Least Faithful Student

by Dexter Helix

Rating: teen
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Main 6, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Comedy, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Adventure, Derpy Hooves
Length: 41814

Twilight uncovers dark secrets of Equestria's past, while striving to protect the future from chaos

While studying the founding of Equestria in the Royal Library, Twilight comes across a very odd, and very old, book. Some of the historical accounts found therein are very familiar, part of any filly's childhood education, but there are more details. Troubling details. Since Celestia has taken leave for unknown reasons, Luna is the only pony around who gives Twilight any hope of finding out the truth. A truth that, as it turns out, Celestia never wanted her to know.

Teen rated for 'sad feels' and implied (though not explicit) deaths.

Special thanks to sqarishoctagon for giving me some useful pointers on formatting and helping to edit the first five chapters!

This was initially an in-universe story, but as of February 16th, 2013, it was rendered non-canon. It takes place in an alternate universe in which Season 3 never happened.

Published 2012-08-25 19:54:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-09-22 20:01:12 UTC

A Most Alarming Discovery

Author's Note for new readers: I started writing this shortly after the end of Season 2, based on the canon available at that time. Since the start of Season 3, a few of the hypotheses I developed regarding the way Equestria functions have been invalidated by new canon. Don't worry, I'm not quitting the story. Depending on the way the season ends, I may or may not be able to alter the fic to bring it in line with the new information, but I might not actually do so, regardless of whether or not it's possible. I plan to finish this story as though Season 3 never happened.

That's not to say I don't like Season 3. It was a great experience that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I have been exceptionally busy with school and work, and the story is really starting to hit its most intense moments. I want to make sure everything is as good as possible and perfectly internally consistent before I publish it. Thanks for your all your understanding and support!

And now, our featured presentation;

"Princess Luna!" Twilight shouted as she rounded the corner, levitating a stack of books over her head, "Do you have a minute?"

She slid across the stone floor and dropped the books to the ground with an echoing thud, diverting Luna's attention away from the pair of unicorn guards she was briefing.

"Oh, Twilight, what a pleasant surprise. How may I be of assistance?"

"I just have a few quick questions about Equestrian history."

"Can it not wait until my sister's return? She'll only be away for another week. You are her student, after all; it seems imprudent for me to interfere."

"Please!"

"Alright, but please make haste. I have many responsibilities to take care of in my sister's stead."

"I was going through the history wing of the Canterlot Library, and I found this strange old book in the back of one of the shelves."

The young unicorn magically unbound the stack, lifted an aged tome from the top, and passed it to the princess. Luna inspected it carefully, flipping through the pages.

"It's very thorough, but there are some differences, especially when it talks about things that happened over a thousand years ago."

"Oh, how do you mean?"

"In the section on Hearth's Warming Eve, for instance, the story is basically the same, but all the names are different. When you look at the individual biographies, all of them died at—" Twilight stopped short as Luna's normally stoic expression faded into a worried glare. Luna dismissed the guards, shut the door, and moved much closer to Twilight, speaking in a low whisper.

"Where did you say you found this book?"

"In Celestia's library... The history wing."

"Have you told anyone else about this?"

"Did I... Did I do something wrong?"

"No Twilight, but you mustn't let anyone else see that book. Take it home and destroy it. Now."

A pair of pegasus guards walked into the room, causing Luna to recoil from Twilight and speak with much greater volume.

"As we were saying Twilight, we simply can't recall anything about that. Perhaps you may ask my sister when she returns. For now, you should return to your home. Your chariot has been waiting for you for several hours now."

Twilight turned to see the two pegasi leering at her.

"Sorry," she said, with a nervous laugh.

On the ride home, Twilight barely spoke. Spike was blathering on about something he felt was important, but she barely caught a word of it; she was too deeply lost in thought. Why was this book different from all the others she had ever read? What did it mean that they all died on the same day? She knew that year was important... Why can't Luna talk about it? The Princess seemed so nervous — she even referred to herself as we, an antiquated mannerism she had almost completely done away with over the last few years. Should she even dare to ask Celestia?

"Twilight!" The dragon prodded her urgently. "We've been on the ground for 2 minutes now, and I'm tired. Can we please go home?"

The pegasi pulling the carriage looked even more frustrated than before. They were supposed to be done for the day hours ago.

"I'm so sorry!" she said as she jumped out of the carriage. Hardly a second later, the pair took off at full speed, nearly clipping another pegasus in their ascent. Once home, she quickly tucked Spike in for the night, lit a candle, and proceeded to open the book, blatantly ignoring Luna's advice. If there was something new to learn, she needed to know it, no matter what anyone else said. She was surprised to find that her bookmark had been moved; instead of returning her to the point where she left off, she had been directed to the chapter on the old Lunar Palace.

It must be important; Luna must have meant for her to see this! Twilight began reading the section carefully, taking notes as she went along. She would not miss out on whatever clue was waiting there for her. She fought to stay awake late into the night, her head seeming to grow heavier with each passing minute, her eyelids drooping. Perhaps she could rest her eyes for a minute. Just... a... minute...

Rays of sunlight sprawled across Twilight's desk, warming her cheek. Her candle was burned down into a tiny pool of wax, a puddle of drool sprawled across the page under her mouth, and her inkwell had fallen off the desk, leaving a large stain on the wood flooring. In the oft-insightful haze between sleeping and wakefulness, Twilight had a revelation. Luna didn't want her to simply learn about the palace, Luna wanted her to go there!

After spending a brief moment triumphantly skipping around the room, she noticed the mess she had made during the night. She frantically blotted at the page with a towel, desperate to save it. Fortunately, the book was unscathed, aside from a few blurred words and a mottled illustration. She blew out what was left of the candle, and decided the floor could wait, as she began preparing for her journey. The commotion interrupted her young assistant's slumber.

"Where are we headed today?" Spike asked Twilight, stretching.

"It'll just be me today, Spike. I need you to stay here for me."

"Alright, where are you going?"

"Into the Everfree Forest. I need to do some research."

"Don't you think it's dangerous to go there alone?"

Twilight looked down at the ground. She knew it would be risky, but Luna told her not to tell anyone else about the book.

"I'll be fine," she reassured Spike, "I won't even be going that far in."

Spike glared at her skeptically.

"I can take care of myself, don't worry about it." She continued, scouring the shelves.

"Looking for this?" Spike asked sarcastically, handing her a copy of 'Dangerous Flora and Fauna of Everfree Forest,' which she promptly tucked into her saddlebag, blushing. "You have got to be the only pony in Equestria who packs books to prepare for a nature hike."

Twilight exited her library and made haste for the forest. She tried to be as discrete as possible, to avoid being seen. Not even thirty seconds away from the edge of the forest, a sky-blue pegasus swooped down to greet her with something between a tackle and a hug. The unicorn jumped in panic and struggled for a second before realizing what had happened.

"Hey Twilight, you okay?" asked Rainbow Dash, "You seem a little on-edge."

"I'm fine, you just... scared me, that's all."

Rainbow Dash popped back into the air and landed with a bounce in her step, smiling brightly. "So what are you up to? Goin' into the Everfree forest? I'm up for an adventure!"

"Oh... uh..." Twilight gave a quick glance to her left side, then made eye contact with Rainbow once again.

"Yes, you can come along if you'd like," she added with a smirk, "I'm going to be sitting very quietly in one place for several hours, taking notes on the behavior of a very rare beetle. I might not even see one. It's really exciting!"

"I'd love to come along, but... uh..." Rainbow Dash replied, rubbing her left arm with her hoof, "I just remembered I've got some weather work to do! And I promised Pinkie we'd hang out later. Maybe some other time?"

"Oh, sure, no problem. See you later!"

"See ya!" She said, as she shot back up into the sky, trying to look busy among the clouds. As Twilight stepped into the forest, she looked back one last time, and thought she saw Dash watching her. It wouldn't matter; once she started moving through the forest, the canopy would conceal her path. After about an hour of trotting at a reasonable pace, she came upon the old Lunar palace.

Twilight stepped into the ruined palace for the second time in her life, and really took a moment to appreciate the beauty of it. Despite its deterioration, the architecture was quite rich and regal, and the statues throughout the chambers were quite beautiful. It seemed as though some effort had been made to repair the palace since her last visit, shards of glass removed from the floor, cracking pillars repaired. Yet, the princess was nowhere to be found. She searched the entire palace grounds before finally coming to the throne room.

Twilight remembered this room well. After all, this was the place where she discovered her connection with the elements, where she had discovered the true meaning of friendship, and where she and her friends had saved Luna from her dark powers. This room had changed dramatically. Whereas the other chambers had seen some light repair, the throne room was completely rebuilt. Lovely tapestries and stained-glass lined the walls, and every bit of the structure was flawless. Aside from the apparent lunar theme, it was nearly indistinguishable from Celestia's throne room. If Twilight was to expect the princess to arrive anywhere, it would be here. She waited patiently for hours, continuing to read the old book. Eventually, the sun set, and the darkness of night fell over the forest. With a bright flash of magic, Luna appeared in the center of the room, her attention immediately drawn to the purple unicorn in her presence.

"Twilight! Pursuant to your absence last night, I was worried you were not going to come."

"Why here, princess?" Twilight asked.

Luna lowered her head. "If I am to answer any more questions, you must swear an oath to secrecy. Everything I teach you will remain between the two of us."

"What do you mean, Princess?"

"You must promise me you will not share any of what I am about to tell you! Not with anyone. Not my sister, or the other Elements, or anypony else."

"Okay..." Twilight slunk back a little bit, glancing around the room nervously. "I swear. I have to know what's going on."

Luna's ears twitched anxiously as she replied. "We are here— because this palace is the only place in Equestria that she cannot watch."

"Who?"

"My sister. She is constantly monitoring us all. While she is away, she cannot see any of it directly, but her spies will report to her on her return. This is the only building on the land that I can be sure is free of her prying eyes. Now, I believe you had some questions? My answers will be dismal, and at times, hard to accept, but I believe that you of all ponies are ready to hear the truth. Where shall we begin?"

"Why was that book different from all the other history books I've ever read? Did all of them really die on the same day?"

"In a sense, yes. All six of them died at the very same moment, to be exact. That was one-thousand-six-hundred and eighty-seven years ago."

"Isn't that about the same time that you and Celest—"

"It was exactly the same time. My sister and I inherited the throne from them, along with three of the Elements of Harmony each."

Twilight looked on in shock at the Moon goddess. "Did you— Does that mean—"

"No. Not exactly. You see, Celestia and I... We weren't..." Luna looked around the room. "We didn't exist before then. Those six ponies sacrificed themselves, willingly, to make us. In a sense, they live on inside us, so you could technically make the case that... Their death was our fault. But we did not murder them."

The two ponies stood there for a moment in silence.

"But why? Why doesn't Celestia want anyone to know this?"

"There are many reasons... but it is partly because of what happened just over a thousand years ago."

"When you became Nightmare Moon?"

"That story is much more complex than the version which has been told for a thousand Nightmare Nights. We don't know if we should tell you. It would change the way you see Celestia dramatically."

"Please tell me, Princess. I have to know." Luna bowed her head and clenched her eyes tight. After a ten second pause, she once again made eye contact with Twilight.

"You must understand— I would normally not see it fit to inform you of these affairs. It is Celestia's business when... and even if, you should learn what I am about to tell you. However, there are certain pressing matters at hand which may necessitate advanced studies on your part. First, I must tell you what I know of how the Elements work. To be honest, neither Celestia nor I fully understand them. I believe I know some things my sister doesn't, and I know for certain that she knows things I do not."

Luna paused for a moment, to look around the room cautiously, and then continued speaking, "As you are aware, the elements bind to six friends who best represent them. The group is always composed the same way. Two unicorns, two earth ponies, and two pegasi; this is not a coincidence." Twilight's attention was directed to a stained glass pane depicting her friends wielding the elements. "Royal ponies, like Celestia, Cadence, and myself, bear the qualities of all three races. The elements choose this configuration to ensure that all three races are equally represented."

"So... My friends and I..."

"You were supposed to succeed my sister and I as rulers. The elements are programmed to repeat this cycle every thousand years."

"But Celestia has ruled for—"

"Twice that time."

"So how does Nightmare Moon come into this?"

"If we were to be replaced, we wouldn't be able to just gracefully step aside. The coronation process would mean our return to mortality, and consequentially, our imminent death. I was ready, but Celestia..." Luna trailed off.

"She was scared?"

"You could say that..."

"So how did she stop it from happening?"

"Oh, she did much more than just stop it. I'm sure you remember how Celestia sealed me within the Moon?"

"With the Elements of Harmony, of course."

"But the elements had already passed on to the second six. She got them back."

"What? How?"

"I'm not sure. She somehow sabotaged the coronation process. When the second six sacrificed themselves, all of the Elements possessed Celestia, rather than forming two new princesses. She acquired an incredible amount of unbridled power in the process, more than anyone should ever have. As the months went by, she grew increasingly intransigent and irascible. She would do the most awful things, and I couldn't get her to see reason. It was a very brief, and very dark, period of Equestrian history. Without any Elements to empower me, I had no hope of stopping her, so I did the only thing I could think of. I took on another element."

"There is another element?"

"Many of them. You could almost say that they are the mirror image of the Elements of Harmony. You experienced one yourself when you faced Discord. They are very unstable, and tend to operate according to their own will, but... hypothetically, a willful unicorn could take control over one. I was foolish enough to think that I would be strong enough to control it. It manipulated me, and forced me to become much worse than Celestia had ever been.

Luna crossed the room before continuing. "Still, the Element and I were incredibly powerful, and we had a common goal. Between the immense raw power provided by the Element, and my incredible talent for channeling magic, we had the capacity to defeat my sister, but she foresaw our attack. Instead of facing us head on in what she knew would be a losing battle, she set a trap. I would spend the next thousand years on the Moon, battling internally with the Element. The ordeal of sealing me in the Moon forced Celestia to contemplate all the wrong she had done, and doing so filled her with such remorse that she was no longer able to bear the Elements of Harmony. After that, they lied dormant, awaiting the third six."

Twilight just stared at the ground, scraping a tile with her hoof.

"If not for my constant struggle, the Element would have escaped the Moon hundreds of years ago. Eternal night would have destroyed almost all forms of life in Equestria. So I fought it, every day, for a millennium... Finally, the day of the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration was upon us, and you and the other five bearers finally met. The moment I felt that, I stopped fighting. I broke the seal that had been holding me in the Moon, and I overtook Celestia. Without the support of the Elements of Harmony, Celestia hardly had enough strength to keep the Sun from crashing into the planet. There was nothing more she could do. If she allowed the Sun to continue its orbit, it would surely have crashed into the Moon, destroying both objects, resulting in the death of every living thing on the planet. The Element I was bound to gave me the strength to hold the Moon in place, and carry on with whatever else I wished to do. One of the most important matters I had to attend to was meeting you, Twilight."

Twilight suddenly looked up at the princess, wide-eyed. "Me? Why?"

"Because, I could tell that you were even more powerful than I was. Take it as a sign of great respect, coming from a former Element of Magic."

"You were the..."

"Of course. I was taught by Starswirl himself. But you, without proper training, were able to defeat me, just as I expected you to. If you are to reach your full potential, I should be the one to teach you. But Celestia won't have it."

"Does she plan to use us, like she did the second six?"

"My sister does not talk to me about these things often, it is a subject of great discomfort for us both. On the night of my return, she apologized to me, and promised not to make the same mistakes again... I know not exactly what she means. We have both changed dramatically over the last millennium."

"Can you teach me... in secret?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Luna responded, smiling. The princess rose to her feet, walked to the back of the throne room, and approached a huge door, much like the one Celestia used to secure the Elements of Harmony. With a touch of her horn, the lock clicked, and the huge stone panels slid open. Unlike Celestia's door, however, the concealed region was not a small room, but rather, a passageway. An impossibly long passageway.

As the corridor was magically illuminated, it became apparent that the walls were lined with rows and rows of books. The hallway grew longer and longer with more light, and as the two mares walked in, Twilight could see that this was only one row of many. Bat ponies flew among the high shelves, sorting and shuffling books. The grandeur of the place was almost too much for Twilight to bear. She ran through some rough calculations, and approximated that the room contained more books than she had seen in her entire life. Her heart raced with excitement.

"How can all this possibly fit inside the castle?"

Luna giggled. "It doesn't. Come, have a look." The princess gestured for Twilight to follow her around one of the shelves, across the room to a grand window, lined with telescopes and other scientific instruments. The stars appeared brighter than Twilight had ever seen them, but they were hardly the key feature of the night sky from this vantage point. Hanging in the night air was a massive globe, portraying the features of the planet. Twilight marveled over the detail of the model. She felt a strange awe creep over her— it was almost as if she were looking at the planet itself from some impossible altitude. As she approached the window, the ground became visible to her. The horizon felt unnaturally close, and the ground itself was a barren, dusty grey surface, pitted with craters. Twilight jumped back, eyes wide with revelation, as she finally realized where she was.

"Welcome to the Lunar Library, Twilight Sparkle. We have a copy of nearly every book ever written, books containing knowledge forbidden throughout Equestria, and the only known unabridged history of Equestria. Celestia doesn't know of this place, so it was untouched during the NightMare Purge."

"It's the most incredible thing I've ever seen..."

"If you swear to keep it a secret, you may return here as often as you like, so long as you are sure to arrive and depart only under cover of nightfall."

"I think I'll be here every night."

"Good," Luna replied, beaming, "That's exactly what I wanted to hear. You may stay for a few more hours tonight; it is of utmost importance that we discuss spells you may use to conceal your journey."

"Thank you, Princess."

"Please... call me Luna."

Twilight spent hours reviewing teleportation-obfuscating spells and pouring over ancient texts. Once her time there had expired, Twilight thanked the princess about twenty more times before exiting the palace, and ran home as fast as she could. Her mind was reeling over all the new facts she had learned, and the entire world seemed like a different place, in light of all the new information. Before long, she was back in Ponyville, in the dead of night. She didn't need to sneak any longer, everyone was asleep, of course. Except Spike, apparently... Why were the library lights still on? Twilight opened the door wide. "SPI—"

"Twilight!" Her five best friends were all standing in the middle of the room, packed for an expedition.

"We were so worried about you, sugarcube!

"Yeah, when Dashie told us how far into the Everfree forest you were going, and you had been gone this long, we figured you must have been hurt!"

"I... Kinda followed you all the way to that rickety rope bridge... Heh."

"Rainbow! You shouldn't... I mean, thanks for worrying about me, but I was totally fine! The Everfree forest is not even that dangerous. I had a pretty boring time, actually."

"Did you get to see any, um, beetles?"

"No, Fluttershy, not today."

"We're just so glad you're okay."

Twilight spent some time with her friends and helped them unwind before sending them home for the night. It was surprisingly easy to keep her new knowledge a secret. Although it felt a little dishonest to hide it, she didn't feel any need to share what she had been told— not yet anyway. Not a minute passed after she lay back on the pillows that she drifted asleep, to dream of books, of course.

