…” Color paused. “I want to ask you about that. What is a human like you doing in Equestria?”

“Me? I’m on duty.”

She turned toward him, recalling that phrase. “What do you mean by ‘on duty?’”

“I’m with the AUN.”

“The what?”

“Armies of the United Nations.”

Color stared at him dumbfounded.

He sighed. “The global human military?”

“Oh, they pop up on TV every so often. Wait, you’re a soldier?”

“Well, yes… kinda." Saul looked around the coach to see if anypony was listening before lowering his voice. "I’m with TA specifically.” She raised an eyebrow. “Terra Angeli; just don’t worry about it. Anyway, my assignment is to patrol Equestria and to make sure things don’t get out of hand. At least, that’s what you need to know.”

Color brought a hoof to her chin. “Now that I think about it, I guess it makes sense. My dad told me that it’s difficult for ponies to leave Equestria and for humans to come in.”

“It’s not just difficult. The AUN keeps a strict record of every human who enters, leaves, is born in, or even dies in Equestria. To a certain degree, our movements are even tracked. Thing is, the human that was seen with Meaty is not registered at all. Moreover, I’d guess he’s the one who abducted your brother.”

That last line stung. She looked away and stared out the window, not knowing what to say.

The ride to Canterlot only lasted two hours, most of which Color spent staring out the window as Saul fiddled with an assortment of papers. Pulling into Canterlot, Color’s eyes widened at the sight. Multitudes of trains occupied dozens of platforms as bells and whistles blended with intercom announcements. Low engine hums interrupted by screeching brakes echoed throughout the station. The whole place held a chaotic, yet exciting energy.

As they stepped off the train, the noise bombarded her ears as the advertisements and glowing lights nauseated her brain. Herds of ponies boarding and leaving trains flowed through the corridors. Dizzy, Color stumbled down the platform as Saul dragged her along, grinning.

“You really don’t get out, do you?”

“Barely, let alone Canterlot,” she scoffed.

He mumbled a “ha” as he dragged her to a bench and sat. “We’ll only be here for an hour, anyway. Enjoy it while you can.”

She nodded, breathing in and out in order to control herself. Of the countless advertisements and neon lights, a sign of a human man stuck out to her. A pink athletic jacket and pants, the shade of pink that’s flamboyant and masculine at the same time, accented his muscular form while a pink cap topped a cocky grin. His somewhat darker hair and skin contrasted Saul’s.

“Do you know him?”

“Who?’

Color pointed to the sign which read “new album next week.”

“I do, actually. What does he call himself again?” He paused. “Ah, Triple Diamond.”

“Ooh, I know him. My school friends used to fangirl hard on him. Never was a fan of his music, though.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” She leaned back. “Honestly, I’d bet money he’s gay.”

Saul chuckled, nearly losing it. “How much?”

“20 bits.”

He calmed down and smiled. “All I’ll say is that what you see is not always what is.”

“Am I wrong?” she jeered.

“I can’t say. I don’t know him too well.”

— — —

They arrived at the Crystal Empire early the next morning, the trip being a slow and overnight venture. Yawning, the two of them stepped off the train and onto the platform, which, for some reason, was outside of the city. Towers of glass and crystal, dominated by a central spire, loomed in the distance.

Saul tugged her saddlebag. “I wanna show you something before we enter the city.”

“Uh, okay?” Color complied, following him to a field outside of the city.

Searching the ground, he picked a sizable rock and levitated it above his hand. “You brought the glove with you, right?”

“Of course I did,” Color assured before fishing the glove out of her saddlebag.

“Thank god.” The rock fell back to his hand. “You probably didn’t notice it with the pencil.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Notice what?”

He tossed the rock to her, forcing her to hop up and catch it. The weight of it caught her off guard. “Levitate it.”

She adjusted the glove, planted the rock on her hoof, and thought about painting. Guiding the tingling feeling to her hoof, the rock levitated. Oddly enough, the glove pressed against her hoof weighing as heavy as the rock.

“You notice it?”

“I think.” She wiggled her hoof, getting a feel for the weight. “It’s like I can still feel its weight without touching it.”

“Precisely.” He picked up another, much larger rock. “‘To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.’ The better to say it is that when you apply a force to an object, that object feels the same force in the opposite direction. Mathematically, force is just the change in momentum, which is why we humans refer to this as a Momentum Transfer Spell.”

Color stared in confusion. “Um, what about it?”

“Well, magic obeys physics.”

She paid decent attention to Physics class in school, recalling the law. But to ponies whose daily experiences seemed to disobey the theories and laws they learned, physics was unintuitive and hard to grasp. “I don’t get it. I mean, I do, but also I don’t.”

“Let me put it another way.” He levitated the larger rock above his hand. “You could launch this rock at an unthinkable speed, even with just your glove.” He brought the rock back to his hand. “Doing so would crush and shatter every bone in your leg, possibly your body too. Thankfully, I know someone here who can help you work around that, like this.” He held the rock straight out to his side with his right hand. Blue light emanated from his palm. A loud “bang” and the rock shot out into the distance.

She also noticed a dent form in the ground around his left foot.

“Assuming everything goes to plan,” he added.

Color raised an eyebrow again. “Assuming?”

“You’ll see.” He walked past her as she processed the “you’ll see.” Deciding not to dwell on it, she shook her head and followed him.

Entering the city, dozens of ponies filled the streets with a few humans sticking out among the crowds. Each of the buildings towered over the streets, blending crystal architecture with steel and concrete construction. In the center of the city loomed the Crystal Castle, whose structure blended crystal with elegant glass and steel. It was as if the city lived in two worlds at once.

