"So, you are telling me that this thing disguised itself as Pinkie Pie?" Twilight inquired, making sure that she heard the right thing from the red stallion standing before her.

Princess Twilight Sparkle sat in her castle, asking the two ponies responsible for the return of peace some questions concerning the attack with the unknown evil. The moon shone brightly across the exterior of the castle walls, illuminating the inside with it's bright glow. It had been roughly six hours since the nurse allowed Carter and Rainbow Dash to leave the hospital. With a couple bandages tightly wrapped around his wounds, Carter stood in front of the princess, who she herself sat upon her throne. Rainbow Dash meanwhile sat beside the others, her bandage clad body healing her wounds. The rest of the Mane 6 sat to the side of the red carpet that stretched from the princess’ throne to the doors leading outside the throne room. Rainbow Dash was tending to her injured wings, adjusting the uncomfortable cast that surrounded the appendage. The group was just finishing up their discussion about the killer.

"I swear upon my life, your majesty. I don't know what it really was, nor why it took Pinkie's form, but it is the honest truth." Carter said, speaking to Twilight with his serious expression.

"I just don't get it. What in Equestria could’ve done this?" Twilight could not come up with anything else to say or ask. The things that she had just learned baffled her too much. It was beyond her knowledge, and she didn't particularly enjoy not knowing things.

"Rainbow Dash," Pinkie Pie began, looking over at the pegasus. "you don't really think that I'd do anything like that, would you?" Her spirit was heartbroken. Even though everypony knew that she did nothing wrong, Pinkie Pie still felt like her trust with the others was near empty.

"Pinkie Pie, I could never think of you like that." Rainbow Dash took the mare between her front legs and hugged her. The pegasus lightly pulled the earth pony closer to her as to avoid any further damage to her bandaged wounds. She rested her head against Pinkie Pie's and let loose a couple tears from her eyes. "I realize that I was wrong about you. It was I who made a mistake, but I have learned from it, and I hope you'd still accept our friendship."

"Of course, Dashie. Nothing can separate us." Pinkie Pie said, pulling away from Rainbow Dash and smiling with a bright grin across her face.

Poor Dashie. Thinking that her best friend was a killer? Damn.

“Well, at any rate, it’s a good thing to know that all of this has blown over.” Twilight said. She felt good knowing that, because of Carter and Rainbow Dash’s heroic acts, Equestria was now back to the way it was.

“Let’s not put our guard down just yet, your highness. If there is even a small chance that something greater caused this to happen, then we mustn’t allow it to attack yet another time.” Carter spoke to the princess with content. He could tell that she agreed with what he spoke about once she looked down at the ground in thought.

“Perhaps. Nevertheless, we should be happy with the fact that ponies are now once again safe.”

“Very true. That’s a blessing all on its own.” Rarity said.

The other mares got up from where they stood and began to converse with each other, discussing their thoughts and opinions about the subject. Carter stood by himself, looking over at the princess, as if he thought that she’d have more to say. Princess Twilight stood up from her throne and proceeded to walk down the steps below her until she came to the same elevation as the others. She turned her head to the right, focusing her vision on the bright moon that rested in the sky.

“I understand that it is late. I am more than happy to offer Carter and Rainbow Dash the castle as a means of rest and healing, and anypony else who wants to stay here can definitely do so. If you wish to return home, there is a chariot waiting for you just outside the castle.” Twilight looked over at the rest of the Mane 6, awaiting their replies.

“I wish I could, Twilight. Alas, I have work to do bright and early in the morning.” Rarity said.

“Same here, Twi. I gotta get those apples packed n’ ready for sellin’.” Applejack informed. The orange mare looked over at Carter and smiled, holding back a laugh. “I’d ask for yer help, but I think ya’ve done quite enough for us the last time ya came to the farm. That n' the fact that ya need to heal up.”

“I said I’d be fine helping around the farm, Applejack.” Carter replied, giving off a small grin and a raised eyebrow in return. “But yeah, I need a bit of time to recover.”