A Very Clever Mare

Books... Books... Where had she put that book? It was on her desk still, wasn't it? It was probably still there. She could get it in the morning... Morning? It was morning! A dreary Twilight rolled out of bed — three hours of sleep hadn't exactly made up for the 20-hour day she had just gotten through with. Fortunately, Ponyville wasn't big on reading, and her library rarely saw any customers, she could probably take a nap later after getting through her morning responsibilities. First, though, she needed to make sure that book was safe. She trotted down the stairs and had a look at her desk.

The book was gone. "No... no... no no no no no no no no NO!" Again, Spike's slumber was interrupted by Twilight.

"What is it this morning?"

"My book! I left it right here on my desk! What if somepony found it and took it? If Celestia found out she might banish me forever! I need to get it back and—"

"You mean this one?" Spike asked, pulling a damaged book from the shelf. "I know how you hate having books left out, so I put it away for you last night. I dropped the bookmark back in where you left off."

"Thank you, Spike," Twilight squeaked through intense hyperventilation, "But I'll need to hold onto that book personally. It's very important, you see." Twilight levitated the book to herself and carried it upstairs. She couldn't risk a scare like that again. She cast the strongest cloaking spell she could muster on it and slid it under her bed. As she came back down the stairs, Spike was eying her suspiciously over his breakfast.

"So, have you even gotten started on that report Celestia assigned to you?"

"Report?"

Spike groaned. "The one on the founding of Equestria and its principal cities? Don't tell me the most organized pony in Ponyville forgot her only assignment!"

"Oh! Of course I've gotten started. How could I forget something so important?"

"That's funny... You haven't even finished all the items on your pre-report checklist. Also we're out of ink." Spike said as he emphatically shook the ink jar upside-down over the floor.

"Oh... heheh... uh... I guess I have been procrastinating a little bit... What's next on the list?"

"Well, we have to head out to the marketplace and grab some quills, ink, parchment... the usual stuff."

"Right... Thanks for keeping me on track, Spike. You really are my number one assistant!"

"Speaking of which, today is Monday, which means you need to update the checkout status on all the books."

"Why bother? There's only one book checked out anyway..."

"Yeah, but it's overdue!"

"Oh, Rainbow. She's always forgetting to renew her checkouts. Just go ahead and put another week on it."

"Honestly, how long should it take a pony to read a Daring Do book?"

"Spike, that's not nice. They just don't practice reading a lot in Cloudsdale schools. It's not her fault she was born there."

A pegasus filly on a scooter was quickly moving away from the marketplace, towing her friends behind her in a red wagon.

"It's definitely a lucky rock. I'm sure!" Sweetie-Belle exclaimed

"Ah'm tellin' ya, t'ain't no such thing as a lucky rock." Applebloom objected.

"Then how come I'm so much better at magic now?"

"Better? You were supposed to be using your magic to help us find stuff under the dirt," Scootaloo complained, "Heck, we found more stuff diggin' at random than we found where you pointed."

"But I did find something!"

"What?" the other two fillies asked in unison.

"My lucky rock!"

Scootaloo stopped her scooter abruptly and pressed her face into her hoof, while Applebloom tilted her head back and let out a hearty sigh. At that moment, the trio noticed Twilight headed up the path towards them.

"Hi girls, did you have any luck with paleontology?"

"Nah," Applebloom replied, "We just found a few boring old rubies and a weird rock."

"And no cutie marks," Sweetie-Belle added.

"Did you say rubies?!"

"Sure did!" Scootaloo exclaimed, tossing one to Spike. It was hard to hear over the loud crunching of gemstone, but he did manage to squeeze out a 'thank you' between bites.

"Hey, maybe your special talent could be generosity, just like Sweetie-Belle's sister!"

"That's not Rarity's talent, dummy! She's good at making things pretty."

"That's not what Applejack told me, dodo!"

"I thought her talent was finding gemstones."

"Oh shut up, you guys don't know anything about my sister!"

"Girls!" Twilight yelled, attracting everyone's attention, "There's no need to call each other names."

"I'm sorry... I just... I don't know. I'm sorry I called you a dummy, Apple-bloom."

"And Ah'm sorry I called you dodo..."

"Anyway Twilight, I just wanna give you back your archaeology tools."

"Thanks Sweetie-Belle. Do you girls know what you're doing next?"

"Yeah, what are we gonna do next?"

"We were gonna go over to Dinky's house to ask her mom about her cutie mark."

"Alright girls, you have fun with that. I need to head up to the market." Twilight and Spike continued along the trail towards the marketplace.

"Dinky's mom? You mean the mailmare?" Sweetie-Belle asked.

"Yeah, I think so."

"But her cutie mark is a bubble! That doesn't even have anything to do with mail!"

"Nah-ah, it's a bunch of bubbles!"

"That still doesn't make sense."

"Of course it makes sense, it's her cutie mark isn't it? I mean, if you knew everything about cutie marks, you'd have one by now!"

"Harsh, Sweetie-Belle."

"Well, it's true!"

"C'mon, let's just go ask her. Her house is just over that hill."

Derpy's home was a bit of an odd place, with a poorly manicured lawn and an ad-hoc extension built on to the side. Random heaps of junk were scattered throughout the yard. A shed out front had 'mail' sloppily painted across the side. There was no doubt it was the right house, but the crusaders started to wonder if this was the right pony to be asking advice from. Before they could decide whether to stay or go, Dinky appeared at the front door. "Hey guys! Come on! Mom's waiting!"

The crusaders gave doubting glances at one another.

"Come on," Dinky repeated, "we've got fresh muffins!"

"That's all the motivation Ah needed!" said Applebloom, as she charged into the house, with the other two chasing after her.

The inside of the house was just as strange as the outside... maybe stranger. Along with the normal furnishings of a home, the rooms were filled with strange metal boxes, covered in gauges, knobs, and flickering lights. Glassware of all shapes and sizes lined the walls of the kitchen, and jars of different colored liquids filled shelf after shelf in what must have once been a dining room.

A muffled voice called from the back "Sorry, it's a bit of a mess. I'm not used to having guests!" The three fillies peered around the doorway to see a round metal face with big, red, eyes coming straight for them. They started running for the door, which was locked. Dinky giggled. Nearly petrified with fear, the crusaders looked behind them, only to see Derpy removing a strange mask from her head.

"Oh my, I didn't mean to scare you!"

With a collective sigh of relief, they cautiously moved back into the middle of the room.

Scootaloo rubbed her left foreleg with her hoof. "I wasn't really scared, ya know."

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Oh you were both scared."

"This is stupid, let's just ask her already!"

"Oh yeah, um, Miss Hooves, Ma'am, would you mind telling us the story of how you got your cutie mark? Please?"

"Oh, absolutely! Come, sit down!" The fillies followed Derpy into the next room and sat down in front of her. "So... Well ever since my childhood, I've never been quite like other pegasi... I don't much like flying. You probably can't tell, but I have a bit of a vision problem... No depth perception."

"You don't say..."

"Sweetie-Belle!" Apple Bloom protested, nudging her friend with her elbow.

"Sorry."

"Right, well, anyway, if I can't tell how far away things are, it's hard for me to fly well. My dad was a pegasus, and it was really important to him that I learned to fly. My mom and older sister were both unicorns so... well I was sort of his only chance to pass on his legacy. He did all he could to teach me himself, but my vision problem was too bad for him to overcome on his own. Eventually, he enrolled me in flight camp."

Dinky was hanging on her mother's every word, though the Crusaders' attention was wavering.

"I never wanted to go... I never understood why I couldn't go to magic school with my sister. I was so angry that she got to be a unicorn, and I had to be a pegasus. Whenever I could, I would read my sister's books and try to play with all the cool stuff she brought home from school. My father wouldn't let me do it, he said it was dangerous for a pegasus. That I might hurt myself. One day... Both of my parents were out of the house, and my sister was off at magic school... So instead of going to flight camp, I just stayed home sick. I spent the entire day playing with my sister's chemistry set. My dad was right... using the set with my hooves, and wings, and mouth— it was really dangerous. But I was living my dream. I was doing magic. And nopony could stop me."

"This is the best part, guys!"

Derpy giggled, and nuzzled her daughter. "Something happened that day, off at Cloudsdale. I'm still not sure what it was. There was this loud boom, and then a rainbow, far off on the horizon. I think it was an explosion at the rainbow factory, or something like that." She looked up and to the side, as if in deep thought.

"Anyway, the glassware I was working with vibrated, just the right way, and these little bubbles started to form. Just out of nowhere! All at the same time, the bubbles all just shrunk up suddenly, and disappeared in little flashes of light. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen! Nobody believed me when I told them what happened, but... I know I saw it. I've been trying to do it again ever since then, but—"

A strange male voice interrupted the story from the next room. "Derpy, I finished reviewing your math, it all checks out. I think the transducer is ready for another test run!"

"In a minute, Dexter!"

A pony's face peeked around the corner. He was a unicorn with a brown coat and a very short sloppy mane. "Oh, hello Dinky, I see you brought some friends over."

"Yeah, they're trying to figure out how to get their cutie marks!"

"Oh, well that's quite alright, Dr. Hooves, take your time, I'll wait until you're ready to proceed."

"You really shouldn't call me doctor, you know I never earned my degree," Derpy replied.

"Just because they never gave you one, it doesn't mean you didn't earn it. There are still ponies back at the academy would give their horn to share a lab with you."

"You're too kind, Dex."

"It's true! Pay attention to this mare, kids, you're talking to a genius."

"Can we see the transgrouper thingie?" Apple Bloom asked, standing up as tall as she could, staring wide-eyed at Dexter. Dexter looked to Derpy for the answer.

"I don't see why not. Just promise you won't touch anything unless I say it's okay. There's some dangerous stuff back there," Derpy warned.

"We promise!"

Derpy led the group into the far wing of the house. It had clearly been added on by non-professionals, as it lacked the beauty and craftsmanship demonstrated in the construction of most Ponyville homes, but it was a safe and sturdy structure.

"Here it is, the magic transducer!"

"It's a... metal pony?"

"Nah, it's got wings and a horn. It's a metal princess!"

"No it ain't, it's for wearin'." Apple Bloom strutted up to the transducer and gave it a thorough inspection. "Yeah, definitely. A pony gets inside it, and then..." She raised an eyebrow and turned to Derpy. "Then what happens?"

"Well, there are three different types of pony magic, Earth, pegasus, and unicorn. This machine can convert between the three different kinds, giving any pony the abilities of another kind of pony. So an earth-pony can fly, or a pegasus can levitate objects. Or, at least it's supposed to. We haven't got it completely working yet. But I made some modifications and we're about to test it out!"

Derpy nestled up into the metal frame, strapping her own head into place, stepping into the shoes, and carefully aligning her feathers into the wing-locks as Dexter clamped them in, one by one. "Alright, I'm all set, go ahead and initiate the pre-test procedure."

Dexter manipulated the knobs on a box which was connected to the transducer through several cables. After a few seconds, a faint green line appeared across the top of a glass display. Dexter looked troubled, and played with the knobs for a little bit. "It doesn't make sense."

"What is it?"

"Sensor overload. It's indicating that there's more magic in the line than even the lowest sensitivity can display. That can't be right... I think we must have crossed a wire somewhere."

"But that box measures up to a nanosol of magic energy, I know I can't be outputting that much power. It must be broken; could you go get another one from the dining room?"

"What's a matter, mommy?"

"It's okay, sweetie. One of my manascopes is broken. Dexter will be back with another one soon, and if we're lucky, you and your friends can see this thing in action!"

"Does that mean I'll be able to fly?"

Derpy smiled. "That's right, muffin. When the machine is done, you'll be able to go flying with mommy."

"Yay!"

Dexter walked back into the room after a moment, levitating a similar box. "Alright, this one works, let's give this a go. And... Oh for pete's sake."

"What is it?"

"It was just working in the other room, now it's doing the same thing as the other one. I haven't even plugged it in yet."

"Strange..."

"We'd better get you out of that thing, this could be a solar storm messing with the equipment. Might be dangerous." Everyone in the room wore the same disappointed expression as Derpy was unhooked from the transducer. "Oh well... I guess we'll try again when the equipment is working normally."

"Thanks for coming over, Dexter."

"Oh, the pleasure's all mine. Anyone would be lucky to have the chance just to see what you're working on."

"You were the only one who ever understood my research anyway..."

"Maybe... You should hear Maxwell giving your lecture on magic's effect on the strong force in hadronic interactions. It's bizarre that anyone actually believes he came up with it; you can tell he doesn't have a clue what he's talking about."

Derpy tried rolling her eyes; one of them made it all the way around, at least. "Hey, but what does it matter if he knows what he's talking about, he's a unicorn, right?"

"I'm still sorry for what they did to you."

"It's not your fault. Besides... I can still be happy. Dwelling on the pain of the past is no way to live. Gotta stay positive."

"Right."

"Right." Derpy and Dexter stared at each other stupidly for almost thirty seconds before Dinky broke the silence.

"Is Dexter going to be my new dad?"

Dexter tried to reply, but instead blushed profusely and stuttered an incoherent string of sentence openings. Derpy recovered from the shock first, asking, "Why would you ask that honey?"

"You seem like you really like each other, and... and... if he was your special somepony, he could make you happier!"

"That's really sweet of you, Dinky, but right now Dexter and I are just really good friends, right? Besides..."

Derpy bent down low, getting very close to her daughter, and continued very quietly, "The Doctor will always be your dad. He would come back right this second if he could, in a heartbeat. But sometimes events are fixed..."

"And sometimes they're in flux..." Her daughter replied.

"That's my little timelord," Derpy added, extremely quietly, kissing her daughter on the cheek.

"I mean not that I— I don't mean that— But if she wanted— I don't wanna— I really like you but I don't want to like you any more than you want me to!"

Derpy giggled again, and nuzzled Dexter's neck. "You worry too much, silly."

Dexter blushed again, looking down and to the side.

"Now, I think Dinky promised you girls some muffins. Come on, this way!"

"Ah'm starvin'. I missed breakfast so Ah could go diggin' with these two crazy fillies."

"Hey, archaeology was a really good, original, idea!"

"It was original, Ah'll give ya that."

Once the fillies had wrapped up their meal, and headed out with Dinky in toe, Derpy returned to her lab to inspect her broken equipment. Both manascopes were functioning completely normally by the time she returned. That would have to be one short solar storm, she thought to herself. "Interesting."

Emotional Corrosion

"Ew!" Rarity turned her nose up at the filthy object she found in her sister's room. "What is this disgusting thing?"

"That's my lucky rock! I found it yesterday!"

"Well I won't be having it in my house."

"Hey, give it back!" Sweetie-Belles asserted, standing on her hind legs and reaching for the rock that Rarity was levitating just out of reach.

"Now dear, that's no way for a lady to talk."

"You're just prissy because nopony in Canterlot likes your ugly dresses! Give it back!"

Rarity was taken aback.

"I swear, I don't know what's gotten into you, lately. Mom and Dad would be ashamed to hear the nasty things that have been coming out of your mouth all day!"

"We all know you just play with your dumb fabric because you know nopony will ever love you enough to marry you... Because you're ugly!"

"Sweetie-Belle!" Rarity shouted, "That is not an appropriate way to speak to your sister. I'm grounding you until our parents get home!" Sweetie-Belle imitated her sister mockingly and made a rude gesture, prompting Rarity to shut and lock the door.

"What is wrong with that girl?" Rarity asked herself aloud, as she proceeded to take the 'lucky rock' out to the yard. She caught a glint of gemstone underneath the rugged surface and proceeded to turn the rock over magically, brushing away at the soft stone on the surface that crumbled off fairly easily. The object she revealed was a small sphere... not much bigger than a grape, decorated with finely cut gemstones.

"Oh my... This looks like the work of a master artisan! Much more fabulous than I first thought... Oh this would look lovely as a centerpiece in one of my new dresses. Yes, I think I'll keep this."

Rarity set to work immediately building a dress around the beautiful object. About thirty minutes later, there was a knock at the door. "Who is it?! What do you want?!"

"Uh, it's AppleJack, Darlin'. Everything alright in there?"

"Oh! Of course... Fine. Everything's just fine. Come in, come in." With a click, the door was unlatched. Rarity was sitting across the room, surrounded in untidy piles of clothing and other objects. It looked as though she had just gotten done tearing her own house apart looking for something. Her hooves were wrapped tight around a pile of fabric, and though she made occasional eye-contact with AppleJack, she kept looking back at whatever she was holding.

"I was just..." AppleJack looked uneasily at the bundle in Rarity's hooves, to which Rarity responded by shooting back an intense glare. "Checkin' to see if you'd finished patchin' up my saddle bag."

"Oh, that ugly thing, it's right over there."

"Where?"

"In that pile there."

"Ah don't see it. Can ya show me?"

"You ignorant, filthy, mud-pony! It's right in front of you, how could you miss it?!"

"I guess I caught you at a bad time... I'll just be back, uh... later—"

"How about you don't come back?" Rarity asked, as she levitated the bag into the air, and violently thrusted it at AppleJack. "Don't you even think about coming back here and taking what's rightfully mine!"

"I wasn't thinkin' about anything like that, Ah swear!"

"Out! Get out!"

"Okay Rarity, fine!"

Applejack wasn't even off the doorstop before the door slammed behind her. "Jeez, sometimes it seems like I'm the only sane pony in town!"

At that moment, Derpy walked by holding something in her mouth. It made a strange ticking noise, that seemed to change in frequency as she swung her head in different directions. She abruptly turned left, for no apparent reason whatsoever, walking straight through someone's yard and trampling their flowers.

Applejack tilted her head in disbelief. "Scratch that. I know I'm the only sane pony in town."

"Oh, hi Applejack!"

"Hey Derpy. Uh... You know you just destroyed somepony's garden, don't ya?"

"Whoops! My bad! I didn't even see that there."

"Can't you fly to do... uh... whatever it is you're doin'?"

"Of course not, silly, that would light up my ticker like crazy!"

"... Uh-huh..."

"Have you seen anything strange lately? Like somepony doing really impressive magic?"

"Nah." The ticker gave a high pitched squeal.

"Ooh! Maybe it's you!"

"Maybe I'm what now?"

Applejack recoiled from the foreign object that Derpy was waving over her. "What're you tryin' to do to me, exactly?"

"I'm checking to see if you're more magical than usual. Anything strange happen to you lately?"

"Welp, something strange is happenin' right now."

"Oh, what is it?"

"Somepony's invading mah personal space."

"Oh, do tell, who is it?" Derpy ran the ticker under Applejack's belly. Applejack just sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Is this gonna be over soon?"

"Yeah, you sound about normal. Maybe a little higher, but not what I'm looking for."

"Ah have no idea what you're talkin' about, but it's makin' me uncomfortable."

"Don't worry about it! Oh, I think your sister is a friend of my daughter!"

"Oh yeah, your daughter is Dinky, right?"

"Yeah, she and her friends came over to my house yesterday. I was going to show them one of my projects, but it wasn't working. It's working today, if they wanna come over and—" Derpy gasped, as her eyes crossed severely. "Oh my gosh!"

"You okay sugarcube?"

"Better than okay! Do you know where Apple Bloom is right now?"

"I think she's back at home right now, why?"

"I think she may be one of the most powerful ponies ever to have lived."