The whole place dizzied Color, much like Canterlot.

Saul patted her head. “You okay there?”

“Yeah.” She regained her balance. “Just not used to the activity.”

He smirked. “Too many humans?”

She looked away. “Not exactly.”

He pushed her along. “The Crystal Empire is a funny place. Its secure location combined with ample room surrounding it made it a perfect location for the AUN to bunker down.”

“Bunker down?”

“Well, that’s a long story. All I’ll say is that humans had varying opinions on what to do with Equestria once we found it. Equestria paid a price for some of those disagreements.”

He sighed.

“Unlike most of Equestria, the ponies here welcomed the AUN with open arms. A great relationship has been maintained ever since. Some even say they get preferential treatment. It’s also one of the few places with an airport.”

Color chuckled. “For whatever that’s worth.”

“Hey, when you’re a human, it’s one of the only flights you can get here.”

Approaching the central castle, a scream called out from an alley beside her. Turning her head, she saw a large stallion with a rusty pickaxe dragging out a colt from a building. A unicorn mare dressed in black leather and chains knelt down to the colt and tapped his head, silencing him and freezing a terrified expression on his face. Noticing Saul further ahead, Color trotted and caught up with him, unsure what to do about what she just saw.

Close to the castle, Saul slowed his pace while staring up the tower. “Just a heads up, the princess here is older than she looks and can be a bit feisty.”

“Princess? I thought there was only one nowadays.”

Saul stepped inside the castle. “There is, and we’re about to meet her.”

A brief trek through the castle led them into the throne room. The crystal walls, with the occasional steel strut, extended upwards to no discernable ceiling. Light reflected off of each surface, basking the room in a daylight glow. All along the lower walls stretched a mural depicting a battle between ponies and a sort of mutation of ponies, centering on a human silhouette directly above the throne leading the ponies into battle.

On the throne sat a normal pink pony with a purple and blue mane, looking about as old as Color. She crossed her back legs and rested her head on her forehoof, tapping the throne with the other. To her right sat a large unicorn stallion with charcoal coat and black mane, clothed in a red robe. Looking back to the throne, Color noticed something else she never thought she’d see: wings and a horn on the same pony at the same time.

Color tilted her head toward Saul. “Is she an…”

Saul cut her off, speaking in a whisper. “Alicorn, and keep your voice down.”

The two of them stopped in front of the steps to the throne as Saul knelt down and bowed. He tapped Color’s leg, whispering “bow.” Color shook her head breaking her trance and complied.

As they stood back up, Saul looked up to the throne. “Yes, princess?”

The princess spoke, filling the room without overstating her presence. “I received your request last night and have already talked it over with my advisor here.”

“And I assume we wouldn’t be here if you accepted.”

The princess pointed at Color. “You are?”

Color stood still for a sec. Saul nudged her, motioning toward the princess. “U-um, Color… Color Splash, miss…”

“Flurry Heart,” she answered. “Where are you from?”

“New Ponyville.” Color bowed her head, realizing the poor first impression she made. “Forgive me, we don’t see much royalty back home.”

The stallion to her side leaned over and whispered to her. “Understandable, there isn’t much royalty to go around.”

Flurry sighed, shifting her eyes toward Saul. “Do you understand what you’re asking?”

“I just want to take Color to the research lab within the castle. They should already be notified of my requests.”

“They are. However, two ponies already snuck into the castle, one by literally climbing the walls of the castle and the other by posing as a research assistant.”

Saul caught on to the implication. “With all due respect, that lab is not under your jurisdiction.”

Flurry nearly cut him off. “But I control the gate. And if bringing a random pony in there wasn’t a risk to my security, especially as crime is on the rise, I wouldn’t be so hesitant.”

“I can vouch for Color, and you can vouch for me personally,” Saul assured

The stallion beside Flurry leaned in, stopping her from speaking. After a brief whisper between them that Color couldn’t discern, Flurry sat up straight and breathed in. “We’ll think about it overnight. You’ll be notified of our decision in the morning.”

Saul bowed again, signaling Color to do the same. “Thank you, princess.”

They left in silence.

Upon exiting the castle, Color spoke, trying to defuse the tension. “I assume that wasn’t the plan.”

Saul shrugged. “Yeah, the AUN has a pony magic research lab in there. The hope was to get you in there today and get you started with human magic. But that’s not gonna happen.”

“I guess.” Color realized she couldn’t press further with that topic. “You said she’s older than she looks. How old exactly?”

“I don’t know the exact age, but I do know she’s in her nineties.”

“Wait, what?” Color froze, dumbfounded. “Nineties!?”

“Well, alicorns live for a while from what I hear.”

“Not like that! Have you seen any pictures of them? They get tall and get those giant ass wings!”

Saul waved her down. “I’m just repeating what I know.”

Color shook her head. “Fine, I’ll take your word for it. So then…” she looked around the city. “What are we gonna do for the rest of the day?”

“I gotta go book a hotel for the night. After that, I’m going to the library.”

— — —

Color didn’t hate libraries, but she had spent so much time in them, at her brother’s request, that she’d prefer to never step hoof in one again. However, they had one redeeming item: romance novels. Maybe it was her one past relationship that ended awkwardly or the fact she secluded herself inside her studio way too often, but she obsessed over them. They also helped her waste the remaining hours of the day while practicing the Momentum Transfer Spell with one hoof as she read.