“I don’t get you, Carter.” Rainbow Dash shook her head. “You just got done healing from the timberwolf attack, and yet you are back to square one!”

“Welcome to my world, Dash.” Carter said, pointing his hoof towards each of her wounds in a quick, flowing motion. She rolled her eyes and scoffed at him. They exchanged snarky glances at each other, the others simply watched them toss around their banter with smiles on their faces.

“So I take it that none of you will want to stay here?” Twilight inquired. The other mares shook their heads. “Ok then. You girls are free to leave. Thank you for your time and patience, it means a lot. The chariot is ready for your departure.”

With that all said and done, the four mares all walked out the door in a single file line, Pinkie Pie leading the group as she bounced around like she always does. The guards closed the doors behind them as the ponies exited the throne room. The large doors closed with a mighty shudder while the guards snapped back into their position.

“Now then. Rainbow Dash, Carter, you two can go get situated in your designated rooms. If you need to, I can send somepony to come and help you to your room if you wish.” Twilight said.

“Nah, I’ll be fine. I don’t need anypony’s help.” Rainbow Dash said with her signature cocky nature. She took one step forward, but nearly fell to the floor. She let out a small grunt before repositioning herself. “I do need some time to rest, that’s for sure.”

Carter and Princess Twilight laughed a bit to themselves as they watched the pegasus limp to her room. She nodded to the others before going out of their view, both of them doing the same in return. Once she was gone, Twilight looked over to Carter, who had yet to make his way to his room. She was puzzled by this, as she expected him to be right behind Rainbow Dash. There was something off about him. His eyes were slightly green and his head twitched every so often. He stared off into the distance. The princess waved her hoof in front of him, but no sign of conscious thought showed. It all happened in the blink of an eye.

“Carter, are you doing okay?” Twilight asked, feeling concerned about the stallion’s health. The princess of friendship was beginning to feel overwhelmed. This was not the first time she had seen this type of thing, as the guards, whom she banished to Tartarus, that came in contact with the statue of the Legion of Doom all had similar side-effects appear. Green eyes, strange and random freezing of the body. They seemed almost… corrupted.

Unbeknownst to her, Carter was lost in thought, watching images of his younger self flashing in his mind. It felt awkward, as it didn’t feel like a memory, but rather a vision. He then heard the same voice appear to him, but it felt stronger, like it took more control over his mind then any of the times prior.

“This is only the beginning. You will not come out of this alive… unless, you choose to join us.”

Never. I will never join you.

“You say that every time, but you know that this is who you really are.”

No. This is not who I am. I refuse to believe such vile nonsense!

“Tell yourself everything you wish to hear, but you know it. Deep down in your soul, you know very well that you cannot change.”

…

“I can feel your realizations of the truth coming back to you. Now one can stop you from becoming who you really are. Not anymore. Think about it… violence, blood, death. There must be a reason for all of this to happen to you. Right?”

…

“There is, dear boy. I know there is, and I know that you know it as well. All of those deaths, your family, your friends, they all point to one thing. You are a killer. Your only goal in life is to conquer and control. Anyone who tries to stop you shall not pose a threat, as it will be by your own hand that they are vanquished.”

I am… a killer?

“Yes. You feel it in your soul, yes? The urge to take the lives of those who seem fit.. The lust for blood and death. Knowing that every single being void of life was from no one else but yourself. This is how the world works, as I am sure you have noticed.”

“Oh no! Carter, please snap out of it!” Carter’s corrupted body slowly looked down at his hooves. Twilight found that he was in no control over what he did and started to panic. She charged up her horn and shot out a large beam of light that went through the castle walls and into the night sky, exploding into a bright ring of prismatic colors. “I hope that it’s not too late.”

“Violence is the only thing you know, boy. It is what you have dealt with for all these years, and it will be the one thing that ends it. Nothing bad will come to you if you control the ones who do it.

The ones.. Who do it? Control… of them?