"You are a strange mare, Derpy."

"Thank you!"

"Well right now, she's busy doin' her chores. Maybe you can come by and see her in a few hours."

Derpy picked up the ticker and began swinging her head around again. The ticker was changing its frequency dramatically as she turned her head. After about twenty seconds, it went dead-quiet again. "It's the darndest thing..."

"Well, anyway, I got mah saddlebag back from Rarity, and I really need to be getting home. Good seein' ya and all."

"Oh, Rarity, isn't she Sweetie-Belle's big sister?" Derpy asked, as she moved abruptly towards the door.

"Uhh... I don't think Rarity's in any mood to talk right now. She seems kinda stressed out. Must be doing work for some kinda important client or somethin'."

"I'm sure she won't mind, I don't need to bother her anyway, just her sister." Derpy began heading towards the door.

"Ah really don't think you ought to go in there!"

"But my ticker is lit up like Manehatten at night! I'm sure this is the place!"

"Don't say I didn't warn yah."

"I won't!"

Applejack gave one look back as she walked away. She'd never had a conversation with Derpy that lasted that long. In fact, they'd never exchanged much more than a hello. That was definitely not what she expected, to say the least. And what the hay was a ticker?

"Rarity? Are you in?" Derpy rapped on the door with her hoof.

Rarity answered without opening the door, "Really?! Must the entire town interrupt my work?"

"I just want to see your sister."

"Are you one of the Crusaders? I'm sorry to say that Sweetie-Belle is grounded at the moment for being an arrogant little brat."

Derpy was distracted by the ticker making higher and higher-pitched noises. "I'm actually Dinky's mother... Your sister came over to my house yesterday and I wanted to see her."

"Did that little hooligan break something?! Sweetie Belle!"

"Oh, no, it's fine, I just need to ask her about something that happened yesterday. I'll only be a second."

Rarity groaned. "Alright, I'll let you in."

Once again, the lock clicked open. Derpy opened the door, shocked to see Rarity across the room, possessively guarding a pile of fabric. Rarity was equally surprised to see the unusual object Derpy held in her mouth, clicking and whistling for no discernible reason whatsoever.

"What is that, exactly?"

"It's my ticker! It helps me find magic."

Rarity's expression faded from one of shock to one of worried confusion. "... Right. So, Sweetie-Belle's room is there on the left, and don't touch anything that isn't yours."

"Oh-kay!"

Sweetie-Belle's door unlocked magically and swung open as Derpy approached it, revealing Sweetie-Belle lying on her bed with her face buried in her forelegs, crying softly. She glanced up to see Derpy in the doorway. "Hi," she paused to sniff, "Miss Hooves."

"What's the matter, Sweetie-Belle?"

"I said really mean things to Rarity. I don't know why! I was just so angry..."

"Aw, well, I'm sure she'll forgive you if you say you're sorry."

"No she won't! Now she's being really mean to me. But I deserve it because I'm a bad sister!"

"It's okay, muffin, you're not a bad sister, you just made a mistake. That's all. Everypony makes mistakes sometimes."

"But I got angry over something so stupid! It was just a dumb rock!" Sweetie-Belle pressed her face into the bed."

"I bet you'll feel better if you say you're sorry."

Sweetie-Belle mumbled through the mattress, "Maybe."

Derpy nudged Sweetie-Belle off the bed and directed her into Rarity's living room. "Rarity, your sister has something she'd like to say to you."

A terrified Rarity looked up from what she was working on and shoved it behind the table to her right. She took on a rather threatening posture as she faced Derpy and Sweetie-Belle. "What? What now? Are you going to insult our mother too?"

Sweetie-Belle was upset by Rarity's reply, but Derpy gave her a reassuring tap on the shoulder.

"Well... I... I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I didn't mean it."

Rarity turned her nose up. "Why should I accept your apology?"

"Because... because I love you!"

Rarity blinked several times in rapid succession. Her posture relaxed a little bit before she shook her head. "No. I don't believe you."

"But... but..." Sweetie-Belle's legs gave out underneath her as she began to cry again. Derpy bent down to reach her, but the filly had already picked herself up and started walking towards Rarity. Rarity recoiled at first, but a quick glance to her right encouraged her to move forward and stand her ground. A strong bolt of magic charged up on the end of Rarity's horn. The ticker, which Derpy had left in the next room, was screaming an awful high-pitched whine. Had Rarity let go, the beam of magical energy might have killed her sister right then and there, but she didn't. She just looked into Sweetie-Belle's eyes, her glare softening with her sister's every approaching step. Finally, Sweetie-belle rested her head against her big sister's side. The energy fizzled off of Rarity's horn as she tucked her head down to nuzzle her little sister.

"I love you too."

The two sisters stood there for a moment, embracing one another softly.

"I'm sorry for what I said to you, too. I was out of line. That was no way for a proper lady to speak to her little sister."

Rarity continued, with some difficulty, "And I suppose... you may have your rock back."

Sweetie Belle looked up at her sister, "Thank you but... I don't think I want it any more. It's silly to think that some dumb rock could make me better at magic."

"Well, that's fine. I was actually starting to--" Rarity gasped as she pulled the pile of cloth from behind the table.

"Oh my, that's not nearly the same as I remember it... It's... nothing but a tacky little bauble! What was I thinking?"

Derpy stared in awe at the object Rarity was pushing away from herself. That was exactly what she was after. "I'll get rid of that for you!"

"Oh, I wouldn't want to put you to any trouble, you've already had to deal with our little falling out" Rarity said, levitating the object into a trash pail.

"Now, didn't you have some question you needed to ask Sweetie-belle? Oh dear, I was so rude to you when you first arrived! Can I get you anything?"

"No, I think I figured it out, actually. I just need--"

Rarity interrupted, "No, I insist! you must be thirsty, let me get you something. Oh dear, I was so rude to Applejack earlier too. I have been having such a bad day today!"

With Rarity and Sweetie-Belle distracted in the kitchen, Derpy grabbed the strange object from the trash can and tucked it into her saddlebag, with only a fraction of a second to spare before Rarity came back out with two glasses of fine cider.

"Please, sit, get comfortable! I don't think we've ever sat down and had a chat, you and I..."

"Oh, I'm just so busy, with my work, and taking care of Dinky."

"Your daughter is just such a lovely filly! She's always a joy to have over. If you ever need me to look after her, don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you, she's my world, you know." Derpy replied, sipping the cider.

"Oh I understand completely. Now... If you don't mind me asking... What's all this ticker business?"

"Just a little side project... It's complicated."

Sweetie-Belle chimed in, "Is it for your magic princess suit?"

"Yes, it does have something to do with that."

Rarity, with one eyebrow raised, looked at Derpy, then to Sweetie-Belle, and then back to Derpy. "What's all this about a suit? I didn't know you were into fashion."

"No, not fashion..."

"Well... What then?"

"I'll just show you when it's done. It is going to turn some heads at Canterlot, though, that's for sure!" Derpy answered with a giggle, "Oh gosh. I'm supposed to go on my Noon mail-run in an hour, and I need to feed Dinky before then."

"Well it was a pleasure having you over, you simply must come back some time. Or maybe we could have a spa day?"

"You know, I've never been to the spa."

"Well then, it's not even a question. I'll simply have to take you!"

"Sounds wonderful. I'll talk to you about it tomorrow when I come through here with the mail."

"Fabulous!"

"Bye-bye!"

"Tah!"

The Void, Part 1

A grey earth-pony filly woke up alone and frightened in the middle of a field. In response to the cold, crisp air around her, she shivered, tucking her legs closer to her belly for warmth. Something felt wrong about this place. The trees had been stripped of their leaves, the ground was barren and free of grass. She tried to breathe deeply, only to find herself choking on the thick smoke and fog hanging in the air. Finding that huddling up in one place was doing little to warm her, she stood up and turned in place, but nothing is familiar to her.

Softly, feebly, she cried out, "Hello?"

The word only echoed in vain. Her ear twitched to the left, as a subtle noise attracted her attention.

"Is anyone there?" She asked, while cautiously moving towards the source of the sound. Again, there was no response.

As she continued moving forward, the fog gave way to the remains of a city. A small town, perhaps victim to a natural disaster. Buildings were scorched and demolished, some burned completely to the ground. Embers still smoldered, beams of lumber still glowed red-hot, hot ashes still fell, and yet, there were no ponies to claim this city as their home. Though the streets and buildings were free of bodies, the smell of death hung about the place, as a strong undertone to the smoke. Another subtle noise in the distance called the filly's attention. A hoof-beat, on stone. She was sure of it.

"Hello?" She asked, moving around the corner of what was once the town hall, "Is anyone there?"

This time, there was an unintelligible response. It had the sounds of language, the rhythm of speech, but the filly couldn't make anything of it. The voice softly chanted the same motif a few times repeatedly. The filly sat down on the hard stone and tried to listen closely, but the sound didn't seem to come from any one direction. It was everywhere. She cowered, waiting for it to stop. Finally, after what seemed like forever, a glass pane shattered in the distance, silencing the voice. Eyes wide, the filly ran for the source of the sound.

A few hundred feet down the road, she sees a violet pony. She can't tell much through the smog, but she does manage to catch a glimpse of a rather brightly glowing horn.

Excited, the filly called out, "Hello! Can you help me? I'm lost!"

The distant pony turned her head to look at the filly, and gestured for her to come closer. The filly complied, charging for the only thing remotely resembling a source of comfort in this dark, strange place. As she approached very near, she saw that the pony had wings, as well as a horn. She looked up in awe at the statuesque creature. The alicorn's cutie mark was a pink six-sided star, surrounded by smaller white stars. Her face was tired, but elegant, and her ethereal mane and tail flowed majestically in a wind that couldn't be felt.

The alicorn addressed her visitor, "How did you arrive in this place?"

"I don't know," the filly replied, "I don't even know where I am."

"And what is your name?"

"My... I don't... I don't remember."

The alicorn cocked her head, "Well, that is quite all right. Perhaps you will recall in time. You may call me Princess Sparkle."

Twilight inspected the filly closely, and added, "you aren't what I expected at all."

"You were expecting me?"

"I've been waiting for someone. For quite a long time, actually. Someone to help me get out of this place. A friend."

"I don't think I have any friends..."

"Oh, I understand completely. What good are friends anyway? All they want to do is waste time with silly pursuits like parties, and dressing up. If I'd spent more time with my books, rather than friends, I might not be in this mess," Twilight asserted, an expression of disgust across her face, "but this is a special friend. A soul-mate. Someone to make me whole."

The filly looked up at Twilight, nodding. Why was she nodding? Well... It made sense, didn't it? And if friendship was responsible for whatever happened here... Maybe it wasn't so great.

"Could I help? Could we leave together? I don't like it here." The filly asked, glancing over her shoulder.

"Perhaps you may be the one to help me after all. Come inside, out of the smoke."

Twilight led her companion into a nearby building which appeared to have been carved out of the inside of a large tree. A glowing purple aura surrounds the door, keeping the smoke at bay. The filly sighed in relief as the fresh air filled her lungs. The building was a library, and one of the few buildings that was still intact. It must have been magically protected during the disaster. Around the room are a few odd pieces of furniture, an overturned cot, where some pet once slept and an interesting desk. Wait. Interesting desk? It was a rather ordinary desk. Yet, the filly was enticed by it. Something about it demanded her attention. Or was it something else? Something missing from it? The filly began exploring the surfaces of the desk, looking for something out of the ordinary.

"Excuse me, but why are you so interested in my desk?"

"I don't know..."

"Well, please stop that. I've invited you into my home and now you're worrying me."

The filly looked down at her hooves and muttered, "sorry..."

"Now, pay attention. In order for this to work, I'm going to need your total loyalty. You'll have to do everything I say exactly as I say it."

"For what to work?"

"Do you want to go home or not?!" Twilight harshly shouted at the filly.

"I don't know... I don't remember my home. What if I live here?"

"Well you don't. I live here. This is my home."

"No, I mean, what if I lived in this town somewhere?"

"Well then, everyone you knew is dead, and you need to get over it and help me."

The filly began to cry. "Even my mom and dad?!"

"You don't even remember your parents," Twilight replied, grinning.

"Yeah I do, they're... They're—" The filly began sobbing uncontrollably.

"You don't remember them because they never loved you. They abandoned you here."

Again, a strange voice could be heard coming from everywhere. Some of it could be understood this time. "Remember... Remember..." The filly looked up at Twilight. The voice certainly wasn't coming from her.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"The voice."

"Now you're hearing voices. Merlin's beard! How can I be expected to rely on a pony who's hearing voices? Are you sure you're going to be able to help me?"

"I... I... I do want to help. Please! I just... What am I even helping with? What happened?"

Twilight approached a window, and stared out of it, forlorn. "The griffon nation attacked us. We weren't expecting it. One of our princesses was doing everything she could to stop the war, but the other worried only for herself. Princess Luna lied to me. She mislead me. She told me I could do things I couldn't do. Control forces I couldn't have ever hoped to command. And it was all to save her own flank."

Twilight continued, with a tinge of contempt in her voice, "It was her they were after. She had been egging them on. Threatening them. Teasing them. They burned every one of our cities to the ground, and the only weapon that gave us any hope... The Elements of Harmony... Well Luna ruined them by cursing me. I was unfit to wield them. Unharmonious."

"How can I help with that?"

"Well, not everyone is dead. Many ponies were carted off to camps, the griffons are holding them there... starving them, torturing them... Killing them like flies. They say they'll release everyone if I bring them Luna."

"Wait, I figured it out, the ink spot!"

"... Ink spot? Were you paying attention?"

"No, by the desk, there's no ink spot. There's supposed to be an ink spot!" The filly shouted excitedly.

"What are you talking about? Is this a joke to you? This is very serious!"

She approached the desk, only to find that the floor had been soiled with ink. "But it was... The floor was clean..." She bowed her head.

"Damn-it, pay attention! I don't have time for your stupid games. Ponies are dying, and it's your fault, starting now!"

That hit the filly hard. She buckled over, and almost looked like she was going to vomit. After a moment she looked up with her eyes widened. She glanced around the room frantically. "But these books are all wrong. They don't even have words on them!"

"Don't be stupid, of course they do."

As the filly looked back from Twilight to the books, she saw that titles had appeared on the book spines. She turned back to Twilight and glared. "They didn't have words! You're lying to me!"

The soft voice rang out again across the room. It was clearer than before. "Don't let it lie to you." Twilight looked worried, but the voice was starting to raise the filly's confidence.

"You aren't Twilight, are you? This isn't real! You're lying to me!"

"ENOUGH!" Twilight screamed at the filly, "I am getting very tired of you. If you want to help, then do it. Otherwise, get out of my house!"

"No!" The filly looked around the room. "See, that's wrong too! That Daring Do book! Rainbow was late returning that!"

"What in Tartarus are you talking about? Who is Rainbow, and why do you think you know more about the checkout status of my books than I do?!"

The filly's confidence broke, and she stumbled over herself. "I... I don't know who Rainbow is. But I know who you are. You're mean. You're a liar! You're greedy and you only care about yourself!"

Twilight's face became slightly distorted. An unnaturally large smile spread from ear to ear. Her stature seemed to increase as she bent over the filly, speaking in a raspy, threatening tone. "I don't know who you think you are, little missy, but I do know that I have a problem with ponies coming into my house and saying such terrible things about me. If you don't want that to become your problem, I recommend you pipe down."

The filly stood up to her larger and more powerful adversary. "I don't even know who I think I am, but I don't think this even is your house! I think it's my house! This is my house, and... I think I have a friend named Rainbow!"

"We've already been over this. You haven't got any friends. I'm all you have left. I'm the only thing you have to depend on."

"I don't want to depend on somepony like you! I want real friends. Friends who care about me!"

The voice could be heard again, much louder and clearer than before. "Remember your friends love you, Twilight Sparkle."

The filly was confused. She looked around for the source of the voice, again finding nothing. She asked the alicorn, "why is she talking to you?"

"Who is talking to me?!"

"No... You aren't Twilight Sparkle... You can't be..." The filly insisted, as she turned to see her own reflection in a windowpane. The pony staring back at her wasn't a grey filly, but rather a full-grown lavender unicorn! "Because I am..."

The alicorn began speaking in a much deeper, harsher tone. "Bravo. It only took you all of twenty minutes to figure out I wasn't you. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one..."

... To be continued.

The Void, Part 2

Twilight confronted her malevolent doppelgänger, asking, "what did you do to my memories?"

"I didn't do anything. If you're too weak to hold it together in here, that's your own fault."

"Where is here?" she asked, glancing about the room for some clue.

The alicorn scoffed. "Wouldn't you like to know? Why don't you retrace your steps... What do you remember?"

"I was... a student... Luna's student."

"That's wrong, you contemptible failure. Try again."

"Wait... Was I Celestia's student? But there was something..."

The alicorn's smile, which was already stretched beyond the limits of pony anatomy, grew even wider. "Keep going..."

"There was something she didn't want me to know..."

"So you asked Luna..."

"Did I?" Twilight paused, looking quite concerned... "I guess I did."

"So... You might say that you violated your teacher's trust?"

"No! I would never! I was her... most faithful... Oh... What have I done?!"

"You can make it better..." The alicorn suggested slyly, walking past Twilight briskly and circling around her.

Into Twilight's ear, she whispered, "What Luna has told you amounts to high treason. You must kill her. It's the only way to make this up to your teacher. To fix this little transgression. And that's why You're here. You came for my help, to give you the strength to do it."

"No! I won't believe it! Celestia would never want me to kill her sister!"

"Who do you think sent you here? This is just another one of Celestia's errands you're on right now. You're her little pet. Now be a good girl and do as she says."

"Why should I believe you? You've done nothing but lie to me and try to hurt me since I met you."

The alicorn sighed. "I had a feeling you would fail to see reason. But that's not my problem. See, I can wait here forever. You, on the other hoof, you have a body out there that you left behind. You can stay in here for two, maybe three days, but then dehydration will kick in. Eventually, your choice will be either to submit to me... Or die. It's a good show for me, either way."

"I'll never surrender! You may as well kill me now.

"Oh, I can't do that. Not from in here, anyway. You'll just have to wait to die a slow, excruciatingly painful, death. Besides, you know that lovely scene we were just in, Ponyville destroyed, all hope lost? Well, the griffons will be crossing the border tomorrow. I will make sure that you have a front row seat to all the carnage that unfolds. In between the onset of the pain of your body eating itself, and the torturous descent into death that is dehydration, you'll have just enough time to see your friends get slaughtered!"

"My... friends..."

"Yes! Every one of them torn to shreds by my brothers and sisters!"

"No..."

"Oh, yes."

"No," Twilight added, "I'm not asking, and I'm not begging. I'm telling you. No!"

"One does not simply tell me no. I call the shots around here."

"No. I'm not going to just sit here and do nothing." Twilight said, as she began moving towards the alicorn.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm in control here. Not you. You've made a mess of the place, so all I want to do right now... is get organized.*"

The alicorn recoiled in fear as Twilight's horn began to glow intensely, though she soon found out that she was not the young unicorn's target. The library began sorting itself; books were rearranged, pages filled with text. Spike's cot was put back upright. The air around the library cleared, and grass sprouted in the dirt. As Twilight reassembled the projection of Ponyville, more memories came flooding back to her, and each memory helped her put something back the way it belonged. Memories of the Elements of Harmony returned to her, and a portrait of Twilight and her friends appeared on the desk, greatly accelerating her restorative efforts.