Saul, on the other hand, chugged through a fat stack of Equestrian history textbooks. When she asked him about it, his response further confused her.

“There’s a strange conflict between human history and Equestrian history that’s bothered me since I came here.”

“What do you mean by ‘conflict?’”

“To humans, Equestria appeared on Earth ninety years ago, yet there’s little to no reference to the event until years later, and no explanations on why or how it happened. Moreover, ponies have a history spanning thousands of years prior. And the more I read, the more I believe it happened.”

“Why wouldn’t it have happened?”

“Time isn’t easily manipulated, let alone at such a scale.”

She had no idea where to take the conversation. “I’ll take your word for it.”

— — —

By hotel, Saul meant a small bed and breakfast at the edge of town with only ten rooms total. Color appreciated the quaintness, especially after the stresses of traveling and dealing with Flurry, but did find it to be an odd choice.

“Flurry recommended it to me and after what happened earlier; we should take up the offer,” Saul assured.

“Whatever.” Color threw her saddlebag on her bed before climbing on top of it. “I’m just ready to kick back and pass out.”

Saul dropped his backpack. “By the way, I’m gonna step out and won’t be back for at most an hour.”

“What for?”

“I got a lead to follow. That’s all I can say.”

“That didn’t answer my question.”

“If you’re wondering, it might be related to your brother.”

She waved him on. “Fine. I like the privacy anyway.”

He slipped out the door, rendering the room silent. Color laid back and closed her eyes, letting her body relax. After a few minutes from what she could tell, somepony knocked on the door.

“Back so soon?” she moaned.

The knocking continued.

She rolled off her bed. “Come on, I know you have a key.”

Another knock.

She stretched and walked over to the door. “Don’t tell me you forgot it.”

After she unlatched and opened the door, a cloaked pony burst through stopping in the middle of the room. A stern but familiar voice spoke. “Close the door and lock it.”

Color complied, dead bolting and latching the door. The cloaked pony proceeded to shut every window and their blinds. After examining every corner of the room, the pony slowed to a stop and sat down on Saul’s bed.

“Don’t tell me you’re…”

The cloaked pony cut Color off with a chuckle, sliding off the hood. Color’s jaw dropped, seeing the face of Flurry Heart on Saul’s bed.

“Okay, okay, okay…” Color took a deep breath. “I want an explanation for this.”

Flurry motioned with her hoof. “Keep your voice down. I can’t let anypony know I’m here.”

Color nearly whispered. “Fine, but that’s not an answer.”

“To be honest,” Flurry twirled her hooves. “I’m still pissed off that Saul just thought he could just come here and waltz into that lab without my permission, but I wasn’t gonna say no. I trust him, but I have to be careful with who I let in there.”

“Yeah, but…” Color paused, putting the pieces together. “You mentioned that bringing me in would be a risk to your security.”

Flurry nodded. “There’s a reason the lab is inside the castle.”

“Wait…” Color recalled the alicorns she saw in the textbooks. “You’re not a normal alicorn, aren’t you?”

“I won’t tell you now, that’d be irresponsible, but I need you to promise me you won’t tell anypony, or even human, what you’ll learn there, especially about me.”

“Fine,” Color replied. Flurry’s stare wanted more. “I promise, ok?”

Flurry nodded. “Close enough. I want you to come in tonight actually since I want to keep this off the record. Saul already knows, by the way.”

“How does he…”

“I’m in the loop with the AUN. I can message him quite eas…”

Tapping from the wall echoed into the room, silencing Flurry. She tiptoed to the wall as Color held her breath. Another tap followed by a silence, and then a loud thud.

“Get back!” Flurry shouted as a yellow line stretched vertically along the wall. A few more thuds created more lines, all at different angles until a chunk of the wall fell outside. A large orange stallion with a rusty pickaxe and a grey mare in black leather peered inside. The stallion lunged himself with his pickaxe at Color, rotating his body to prepare a swing.

At the last moment, Flurry dashed in front of her, blocking Color with her body. The ax struck Flurry and a metallic ring echoed in the room. She landed on her hooves, sliding on the ground.

A line encircled her cloak, cutting off the back half. She tore off the rest of it, revealing a full suit of armor glistening from the streetlights.

The stallion hopped outside, swinging the ax onto his back. “I guess the rumors are true. You’re a Fate Dancer too, aren’t you?”

Color eyed the armor as she clung to the wall. A shield with a star on it embroidered its flank.

Flurry shot out a blast of energy out of her horn at the stallion, but he hopped to the side and struck the wall. “How about I bring you out of your little hole.” A line traveled across the wall, causing the building to shake.

The stallion lunged to strike the other wall, but Flurry hopped in front of him, taking the blow and nicking him with another blast. He stepped back and beside the mare, eyeing Flurry’s armor. A single crack glistened in the light.

“We did our research, suspecting you had that Fate Dance, Armor Bond,” the mare jeered as Flurry panted. “A Fate Dance that can nullify any magic.”

The stallion held up his ax. “It might help against my Fate Dance, but it can’t nullify mine completely. My Half Ax can crack any object it touches in two.”

Flurried slowed her breathing as the mare grinned, adjusting a headset microphone. “It doesn’t matter, any Fate Dance is imperfect.”

The words caused Flurry to stumble, forcing her to catch herself as the stallion lunged for another attack. She dodged it as the stallion struck the ground, creating a fissure in the road. Color could hear faint sounds emanating from Flurry despite her still mouth.