“You will be an unstoppable force. Everyone everywhere will respect you, and no more harm will be brought upon you. Friendship is for the weak, as it forces your heart to feel for those who should not concern you. Your parents’ death was not something to grieve over, and your friends’ failure to protect their daughter was not a reason to doubt yourself. You are right from the beginning, friendship is bad, and nothing good will ever come from it.”

Nothing… good?

“That’s right. Push away friendship, once and for all!”

Push away… push… push… no.

“What?”

No… no, I won’t.

“You fool, it is not worth your time to be a part of these insipid beings’ lives. The only thing that matters in life is what you want. They won’t care about you, so why should you care about them?”

No, you are wrong!

“Watch it, boy. This is not what you want.”

Not what I want? Not what I want!? I wanted none of this! I never wanted my family and friends to die, but I never wanted to live a life of violence and death! This is not living, this is torture!

“Exactly. But that is how the world is. The IFRE made you a killing machine, and there is nothing you can do to change that! Accept it! Friendship over power? I don’t think so.”

What you say might be true…

“That’s right, it is.”

But I will not choose that path.

“What!?”

These ponies, my friends, have shown me the true power of friendship.

“And what ‘power’ is that?”

Friendship is the power of unity. It is the driving force in life that gives each and every living being a reason to live. It is the reason I fight for them, the reason I sleep at night knowing that I have others watching my back like I do for them, and the reason that I know that I am growing in a positive way thanks to them. Ultimate power is never the answer, it is an excuse. It’s an excuse to push away pain and force yourself to live in some corrupted world. But with friendship, you may have to fight through the pain, but you never have to do it alone. That is what friendship means to me, and that is why you will never win me over.

“Is that how you really feel?”

I never asked for a life of fighting. I just wanted to live my life the way I saw it fit to live by. But, if that is how things must be, then I will fight for them. I will lay down my life to fight evil and vanquish it from not only Earth, but all worlds. I will fight for my friends, I will fight for my family, and I will fight for peace. If you do so much as lay one finger on them, then you will never see the light of day.

“... very well. If this is what you want, then I have no choice.”

Carter’s body erupted with a large quantity of dark magic surrounding him. Screams and cries of pain came from the stallion as his body pulsated and contorted through all of the pain. Twilight could do nothing but stand in front of him, watching as his mind fought through whatever evil took control of him.

“We got your distress signal, Twilight. What is it?”

Rainbow Dash rushed into the room, limping over to aid the princess. The rest of the Mane 6 did the same, running into the throne room through the big doors. They were all greatly surprised by what they saw, each of them unable to speak. Carter’s eyes switched from green to black at a rapid rate, and his orifices spewed out elongated strands of black magic. The shouts continued to come out of the stallion’s mouth, his body violently reacting subconsciously.

“What in Equestria happened to him!?” Applejack shouted, worried sick about Carter’s current condition.

“This can’t be! We have only been gone for a few minutes, and he’s already like this!?” Pinkie Pie screamed, finding it troublesome to look upon the suffering stallion.

A bright flash of light appeared behind the mares. They all turned around to find a group of ponies standing alongside each other as one big shadow while the light dimmed down. Once it subsided, the Royal Sisters, the Crystal Empire leaders, along with Flurry Heart, Star Swirl the Bearded, Discord, Spike and Flint Masters all ran over to meet up with the others.

“Twilight, you better have a good reason to signal this level of emergency across Equestria.” Shining Armor said.

“It’s Carter. I don’t know what is going on with him, but something is taking over his mind, and soon his entire being!” Twilight explained.

“What is happening to him?” Luna inquired in a calm tone, picking up the pace of her steps as she comprehended the severity of the situation.

“I haven’t the fondest idea, sister. It appears that some source of dark magic is corrupting him, and quickly.” Celestia said.

“What can we do, Celestia?” Twilight asked, frantically searching for a way to free Carter from his torment.

“I… I do not know! This is beyond anything we have ever seen!” Celestia stated.

“I fear that the worst has come.” Star Swirl said, observing the black magic that emitted from the red stallion’s orifices. He furrowed his brow as he looked upon an old enemy.