All the while, the alicorn had begun to shrink. After a short time, she was the same height as Twilight. Her mane changed back to normal... Her wings receeded as she shrunk ever-smaller and lost her color. By the time Twilight had restored Ponyville completely back to normal, her antagonist had been reduced to the same scared filly she herself had been only minutes ago. Yet, despite all of Twilight's efforts, there were still no ponies around. Ponyville was still a ghost town.

"Because it's only in my head..." She said to herself. "This was all in my head... And you..."

She looked at the filly with pity, "You really were me all along... You were the darkest side of me. But now I've got you under control. Wait... I've got you under control! I did it! I—"

Twilight twitched as she felt the cold stone under her body. Her neck ached. She opened her eyes to see Luna sitting nearby, completely attentive.

"She's awake! Oh, Twilight, are you okay?"

Twilight moaned softly, lifting her head off the ground. "I think so..."

"How do you feel?" Luna asked, curiously and apprehensively scanning her student.

"Tired... Weird, and tired. How long was I out?"

Luna hesitated before replying, "Almost 24 hours. Your friends have been looking for you. Celestia as well."

"Celestia needs me?!"

Twilight scrambled awkwardly to her feet; her unexpected sudden increase in height made this task surprisingly difficult. When she finally managed to get her balance, she looked into Luna's eyes and was taken aback to find herself slightly taller than the princess.

Luna suppressed a laugh, before replying in a serious tone, "Yes, she's called the Elements of Harmony together in preparation for the griffon assault. I was worried you were not going to pull through in time, but now that you're okay, we must let her know right away."

"Where are they?"

"Near the frontline. Don't worry about them; the griffons do not plan to attack until tomorrow. For now, you must rest. It doesn't matter how much magic you have available to you if you're too exhausted to channel any of it."

Twilight's stomach growled incredibly loudly.

"I was prepared for that!" Luna said gleefully, as she stamped the ground twice with her hoof. A pair of bat ponies moved into the room, bearing platters piled high with strange glowing blue flowers, and a tall pitcher full of ice-cold water.

Lacking the patience required to pour some into a glass, Twilight took the entire pitcher in her hooves and gulped down half of the water therein, quenching a day's worth of thirst. She licked her chapped lips, and let out a very satisfied sigh, before taking note of the food provided to her.

"Uhhhhh..."

"They're moonflowers, very nutritious, eat up!" Luna insisted, acting particularly motherly.

Twilight tried levitating one of the moonflowers up to her eye to inspect it, but she underestimated her own strength. Within the incredibly powerful magical aura she was casting, the delicate foodstuff compressed quickly and burned up to a crisp. From behind a distant curtain, Twilight heard a loud whistle and a pop, closely followed by groaning.

"Do try to be quiet over there, Dexter, Twilight needs her rest, and you don't really need to be here any longer."

"Sorry, sorry, I forgot that I had my ticker turned on."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Who's Dexter?"

"Just someone I felt I could trust. He was caught expressing a certain... *curiosity* regarding Celestia that was nothing short of heretical. Through an extraordinary bout of luck, it just so happened that his behavior was brought to my attention, and my attention alone... Anyone else within the government might have had him beheaded! He's a little more useful in the library, rather than on a pike, at least in my opinion."

Luna and Twilight shared a laugh before the princess continued, "In any sense, I thought that it might be a good idea to have a contemporary scientist document such a rare and... *important* event. It's not been recorded for over a thousand years, and your case is even special regardless of that fact. Now, go ahead and try to eat, this is good practice for getting used to your new strength. Delicacy and proficiency are just as important as power."

With great effort taken to use a light touch, Twilight gingerly levitated a moonflower up off of the platter. She smelled it before taking a bite, and chewed contemplatively. It wasn't all bad, though it did have a slightly metallic taste. She took another bite, and looked at the princess inquisitively.

"Moonflowers grow on a very unique plant, and contain a lot of important magical nutrients in high concentrations. I know apples might taste better, but you need this boost right now. Trust me... Now, I must get in touch with Celestia. If you need anything that Dexter or my assistants cannot provide, do not hesitate to call for me. And please do try to get some rest."

"Yes Prin— Okay, Luna."

Luna was beaming as she exited the room, utterly delighted with the success they had achieved together. Twilight began playing with her moonflowers, rather than eating them, which caused one of the bat ponies to give her a judgmental look. She shied away from them, averting her gaze, and quickly resumed eating.

"The taste grows on you, after a while," she said, halfway done with the first platter. The bat ponies exchanged glances; their faces said it all. 'Tourists.' Eventually, they asked Twilight if she would be needing anything else before bed, and headed out to handle some other responsibilities. A few minutes later, Twilight caught a glimpse of Dexter working around the curtain.

"Dexter?"

"Yes, what can I help you with?"

"Oh, I don't need anything, I was just curious what those things do."

"Well, this here is a ticker. It measure ambient magic activity."

"Wait, why can't you just use your horn for that?"

"Because that would be subjective. This lets me get an exact number."

"I see... And what's that big box there?"

"That's an old-world thing... I'd never even heard of it before yesterday. It measures 'coupling frequencies.' There's a particular frequency we were worried about, called the 'null frequency.' You dipped into it a few times while you were out, but you were back to normal by the time you woke up."

"Null frequency? What does that mean?"

"I don't know exactly. Luna said it was associated with anger, depression, sadness, and all that stuff. Apparently its the default frequency for an Element to use, which is what causes trouble down the line. But you're operating on a totally different frequency, so the Element shouldn't be able to trigger those emotional states in you like it does to everyone else."

"Hmm... Is it the same frequency that the Elements of Harmony use?"

"I wouldn't know. I've asked Celestia for permission to study those things, but she won't let me near them. I've... uh... heard some things, though."

"What kinds of things?"

"That Celestia might have been experimenting with other Elements."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that the Academy I work at has some documents filed away in the basement archives. They've been thoroughly redacted, but you can still get a basic idea of what they're talking about."

"Can you tell me?"

"Um... Well, Luna seems to trust you, so I'll follow suit. So long as you don't tell Celestia what I know, I'll be happy to share."

"You have my word."

"Okay. The first paper is a few centuries old, and talks about a project where a team was investigating the feasibility of reproducing the Elements of Harmony. Celestia allowed them to investigate the Elements, and a just a few years later, Princess Andalusia was born."

"The princess of Hearts and Hooves Day?"

"The very same. It was hard to make out the rest of the document, there were so many black marks, but apparently, the experiment ended catastrophically when someone slipped her love poison. The rest of the document is almost completely blacked out, but it seems as though she went mad and became Queen Chrysalis."

"Curious..."

"I know. You'd think that would be Celestia's sign to stop, but she tried again, much more recently. Princess Cadence was another Element experiment. The host for a second attempt at forging an Element of Love."

"I don't even know what to say..."

"Just... Keep an eye on Celestia. She's planning something. Something big."

"Thanks for letting me know, I guess."

"No problem. I'd rather share knowledge with a fellow scientist and take significant personal risk than be safe knowing that I was a puppet for a book-burner."

That last line left Twilight feeling uneasy. Her own mentor? A book-burner? Luna had already told her that, but she had put it much more gently than Dexter had. Twilight felt an agonizing burning sensation run up her spine as four words from the Element's nightmare echoed through her mind.

You're Celestia's little pet.

"Are you alright, Miss Sparkle?"

"Yeah... I'm fine. Just a headache..."

At that moment, the bat ponies entered the room once again. They gestured for Twilight to follow them.

"Hmm... I— It was nice meeting you, Dexter."

"Charmed. I hope to see you again."

Luna's assistants directed Twilight to proper sleeping quarters, with a bed large enough to suit her new height. She was quite tired; it literally only took her seconds to fall asleep.

Though she wanted nothing more than to sleep soundly, it seemed as though Twilight woke from her rest instantaneously. She remained in bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling the warmth of the Sun across herself. She willed herself to get up, but couldn't manage it — her body simply wouldn't move.

Sleep paralysis... she thought to herself, ...must be sleep paralysis. It's okay... This happened all the time when I was a filly. Just wait it out, Twilight, you'll wake up completely in a moment

There was something very wrong, though, in that moment, something that she couldn't quite bring to mind, something about the world around her. She felt out of place, as though she was somewhere that she didn't belong.

*No, Twilight, that's just irrational fear. Hallucinations. It's only sleep paralysis. Just concentrate. Wake up.*

Her body lurched out of bed of its own accord, stretching and looking about the room. This was not the same place where she had gone to bed. Twilight started to worry.

*Has the binding gone wrong? Why am I not in control?*

Slowly, her body made its way out of the room, and involuntarily proceeded down the hallway and out the front door, into a beautiful snowscape, a grand village of lumber and stone, with thatched roofs and solid-oak doors.

All around her were griffons, going about their lives, though it seemed that they would all stop and stare at her when she wasn't looking. Their eyes burned on her back. She was a stranger. She was unwelcome. She was a freak. Still, the body relentlessly carried on, leaving the villagers behind. As she reached the edge of the village, Twilight's wings spread out.

I don't have wings... Why can't I wake up? I want to wake up!

The body, which was quite apparently no longer her own, flew far across the mighty evergreen forests surrounding the griffon village. She felt relaxed, to be free of the prying eyes of the other citizens, though she still struggled to gain control. There was someone else behind these eyes. Someone had stolen her body.

Who are you? She asked internally, getting no response.

Up ahead, a clearing appeared. A frozen lake. The very sight of it warmed Twilight's heart, as if it were somehow a safe haven, a place that would protect her. Her wings carried her just to the edge of the lake, dropping her gently into the soft snow around it, near a small pile of fishing supplies.

But it's not winter. What is this? Where are we?

She reached out in front of herself. Her hooves— or, her talons, rather, picked an ice axe up out of the snow, reared it up high, and drove it into the frozen surface of the lake. After a few strikes, the ice broke into manageable chunks, which she lifted up and away from the water. She peered over the edge, into the chilled water below.

Even her reflection was foreign to her. She looked a bit like a griffon, but she had a horn, rather than the typical crest plumage. She was quite young, and, apparently, male. Most strangely of all, the reflection didn't sync up quite right with her motions. It seemed to drift a second off into the past or future.

"A griffpony?" She asked, shocked to feel and hear herself talk.

The reflection didn't parrot her motion, but instead, replied, "Yes, my mother was a unicorn."

"How did I get here? Who are you?"

"None of the other griffons like me... They think I'm weak and pathetic. They say things about me... Things they don't think I can hear. Nasty things."

"I'm so sorry, but, where—"

"It's okay... Today is the day that it all gets better. Today the white mare comes."

"The white mare?"

"The Sun Goddess..." The reflection took pause, noting the real body's change in expression, "Do you know of her?"

"I know, yes. Where I come from, we call her Celestia."

"Today is the day she burns them all. But I'll be safe, safe by the lakeside."

"What?!"

"She rains fire from the heavens, and destroys them all. All those who have been unkind to me."

"I don't think that's right."

"I know it's so. She kills every last one. The soldiers, the doctors, the men, women, and children, even my own mom and dad. It is the gods' will that I survive."

"Celestia would never do that!"

"You talk as though you know the gods. You dare to speak their sacred names. And yet, what do you know of them?"

"I know Celestia would never do something like that! She is kind, and gentle!"

"Ah, your naivety betrays that you are of ponykind. The priests dare not admit it, but your species is so wonderfully gifted; with magic, and flight, control over weather, the Harmony Gems... such prosperity. Surely, you are the gods' favored race... Created in their image..."

"I know Celestia myself, and I know she wouldn't just kill griffons for no reason, why are you so sure that your village will burn down?"

"Because I've seen it. I've seen it with my own eyes. I forgot, long ago, but now I see it every night. Every night the white mare comes to me, and tells me secrets. Secrets of the past, secrets of today, even secrets of the future."

"Since when?"

"One month ago, the white mare visited me, not in dreaming, but in my very home. She told me where I could find stones of magnificent power. Stones that would make me great, and strong. Stones that could make my father proud of me."

"You mean Elements? Celestia told you where to find Elements?"

"Your manner of speaking is strange, pony. The stones we found... they were not what the white mare promised. It seems they had been made by the trickster god."

"Discord?"

"I do not know of any creature named Discord. I speak of the stallion from the blue box."

"The stallion from the blue box?"

"You pretend to know the gods, though your knowledge must be limited, if you are unaware of him. His powers transcend even those of the White Mare. Surely your legends speak of him, the trickster of many faces... He has deceived the mighty griffon nation many times."

"I can't say I've ever heard of a stallion in a blue box, but what about the White Mare? Can you tell me more about her?"

"Today at noontime, when the Sun is highest in the sky, fireballs will rain down and purge my village. As an orphan, I am to be recruited into the navy, and they will train me... make me strong. But I will always be alone. So alone. I never fit in. So I fight. I fight to prove myself. I kill more... I kill faster... I will show them all what I can be. And they will make me their king..."

"No... You... You shouldn't do that! You don't have to do that!"

"But... Can't you see? I already did. Everything around us is but a memory. A shadow of what once was. I see it every night now; it's the only time I am myself completely. The real world is a waking nightmare... The voices — voices from the darkness — from within the eternal void... they scream at me. The only way to make them stop is to kill. So I must kill. I must kill everything. Every pony... every god... and when I've done all of that... every griffon. Everything. Then the voices will stop."

"You can't do that!"

"Then please... help me..." The griffpony pleaded, while he looked up and too the side, such that he would be looking back towards his village if her were above the surface of the ice.

"The White Mare comes now. To fill me with hate. To remind me why I fight. Please, help me."

As promised, the Earth was then struck with a shower of meteorites, destroying and burning everything in their wake. Twilight lost what little control of the body she had as it dove into the freezing lake water for cover. The shock of the water touching her woke her instantaneously, leaving her panting in bed, broken out in a cold sweat, but back safely on the Moon.

"Is this my curse?" she asked herself, "to be plagued by nightmares forever?"

She paused for a long while, before concluding, "If this is what I must go through to protect Equestria, then so be it."

Twilight sat in the dark, contemplating sleep, though she was completely unsure of the time. It's always midnight, under the Moon.

Missing Ponies Report

Rainbow Dash swooped down over Sweet Apple Acres and hovered just above the ground, slightly frantic. "Hey Applejack! Have you seen Twilight?"

"Nah, I haven't seen her since yesterday. Why?"

"I've been trying to renew this boo— uh... I've just been looking for her. Spike hasn't seen her either."

"You think she might have gotten lost in the Everfree forest again?"

"I was managing the clouds on the forest border all evening yesterday, and I didn't see anybody go in or out."

"Did you check if Rarity dragged her off to the spa? That crazy pony tried to take me down there as an apology earlier today."

"I talked to Rarity and Fluttershy already, neither of them have seen her since she was at the market yesterday."

"And Pinkie?"

"Haven't been able to find Pinkie either..."

"You don't think they might just be spending time together?"

"Pinkie and Twilight?"

"Ah see your point... huh... Well when was the last time ya checked the library?"

"A couple hours ago, you think I should check there again?"

"I wanna go too, just to make sure Twi's okay."

"Sure, if you think you can keep up!" Rainbow Dash said, bracing herself.

"Is that a challenge?"

"You bet your flank it is! READYSETGO!" Rainbow shouted, as she dropped to the ground and started sprinting.

"Hey, no fair! I wasn't even ready, much less set!" Applejack yelled as she tried to catch up.

"Ya snooze ya lose!"

That sort of banter carried on for about ten minutes as they made record time to the Library. Both desperate to knock on the door first, they crashed into it at full speed together, sending it flying off its hinges. A mortified Spike stood inches from where the door landed, staring at the pile of wood and pony on the floor in front of him.

"I touched it first!"

"No way, Ah touched it first."

"Well, you both broke it. Did you guys find Twilight yet?"

They both replied at the same time as they got to their hooves and dusted themselves off, "no."

"Well I haven't seen her either, but I've got a letter from Princess Celestia. She says she needs the Elements of Harmony to meet her in Canterlot, and its urgent!"

Rainbow groaned. "Great, it's been almost a year since the last time we had to use those things, and suddenly they're urgently needed on the day Twilight goes missing?"

"Maybe she's already at the castle..." Applejack suggested.

"I don't know why she wouldn't have told me if that's where she was going," Spike objected.

"Well, ask Celestia already!"

"Alright, one second," Spike mumbled, as he began writing on some parchment.

"TWI-I-AIAIAIAIAIAI-LI-LI-IGHT?" Pinkie's voice, rich with vibrato, rang through the door as she entered. She was shaking violently from head to toe.

"Ha-a-as an-y-bo-d-dy se-een Twilight? ... Oh, it stopped!"

"Yer Pinkie sense is actin' up again? This can't be good."

"Yeah, I've been like this all day! I was looking for Twilight to see if she could help me figure out what was going on!"

"We can't find her either! She's been missing since last night..."

"Spike, how's that letter coming?"

"I just sent it, hopefully we'll hear back—" Spike belched out a letter before he could finish his sentence. He read it quickly and shook his head.

"She's not in Canterlot either?" Applejack asked, eyebrow raised?

"Then I guess we'll have to go searching for her!"

"Now hold it for a minute Rainbow, where would we even start looking?"

"We can cover more ground if we split up! Pinkie, you know everypony, ask anyone you can if they've seen her. Applejack, you check the outskirts of town. I'll do a flyover to see if I can spot her anywhere in the streets. We'll meet back here in an hour."

"But what if she's in the forest again?"

"Like I said, there's no way she could've gotten into the forest yesterday without me seeing!"

"Uh, you remember that she can teleport, right?"

"Yeah... of course I remembered that..." Rainbow replied, her wavering voice revealing that she had not, in fact, considered any such thing, "But why would she need to?"

"Ah don't know... maybe she's working on some sort of secret assignment for the Princess..."

"But then Celestia would know where she was," Spike retorted.

"Well what are we supposed to do?"

"Well, y'all should look through town like you were sayin', but Ah'm going to go check the forest. I just have a feelin' she's in there."

"Fine. Just be careful in there, I don't want to have two friends go missing today."

"Ah'm sure Ah can handle myself. Maybe you're too scared ta go, but I'm not."

"I'm not scared, I just don't think she's in there!"

"Where else could she be, Rainbow? You said you already looked all over town. Why are you gonna waste your time lookin' again?"

"Alright, fine, I'll check out the forest with you. But if she's not in there, you owe me!"

"You comin' Pinkie?"

"Nah, I think I'll stay here and ask around town like Dashie said!"

"Okay, see you back here in an hour!"

Rainbow Dash and Applejack made a break for the forest, again keeping pace with one another quite well and arriving in record time.

"Ah say we stick close to the main path. Try to search about 20 feet out from it, but make sure you can see me and Ah can see you. There could be somethin' dangerous in there."

"Hey, now who's the scared one?"