“Resilient, are you?” the mare snarked as the sounds grew stronger. Color picked up the occasional “useless” and “fault” out of the sounds. “It doesn’t matter. My Imperfect Words seep into the brain of anypony I choose, taking over their thoughts and destroying their minds.”

The stallion lunged again, forcing Flurry to roll away and trip over her hooves. The words grew louder. “Stop it!” she yelled, catching herself. The stallion swung again but Flurry blocked it with her leg. Another crack appeared.

The stallion laughed, enjoying his work. “You know, Flurry? I was hoping I’d get to see your Fate Dance.” Flurry scuttled to her hooves as the stallion struck the ground beside her.

Color clung to the wall, unsure what to do. Flurry and the stallion fought outside, not caring about her. Even the mare didn’t acknowledge her presence. More clangs resounded; more cracks appeared.

She had to do something, but she had no magic or powers. She couldn’t even fly and rescue Flurry. She was useless. Her mind searched for anything she could do.

The glove.

Color lunged for her saddlebag, fishing out the glove. Pulling it out, She stretched it across her hoof. Another clang resounded outside. Flipping over a bed and pressing her back against it, she extended her hoof at the stallion and waited for him to stay still.

She only lifted a pencil and a rock before. There was no telling what would happen if she poured as much as she could into the glove. A brief thought of painting primed the glove.

The stallion recovered from a long jump, stabilizing himself as Flurry rolled over, covered in cracks. Color guided the tingling feeling into her hoof. Pulsing shot through her body, focussing on the glove. This was it.

A blue circle appeared on the stallion and launched him into the wall across the street, blowing a hole through it.

Color’s hoof slammed into her body and blew her back into the bed. The sound caught the attention of both Flurry and the mare. Flurry used the moment to strike the mare with a magical blast before running up to her and knocking her out.

Pain resonated throughout Color’s foreleg. She wiggled her hoof, relieved it could still move, but winced from the pain in doing so.

Flurry trotted up to her, her armor disappearing as she recalled her Fate Dance. “Color!?” Flurry sat down next to her and examined her foreleg. None of the bones appeared broken but bruises darkened along the leg.

Color slowed her breathing, still tense from the pain. “Is it… broken?”

“Not that I can see. Could be fractured though. Best to keep your weight off of it.” Flurry propped up Color’s hurt foreleg with her back, carrying the weight and helping Color move. “I saw it in Saul’s request, but I didn’t think you could actually do it.”

“What?” Color grunted as they stepped outside

“Human magic.”

Saul hopped down from a roof down the street as Flurry waved to him. “I heard a loud crash and came here immediately.”

Flurry interrupted him, shuffling over and handing Color to him. “Don’t worry about it, just help us get back to the castle.”

Saul nodded, grabbing Color and throwing her over his shoulder.

Flurry relaxed before trotting down the street. “I guess you were right about her.”

Saul smiled, following after Flurry.

Chapter 4

Cadence’s hooves glided against the keyboard, pressing the keys without touching them. To an onlooker, the piano looked as if it was playing itself considering she was an Earth pony. After finishing 'Les jeux d'eaux à la Villa d'Este' by Franz Lizst, a piece only possible to a skilled unicorn or human pianist, she stood up, bowed to a roaring audience, and walked offstage. Behind the curtain, two bracelets around her forelegs disappeared as she recalled her Fate Dance.

“Ms. Cadence?” asked an orange stallion, covered in bruises and dirt.

Just looking at him, she knew they weren’t successful. “She’s Flurry Heart, Rusty. I wouldn’t beat yourself up. Where’s Headset?”

“She got knocked out. Guards took her to the castle.”

“I can work with that. Rather her than you.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry about it. What did Flurry do to you?”

He looked away and paused. “It wasn’t just her, actually.”

“Saul?”

“Uh… no. The bait worked.”

“Then who was it?”

“Her friend.”

Cadence grabbed a glass of water from an assistant standing by. “Does she happen to be a Fate Dancer?”

“No.” He paused, unsure of what to say. “It felt like human magic.”

“That’s odd,” she said, taking a sip of water. None of them expected Color to do anything, but Cadence saw it as only a minor speed bump in their plans. “They back in the castle?”

“Yes.”

“Head just outside of it; Slip is already inside. I know what to do next.”

She set her cup down as Rusty nodded and jogged away. She didn’t expect the ambush to work with how simple the plan was. It would, however, set the stage for tonight.

“Need my help?” interjected a man behind her, leaning against the wall. His black hair and pale skin, accented by his black and white trench coat and trousers, looked unnatural and stood out compared to other humans.

Cadence didn’t turn to look at him, eyeing him with her peripheral vision. “I don’t think I can handle Saul, honestly. I don’t have that kind of Fate Dance.”

“I can keep him busy for you.”

She paused. “Midnight, outside the castle.”

He nodded and slipped out the door. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Cadence sighed. She didn’t want to rely on him or the group that sent him. Hell, she barely knew who they were. But she couldn’t deny the insight he had on Fate Dances. She wouldn’t have her’s if it wasn’t for him.

— — —

“Well, it’s not broken.”

“That’s good news,” Color replied as the medic pony’s magical aurora enveloped her right foreleg.

“Not even fractured, too.”

Color raised an eyebrow. “Really? That’s… actually odd.”

The medic pony prodded her leg, touching a painful spot and making Color flinch. “Jeeze, give me a heads up.”

He smiled. “Don’t worry, your muscles are torn to hell.”

“Oh.” She stared at her foreleg. “That makes sense.”