“It’s the Darth Spawn!” Flint shouted. “He has come in contact with it, but the strength of its hold over him has me thinking that this event happened years in the past!”

“Darth Spawn? Like the substance that Father talked about?” Luna inquired.

“Yes, the same one.” Star Swirl said, charging up his horn with a bright magic. “Flint is right, this happened before he came to Equestria. They must have something like it on Earth.”

“How do we fight it?” Rarity asked.

“We must use our combined powers to fight it. The strength of one of us alone will not be enough, but together, we might be able to free him of this curse.” Flint said, digging his hooves into the ground and glowing with a bright brown color scheme.

“What can we do to help!?” Fluttershy asked. “Not all of us have magic!”

“Use the power of friendship!” Luna ordered, charging her horn along with her sister.

“We have no choice, dear. We must use help them.” Cadence said.

“I understand.” Shining Armor joined with her mate as the two of them charged their horns with each of their respective magic.

“Fluttershy, come on! We can’t let him die!” Discord said, pointing to the cream colored pegasus. “We must join as one and help vanquish this evil!”

“He is right, girls. Let’s do this.” Twilight said, holding her hooves out to the others. They nodded and held each other’s hooves. As the power of their friendship all rushed over to Twilight’s horn, her eyes became clear white, and her mane lit up with gold and purple colors.

“The time is now, attack!” Star Swirl shouted.

All at once, each of the surrounding ponies, and Discord, all unleashed their magic out at Carter, who was nearly enveloped by the dark magic. As each one of their magic beams made contact with the black substance, a high pitched shriek erupted from the stallion, giving off a sign that it was working.

“Friendship!”

“Love!”

“Family!”

“Chaos!”

“Earth!”

“Harmony!”

The power of the beams nearly eradicated the evil essence that nearly consumed the stallion, but it was not enough to completely destroy it. They all pushed their powers to the limit, desperate to bring Carter away from the vile magic. But alas, even with all of their combined efforts, the black magic continued to make its way through him.

While everypony aided in using their magic, young Flurry heart slowly made her way to the corrupted stallion, giggling to herself after she recognized him. Cadence noticed her walking towards the vile infested stallion, but she knew that she couldn’t stop her magic.

“Flurry Heart! Urgh… come to mama, now!” Cadence shouted in an attempt to pull the foal back to her side. It did not work, however, as Flurry Heart continued her way towards Carter’s position. Cadence and Shining Armor were in a state of panic, watching their baby walk towards her doom. They thought they had no choice but to stop their magic and rush to her to save her life. They soon stopped their thoughts and watched the foal begin to glow by her horn. The foal was terrified by the sight of the stallion, knowing even in her little foal mind that something wasn’t right. As she charged up her horn, the little bit of magic she had in her was shot out towards Carter.

In an instant, the entirety of the throne room erupted in a blast of intense light. The impact of their combined magic sent shockwaves of powerful forces away from the center, launching each one of the ponies away from Carter. They all piled onto each other once they were able to land, along with the light dimming down. They all got a hold of themselves and got off of the ground. Cadence and Shining Armor found Flurry Heart next to the mother’s wing, sucking on her forehoof. Cadence picked her up and held her closely to her chest, sighing in relief.

“Oh, Flurry Heart. You and I are going to have some serious words once we get back home.” Cadence said. The little foal said little in return, replying with nothing but baby noises.

The entirety of the group looked over at where Carter was last seen. They were all surprised to find that he was lying on the ground, unconscious, but completely free of the evil that engulfed his body.

“Did we do it? Did we free him?” Twilight inquired. She was really hoping that they did not have to do all of that again. The sweat that ran off of her mane and onto her forehead cumulated rather quickly due to the amount of energy needed to free the stallion from his impending doom.

“He is fine for now, but he still has the Darth Spawn inside of him.” Star Swirl shook his head free from the sweat that rested on his forehead. “We were not strong enough to destroy it, and I fear that he will live with it stuck in his body forever.”