"Can it, Rainbow. I'm just trying to stay safe."

"Hey, it's fine, I'm only messin' with ya."

"This is no time for jokes. Ponies have died in that forest."

"Alright, sorry. Let's just get started already!"

Applejack proceeded through the forest slowly, methodically, and cautiously, while Rainbow Dash moved quickly and chaotically in leaps and bounds, practically circling her friend. Applejack thought about saying something, but in all honesty, the two contrasting methods were probably going to give them the best shot at finding Twilight.

"See anything yet?" Applejack asked her friend.

"Nah, there aren't even many animals out here today."

"Well, you're probably scarin' 'em all off with all your runnin' and jumpin'."

"True. But we aren't looking for animals, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"S'pose not, but it couldn't hurt for you to be a little more careful. Never know what we might run into out here."

"I ain't scared of nothin'. I can handle whatever this forest can throw at me!"

"Just like you did with that manticore?" Applejack added with a smirk, nudging Rainbow with her elbow.

Rainbow looked hurt, and moved a few feet from Applejack. "Come on, that was a long time ago."

"I'm just makin' a point. Overconfidence might help you win over a crowd, but out here it's just gonna get you into trouble."

"I guess so..."

A distant howl caused the two ponies to stop abruptly. They pressed their bodies against the ground, keeping their eyes and ears peeled for anything threatening.

"You think it's coming this way?" Rainbow whispered.

"Shhhh."

"But—"

"Shhhhhh!"

Applejack listened very intently before quietly saying, "Alright, I think we're safe. Just keep quiet and stay low."

"What's so scary about a little wolf?"

"Those things are dangerous! You know they're carnivores, don'tcha? They'd eat us up for supper with smiles on their faces."

"Ick."

"It's true."

"You don't think..."

"Twilight? Nah, I think she could handle timber wolves. They don't much care for magic, and besides, their main tactic is to work in groups to outrun and corner you. Twi could just teleport to safety."

"Right... I'm worried about Twilight, though."

"Me too, Rainbow, that's why we're lookin' for her."

"No, I mean... She's been acting different lately. Kinda distant. It's not like her to just go into the Everfree Forest all alone."

"You got a point there... She's always been a bit of an introvert, though."

"Yeah..."

"You said Twilight crossed this bridge last time she came out here, didn't you?"

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, but I thought she might have seen me, so I didn't follow her after that."

"Well, it hasn't been quite a half-hour yet; we should probably go a little further before heading back."

Applejack walked across the bridge as Rainbow Dash flew alongside her.

"So... earlier, you said Rarity was tryin' to apologize for something?"

"Oh, yeah, she was actin' really weird this morning. Said some pretty rude stuff, not in her character at all."

"Weird..."

"It gets weirder. She was really worried Ah was gonna steal something from her!"

"Rarity?"

"Yeah, can you believe it?"

"Wait... You don't think... What if Discord is back?!" Rainbow asked, gesturing dramatically in the air with her front hooves.

"Discord? But then... Oh no, Twilight!"

"He must've gotten to her and Rarity, that's why they're acting so different lately!"

"This is probably what the Princess needs us for! We better tell her what's goin' on!"

The two had just made it across the gorge, but quickly did an about face and started rushing back to the library with a pace which was even unusually fast for the two athletes.

"How're we gonna fight him without Twilight?" Applejack asked through shallow breaths.

"I don't know, hopefully Celestia has some way to find her!"

"What if she doesn't?"

"Then we'll have to do our best anyway. Equestria is counting on us!"

"I s'pose you're right... I just really hope that Twi turns out to be okay!"

Rainbow and Applejack came hurtling out of the forest at a dangerous speed, covering the same distance in a little over half the time. Upon arrival, they spoke quickly while trying to catch their breath.

"Spike! Take a letter!"

"Discord's back!"

"He's got Twilight!"

"What?!" Spike asked, looking back towards them and totally caught off guard.

"We need you to tell Celestia that we know that Discord is back and that we need her help to find Twilight!"

Spike jumped up, grabbed a quill and quickly scribbled down the note, not wasting a moment before sending it. Applejack and Rainbow Dash stared anxiously at the dragon, and Pinkie returned just as the reply letter came in.

Spike cleared his throat before reading the letter aloud,

"My loyal subjects, I have just checked the statue garden personally and found that Discord is still safely imprisoned. He is not related to the matters for which you were summoned. I have dispatched a team of guards to search for Twilight, but I need you to come to Canterlot as soon as possible. Make haste,

-Princess Celestia"

"Weird..."

"Well... you heard the letter, let's go get Fluttershy and Rarity and head up there!"

"Right!"

A pair of royal guards greeted the five ponies at the front gates of Canterlot Palace, and quickly escorted them into the castle. Celestia stood in a particularly tall and regal manner, and though she was a demigod, a creature of incredible power — a being who had gone without sleep for a millennium without ever appearing weary — her face betrayed a thorough exhaustion.

"Equestria is currently facing a threat it hasn't seen in over a thousand years; war." The last word rolled off of her tongue harsh and bitter, carrying with it great weight. She paused, evaluating the five ponies' reactions before she continued.

"Very few within our borders know what that word truly means. My sister and I are the only ones left alive who have experienced an Equestrian war personally. Whatever other stories you may have heard... Count yourself certain that they were mild in comparison with reality."

Celestia began pacing, as she carried on, "For over a thousand years, our enemies have been afraid to face us. The Elements of Harmony gave us an edge on any battlefield, in any condition. Truly, they were a blessing. When my sister returned from her banishment to the Moon, the distention of that night was a beacon. It showed the whole world that I was no longer in control of the Elements. Those who previously feared us sensed a weakness, and began moving in on that weakness. Over the course of the following years, word spread that you five, along with Twilight, had taken my place and become fully competent bearers, and international relations once again calmed down. But it seems that that was not meant to last."

The five ponies in her company remained silent, wide-eyed, and attentive.

"The griffon King has acquired weapons. Pieces of ancient unicorn technology on par with the Elements of harmony. Our soldiers can hold the griffons back for a while, but they are not equipped to fight this kind of war. Pitting them against this enemy would be nothing short of sending them on a suicide mission. This is why I need you to fight them. Only you have something that puts you on the griffons' level."

"But... without Twilight..." Applejack interjected.

"The Elements are strict, but also reasonable, and have been known to bend their own rules for the sake of harmony. Twilight *is* the best option, but she can be substituted with someone else, if need be. Her brother will make a suitable, though not ideal, replacement for this dire emergency."

"I don't want to fight anyone," Fluttershy added, hiding partway behind her own hair.

"And I don't want to make you fight anyone. But we have no choice. I have made every possible offer to the griffons, but the weapons they've acquired have corrupted them beyond reason. Even their leader has had his mind twisted. Can I count on you?"

"I'm ready to fight for Equestria!" said Rainbow Dash without hesitation, raising her hoof to her forehead.

"Me too, I reckon."

"I'll do what I can," Rarity added.

"Okie-Dokie, Princess!"

"Um... Well... Okay..."

"Excellent. Shining Armor will brief you further on the frontline. I have responsibilities here that I must tend to, but rest assured that I will be joining you in battle tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll be able to find Twilight and Luna as well. Given what we're up against, we're going to need to put everything we have into this. Good luck, my little ponies."

The five friends found themselves being loaded onto the next Eastbound troop transport train. It was hot, and crowded with members of the royal guard, but it was the only way they were going to reach the frontline in time.

Before the Sun set, the train had reached the Bezzer station, just outside of the fortification. It was hardly a station, so much as it was simply a wooden platform alongside a short loop of track for turning the train around, but given its distance from any modern city, they were lucky to have that. There would be another thirty minutes of marching before they would reach the barracks.

"The defensive line has been set up well ahead of the station," a spear-bearing pegasus explained to the group, "so that trains could maintain operation during a retreat."

With great efficiency and unity, the royal guards moved towards Fort Bezzer. The sight of the mighty fortress in the distance was both exciting and intimidating, something from distant history which seemed to have been dropped down into the modern world. Near the front of the formation, at the Western fort gate, Shining Armor could be seen inspecting troops as they arrived. The five ponies broke from the crowd to approach him, and Shining's tired eyes lit up as he noted their presence.

"You finally made it!" He said, looking over the group as concern spread across his face, "but where's Twily?"

Rainbow Dash gave a nervous glance to Applejack, who bowed her head.

Hesitantly, Rarity replied, "We haven't been able to find her. The Princess is still looking."

Shining Armor swung his head violently and stamped his hoof against the ground. "I swear, if those griffons did something to her, I'll—" He stopped abruptly, whinnying, gritting his teeth, and flaring his nostrils.

"Ah'm sure she'll be okay, I can just feel it," Applejack said.

"Yeah... Twilight's a pretty tough cookie!" added Pinkie, who had begun jumping excitedly.

"That's right! For all we know, Twilights getting up in the Griffon King's face right now, showin' him what's what!" Rainbow declared, boxing the air with her forehooves.

Princess Cadence, who was standing behind Shining Armor, moved up and leaned her head across his neck, adding, "We both know Twilight is too amazing to have given up already."

Shining Armor smiled a little bit. "Maybe you're right... I hope you are. You're all probably tired. Come this way, let me show you to your quarters."

The six ponies moved through the encampment, taking in all the unusual sights and sounds of ponies training and preparing for battle. Pegasi were running flight drills, a firing squad of unicorns was tearing an effigy of a griffon to shreds with magical attacks, Spitfire was entering a tent at the far east side, Earth ponies were cleaning rifles and sharpening mighty blades and lances— Wait, Spitfire?

"The Wonderbolts are here?!"

"Yes, Rainbow, of course. Griffons are fairly strong fliers, so we need the very best to fight them in the air. They're going on a weather and recon mission first thing tomorrow morning."

"Can I go with them?"

"I don't think that's a good idea. Celestia tasked me with making sure the Elements stay together, and that's what I'm going to do. It's going to be hard enough pulling this off without Twilight."

Rainbow sighed. "Okay, fine."

"Good. Now, you'll be sleeping in the royal bunker. It's not exactly luxurious, but it's relatively comfortable, and the safest place here by far."

"It doesn't look very safe," Rarity objected, eyeing the shoddy tent suspiciously.

"It's not supposed to." Shining replied, lifting the entry flap. The tent was rather small, dark, and poorly furnished. Mattresses stuffed with hay lined the edges of the room.

"Are we really expected to sleep here?" Rarity asked, daintily withdrawing her hoof from the ground.

"These are the same beds everyone else has to sleep on, but no, actually."

Shining Armor stamped the ground three times, prompting it to give way before him. It fell more quickly at the far end of the tent, creating a steep ramp leading to a strong stone structure.

"Right this way..."

Though the bunker was cramped, old, and musky, the arched stone ceilings were much more comforting than the thin layers of canvas offering their protection at the surface. Really, the bunker was little more than a hallway with three rooms branching off of it. The first and tallest room was clearly meant to be the Princesses' residence, the second would be the home of Shining Armor, and the third room was designed to protect the Elements of Harmony, which had already been delivered to this location. Around the Elements themselves were six beds, clearly meant for the bearers to sleep in.

"Make sure you get plenty of sleep. We believe that the griffons will begin their attack at mid-day, but we'll need to get up early to oversee preparations and revise the attack plan. I was really relying on Twilight being here, so I'm going to need to... alter them... dramatically." He turned his head away, shedding a tear.

Suddenly, a pegasus burst into the room, frantic and out of breath, "Captain Armor, Sir! They've found Twilight!"

"What happened? Is she okay?!"

"Luna found her. Says she's fine, but too tired to make the trip right now. They'll be here in the mor–."

Shining Armor leapt forward and hugged the pegasus hard enough to knock the air out of him. The other five ponies, who were initially in shock, started cheering, as Shining armor began jumping about the room like a little colt on Hearth's Warming Eve. "Where has she been?"

"I don't know," replied the pegasus, recovering his breath for the second time, "As soon as Celestia gave me the news, I flew up here immediately."

"You flew all the way here?!"

"It's too far to teleport, and well, this is just what I do best!" He said, revealing his cutie mark as he stood up. A bit of postage, with wings. Fitting.

"You must be exhausted!"

"Nah, I'm fine. Any news you wanna get back to Canterlot before I head back?"

"Just let Celestia know that the Elements arrived safe and everything is going according to plan... And let me at least get you a glass of cider before you go back."

"Sure, why not?"

"Have you got everything you need girls?"

"Yeah" "uh-huh" "Sure do."

"Good, get some rest," Shining Armor said, leaving with the messenger pony.

"Boy howdy, Ah'm sure glad she's okay!"

"Me too!"

"Me three!"

"But Luna found her? Where do you think she was? Was she in trouble?"

"Ah still reckon she was in the Everfree Forest."

"Maybe. You think she got lost?"

"Or maybe a cockatrice turned her to stone?"

"Oh dear!"

"Well, she's okay now, right?"

"Yeah, that's what's really important."

Rainbow changed the subject quickly, "That's great about Twilight, but I'm exhausted! We should probably go to sleep..."

"You're right, gotta get up bright and early tomorrow."

" 'night everypony."

"Good night."

Before long, everypony was asleep. Everypony, that is, except for Rainbow Dash. As soon as she felt safe doing so, she slipped out of bed and snuck into the hallway. Neither Shining Armor nor the Princesses were in yet, so she had little difficulty making it back to the entrance unnoticed. Just as she had seen Shining do, she tapped the ground three times with her hoof, and the wall of dirt collapsed before her into a clean ramp in precisely the same way as before.

Everyone in the fort was simply too busy to bother with investigating her behavior, so she made swift passage to the Wonderbolts' tent. Once inside, she proceeded to curl up in the back. If she slept here, she thought, she wouldn't miss her chance to fly with the Wonderbolts. She'd wake up with them, fly with them, and impress them, getting back in time before Twilight even shows up. It was a flawless plan, she thought to herself while yawning. Flawless. She quickly drifted off to sleep.

Turbulence

Rainbow awoke hours later to the feeling of someone's hoof prodding her. It was spitfire. The first thing she saw when she woke up was Spitfire. This was officially the best morning ever.

"What are you doing in here, kid?"

"I'm here to fly recon with you guys!" She replied, standing at attention.

Spitfire raised an eyebrow. "I don't remember discussing that with Captain Armor."

"Yeah... I'm a good friend of his. He just assigned me last night. I mean, how could he not put Equestria's best young flier with you guys? You want me to go get him?" Rainbow asked, leaning her body towards the entrance of the tent.

Spitfire sighed. "No, that's fine... I really don't think we need another set of wings up there, but I do recognize you, and if the Captain says it's okay..."

"So I can go?!"

"Sure. But if I tell you to go back, you'd better go back. I don't wanna be responsible for looking after you if things get hairy out there."

"I won't let you down!"

"And do try to keep it down. This *is* a covert operation. We'll be flying through Griffon airspace."

"You got it!" Rainbow said, as she began stretching her wings the same way everyone else in the tent was.

"You know you're arching your back too much when you do that, right?"

"Uh... Of course, this is how I always do it!"

"Ya' sure?"

"Yeah..." Rainbow squeaked, trying to smile and struggling to keep her wings up even though her flight muscles were cramping.

"Alright then," Spitfire replied, turning around and suppressing laughter.

It'll be alright, Rainbow thought, tucking her wings back down. I'll still have plenty of time to redeem myself for that. She wiggled and twisted her torso uncomfortably for a few seconds while the cramps dissipated. Just as she was starting to feel alright again, the Wonderbolts began to move out into the open and prepare for takeoff. Spitfire directed everyone's attention to a map of the area. Rainbow had a hard time paying attention, sandwiched between her idols, but she was honestly trying.

"Cloudsdale has sent in a number of storm clouds which are ready for us to pick up about a quarter-kilometer North of this installment. Unit A, led by myself, will deliver the clouds to these locations here, here, and here. The rain will result in flash flooding which will disrupt ground forces and installments. Unit B, led by Soarin, will need to use thunderclouds to form an aerial defensive line across these areas, hopefully funneling most of the griffon forces through this area and keeping them close to the ground. As always, keep your eyes peeled for any suspicious activity. Dash, do you have weather experience?"

"Me? I practically run the weather in Ponyville myself!"

"Good. You'll be on Unit B. Thunderclouds can be a little finicky; I think Soarin can use the extra help more. Is everyone else clear on what we're doing?"

"Ma'am yes ma'am!"

"Move out!"

The Wonderbolts took to the sky swiftly and gracefully, with Rainbow in tow. They moved as a single unit to the cloud pickup zone, and then split into several smaller teams on arrival. Each unit worked to move a single, massive chunk of cloud. One light and fluffy, the other dark and writhing. Both units moved together to the East initially.

Dash quickly realized that the entire surface of the ocean had frozen over, quite a peculiar sight, especially at this time of the year. She remembered flying over this same ocean, this same month, only years ago, recalling the moist warmth of the air that was blowing up and out from the land. Now, though, the air was cold, dry, and unpleasant. Although Rainbow didn't have a rehearsed, pre-planned position, the dark clouds proved to be unruly. She put her speed to good use, zipping around the floating monolith and keeping pieces from breaking off of it. Before long, Unit A broke away, taking their simple rainclouds off to their proper destination.

A thundercloud broke off of the top of the twisting mass. Rainbow quickly shot up, looped up over the top of it, and bucked it to Soarin, who stuffed it back into the side.

"Nice one!"

"Thanks!" Rainbow shouted, blushing. She flew back around to the other side, partly to check for more straying clouds, but mostly to hide her flushed face. A thick fog began to develop below the team as they moved further East.

"Alright, this is the first site. Deploy 10 clouds with a gamma height distribution."

The other Wonderbolts knew exactly what that meant, and set to work right away, but Dash hung uneasily in the air. She lurched forward, about to join them, but Soarin stopped her.

"We should probably do this ourselves, if you don't mind. They have to be set out at just the right heights to make a good barrier, and once they're deployed, they get a lot more dangerous. Best to have the professionals doing it. Besides, you've already been a great help. We're at least fifteen minutes ahead of schedule."

As he finished speaking, he pat Dash on the back. She was so overcome by the moment — by the fact that she had just been complimented by her idol — that she couldn't find any words to say. She just stared straight down and pretended to be utterly fascinated by the ponies working below her.

"Alright, good. Let's keep moving! From here on out it's alternating beta and delta configurations every hundred meters!"

Again, Rainbow acted to keep the clouds bundled up. A couple kilometers later, the pegassi stopped for a break, resting on top of the mass of cloud they had been pushing. Rainbow was still full of energy, though, and she wasn't satisfied to just sit around.

"Anything I can do while you guys are resting?"

"You really should take a break, we've got at least two more hours of this to go!"

"I'm too excited to relax! Just give me something to do!"

"Alright, go relieve Wave Chill. He's up top, on lookout. I'm sure he'd like your break, if you don't want it."

"I'm on it!" Rainbow said, saluting. She shot up into the sky with haste, and found Wave Chill sitting on a cloud, scanning his surroundings for any kind of threat. He noticed her almost immediately.

"Hey, new kid, what's up?"

"Soarin said I could take over for ya, if that's alright! You could head back down and relax."