The medic pony gently set her foreleg on a table before recalling his aurora and trotting to the cabinets. “I can brace it for now, although you should try to keep your weight off of it.” He levitated a leg brace out of a cabinet and brought it to Color. “A good doctor can accelerate the healing process. Unfortunately, this is all I can do.”

He strapped the brace around Color’s right foreleg, adjusting it to keep the leg slightly bent while matching the height of her other leg. Color took a few steps with the brace. It felt like walking with a peg leg.

“Find a doctor as soon as Flurry lets you out of this castle,” the medic pony added as Color turned to the door.

“She will,” Saul interjected, standing in the doorway. “I’ll make sure of it.”

Color wobbled to Saul, only using her right leg to stabilize herself.

Saul let her through, guiding her down the hall. “Need help?”

“I’m getting the hang of it,” Color assured as she slipped. Saul caught her with his foot, giving her a moment to replant herself. “Thanks. By the way, I thought Flurry said she’d send some guards to come get me.”

Saul walked just ahead of her. “If you want something done right, do it yourself. Also, with what happened earlier, I guarantee they’d take advantage of your injury.” He stopped at an intersection in the hallway, peeking around the corner. “I wouldn’t trust anyone we don’t personally know right now.”

“That's like you, me, and Flurry?”

“Precisely,” he said, continuing down the hall.

Color followed him down hallways as he stopped and peeked around each corner before continuing. His path seemed random, zig-zagging through the corridors of the castle.

“So, what’s going on?”

Saul held a finger to her lips and shushed, whispering, “We’re being followed.”

He dragged around another corner and down a hallway. Hoofsteps echoed along the walls, closing in on their position.

Turning around a corner revealed a group of guards coming toward them. Saul dragged her the other way and turned another corner. Another group of guards approached them.

Dashing down the last open hallway, more guards poked out and blocked the hallway, trapping Color and Saul.

The guards surrounded them, blocking both ends of the hallway. Saul put a hand across Color, speaking up to the guards. “Any problems here, boys?”

One guard, presumably the captain, stepped forward and removed his helmet. “We’re under orders from Flurry to escort Color and you to a safe place.”

Saul withdrew his hand from Color, relaxing his posture. “Oh, you should’ve just said so.” The guards nodded in response with the captain putting his helmet back on.

Color looked at Saul confused. Did he just go back on what he said?

As the group started down the hallway, Color trailed behind Saul unsure of what to do. She didn’t even remember what happened to the glove after the spar with the other Fate Dancers.

“Saul, did you happen to grab the gl…”

“It’s in my pocket. I grabbed it after carrying you back to the castle. Also, be careful what you say around…”

A silver blur swooped beside him. At the last second, he stepped to the side as the blur slashed his thigh.

The blur circled around and aimed for his chest, but Saul held out his hand, electrified his fingers, and sent a bolt of electricity into the blur.

He stepped back, panted, and looked around at the guards. They stared back at him, unsure what just happened.

“Who did that?” Saul asked, gripping his side.

The guards looked around in confusion, remaining silent.

Saul pressed further. “Did any of you even see that?”

A guard behind spoke up. “I think I saw something fly through the air. Couldn’t tell what it was, though.”

“At least it’s not a no,” Saul scoffed. “Doesn’t really help, tho…”

Another blur flew towards Saul’s side. He planted his feet and deflected the blur upward, causing it to smash into the ceiling. For a brief moment, Color recognized it as a steel cable before it retracted among the guards.

“Form up, we’re under attack!” the captain shouted as the guards grouped together blocked the hallways.

Another blur from the cable popped out and swooped toward Color’s side. She dived to the ground as the cable nicked her tail. It curved around and lurched toward her before she could get up.

Right before it struck her, Saul jumped over and deflected the cable away. Color whispered a faint “thanks” as she stumbled to her legs, catching a glimpse of the cable retracting among the guards.

“Where the hell is it coming from?” Saul muttered, looking around at the guards. “Did any of you see anything!?”

A few of the guards trembled. One of them whispered, “no-no sir.”

“Saul, I keep seeing it retract among the guards,” Color noted.

Saul nodded. “That’d make sense. The closest corner is about ten meters in either direction, plus these walls are bare.” He turned toward the captain. “How long have these guards been with you.”

“Several years, minimum. I can vouch for them all,” the captain replied.

Saul turned back towards Color disappointed.

A laugh emanated throughout the hallway, causing several guards to shiver. A voice followed. “Even if you looked straight at me, with my Evaded Eyes, your eyes would grace right over me. I’m practically invisible!”

A guard dropped his spear.

“Oh yes! I’m among you now and I won’t stop until I take out each of you one by one.”

In front of them, A guard dashed down the hallway. The cable followed him, swooped up, and smashed him down into the floor. The other guards froze, sweating profusely.

Color nudged Saul. “Give me the glove.”

“Look at your leg, you can’t control it yet,” he asserted back. “You hurt yourself any more and I’ll have to carry you out.”

“But I could do something.”

“Do what?”

Color stood in silence. She had no plan. “I don’t know.”

Saul sighed. “When you’re in a situation like this, the best thing you can do is calm yourself and analyze the situation. Every enemy has a weakness, even if you can’t see it.”

The voice burst into laughter. “Don’t even think your human magic can save you. I can see it glow when you use it.”

“Is that so?” Saul noted. Color noticed a circle on the back of his hand glowing as he stretched it out down the hallway. "What do you see?"

“Huh? What are you talking about?” the voice asked.

Color realized he couldn’t see the back of Saul’s hands. He must be in front of Saul.