“Then what do we do about him?” Rarity asked.

“Is there really no way to eliminate this threat from his body?” Fluttershy added.

“I am afraid not.” Flint said. “At least… not one we know of.”

“The only thing we can do is hope that he will grow enough strength to control it on his own.” Discord said.

“Is that even possible?” Applejack inquired.

“From what we know… it isn’t.” Star Swirl said.

~

Carter found himself in a very open world, the outer edges of it filled with waves and pulses of light of many different proportions. To him, he could only relate to something like a Playstation background scheme. In the midst of his strange interpretations of the world around him, he spotted a familiar apparition in the far ranges of his vision. He focused on the being, finding it to be the same one he saw the day he died.

“It appears that you have fully accepted friendship into your life once more.”

“Does that mean I am able to go back to Earth?” Carter inquired.

“Do you really want to go so badly?”

“No, not yet! I have so many questions that need answering!” Carter shouted.

“Haha. Good. You still have a long way to go before you are ready to return home.”

“What are you saying? I have learned friendship, right?”

“You have accepted friendship, but you have yet to learn about everything that friendship has to offer, and the power that it holds within.”

Carter was confused. His biggest question was wanting to know why he was in such a weird place. Was it another vision?

“You may be wondering why you have had so many dark thoughts. Ones including murder and violence.” The spirit chuckled. “It is nothing like puberty, that’s for sure.”

“Then… why? Why do I have such vile thoughts?” Carter asked.

“You would have no way of knowing, as they wiped your memory after you went through with the operation.”

“They? Operation? Please, just tell me what happened.”

“The day after your family died, you were taken to the IFRE headquarters. They had samples of a seriously evil rock specimen that came to Earth in the form of a meteor crash. They called it the Darth Spawn. Within this rock was the ability to corrupt one’s mind, using one's fears to turn them into nothing but complete savages bent on murder and bloodthirst, nothing else. You, my dear boy, were the first and only test subject to come in contact with the specimen during the IFRE's experiments.

“They strapped you into the testing facility and injected the substance into your veins. They were astounded by the results, as you appeared to fight the effects of this rock almost subconsciously. In other words, it had little to no effect on you. That was not something they expected, so they went to extract it from you. However, that is where you awoke.

“You found yourself in their base and broke free. The rock had somehow gifted you super strength, speed, and reaction time, basically turning you into a super soldier. They wanted to extract your new DNA and use it to clone an entire army of super soldiers. But before they could do that, you escaped their clutches and freed yourself from their grasp. The only thing that could be done was track you down.”

Carter was amazed to hear all of this information. Though it all started out new to him, the memories of the event slowly came back to him, seemingly filling in the gaps in his mind. It all made sense from that point onward.

“That’s how… that’s how they knew where I was. That’s how they knew who I was in close contact with.” Carter looked up at the spirit. “What does that mean for me? Will I become evil?”

“Every day that progresses in your lifetime, you will become more susceptible to the rock’s evil nature. It is your job to learn to control this and keep yourself sane. Without proper precautions, you will fall victim to this evil and become the one thing you fear.”

“What do I do to stop this?”

“That is something you must learn to do yourself.” Carter rolled his eyes, feeling betrayed by the spirit for receiving such crummy advice. “The only thing I will tell you is to keep your friends close. They can help you in your journeys, as nothing you do has to be done alone.”

“So… is that everything you have to tell me?” Carter asked.

“Wow… aren’t you just eager to move on with life.” The spirit said. It shook its head as it held out its hand. A beam of light escaped its palm and sent Carter back to the real world.

So many questions, such little knowledge. When will I know the things I need to know? Better yet, when will that spirit actually be of any help to my cause. That thing is the reason I am here, by the way.

~

Carter snapped back to reality, gasping for air. He looked around as he saw lots of faces, old and new, surrounding him. They were all looking down upon him with bright smiles of relief on their faces.

“... What did I miss?” Carter asked.

“Do you… recall anything, Carter?” Rarity asked, looking around the stallion’s body for any signs of the Darth Spawn.