"Eh, that's alright. I like it up here. But you can keep me company if you want, maybe watch my six? I'm gettin' a little dizzy from all the spinning," he said, while pantomiming the act of rotating himself to survey the sky around him.

"Sure!"

Rainbow dropped down onto the same cloud Wave Chill was sitting on, and faced the opposite direction, looking off into the distance for anything suspicious.

Wave struck up some more conversation. "You know, I used to work weather in Ponyville back in the day."

"Really?"

"Yup. One year a crazy storm blew in from the EverFree Forest, I had to work like crazy to keep it under control. That's actually how Spitfire found me — she was scouting for skilled fliers in Ponyville that exact week. Lucky bit of coincidence and circumstance, that."

"So... Do you think I could make the team too?"

"I thought you were already in... That's why you're here, isn't it?"

"Er- I'm actually—"

The pair heard a scream from below. Somehow, about eight griffons had gotten by them and were now engaged in aerial combat with the Wonderbolts.

"But how'd they get through!?" Wave Chill asked.

"They must have flown in from below... under the fog!"

"Well don't just sit there, we need to get down there and help them!"

The Griffons noticed the two ponies on their way down, and there was one on Dash's tail before she could even reach the others. Dash was surprised to find that her attacker was faster than she was. No matter what maneuver she used to try and shake him, he was keeping up, and slowly gaining on her. Thinking fast, she suddenly braked hard and bucked the griffon in the face, using his own great momentum against him. He was sent flying off in the other direction, and retreated, badly injured.

Dash hovered in the air, surveying the situation. Most of the Wonderbolts were either fighting or being chased. Soarin was being pursued by two griffons, both of which were many times his own size. Dash zipped up high above the fight and decided which one she would try to take out. She settled on the left one, and moved in to attack.

She dove straight down, adrenaline pumping, every muscle in her body tense. To her, the world seemed sharper, clearer, and more vivid than it ever had been. Despite the wind rushing past her, she could still hear the rush of air along her target's flight feathers. She could see every little twitch in his muscles as he moved through the air. Naturally, almost effortlessly, she anticipated his motions and bore down on him. She accelerated sharply before twisting her body around and bucking him between his wings.

As her hooves pushed into the griffon's flesh, she could feel his ligaments tear, and his left wing dislocate from its joint. As he began his tumultuous fall into the abyss, a smile crept up on Rainbow's face. Waves of euphoria crashed over her. This was the feeling of victory she so craved, the feeling of superiority, of being better, stronger, and faster... She watched her victim tumble with a sick satisfaction.

And then, it happened. As he rolled, his eyes met Rainbow's for a brief moment. His face was flooded with sadness, pain, and panic. Talons grasping for support he wouldn't be able to find — one wing flapping furiously to save him, the other whipping limply in the wind. Her grin rapidly dissolved into a look of terror and disgust as the meaning of her actions dawned on her.

After a moment of indecision, she broke into a nosedive. She wouldn't let him die. She couldn't. She was going to save him. But he was already falling so quickly. She struggled to keep up, pushing herself harder and harder. She knew that the only way she could catch him would be to perform a rainboom, but she couldn't find the strength to do it. She thought of her friends; they would want her to do this. To save him. Tears welling up in her eyes, she pushed even harder. She remembered her friends coming all the way to Cloudsdale to cheer her on. She imagined them being there with her. She pictured Fluttershy jumping for joy at the sight of her success.

A thunderous crackle ripped across the sky as Dash broke the sound barrier once again. Colorful waves of magic spread out through the air around her, and she felt certain that she was flying faster than she ever had before. With every second, she was getting a bit closer to the griffon, who was still hopelessly flailing through the air. She didn't have much time left, the low fog would soon envelop him. She pushed on, ever faster... faster... She could almost touch him... Once again, he made eye contact with her, realizing what she was doing. He reached his talon out towards her...

Everything went dark as they passed into the fog. Rainbow couldn't see the griffon any longer, but more importantly, she couldn't see the ground. Her body involuntarily jerked back, forcing her to pull up as hard as she could, and not even a tenth of a second too soon. She found herself coasting at a high speed just a few feet above the cracked, icy surface of the ocean. Her feelings of relief regarding her own survival were quickly replaced with feelings of anxiety when she realized the griffon must have hit the ice already. Dash flew desperately through the thick fog searching for him, but found nothing.

"Hello!?"

There was no response. She continued flying around until she found what she had feared — a hole in the ice, just about the size of a griffon. Rainbow landed slowly, hung her head in shame, and began to cry. What had she done? She had been so caught up in the moment... So obsessed with the concept of us versus them... But he hadn't just been some monster. He was another living thing. Someone who had feelings. Someone who had just as much of a right to life as she did. She was a murderer. A monster. No better than the ponies they lock up in Tartarus.

No! That wasn't fair. She was defending her idol. That griffon might have killed Soarin if she hadn't done something!

"Might," she said to herself, sobbing, "Might have killed..."

She sat alone regretting what she had done for some time. Minutes passed, perhaps even an hour. Rainbow didn't even care how long it had been. Suddenly, her ears perked up; she heard something behind her. Rainbow sniffed and wiped her eyes before turning around. Still, nothing could be seen through the fog, but wingbeats could be heard approaching. At least five pairs of wings... all of them too heavy and strong to be ponies. The rainboom must have called the griffons' attention! Dash made a running takeoff in the opposite direction. She had no idea which way she was going, but that didn't matter, as long as it was away from the griffons. She couldn't let them catch her. She stayed low to the ground, hoping that the fog would cover her escape, but it was hopeless, the griffons already knew where she was.

They were gaining on her. She could hear them coming in from different directions. It was a familiar strategy... Rainbow remembered that Applejack had said something about timber wolves working this way. She couldn't outrun them, because that's what they were expecting her to try, and it would only result in getting herself cornered. She cut sharply to the right, hoping to throw off whatever coordination they had managed so far. A griffon whisked by her, nearly missing her, and began screaming in his native language, causing the rest of the griffons to change their bearing.

The icy surface suddenly vanished below Dash. She had flown over a sort of cliff face, it seemed. A much rougher surface presented itself to her as she lowered herself deeper into the fog. The ice around her was dominated by violent peaks, jagged chunks, and towering icebergs; the rapid expansion of the massive sheet of ice must have caused it to buckle over and destroy its own formerly smooth surface. Though her lithe body found little difficulty flying quickly around the hazardous obstacles, her pursuers found the task much more difficult. Behind her, there was a loud thud, accompanied by the shattering of ice, and conflicting feelings tore through her heart as her eyes welled up once again. Tears gracefully whisked off her face into the air behind her, freezing into tiny shards of frost.

She heard another crash as she intensified her movement, whipping back and forth. Using some tricks she had developed back in Ponyville to make herself exceptionally hard to follow resulted in two more crashes. That left one griffon. Dash tried to shake her attacker, but she couldn't. No matter what incredibly difficult move she pulled off, the griffon was always close behind, and only getting closer.

Rainbow couldn't believe it. How could this griffon know all of her moves? No griffon in the world had ever seen her perform!

"No griffon, except..." she thought out loud, as she looked back, only to find that the griffon was gone. Before she could even face forward again, she felt something hit her in the side. The tip of her right wing scraped the ground, causing her to fall and tumble across the rough icy surface. When her body finally came to a rest, she was sprawled out across the salty frost and in too much pain to stand up.

Triumph

In the very early morning, Dexter is walking through the market alongside a frustrated Derpy, "I'm sorry, but I can't explain where I was!"

"I was looking for you all day yesterday!"

"I know, I'm sorry, I should have told you I was leaving, but Luna needed me urgently!"

"Luna again?"

"Did I just say Luna? ... Oh dear..."

"I don't know why it's such a big deal, you can tell me what she's working on."

"I've told you before, Derpy; the princess' work... It involves politically sensitive information."

"It's not like I'd tell anyone else, I just really want to know!"

"I had to swear an oath, Derpy. I don't ask you all kinds of invasive questions when you go galavanting off with that Doctor fellow!"

"Luna isn't anything like the Doctor, and you know that."

Dexter sighed. "I guess I do know that. But I still swore to secrecy. I swore to the princess, for crying out loud! I'd tell you if I could, honestly!"

"Fine," Derpy replied, "You're right. It's wrong for me to ask."

"Now you've gone and made me feel bad... I'm not really right... I'm just... forced."

"Well do you want me to force you to tell me?" Derpy asked with a sly smirk.

"No! ... Well? ... No. I mustn't tell you."

"Is it important that I know?"

"No... Or... I guess it might be. It depends!"

"Depends on what?"

"On lots of things!"

"What kind of things?"

"I can't tell you..."

Derpy whinnied in frustration as she and her companion finally arrived at her home.

"Quickly now, come in," she insisted.

"So, what have you been waiting all day to show me? Is it the transducer?"

"Better!"

"What could possibly be better than a functional transducer?"

"How about a magic amplifier?"

"But that's impossible, Derpy, we already worked out that a portable device couldn't possibly take in any more magic than a full-grown pony!"

"Well the magic doesn't come from the Sun."

"You finished your sonoluminescence reactor then?!" Dexter asked, beaming.

"Even better!"

"It can't possibly be as great as your leading me to believe, Derpy, whatever this thing is, it has to be the most amazing thing ever!"

"I don't even know what it is!"

"Why are you so excited about it then?"

"Because whatever it is, it works!"

"Well let's see it then!" Dexter demanded, as he rounded the corner.

His eyes widened as he caught sight of the magic amplifier. It was a device he was quite familiar with — something he had spent a year working on with Derpy. No matter what they had tried before, the output was always smaller than the input, rendering the whole thing a useless piece of junk. Now, though, even without a pony wearing it, the device was glowing intensely from vents along the sides of its saddle-like center manifold. Peripheral devices plugged into it chirped away, churning data.

The numbers on the nearby monitoring panels were difficult to believe, but the ambient magic was so intense that you could feel a tingle in your skin just standing near it. Once he got within five feet of the thing, he experienced the distinct taste of metal. Seated in the center of the manifold was a new device he was unfamiliar with. A cage made from a fine wire mesh protruded from an old project box. Insulated coils of copper surrounded the base, and the mesh itself was constantly shifting in color, emitting many different hues of light from every side of its surface. A quiet ticking sound could be heard from inside it.

Smiling brightly, Derpy said to Dexter, "The thing inside that mesh shield is outputting 50 milisols! Do you think the cage will hold together?"

"Did you say... fifty..."

"Milisols! You heard right!"

"That's insane! You could level a city with that kind of power! Is it even safe to have this thing turned on?"

"I'm mostly sure it's perfectly safe!"

"My word... If only we had a few of these to go up against those griffons!"

"Griffons?"

"Griffons? I... Oh, my big stupid mouth again."

"What about griffons?"

"Well, we might be having a bit of a skirmish with them soon..."

"How soon?"

"Errr.... Later today?"

"A war is starting today and you weren't going to tell me!?"

"Well... It's just... Nobody was supposed to find out!"

"Why not?"

"They might freak out!"

"Well, yeah, there's going to be a war. Of course they'd be freaked out!"

"It's not a big deal..."

"Not a big deal?! Have you ever seen a war?" Derpy asked, moving across the room and looking at some reams of data.

"Well... No. Nopony has, not for thousands of years."

"I've seen one! Trust me, they are very, very, bad."

"How did you see a war?!"

"The Doctor showed me one!"

"That's imposs—" Dexter groaned. Even his very limited knowledge of that eccentric pony was enough to remind him that 'impossible' and 'the Doctor' were contradictory terms.

"Why would the griffons attack us, though? Aren't they afraid of the Elements of Harmony?" Derpy asked, with her hoof against her chin.

Dexter coughed. "The Elements of Harmony? Those are just a myth."

You're a bad liar, Dexter. The Doctor show— he told me all about the Elements of Harmony."

"Does that blasted Doctor know everything?"

"Kind of..." Derpy replied, blushing.

"Ugh. Well, somehow they found these things called 'Elements.'"

"The griffons have Elements?! Oh no! This is bad. This is very bad. How could you know something like this and not tell me?!"

"What do you know about Elements?"

"I know enough. We have to do something!"

"What are we supposed to do?"

"You just said it would be helpful to have some of these amplifiers to go up against the griffons. Well, I've got one!"

"I meant... after careful testing is completed and safety precautions are taken and—"

"We don't have time for that. Come on, I'll need your help retrofitting this into the transducer."

"The transducer hasn't been properly tested either!"

"What could possibly be a better test than a real-world practical application?"

"That's not really the right—"

"Hold this in place while I weld the joint," Derpy demanded, picking up some angle steel in her teeth and propping it in place on the middle top of the transducer.

Dexter complied, magically suspending the bit of metal and following Derpy with his eyes as she crossed the room, "But I really think you should—"

"Look Dexter," Derpy replied, donning her welding mask, "We've done the math, we know it will work, stop worrying so much! Sometimes you've got to run before you can walk."

Dexter clenched his eyes and looked away quickly as Derpy started the plasma torch. "A little warning before you turn that thing on next time, I could go blind!"

Derpy yelled through the thick metal headgear, "Oh, you know what you're doing! Besides, we're in a hurry, no time to find your mask!"

"You're a crazy pony and I think I love you!"

"What? I can't hear you over the torch!"

"Uh.... I said... I think you're crazy!" he shouted, shaking his head no, as if he was in disagreement with himself.

"And proud of it!"

Derpy shut off the blowtorch and moved across the room to get more parts, giving further instructions to Dexter as she started rooting through bins, "Go ahead and cut the magic conductor three-quarters of the way to the collection chassis and splice these fittings onto the ends. That should give us plenty of room to plug the amplifier in..."

"But if I cut the conductor, the directing fluid will leak out!"

"Well then you'll have to get those fittings on quickly!"

"Are you sure these conductors will be able to handle the output of that amplifier?"

"I needed those fittings attached five seconds ago! And yes, I'm sure! I designed it with something like this in mind!" Derpy shouted, as she carried a basket of parts across the room.

"I still don't think—"

"That it's a good idea, I know, you told me already!"

"How are you gonna fight griffons though? You don't even know any magic!" Dexter protested while skillfully altering the conductor.

"I won't need to! The suit has built in neural network loop for managing magic blasts. Normally, that's a fairly weak attack, but with fifty milisols at my disposal, I should be able to reduce most any corrupted beast into a smoking crater!"

"You're talking about killing things, Derpy!"

"If the griffons have bound themselves to Elements, they're already dead! They have been changed, Dexter! They've been stripped of their emotions and thoughts. The Elements of Harmony may be able to change a few of them back, but those six unlucky ponies... Whoever they are... They will never be able to outperform an army of elements. If those griffons could see what they had become... what their bodies were being used for... they'd want to be destroyed. They will reduce the entire planet to a desolate wasteland! Even the doctor would agree with me, and he hates violence."

"Again with the Doctor! If he's so great, why doesn't he come help us?"

"He's busy! Doing something else!"

"What could be so important the he can't come and help?"

"You just don't understand, Dexter."

At that moment, Dinky walked into the room. "What's wrong mommy? Why are you yelling?"

"Oh, Dexter and mommy are just a little frustrated right now. I need to leave for a little while and do something very important, just like when the Doctor comes. Can you go stay with Sweetie-Belle? Tell Rarity I need her to watch you. It's an emergency!"

"But Sweetie-Belle says her sister left for Canterlot yesterday."

"Yesterday? Oh, nothing is working out for me lately..."

Dexter piped up, "What about your other friends? Apple-loo and... uh... the other one."

"Applebloom's sister left for Canterlot, too!"

Derpy paced through the middle of the room in thought, "And the usual sitter is on vacation... Well, where is Sweetie-Belle staying?"

"She said she was gonna stay at the Apple farm with Granny Smith."

"The farm on the outskirts of town?" Derpy asked, looking to Dexter for advice.

"Sounds like as safe a place as any," Dexter replied, "I mean, they would probably go for the cities right? Not the farmland."

"If they have Elements, they won't leave anything untainted. But you're right, they would prefer the cities, at least to start. More ponies there."

"I don't wanna stay with Granny Smith, she smells funny!"

"It's only for a little while, Dinky," Derpy added, bending down to kiss the filly, "Mommy will come back for you soon. I promise!"

"But I don't want you to go!" Dinky shouted, hugging tightly onto her mother's front leg.

The mother pegasus dropped down to get face to face with her child, "Dinky, you are the most important thing in the world to me. I never, ever, want anything bad to happen to you. That's why I need to go. There are bad-guys out there, and I need to go stop them, because nopony else can."

"You're the most amazing mommy in the whole world," Dinky said, pressing herself against her mother as hard as she could.

"And you're the most amazing daughter in the universe," Derpy replied, wrapping her forehoof around the tiny unicorn. She gave one last peck on Dinky's forehead before sending her off.

"Be good for Granny Smith, okay? Mommy loves you this much!" Derpy added, lifting her front end off the ground with a flap of her wings, spreading her front hooves as far apart as they would go.

Dinky followed in suit, lifting her own body with a little spurt of magical energy and spreading her arms wide apart, before scampering off.

Derpy turned around to recommence work, slightly teary-eyed, "Did you get the com-link installed yet, Dexter?"

"Yeah, though I'm not sure if you're going to have enough range to actually talk back to me."

"The amplifier, Dexter."

"Ah... right... Sometimes I wonder how I even made it through uni..."

"With a lot of hard work. Don't think that nopony noticed."

"Thanks, Derp."

"Wait, where are the griffons even attacking?"

"Luna mentioned the Bezzer station. She said they'd be establishing a defensive border near there."

"That old fort to the East? But there's no city there, why would they attack there?"

"I don't know, it's on the border between our nations, I thought it made sense..."

"No... We don't have a big enough army to cover the entire border. They could simply fly around anything we set up!"

"But why would Celestia push all the troops to that location?"

"It doesn't make sense! She's leaving every city defenseless, and standing her ground in a place where the griffons would never want to go!"

"Maybe she knows something we don't? I mean, why is there even a fort there? There must be something important near there!"

"No," Derpy argued, "the station was built for a good reason. We had a trading settlement there, back when we still bartered with the griffon nation. But that was centuries ago. Anything there that might have been valuable is gone; even the shacks have turned to dust, only the fort and the pier are left."

"So then, why? What is the defensive value of that platform?"

"I don't know, but I intend to find out. Strap me in," Derpy said, climbing into the now-supercharged transducer.

"Are you really sure you want that thing strapped to you? I think it's a bit radioactive!"

"Lots of things are radioactive, strap me in!"

Dexter complied, working quickly to get the machine online. Derpy's flight feathers, each one, a complex magic-managing circuit in its own right, were all clipped into their own minute harnesses. With each clip attached, Derpy could feel her body melding with the machine; the sensation was incredible, as if the very fiber of her being was extended through space, twisting and turning its way around the coiling guts of the transducer. Her own magic system was sending signals out to the equipment — and the machine was replying — feeding back information about the parameters of its own operation. She gazed around in wonderment, her body quivering and tingling with sensory overload. Finally, Dexter finished with the last clip.

"Are you okay?"

"I feel... wow... wow..."

"Are you hurt?! Is something wrong?!"

"No... I feel amazing..."