Saul tilted his head. “Captain?”

Shivering, the captain’s head turned.“Uh-uh, what?”

“Is that armor actually made of gold?”

“No, it’s just gold plated steel. Gold is too soft for armor.”

Saul smiled. “Perfect.”

With his right hand, Saul grabbed a chain on his neck, snapped it off, and wrapped it around his forearm with a whip. His dog tags fell to the ground. Grabbing one end of the chain with his right hand and the other with his left, the backs of his hands glowed with yellow light.

The cable lurched towards him, but he dodged it with a quick hop to the side.

“A funny thing happens when you pass a current through a coil of wire,” Saul taunted as he scanned the guards with his arm. A couple of seconds later, he stopped, grinned, and braced his legs. The glowing circles intensified, causing sparks to fly through the chain. “You create a magnetic field.”

A single guard flew towards him, landing right in front of him. Saul dropped the chain, now glowing red hot, next to his feet.

“How the…” the false guard panted, turning out to be a black stallion with a grey mane. The steel cable wrapped around his barrel. “How the hell did you know!?”

“Your wording earlier was quite specific, as if your Fate Dance isn’t strong enough to blind us to you. You still need to dress up and ‘blend in,’ I presume?”

The stallion struggled to his forelegs as Saul placed a foot on his back. “I figured if I couldn’t see you, I could at least feel you. So I created an inductor with the chain for my dog tags, scanned the guards, and pulled you out once I felt something I couldn’t see.”

Saul removed his foot but the stallion didn’t move. He knew he got outplayed. Instead, he looked up crying and pleaded. “Please don’t hurt me! I only joined Cadence because I was desperate and couldn’t find work. She promised me money and a spot among her royal guard commanders.”

“Please, don’t play this game with me,” Saul sneered, stepping aside and revealing a wiggling cable within his grasp. “I’m already holding the cable you sent behind me.”

“EEEEEEEEEEEK!” the stallion screamed. Sparks flared out of Saul’s hand, traveling down the cable and wrapping around the stallion, causing him to jolt and convulse. A second later and he collapsed to the ground.

Saul crouched and picked his dog tags off the ground. Standing back up, he winced and grabbed his thigh before turning toward Color. He reached into his pocket and handed Color the glove. “I’m not as beat up as you, but I think you should have it now, just in case.”

Color took it and stuffed it in her leg brace. “You weren’t wrong earlier, you know.”

“‘Utilize your strengths; mitigate your weaknesses.’ That’s all I did,” he chuckled. “Although I never know where that will take me.”

“Well, I can use that momentum spell thingy. That’s about it.”

Saul smiled. “You sure?”

Color looked away. “I can paint if that’s worth anything.”

“You’ll be surprised,” he assured.

The captain trotted up to the two of them, scratching his head. “So, um, I see you two don’t need our help.”

“Actually,” Saul replied. “I have no idea where I am.”

— — —

Cadence stepped into the throne room of the Crystal Castle. Behind her, Rusty lugged an electronic keyboard, shivering with each step, while the human dressed in black and white trailed behind him. Flurry slept on the throne, curled up in a ball with Headset to her side, stroking Flurry’s mane.

“I see you’re trustworthy,” Cadence commented.

“Imperfect Words is best when used subtly,” noted Headset. “First on a guard, then on Flurry without her knowing.” She hopped down and joined the group. “It’s pretty useless in combat, unfortunately.”

The human walked up to Cadence and placed a hand on her shoulder. “So, ready to do your thing?”

Cadence nodded, trotting up to the throne with Rusty trailing behind her. The human inserted earplugs into his ears, handing a couple to Headset too as Rusty set up the keyboard. Once he finished, Rusty joined the group and inserted earplugs into his own ears.

As Cadence sat down at the keyboard, bracelets materialized on her forelegs. She glided up and down the keys, getting a feel for the instrument. Headset’s Imperfect Words might be able to suggest, but Cadence’s Perfect Melody could go further and alter the ideals and beliefs to those who listen.

This was the next step in ambition. She had the Fate Dance; she had the name. All she had to do was tilt the right scales in order to pave a path: a path to becoming the ruler of the Crystal Empire.

Her hooves darted around the keyboard as music filled the room. At that moment, Color and Saul turned the corner to the throne room.

Chapter 5

Cadence still remembered the first day she slacked off.

“What are you doing?!” her mother shouted.

Cadence laid on the couch watching TV. Her bagging eyes and stiff wrists spoke for themselves.

"Don’t you want to become the greatest pianist ever?" her mom continued.

"I do, but I need a break," Cadence pleaded.

"Did any of the great earth pony pianists take breaks?"

The answer was yes, but her mom never believed her.

After another three hours of practice, Cadence stepped onto the stage of the Canterlot Opera House and played II. Etude in A Minor by Philip Glass. It was one of her favorite pieces, but its slow and sublime soundscape relaxed her body and mind. When she finished and received roaring applause, she fell over on the piano and passed out. There were four other pieces on the program.

She woke up several hours later to a furious mom. The aristocracy present in the audience stomped out of the hall, tarnishing her reputation. Her mother barely spoke to her for a week.

No venue in Canterlot would host her anymore, even if she rented the place herself. Her career ended at the age of fifteen.

After months of stagnation and self-pity, Cadence gathered whatever money she had left and bought a train ticket to the Crystal Empire.

— — —

Saul peeked through the entryway to the throne room. Shifting back behind the wall, he nodded to the captain. “Thanks for the help.”

The captain saluted back. “Mind if I head back to the clinic? I got some beaten up friends back there.”