“It was the Darth Spawn, wasn’t it?”

“How do you know about that?” Star Swirl asked.

“Well, sir. Let’s just say that I had some time to rethink my past.” Carter said.

“How in Equestria did you come in contact with it?” Luna asked.

“It came to Earth as a meteor.” Carter informed.

“A meteor?” Celestia froze. “Are you quite positive?”

“Yes, I am. I think…” Carter was curious as to why Celestia acted the way she did due to his response. “What are you not telling me?”

“Long story short, we had something similar happen here in Equestria, many thousands of moons ago.” Star Swirl said. “Before the birth of Luna, Celestia’s uncle came in contact with the Darth Spawn. He was corrupted by it, turning into a bloodthirsty monster. It was up to her parents to vanquish his evil. They succeeded, sealing off the Darth Spawn and sending it back into space via a meteor, far away from Equestria so that no other pony could ever be corrupted again.”

“Why is everypony here?” Carter inquired. “Am I part of this?”

“Twilight sent out a nationwide emergency, informing all of us that something was happening. It’s a good thing she did, too. You were about to be consumed by the Darth Spawn.” Luna explained. “If it weren’t for Twilight and her beacon, you might have become something else entirely, and Equestria might have had another problem to deal with.” The lunar mare looked down upon Carter with a stoic look. It reminded Carter of himself, shielding emotions that were hidden inside.

Carter looked over to the Princess of Friendship and nodded his head with an exhausted expression on his face.

“I don’t get it. It seems like everything I do has some terrible side effects paired with it. I take two steps in the castle and, boom, I turn evil.” Carter said.

“That’s ok, Carter. You are fine, for now.” Twilight said.

“Guys, give the lad some space.” Discord said, pushing everypony away to give Carter some space. “Hi, how are you? My name is Discord. I must apologize, these ponies can just be so rude and inconsiderate. Except for Fluttershy, who is perfect in every way.”

“Thanks, Discord.” Fluttershy said, giving off a small blush.

“Anything for you, dearest Fluttershy.”

“Carter, do you feel any different?” Flint asked.

“Flint? I didn’t expect to see you here.” Carter said in surprise.

“Yes, I am the leader of the Order of Harmony. My group is made up of me, the Royal Sisters, and Discord. We make sure peace is kept in Equestria.”

“Then where the hell were you during the dozens of murders happening in the Everfree Forest?” Carter asked, slightly pissed off that he hadn’t known about this until now.

“We were there. We helped evacuate cities during the attacks.” Carter could do nothing but give off a smug look. He was irritated at the fact that no one else would dare fight up close and personal, but then again, they never had to beforehand.

“Carter, do you understand the severity of this event?” Celestia asked, staring down upon Carter with the help of her tall size.

“I do… I think I do. I know now that I must learn to control this force before it permanently corrupts me. I will do whatever it takes to do so, believe me.”

“Good.” Celestia smiled.

“Oh boy. Guys, I am really sorry about all of this.” Carter said, feeling genuinely guilty for forcing them to save his sorry ass.

“It is perfectly fine, boy. At least we now know the threat responsible for your actions. We just need to act accordingly.” Star Swirl said.

"We work as rulers of Equestria knowing very well the tasks that are required of us to do." Shining Armor said.

"If anything like that happens again, do let us know. Ok?" Luna said.

"Yes, Luna. I make that promise to all of you." Carter replied.

“I am sure that you have many questions,” Flint spoke. “but alas, the moon is high. We must be getting back to our means of rest. In time, do meet up with me again, Carter. I will fill you in on everything you need to know. You are now ready to know the truth.”

With that, the Royal Sisters, Discord, Flint Masters, Star Swirl, and the Crystal Empire leaders all teleported out and away from the castle. The rest of them were left speechless.

“Ok, now I should really get some rest before something like that happens again.” Carter said.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, dear.” Rarity said. “We have all been seen worse.”

“It’s a good thing that we dealt with it now, rather than later.” Applejack said.