Dexter breathed a sigh of relief. "So it's working then?"

"I think it is... It feels more natural than I imagined. Like it's a part of me. I wonder if this is what it's like to be a god..."

"Huh?"

"The way I feel this machine... I wonder if it's the same way Celestia feels the Sun..."

"Are you sure you're okay? You sound a little spacey."

"I'm better than okay! Go ahead and unhook me from the chassis lift, I want to walk around."

Dexter turned a winch, lowering the transducer from the steel frame supporting it. The tall platform shoes, designed to pick up on the finely articulated magical energy emitted from the hooves of Earth ponies, gave her nearly a foot of added height, and made a distinctive metallic clack as she moved about the room. Though the machine was heavy, slightly illuminated actuators along the frame helped to support the extra weight, and the amplifier glowed dully from its vents in the middle of it all, atop Derpy's back.

"I'm gonna check if I can fly." She announced, as she spread her wings slightly. The synthetic wings shrouding her real ones moved in just the same way, gracefully and effortlessly. The artificial flight feathers were massive, beautiful things, meant to support a pony and the added weight of the transducer itself. She pushed open two broad doors on the side of the lab, stepped out into the cool morning air and spread her wings to their full span. The internal circuitry of the transducer altered itself according to the pilot's will, shifting control over from general operation to fine wing control. Derpy felt the transition of awareness a little jarring, but before long, she could feel the great metal wings nearly as if they were her own. She raised them to the sky and gave a light flap downward, causing the amplifier to flash a little brighter momentarily.

"Oh my gosh!" she screamed, moving a few meters further into the air than she had anticipated, landing in a frenzied stumble seconds later.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah... It's just going to take a second for me to get used to this!" She yelled back, almost laughing.

"What were you just telling me back in there Derpy? About how I was too cautious? Well you gotta run before you can walk!"

"Is that so? Well come on then, run with me!"

Dexter ran alongside the pegasus, as she flapped her wings ever so gently. He used his magic to hold her stable in the air as she took her first few bunnyhops, and then as she took off into the air, two meters, ten meters, twenty meters... He let go. She masterfully manipulated the machine, flying with precisely the same grace as if she didn't have two-hundred kilograms of metal and cable strapped to her body. Seeing as though she'd always been a clumsy pony, that wasn't very much grace, but she was flying, nonetheless.

"WOOHOOO!" She screamed triumphantly, coming in for a running landing next to Dexter.

"That was amazing!"

"You're telling me!"

"Now try for the horn! Gently now, remember your strength. We don't want to go and blow up Ponyville."

Derpy looked around for a potential target. The tree might have birds in it, that's no good... Um... Ah, an old shipping crate! She faced it head on and willed the transducer to shift itself into the basic magic-blasting mode. She concentrated on the target, imagining its location relative to herself. Targeting sounded easy to do in theory, but it all needed to be translated through her wings. She built the machine, she designed the circuit, she knew she could do it. She focused as hard as she could, having a silent conversation with the transducer as she aligned its intentions with her own. With an incredible amount of concentration etched across her face, and a little more eye-crossing than usual, she finally let a bolt of magic fly. It landed just feet away from the crate, blowing a chunk of grass and dirt up into the air.

"Nice one for a first shot! Probably better than I could do, anyway. Go on, try again!"

Derpy licked her lips in anticipation. She charged the bolt up this time, prompting the amplifier to emit a significant glow. With a bright flash, it set off towards its target, exploding the crate into thousands of burnt wood shards and splinters on impact.

"Ah-hah!"

"You did it!"

"I did do it, didn't I?"

"That was excellent, there, blow up that one!" Dexter suggested, pointing to another empty crate.

Derpy focused on it, taking only a few seconds this time to line up her shot and tear the box to shreds. She spotted a couple more further out, hitting each one in less time than the last. She let loose a hearty, victorious, laugh, then turned, looking for more targets. Without even thinking about it, she hit another crate — one that happened to be full of mail. Letters and postcards went flying out of the damaged box and scattered all over the lawn.

"Whoops! My bad!"

"Derpy... You just blasted that box without even thinking about it!"

"Jeez... rub it in..."

"No, I mean, you didn't even have to think about it at all! You were able to blow it up before you even had the time to realize it'd be full of mail!"

"I did, didn't I?"

"You definitely did!"

"So then..."

"The transducer is a huge success! We did it Derpy! You did it!"

Derpy flushed with excitement, prancing about in the metal suit, somehow coming off as both utterly terrifying and incomprehensibly adorable simultaneously.

"Oh! Wait!" Derpy abruptly shouted, eyes crossed, "I'd better get going!"

"Yes, definitely, the griffons might cross the border any second! Good luck up there, make sure that comm-link stays open and I'll keep you posted from back here!"

"But the mail!" She protested, returning to Dexter.

"I'll clean it up, you've got more important things to do, just go!"

"Dexter..."

"Yeah?"

"If this war ends well, but something happens to me... I just... I want my sister to take care of Dinky."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah... and tell her... I'm sorry."

"I will. You have my word."

"But if something were to happen to me, and all hope seems to be lost... I need you to keep Dinky protected until you can get her to the Doctor. He can take her somewhere safe. Trust nopony with her, other than the Doctor and Sparkler."

"How am I supposed to find him?"

"Don't worry about that, he'll find you. Just promise me you'll keep her safe until then."

"I'm not sure I follow, but... I promise."

"Dexter... Thanks. For everything."

"Anything I've ever done for you... I'd do it again in a heartbeat, just to be near you."

Derpy bent down to give Dexter a peck on the cheek, causing him to blush profusely. Before he could say anything in response, Derpy had already turned around and begun her ascent.

"Godspeed, you glorious pegasus." He murmured, watching her climb ever higher into the sky. He set to work picking up the mail; hundreds of letters scattered all across her lawn, blowing around, getting caught in piles of failed and obsolete inventions.

"Huh... This could take a while."

Pinned

Rainbow Dash couldn't get up. She could only lay there, scratched and bloodied, in a shallow pool of ice-cold brine. She knew her right wing was badly injured, but she couldn't feel it. It was completely numb. As worried as she was, she couldn't even lift her head to make sure it was still there. Footsteps on the ice were growing ever closer, and even if Dash could have turned her head to see, she didn't want or need to. She knew exactly who it would be.

A talon grabbed Dash's left forehoof and lifted her up against a large chunk of ice. The other talon pressed down on her ribcage, pinning her down with unbelievable force. Gilda had always been stronger than Rainbow, but this was different. Intense. Surreal. Unnatural.

"Gilda?" Rainbow asked, coughing painfully, "Why?"

"Do I really have to explain this to you?"

"I thought we were friends..."

"We were friends, Dash. We aren't anymore. You made sure of that. Do you remember what you told me, all those years ago? How you promised me we would be friends forever? That you would be mine, forever?" Gilda asked, sneering, "Well, I remember. You broke that promise, Dash. You crushed my heart. And ever since that day, I've dreamed of nothing more than crushing yours."

Gilda pressed down even harder on Rainbow's chest. The pegasus was struggling to breath, her ribs straining under the pressure. Though the pain prevented her from speaking, her eyes were pleading more than words ever could.

"So when I heard I'd have the chance to tear Equestria to shreds, I jumped on the opportunity. I couldn't pass up the chance to see you again— make you apologize for what you did to me!" Gilda yelled, as she pressed the point of her beak into the tip of Dash's nose.

"I've been imagining what I'd do to you for so long... Nothing I could think of was more satisfying than taking your life... But that chase..." Gilda continued, lightening her grip just slightly, "It was exhilarating! Just like old times again. You always knew how to get my heart racing, Dash."

Rainbow looked up hopefully at the griffon, still pressed down against the wall of ice, her body heat slowly melting away at it, forming a cavity that encased her snugly — a made-to-fit tomb.

"Catching you was actually a challenge." Gilda added, smirking, "I don't even know any griffons who can fly like you can. So, I'm going to give you a chance to redeem yourself. A chance to prove you're more than just another pony. A chance to be a real hero."

Gilda released her grip just enough that Rainbow could breath again.

Through gasps for air, Rainbow asked, "What do you mean, hero?"

"You can end the war because they trust you. I'll forgive you if you go back into your camp and kill one of the Elements of Harmony. Just one. I'll even let you pick which one."

"No! I won't do it!"

"Dashie, Dashie. Are you really trying to pretend that you're above killing? Are you going to pretend I didn't see what you did to my squad-mates? That I didn't see that glimmer of satisfaction in your eye when you sent them falling to their deaths? When you murdered them?"

"That was— I—"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Dash. That's just the natural order of things. Kill, or be killed. Ponies have been coddled too long to remember that the same rule applies to them. But you... You've known about this your whole life. You've always had the heart of a griffon, Dash."

Rainbow looked up at her in shock and disgust.

"By getting the Elements of Harmony out of the way, we're just putting everything back to normal."

"I won't do it!"

"What?!" Gilda screamed, bearing down on Dash's chest once again, "I'm offering you the chance to be a hero! A glory unlike any a pony has ever known! There will be parades in your honor! Griffons will remember your name forever! We could be together again! You're giving all of that up so that you can defend your pathetic little pony friends?!"

Rainbow shot Gilda an icy look, building up just enough strength to say, "yes."

"You know Dash, I managed to convince myself that, despite everything, you still cared about me. But I guess... All these years... I was wrong. I can only thank you, because that makes what I'm about to do much easier... and more enjoyable. If you won't take my generous offer... I'll just have to do the honors myself."

Gilda stared fervently into Rainbow's eyes as she reared her right talon high into the air. One slash across the neck and Rainbow would be finished. Only seconds of life left. Rainbow shut her eyes tight, thinking of her friends. Why had she left them behind? Why didn't she just stay with them? Why did she have to be so greedy? Had it really been that important to fly with the Wonderbolts? Maybe she deserved this. Not long now. She could hear the whistle of Gilda's razor-sharp claws cutting through the air...

BAM. The pressure on her chest suddenly diminished to naught, and Rainbow opened her eyes to find that Gilda was gone. Fluttershy was standing just to her right, breathing heavily, and Gilda was upside down, 15 feet away, clutching her ribs. The griffon stood up slowly, glaring at the two ponies.

With some pain in her voice, she asked, "What is this, Dash? Didn't anyone ever teach you how to fight your own battles?"

"Fluttershy! Run!" Dash yelled, trying to get to her feet, "You aren't strong enough to fight her. Just go!"

"I won't leave you!"

"I'll hold her back, Fluttershy, run!"

"Yeah, Fluttercry, you're too much of a wuss to fight me. Let me finish up with Dashie here and I'll take care of you in a minute."

"Don't you dare touch her!" Fluttershy replied sternly, lowering her head to give her distinctive stare.

"Is that supposed to scare me?"

Fluttershy just continued staring, and took a step forward, leaving Gilda looking completely unimpressed.

"Look at you! You're not intimidating! You're pink and yellow! It's going to take a lot more than a little stink eye to get rid of me. You better buzz off while that pretty little head of yours is still attached to your body."

"Bring it."

For a short moment, Gilda was visibly shocked by the provocation, but it wasn't long before her expression shifted back to a strange combination of bitter anger and anticipation. She attempted to pounce on Fluttershy, but the graceful pony managed to dodge just in time. Rainbow was starting to get up, but Gilda, now much closer, took the opportunity to kick Dash in the stomach, causing her to begin coughing violently.

"Stay down, Rainbow Crash! I'm not done with you."

Again, Gilda attempted to jump on Fluttershy, only to meet hard ice at the last moment, her talons and back paws slipping on the smooth surface.

"I can keep this up all day, miss. I'm sure you'll get tired before I do."

"We'll see about that!"

Once more, Gilda leapt into the air with great force and tried to grab Fluttershy. This time, however, Fluttershy's response was different. She leapt straight up, and, pushing herself back down with her wings, drove her forehooves into Gilda's head. The impact made a thunderous crashing sound and sent the griffon sliding and stumbling backwards. Fluttershy seized the moment to tend to her injured friend.

"Are you okay?" she asked, looking Rainbow over.

"My wing hurts, but I think—" Dash coughed dramatically, spattering blood on the frosty surface below her.

"Oh my gosh, we need to get you back to camp right away!"

"I'm fine!" She said defiantly, still struggling to stand up.

Gilda finally recovered from her daze, and began casually walking towards the two pegasi. "Was that supposed to hurt me? Don't you know that we griffons are made of tougher stuff than you namby-pamby ponies?"

Fluttershy betrayed her fear, squealing loudly.

"Leave Fluttershy out of this, Gilda, it's between you and me!"

"Too late. I get to kill both of you now. I deserve it."

Gilda began charging at the ponies, who ended up flying in different directions. Rainbow's numb, injured wing didn't support her weight and she came crashing back down, only to be pinned by Gilda again. The griffon's eyes burned with a twisted passion as she stared down at her victim, but her second attempt to finish off the Element of loyalty was interrupted by a bright sapphire-blue flash. Gilda was thrown back, her chest seared by a bolt of magic, as Rarity rushed in to defend her friends.

"You ruffian! You brute! If you so much as ruffle another feather on either of my friends, I'll make sure you never fly again!"

Gilda spoke through significant pain, "Magic? You ponies just have no sense of honor, do you?"

With her teeth barred, Rarity replied, "You don't even know the meaning of the word."

"So you're all too scared to fight me one on one? You're gonna team up on me?" Gilda spoke less confidently now, retreating; the sum of the damage they had done to her was finally starting to take its toll. "Fine. I'll be back. You'll all get what you deserve!"

Gilda took off, and the thick hazy fog quickly obscured her ascent. Fluttershy and Rarity moved to Dash's side.

"Rarity, she's hurt. We need to be gentle with her. I'll get her arms, you support her legs."

"I can walk, guys, I'm fine."

"It's a long way back, Rainbow Dash."

"I can do it!" She yelled defensively, getting to her feet with great difficulty.

"Everyone needs help from their friends sometimes, it's nothing to be ashamed of."

Rainbow fell back onto the ice. She bit her lip and looked around, sighing loudly. "Okay..."

Fluttershy lifted Dash into the air, while Rarity levitated her hind-quarters carefully, supporting her spine. Together, they began the long trip back to the camp.

Rainbow was uncomfortably silent for a long time. Finally, once they made it out of the fog, she spoke. "Thanks for coming to help me, guys."

"Oh, we'd do anything for you, Dashie. That's what friends are for!"

"I had no idea you two were so... well, tough..."

"I didn't even know I could do that magic attack! ...I just feel... different today. Stronger, maybe."

"How did you even find me in this fog?"

"Well, I may not be much of a fighter, but I've always had a knack for locating priceless gems." Rarity replied, smiling softly at Rainbow.

Upon seeing the smile, Rainbow Dash averted her gaze, adding, "I'm so sorry I left... it was just supposed to be a quick weather mission."

"It's okay Dash. We're gonna get you back to camp and the doctors there will fix you right up."

The top of Fort Bezzer appeared just over the horizon as they moved in from the iced-over ocean onto the shore.

"We're almost there!"

"Good. I'm starting to grow weary of supporting Rainbow's rump."

"Um, I suppose we could take a break, I mean, if Rainbow doesn't mind..."

The three ponies settled down just beyond the sand of the beach, where plants could grow. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash took the opportunity to nibble at the sparse grass, though Rarity's high standards precluded her from following in kind.

"You sure, Rarity? This patch is pretty good."

"I'm sure, Rainbow. I'm not so hungry that I can't wait until we get back to have some proper food. And please don't talk with your mouth full."

"Suit yourself, hey, Fluuuuuuu—"

Rainbow stared up into the sky, mouth hanging open.

"Oh, don't be like that, dear, it's simply childish."

Dash only continued looking to the sky without replying. Rarity and Fluttershy turned to see what it was that had caught her attention. Eleven griffons, flying in a V-formation, were headed straight for them.

"Run!"

"No! There's no way we'll outrun them by hoof, and Rarity and I can't fly. We have to stick together and stand our ground!"

"We can't fight that many of them, we're doomed!"

"We've gotta try! Get ready!"

The ponies attempted to take up defensive positions, as Rarity began firing bolts of magic into the sky. The few hits she managed did little to slow their progress; they seemed to be even more resistant to the magical damage than Gilda had been. As the griffons began their descent, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash braced themselves.

Suddenly, a blinding light filled the area. The sound of thunder marked the arrival of a tall unicorn radiating with magic. The unicorn quickly looked around to survey the situation, with a very intense violet glow projecting from her horn, and cast out a huge spherical veil of magic which sent the griffons tumbling off in different directions. The other ponies looked on in awe at their savior.

"Is that..."

"Twilight?"

Twilight looked back at her friends and smiled. "I missed you guys so much!"

"We missed you too... What happened to you?!"

"Uh... Long story short, I've been studying extra hard lately... Do you think it's paying off?"

"You look AWESOME!"

"Thanks! Now what do you say we get out of here?"

The ponies looked around and noticed that some of the griffons had recovered and were moving in on them.

"If you don't mind me saying, that sounds like a fabul— WOAH"

With another thunderous roar, the four felt themselves shift almost instantaneously across a large distance. To the pegasi, who had never experienced teleportation before, it almost felt like being thrown a thousand feet, albeit with a softer landing. Even Rarity, who had experienced teleportation before, was overcome by the intensity of it.

The commotion of their arrival by teleportation attracted the attention of the entire base. Celestia, who appeared to have just recently entered the front gate, stared at Twilight with her mouth agape. Applejack and Pinkie pie ran up excitedly, and a couple of medic ponies approached Rainbow Dash and gently loaded her onto a stretcher. Before being carried away, Rainbow smiled at her friends and mouthed, 'thank you,' silently. Celestia looked over the bloodied and bruised Rainbow as she passed, then to the other five ponies, and then focused on Twilight.

She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. She looked back at Dash, and once again, turned to the others. "What... What happened here?"

Fluttershy responded, "Um... Rainbow got into some trouble out in the field. We got her back in one piece though."

Celestia continued to look on in shock. She slowly approached Twilight, who was very nearly the same height as herself. With a most quizzical expression, she investigated her student.

"And what, if I may ask, happened to you?"

"Uhhhh... It's a long story." Twilight said dismissively, "Maybe I'll tell you when we have more time."

Celestia smirked, looking back at the royal bunker, which Luna was currently emerging from. "I'm sure it's a riveting tale. Now, can anypony tell me why the Element of Loyalty was flying a weather mission, despite my specific instructions to keep her safe until my arrival?"

Shining Armor approached, head hung low. "I have to take the blame for that. I knew she might try to leave, but I didn't check in on her all night."

"Count yourself lucky that she's alive. You know we are depending on the Elements of Harmony to stand any chance—."

Shining turned around, suddenly recognizing his sister, and interrupted the Princess. "Twily?! What in Equestria happened to you?!"

"I guess I just had another growth spurt!" She joked, slightly uncomfortable about her height becoming the primary focus of so many conversations.

Shining made an awkward attempt to hug his sister, the mechanics were a little different now that she was so much bigger. "I'm just so glad you're okay! You have no idea how worried I've been."

"I'm sorry I had everypony so worried. I just had some important things to take care of."