“That’s probably a good idea. Things might get nasty in here.” Saul turned toward Color as the captain trotted away. "I'm gonna need your help."

Color raised an eyebrow. "That's a change of heart."

He pointed to her right leg. "I'm not letting you use that."

"But…" She poked her leg brace. "I've never done it with my left before."

"Learn quickly, I want you to walk normally again." He pointed toward the entryway. "Three of them are at the base of steps. Another one on the steps has a keyboard and is about to play it. Once that starts, I’ll dash out 20 feet and keep the three busy. Knock the keyboard over and pull Flurry here if you can."

“Wait, you can pull with that spell?”

“Yeah, um…” He scratched his head. “Think about dragging magic out and back into the glove. Just try your best, I’ll see what I can do.”

Color slipped the glove over her left hoof. "That it?"

"You’ll figure it out."

Music echoed into the hall as Saul tapped Color on the head and dashed into the hall. The music and earplugs covered up his footsteps, blocking his presence.

Once he stopped and raised his hands, Color turned the corner and aimed her hoof at the keyboard. Two circles appeared on the keyboard causing it to thrust against the wall smashing to pieces. Both Color and Saul aimed at Flurry, but black goo poured out of the human and blocked both of their views.

“I guess Slip was unreliable after all,” the human noted, contracting the goo and letting it flow around him. The goo levitated as if suspended in the air.

With a clear view, Color bit her lip and guided the magic out of her hoof and back into the glove. The mental image Saul gave her struggled to form in her mind. Slowly, a circle appeared on Flurry as she dragged across the floor toward Color.

The shuffling of flurry caught the ear of the human, causing him to turn his head. Saul smirked and electrified his hands, sending a shock through the ground and at the three. Rusty and Headset jolted, falling to the ground. The human, however, continued to stand after a brief twitch.

“Did you expect me to go down so easily?” the human taunted, slowly raising his head.

“It was worth a shot,” Saul conceded. “Wasn’t my goal anyway.”

Confused, the human glanced to his side, noticing Color pick up Flurry and carry her into the hallway. The brief moment he didn’t pay attention was enough for Color to drag her over.

“Turns out the best solutions solve multiple problems at once,” Saul noted.

Black goo shot out toward Saul in a line, pinning his right arm to the wall.

“Cadence?” the human called.

“Uh, yes?” she responded poking her head from behind the throne.

“Make yourself useful and get these other two up. Somepony has to go after Flurry.”

“Somepony?” Saul extended his left hand at the human. Before the circle fully appeared, the human retracted the goo and created a wall separating them while unpinning Saul’s arm.

Cadence trotted up to the two unconscious ponies, shaking their faces. Rusty stood up after some prodding but Headset showed no sign waking up.

Saul pointed his hand toward Cadence, but another line of goo shot toward him, forcing him to dive and dodge. Cadence helped Rusty to the hallway before Saul could stand back up.

“You know, there aren’t many human spells out there,” Saul taunted as he stumbled to his feet.

The goo flowed around the human in a swirl, ready to shift at a moment’s notice. “Don’t expect to get out of this room easily.”

Saul checked his arm, not noticing any serious injury. “That goo, I can’t recall a human spell like that.”

“What about it?”

“That wouldn’t happen to be a Fate Dance, would it?”

— — —

Color limped down the hallway with Flurry draped over her back. Her leg brace creaked under the stress of two ponies. Hoofsteps echoed down the hall, signaling her to limp faster.

She stumbled through the closest door and fell into a library. The hoofsteps grew louder. Whether she liked it or not, this was her battleground.

After setting Flurry down on a chair, she slid a small bookcase in front of the door and analyzed her surroundings. Bookshelves packed with books lined the walls. A few tables and chairs sat on the floor. Next to an empty and half-painted bookshelf sat two cans of paint, one pink and the other purple.

She looked around again. “Don’t tell me this all I have,” she muttered. Another look, and it was confirmed.

Frustrated, she leaned against a bookshelf and threw a book. “What the hell am I supposed to do with this!?” Stumbling back to her hooves, she felt the bookshelf tip before rocking back and forth and settling back down.

“Wait?” She turned around and pushed the bookshelf, feeling it tip again. “They’re not screwed in?” A crazy idea popped in her head.

— — —

“Door’s blocked,” Rusty grunted, pounding on the door. “I guarantee she’s in there, though.”

“Just break it down already,” Cadence scoffed, leaning against the opposite wall.

“If you wish. Don’t complain if you have to pay for the repairs.”

“When,” Cadence corrected.

“I guess.” Rusty’s Half Ax materialized on his back. With one swing, the door split apart. With another, the bookcase behind it snapped in half, clearing a path for them.

Rusty and Cadence tiptoed into the room. Darkness shrouded the room, the only light source being the doorway. Glancing to the side, Cadence noticed a severed cable coming out of the light switch. Flicking it on brought no light.

Rusty pointed to a purple mass on the other side of the room. The darkness obscured the colors and shape. “Is that Flurry?”

“Check it out. I don’t care about Color as long as we have Flurry,” Cadence commanded.

Rusty nodded before sneaking across the room. A pile of books covered the purple mass, further obscuring it. A few feet away from it, Rusty stopped. The purple looked off.

“A bookshelf?” he mumbled, seeing purple paint strokes that resembled a mane. A fainted snicker whispered behind him as a wall of books descended on him, the shelf falling suit.

He swung his ax in time to split the shelf apart just as a second shelf fell on top of him. Unable to recover from the swing, the shelf buried him with books and flopped on top of him, knocking him out.