“They are right, though. Get some sleep before you dare open your eyes any longer.” Pinkie Pie ordered. “If this happens again, I don’t think I’d have enough pinkie energy to save you.”

“We wouldn’t want that.” Carter replied, letting out a quick chuckle.

“Goodbye, Carter.” Fluttershy said.

“Goodbye, girls.”

With that, the rest of the Mane 6, once again made their way outside the castle. Rainbow Dash headed back to her room, and Carter was left by himself to travel to his room. His mind was filled with all kinds of thoughts, and he felt as though sleep was a problem that would have to be dealt with much later. As Twilight watched him walk away, Carter headed down the hall and entered his room. It was the same one he slept in the last time he stayed at the castle, so he knew the layout of the room quite well. He couldn’t find it in himself to sleep, so he opened up the window and walked outside onto the balcony, staring out towards the familiar night sky of Equestria.

The peaceful breeze that passed through his mane brought his thoughts to an ease. He never quite understood what it was about nature that calmed him as much as it did, but he never took it for granted. He propped his front hooves against the railing in front of him and closed his eyes. Nothing but peace and quiet filled the stallion's mind as he stood there by himself, basking in the light of the moon. To him, it was moments like this where he felt like himself, as opposed to being what the world wanted him to be.

That fight… the black goop from the evil Pinkie Pie. Did that correlate with what I just went through? It seems as though Celestia knew about the Darth Spawn all too well. Is that a hint to something much more dangerous approaching?

“Are you feeling alright, Carter?” Twilight Sparkle walked up behind the stallion, sitting down next to him along the edge of the balcony.

“Your majesty.” Carter spoke. “Yes, I am doing quite fine as of right now. I just… needed some time to cool off.”

“I can’t blame you there. It would seem that you are a man of mystery.” Twilight said. She looked over at the stallion, staring into his narrow eyes. She could sense something putting stress on his mind, and she wanted to help rid him of it. “Carter,”

“Yes, Twilight?” Carter replied.

“Tell me about Earth. What is it like there?”

“Earth…” Carter had a plethora of memories fill his mind, replacing all of his previous thoughts with those of his home. “Earth is something special. It isn’t anything like Equestria. There are lots of destroyed, broken places all around. But at the same time, there are many places with gorgeous sceneries, just like here.”

“Really? Why so divided?”

“Wars. Lots of them.”

“War?”

“Unlike your kind, us humans have never been on the same team. We are divided into nations, and we use this as a means of excuses to be separated from each other. At times, conflict so great arises between one or more nations that we are forced to fight to protect ourselves.”

“That’s horrible.” Twilight looked away for a moment. She imagined what a broken place Equestria would be if there was no unity between the many races of ponies. “I couldn’t imagine what it is like for you.”

“It’s because we don’t have anyone doing anything.” Carter looked over at the princess. “There is no one like you, spreading the power of friendship. We humans just seek power and utter control, feeding off of success like a bunch of mindless beings. If only there was somebody who could teach us about the untold greatness we could accomplish if we were to be united. Maybe… maybe then we could live to our full potential.”

“Is everyone like that?” Twilight asked.

“No. Not everyone. Every so often you will find people who care about nothing but the welfare and health of those around them.” Carter explained. He stared into the mare’s beautiful eyes, which reflected the light of the moon. “You have done a great job with keeping your nation safe and at peace. Not only that, but you have taught me more than I could’ve ever hoped to gain knowledge of. It is because of you that I have a second chance at a life worth living. Not a day goes by where I don’t think of where I might be if it weren’t for you.”

“Carter, I don’t know what to say.” Twilight briskly looked away, hiding her blush. “I am just doing what I am supposed to do. I thank you for the compliment, though.”

“I know. I am just saying that I thank you for what you do. I doubt that I would be anything close to the level of awesome that you are.” Carter said.

“Eh, I’m sure anypony could pull off my job if they treated it with as much respect as I do.”

“That’s just it, no one does. Celestia was wise with picking you as the next leader of Equestria.”

“You really think so?” Twilight asked, looking back upon Carter.

“I sincerely do.” He nodded as he spoke. “You are wise with your decisions. That and the fact that you push friendship onto ponies the way you do must make them feel safe and secure.”

Twilight and Carter had a moment of silence. They looked away from each other and shifted focus towards the moon. They both felt the need to keep the conversation going, but couldn’t find anything worth each other’s time to discuss over. Carter eventually returned his attention to the princess and said the first thing that came to mind.

“It’s odd. I remember seeing my parents while I was in the middle of my strange corruption phase. I felt it rather difficult to fight back, and yet… the moment they appeared, I was able to find the strength to fight the Darth Spawn. I know that you guys helped and all, but it was strange to feel a sudden surge of power and strength wash over me the way it did."

"You saw them?" Twilight inquired.

"Only as a shadow. Even then, I feel like I understand things about myself better than I did before." Carter stared back at the moon. "Even as a small child, I always felt like I wanted to fight evil and protect the ones I loved. It has been a part of me to fight, but I never found purpose after doing so."

"You never had a reason to fight." Twilight said. She moved in closer to the red alicorn.

"No, I didn't. Even as I fought the IFRE after my family and friends died, I thought I wanted vengeance. But… in the midst of battle, I found no reason to win. The deaths of my loved ones made me feel empty inside. It felt meaningless. Yet, after all that time, after arriving here in Equestria and meeting you guys, I feel like I found that purpose. Protecting Fluttershy from the timberwolves, fighting alongside Rainbow Dash against the evil Pinkie Pie, I found purpose in protecting them. Unlike all the other times, I found a reason to fight. I found a reason to pursue my calling."

"I am glad you feel this way, Carter." Twilight smiled at the stallion as he looked back at her. "I understand where you are coming from. I never found a reason to pursue friendship once upon a moon. It wasn't until after I met my friends when I found my purpose. My calling."

"Twilight, I was just wondering if you…" Carter caught himself trailing off as he lost his thoughts while staring into Twilight's eyes. "If you… if you ever feel overwhelmed at times? I understand that it is part of being the leader and all, but do you ever feel that way sometimes?”

“I do, actually. I love my friends and know that they will always have my back just as I would for them… but it can get pretty overwhelming at times, yes.” Twilight admitted.

“How do you cope with it?” Carter asked.

“I think of the positives. Back when Discord summoned the Legion of Doom, I was absolutely overwhelmed by all of the pressure that I had to deal with. But even through all of that, I just thought of the positives. I was still alive, I still had allies, and I still had a reason to fight.”

“I see… it would seem that you have had to deal with those feelings more than once, I presume.”

“I have. Not afraid to admit it.”

“It’s getting dark.” Carter said, looking over at the moon one last time. “I’m sure that you want me to shut up and let you rest, huh?”

“No, you don't have to… but yeah, that would be the best thing to do.” Twilight said. She walked over to Carter and gave him a big hug. “If you ever want to talk, I am always here for you. I will see you in the morning, Carter.” Twilight escorted herself out of the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

“See you tomorrow, Twilight.”

With that, the room was left to no one except Carter. With all of his energy depleted, along with the pain from his wounds beginning to kick back into effect, he resorted to the comforts of the bed. He laid his back against the soft mattress and rested his head against the plushy pillow. His mind was out within seconds once he let his body rest, and though he wouldn’t like to admit, this was the best sleep he had in awhile; no dreams, visions, nightmares, anything.

Friendship Log #005

Today I have learned that the things that happen in life aren’t always what they seem, nor are they the things you want in life. Truth be told, shit happens. However, it is what we do about these things that define who we are. We can’t ask for things in life, but we can act upon the things that we are given. Friendship is like this. We don’t exactly choose who we befriend, but it is important to hold friends close to you.

Author's Note

And so... The threat behind Carter's evil thoughts have been revealed. It's strange, though. Celestia seemed to know more than she let on. Perhaps something is still being kept a secret.