Cadence froze in shock. Turning around, another bookcase fell and blocked the entrance to the library. “You must be confident, trapping me in like that.”

A voice around the ceiling. “You’re gonna undo what you did to Flurry.”

“Oh really? You think I can just do that?”

“You’re not leaving till you do.”

Cadence looked around, moving toward the center of the room. “You’re tipping over the bookcases with your glove, aren’t you?”

No response.

Cadence grinned and adjusted her hair. “Perfect Melody is definitely not a combat Fate Dance, I admit. However, you’d be foolish to think I need a keyboard to use it.” Two bracelets appeared on her forelegs as she hummed a haunting tune.

Color, hidden behind a bookcase, felt her forelegs legs move without her control. Clenching her muscles, she tried to fight the movement but to no avail, her forelegs reaching out to drag her into the open. With a kick, she tripped herself with her hind legs and knocked over the bookcase.

Cadence grinned. “There you are.”

A new melody and Color’s left hind leg pushed her into the open. Her right foreleg regained control, but the brace kept it nearly useless.

The tune intensified as Color’s left foreleg and right hind leg pushed her up, trying to stand. Squirming, she tripped herself with her left hind leg and plopped on the floor. She realized something. Two limbs were all Cadence could control.

Color’s left foreleg and right hind leg pushed her slowly towards Cadence. Passing next to a table, Color lodged her leg brace onto its leg. Her right hind leg struggled to move her and the table.

“So be it,” Cadence mumbled, humming a dissonant melody.

Both of Color’s hind legs shifted and pushed, moving her and the table. However, she smiled, muttering “checkmate.”

Color stretched out her left hoof, now free, and activated her glove. A shelf behind Cadence fell over and crashed into the ground, causing her to jump and turn around.

When she regained her senses and turned back around, Color sat down with her left foreleg extended toward Cadence and a glowing circle on her glove. Cadence froze in shock.

Color grinned. “I knew you had something up your sleeve, I just had to figure out what it was.”

Cadence flew back, bouncing off the wall and landing in a pile of books and broken wood. Her still body indicated unconsciousness.

Color examined her left foreleg. Placing weight on it hurt, but not nearly as much as it did with her right leg. She could’ve pulled something, but that wasn’t a big deal.

She limped behind the bookcase and pulled out a still sleeping Flurry. Dragging her out into the middle of the room, Color flopped down on her back beside Flurry and panted from the pain. “I don’t know about you, but I’m done for the night.”

A couple of minutes later and she calmed down, nearly about to pass out.

“Waiting on you, Saul.”

— — —

The human laughed, throwing off Saul for a second. “I was told you’re an observant one. Try me. What else can you deduce?”

Saul stepped back and stroked his chin. “That depends. Your hair color looks unnatural, your clothes look weird, you’re undocumented by the AUN, and your power is strange. You wouldn’t happen to be a PL, would you?”

The human looked confused. “A what?”

“Nevermind. Didn’t think it would work but it was worth a shot.” Saul threw his hands behind his head, stretching them out. “Thing is, I know what the answer is. I’m just confused about how and why.”

“Spit it out. I’m curious.”

Saul glared. “You were a pony, weren’t you?”

The human laughed hysterically. “I’m surprised you didn’t claim I stole it!”

“Your clothes and hair color suggest otherwise and you would still be documented. Plus, I know someone who has, and he’s not like you.” Saul widened his stance. “Are you confident enough to tell me why?”

“Shouldn’t it be obvious? You of all people should know why especially after traveling with her!”

Saul froze at the mention of Color and put the pieces together. Color’s father was one of the reasons they were here. “What about her father?”

“It’s the flaw of the Fate Dance! The pony body is unsustainable without its cutie mark, but the human body has no need for it.”

Saul placed a hand on the metal disc attached to his belt and pressed a button, priming it. “So, you want to join humanity?”

The human laughed. “Not really, but that’s a conversation for later. Besides…” Black goo shot from underneath Saul, grabbing the disc and holding it above him. “I’m not letting you get out alive.”

Saul smiled, placing a hand on his watch. “There are some funny things about the Magic Pulse Device, or MPD.” Blue light emanated from the disc as it powered on. The human froze in shock. “I can trigger it with my watch. Doing so would leave us both magicless and I’m pretty sure you don’t know how to fight without your magic.”

The human tried to move the goo but Saul raised his arm, placing his finger on a button. Saul continued. “However, you might be surprised to learn that when this device fires, it will permanently damage any cutie mark within a five-meter radius. If I assume the goo itself is your Fate Dance, then you don’t want me pushing this button.”

The human backed up, looking around the room. Saul continued. “I thought about sparring with you for a bit, but I’m a little beat up and I want to end this quickly. Either do what I ask or I push this button.”

Suddenly, the goo tossed the MPD to the side causing Saul to push the button. Before the MPD fired, the human used his goo to propel himself to the door, retracting as much as he could as blue light filled the room.

Saul stepped to chase after him but stumbled as his thigh winced in pain from the earlier battle. A couple limps later and he adjusted to the pain enough to jog.

Chasing the human down, Saul darted as fast as he could out of the castle. Outside, he scanned the surrounding courtyard for the human. He wasn’t around.

Saul swore he was fast enough to catch up to the human, especially since the MPD fired and prevented him from using his goo. But no matter how much he scanned the area, he couldn’t find the human.

“Did he…” Saul didn’t know how to internalize the thought he just had. “…change back?”