"You shoulda told us where you were goin', Twi, we coulda helped."

"It's someplace I had to go on my own, really. It's not like I didn't want you guys around!"

Celestia moved in closer to Twilight, "If you were planning to engage in such... advanced studies, I should think your teacher ought to be the first to know."

"I'm really sorry," Twilight said, shying away from the princess.

Even though she knew she was more powerful — that she could obliterate Celestia in seconds — somehow Twilight was still intimidated. Perhaps it was just a hangover from her childhood; the leftovers of a lifetime of idolatry and obedience. She stood silently in self-reflection while the princess glared at her for another thirty seconds. The pain of the Element she was carrying flared up under the intense gaze of her mentor.

Celestia's pet. Just Celestia's pet. Be a good girl. A good girl like she wants you to be...

The Calm

After a short time, the ponies were called to the medical tent for briefing, so that Rainbow could hear the discussion as well. Celestia addressed them all in a very harsh and commanding tone, quite different from her usual soothing voice. It wasn't quite on the level of the Royal Canterlot Voice, but it was sufficiently loud to make even the strongest-willed ponies recoil a bit.

"You've all used the Elements of Harmony before, so you shouldn't need much instruction. However, you must keep in mind that you aren't facing a single creature, but an entire army of them. You will have to be fast. You will have to be vigilant. Discord was once a genius, so he was able to entertain himself with head games, but these creatures— the great majority of them are ignorant brutes. Now that they have been corrupted by these magical artifacts, they will crave nothing more than to tear ponies to shreds, with special attention paid to the Elements of Harmony. If you don't destroy them before they can reach you, there won't be a second chance. There won't be friendship letters and memory spells. You will die. Do you understand?"

Most of the ponies nodded in agreement, except for Rainbow Dash, who grimaced, as though in pain.

"Do you take issue with this, Rainbow Dash?"

"No, it's just... I... Uh," she replied, looking desperate for any answer, "just my wing. It hurts."

"What happened out there, Rainbow Dash?"

"Nothing! They attacked us... caught me off guard!"

"What happened?"

"Nothing!"

"To whom does your loyalty belong?!" Celestia asked, growing increasingly belligerent.

"To you! To Equestria!" She yelled, on the verge of tears.

"I'm glad. I know when a pony is lying, and you are not. But I was worried; understandably so. I know you have certain... connections, with the griffon kingdom."

"Not anymore... Gilda is a monster..."

"Good," Celestia continued, "Now, back to the briefing. Our soldiers are not equipped to fight these creatures. Not with any reasonable chance of success. However, they will be able to hold the griffons back, for a little while. Hopefully, this will buy you enough time to move along the frontline and eliminate hostiles one at a time. Do what you can to prevent pony casualties, but above all else, keep yourselves safe. You are the only chance we have. Now, you must prepare for battle. Get yourselves fed and then report to the armory for fitting. Griffons are known to take cheap shots and you will need to protect your bodies from harm. Plus, the passive cloaking systems will allow you to move around... slightly less conspicuously."

Celestia then yelled into the back of the tent, to nobody in particular, "And as I said before, I need the absolute best physicians working on Miss Dash. She must be fighting fit as soon as possible. That's an order, not a request."

With that, a couple more medics moved in on Dash, crowding around her and chattering quickly.

"And one last thing. On the battlefield, you may find small, spherical objects being dropped by deceased griffons. Do not pick them up, do not touch them, do not even LOOK at them. Twilight already knows why, but trust me when I say you don't want to find out. A trained team will be dispatched to clean them up, once the battle is won."

Celestia made her way out of the tent, to tend to other matters, leaving the Bearers of Harmony alone. Sans Dash, they moved towards the canteen, talking on the way.

"Why do y'all think she came down hard on Rainbow like that?"

"I don't know... This war stuff is pretty serious," Twilight replied.

"But Rainbow? A traitor?" Rarity asked rhetorically.

"Loyalty to somepony else is still loyalty, Ah reckon."

"Yeah," Pinkie reaffirmed, "like when Gilda came to Ponyville! Dash was totally being loyal to her and not even thinking about me for a second!"

"Wait, Gilda?" Rarity pondered, "I knew I recognized that griffon! She was the one who was attacking Dash!"

"Gilda did that to her?! Oh, she really is a mean meanie-pants!"

"But Rainbow knows her! Do do you think she might be on their side?"

"Nah, Celestia just said she wasn't lyin', and Ah don't think she was either. She did look bothered about somethin' though."

Twilight piped up. "She's probably just a little shaken up from being overpowered like that. I suspect she'll be back to her headstrong self in no time."

"Ah sure hope so. I don't like to admit it, but a lot ah the time, her cocky attitude is kinda inspirin'."

"Even though it can be annoying, at times, I know what you mean."

"Um..." Fluttershy uttered, almost silently, attempting to interrupt in the politest possible way.

"Yes, Fluttershy?"

"Well, it's just... I think she's scared."

"Rainbow Dash? Scared? Of what, exactly?"

"Oh... um... well... Of herself."

"Huh?" All four of the other ponies uttered in unison.

"Something she did out there. She feels... guilty for it."

"She already apologized for that, Fluttershy, remember? She said she was sorry for leaving camp."

"No... She knows we'll forgive her; but there's something else. Something she can't forgive herself for."

"What is it?"

"I um... I don't know. But that look in her eyes... I've seen it before. Back when we were foals."

"What was it about back then?"

"I never found out..."Fluttershy replied, staring longingly into the distance, "but it was years before Dash was back to normal again."

"Let's hope it's not the same this time around, then!"

"I really hope I'm wrong..."

"Well, you know Dash better than anypony. Do you know anything we can do to cheer her up?"

"Not when she's... like this... I don't think she ever smiled back in those days."

Applejack sighed. "Well, we can try and make her feel better once they patch her up. But there's not much we can do right now. We should grab somethin' to eat while we still can."

"I'm absolutely famished! What do you think they have here? Is there a menu?"

Twilight answered quickly, "It's a makeshift military base, Rarity, I'm sure that whatever they have, it's going to be practical and boring."

"I'm almost willing to eat grass, at this point."

"Oats?" Pinkie asked, frowning, "There's like, hardly even any sugar in that!"

"They're enriched oats," Twilight explained, "Not the most delicious stuff around, but it'll keep an army going strong."

"At least it's not grass..." Rarity rationalized.

At that point, everyone looked to Applejack, awaiting her opinion, only to find she was already half-way done with a bowl. She looked up, and while still chewing, said, "When you're really hungry, they're practically gourmet."

"Applejack, don't talk with your mouth full. I'm going to lose my appetite before I even get started!"

Twilight and Fluttershy ate at a normal pace, while Rarity and Pinkie only ate a little bit, mostly just prodding the oats with their utensils, looking distraught.

"That wasn't bad at all, ya'll think they'll let me get seconds?"

"May as well ask... If they won't give you more, you can finish mine, I'm trying to watch my figure, anyway."

"As if ya have any more pounds to lose off that bony flank ah yours," Applejack teased while she approached the kitchen.

"Well, I never! Never mind, you can't have any." Rarity replied, defiantly taking a few more bites of oats.

"That's more like it!" AJ said as she sat back down with a second bowl.

Rarity looked at her, baffled, before realizing what had just happened. "Hey, that's not fair!"

"Go on, finish it. I've seen ya eat twice that much in one sitting."

"She's right, Rarity. Eat up. Using the Elements can take a lot out of you; you'll need the energy. You too Pinkie."

Both picky ponies increased their pace a bit, though neither one managed to enjoy it. Upon completing their meal, the group was guided to the armory.

Rarity was selected first to be sized up; a pony took a measuring tape to her, scribbled a few numbers on a piece of paper, and left the room, returning moments later with a pile of royal guard gear in her size. She began slipping herself into it carefully, so as not to disturb her perfectly groomed mane.

"This is demeaning... not fabulous at all." She said, as she squeezed the helmet onto her head, flattening her hair down in the process. "So, how do I look?"

Twilight maintained a serious expression, while Applejack raised her hoof to her mouth, snickering. Fluttershy smiled a bit, trying to hide it behind her own hair. Pinkie wasn't paying attention, but when she turned to look...

"Bwahahahaha! You look like one of the guards!" She chortled, falling on the ground and rolling over.

"I don't see what's so funny about that, I'm only wearing their armor."

"No," Twilight said, obviously trying to stop herself from catching Pinkie's laughter, "she means you look exactly like one of the guards. I guess that's what Celestia meant by 'passive cloaking.'"

Rarity rushed to the nearest mirror and examined herself closely. Sure enough, her beautiful feminine form had been replaced with that of a royal unicorn guard, a light grey coat, blue eyes, strong square muzzle. She frantically tore the helmet off, and was relieved to see her own face and mane again. Her hooves frantically and desperately tore through her hair in an attempt to restore its usual curl.

"No! I shan't do it! It's undignified!"

"It's just a uniform, lady. It'll help you blend in. Did you really think we all look like that? Where do ya think Celestia could find some-odd five-thousand ponies with the same color coat?"

"But I look hideous in that... that... thing!"

"You know, Celestia chose our appearance herself, I'm not sure what she was going for, but 'hideous' probably wasn't the word on her mind."

"I have dignity! I have rights!"

"Well, you can hold onto those if you want, but if you want to keep your head, I recommend the armor. The griffons do have spies, and they know what the six of you look like. If they see a big bouncy purple mane running up and down the trenches, where do ya think they're gonna aim?"

"I'll think about it," Rarity growled, gripping the helmet in her teeth and trotting back to her friends. She dramatically dropped down onto the floor, resting her head and front forehooves on top of the helmet to watch the rest of the fittings.

The others were fitted without hassle, each taking on the form of a type of royal guard, Fluttershy a pegasus guard, and Applejack and Pinkie as Earth-pony guards. The only one who still needed gear was Twilight. The worker doing the fittings approached her, only to find that his measuring tape wouldn't even cover her full height. He stepped back for a moment to get the whole picture.

"I don't think I can help you, actually, we only stock the basic range of armor sizes. The princesses have to have their armor custom made... and that would take weeks."

Twilight thought for a moment, before mumbling "No problem, I mean, Nightmare Moon... I've got this, just let me..."

She stepped in front of the mirror and looked herself up and down. Exerting but a modicum of effort, she began to convert the thin air around her into tough metal by means of direct nuclear manipulation. Everyone else in the room watched in wonderment as the armor simply grew around her like minute plant roots, which eventually fused together into solid plates. With a little tweaking, she was able to imitate the style of the royal armor quite well. She moved her limbs around, checking to make sure the joints worked.

"So? Whaddaya think?" She asked the guard, smiling. He muttered something incoherent in response, and then just nodded. With a little more effort, she applied a cloaking spell, making herself a boring white unicorn just like Rarity had become. Only... two feet taller.

"Well, I guess I'll blend in a little better," she added, blushing so intensely that red could be seen through the cloaking spell.

Now that they had been properly prepared for battle, there was little left to do other than wait. The five ponies stood on the outer wall of the ancient fort, staring out towards the frozen ocean. It was a strangely beautiful sight, despite the fact that such a thing should never be. Not this far South. Not during the Summer. Out in the distance, the clouds that Dash had set up were performing their respective tasks, building up an effective defensive barrier that would funnel the griffons into a manageable cluster.

After about an hour, Rainbow's medical care was concluded, and she joined them, also fitted with royal armor.

"The doctors say I'll be okay..." she muttered, "but I'll need to stay off my wings for a week."

"Oh... Dashie..."

The ponies expressed their sympathy towards her and gathered into a group hug, contemplating in that moment what had already happened and what was waiting for them in a matter of hours. They knew what to expect from the East, over the ocean, but they couldn't have possibly expected the incredible force, neigh, the oncoming storm, approaching from Ponyville in the West. Derpy was on her way.

The Oncoming Storm

"Dexter," Derpy asked over the intercom, flying over vast stretches of forest to reach fort Bezzer, "How are my vitals looking?"

"Hmm? Oh. Heartrate's fine, blood pressure a tad high, RMS magic output fairly steady."

"And the transducer?"

"All systems are still operating at peak performance."

"Excellent, what's my ETA?"

"At your current velocity... three minutes, twenty seconds."

"Anything coming up on the sensors?"

"I'm seeing nothing on your radar, ambient magic is just background noise after the transducer is accounted for, nothing out of the ordinary."

"You sure about that? The ranged ticker is throwing a fit!"

"I'm not looking at that one, hold on, let me check the profile."

"I'll aim right for the source, you getting anything?"

"Yeah, a fairly high magic signature. Well above anything I've ever seen. You sure that's not just feedback from the amplifier?"

"Fairly sure," Derpy replied, "it's only coming from one direction."

"Maybe there is something interesting at Fort Bezzer after all."

"I'm starting to worry, Dexter."

"I'm here for you. And remember, you can turn around at any time."

"But I can't. The Doctor has taught me so much about Elements... I couldn't live with myself if I knew I had a chance to do something and I didn't!"

"It sounds like the Doctor is getting you into a big mess all over again. How many more times are you going to be stuck solving his problems?"

"But they aren't his problems! Nobody forces him to solve them, he just goes. And he helps. He can't be here this time, so now I'm going to follow his example and go this one alone."

"Why can't he help you?"

"He won't explain it to me. He just said that he can't. He said that 'he had changed too much already,' by taking me with him, and that 'he needed to fix it.'"

"Sounds like a pretty lame excuse."

"I don't expect you to understand, Dexter, it's complicated. I just want you to trust him. Trust him like I trust him; the same way I trust you."

"If anything happens to you and he doesn't swoop down out of the sky in that ridiculous blue box of his to save you, I swear, I'll tear him a new one."

"Don't say that, Dexter. He does his best to save everyone he can, but sometimes he just can't. Sometimes ponies just have to die and it can't be helped. And if that's what happens to me today..." Derpy took a pause and gulped, "There wasn't anything else that could have happened."

"Well, he's just full of excuses."

"Don't be that way, Dexter."

Dexter sighed on the other end of the intercom. "You should be seeing fort Bezzer about now, keep your eyes peeled for the source of that magic signature."

"Aye, aye. I can make out the walls, don't see anything strange yet."

"Signal's getting stronger, you're definitely close. Let me triangulate the source."

"Got it yet?"

"Yup, East wall. Something big."

"I see it!"

"What is it?"

"A big white unicorn!"

"Celestia? That signals way too high for her!"

"No, it's some kind of baddy, this has Elemental magic written all over it. She's even got some kind of perception filter up. I think she's mauve, actually."

"Be careful, you're getting pretty close and you haven't practiced combat in that suit much at all."

"Combat is fifty percent smarts, Dexter, I've got this."

"Yeah, but the other fifty percent is practice. And fifty is still a failing grade."

"You underestimate me, Dexter... I'm going in!"

"Good luck!"

"Whoa, they see me!" Derpy exclaimed, charging a bolt of magic up on her artificial horn.

"Ambient magic is through the roof! Watch out!"

"Oh, I'm not the one who needs to watch out!"

"It's really weird, isn't it?" Twilight asked rhetorically, "I mean, the ocean is frozen over. It's totally pointless. The griffons can fly. They could just fly over the ocean. But for some reason they froze the whole thing. I don't even know how griffons would go about doing that."

"Must be those artifacts Celestia was talkin' about." Applejack suggested, "Ah've never heard of anything like 'em."

"But they don't just give creatures the ability to do magic beyond their means. They would make a griffon a strong flier, but wouldn't let them do unicorn magic. It's just weird."

"You know what else is weird?" Pinkie asked.

"What is it now, Pinky?"

"That!" She said, pointing at a strange pony-shaped object in the sky, headed straight for them.

"What in the hay is that thing?"

Oh, Twilight. Hi. It's the Element again. That's just a buddy of mine. Pay him no attention.

"I don't know, but I don't trust it, what's it doing?"

"Looks like it's fixin' to attack us!" Applejack replied as the strange pony's horn illuminated.

"Neither princess mentioned anything about this, so it must have something to do with the griffons!" Twilight declared, charging a bolt of magic on her own horn to match that of the oncoming pony.

The unidentified creature responded to the threatening gesture by unleashing a magic bolt in their general direction. It missed the Elements of Harmony by a small margin, blowing a hole in the wall. It was on. Twilight retaliated by firing more bolts into the air, all of which missed. The creature, which had the silhouette of an alicorn, was diving straight for them, casting more magic bolts. Twilight reared up and prepared herself for magical combat.

The alicorn-like creature landed on the wall across from them. Twilight hardly had a moment to take in the sight of the strange, metallic beast before it attacked again. She deflected bolt after bolt as it bombarded her and her friends with magical attacks, not even giving her a moment to respond in kind with a spell of her own. Twilight was overcome by the incredible speed and strength of the creature as she began to appreciate the bits of living pony still visible through the suit. Most striking were two yellow eyes, just visible through the visor.

The unicorn guards in the base could only watch in awe, they could tell that this was a battle beyond their capability, and even attempting to interfere would probably result in their immediate incapacitation.

"She's very strong, whoever she is," Derpy reported to Dexter.

Back at the lab, he was frantically looking over the instruments, hardly capable of understanding numbers of the magnitude being presented to him. One-quadrillion is not a number that comes up too often, even in his line of work. "Eh... Keep it up?"

"I can almost see through the perception filter now, it seems like it wasn't doing anything other than changing her coat color. She's definitely mauve. Did you know that that's the universal color for danger?"

"I think thats red. Just like all the red flashing lights in this room, warning me of all the danger your in."

"That's just ponies, silly. Everyone else uses mauve. Hold on, I'm gonna try wearing her down." Derpy stopped assaulting Twilight with magic for a short moment, just long enough for the latter pony to catch one of the eyes behind the visor drift up out of alignment with the other one.

"Derp—" Twilight began to ask, before her opponent's mechanical horn began spouting a persistent beam of magic. With little other choice, she matched the attack, holding a steady equilibrium of magical energy between the two of them. Twilight could feel that the machine she was up against was maxed out; by pushing herself near the Element's limit, she was able to shift the impulse back towards Derpy. She was in control now, she just had to figure out why she was being attacked.

"DERPY! IT'S ME! TWILIGHT!"

Derpy reported back to Dexter. "She's trying to say something now, can you pick it up on the mic?"

"No," Dexter replied, "It's all being washed out by the noise of the magic beam."

"DEEEEEEEEEERPPPYYYYYYYY!"

"Where did this unicorn even come from?" Derpy asked, "I thought we were supposed to be fighting griffons!"

"I don't know, I—" Dexter paused, "What color did you say she was again?"

"Mauve, that's how I know she's dangerous for sure!"

"You're fighting a really tall lavender unicorn?"

"No, she's mauve. Definitely mauve."

Dexter rested his face in his hoof. "That's Twilight, Derpy"

"Who?"

"Luna's project. She was giving an Element to Twilight."

"Dexter, how many times have I told you you need to be more open with me? Your secrets are getting me into trouble now."

"I didn't think you'd just start attacking somepony out of nowhere!"

"Why didn't you tell me when I first saw her?"

"It just— I don't know, it didn't occur to me!"

"Well, what do I do now?"

"Um.. I don't know, you have to show her you're friendly... somehow. Try lowering the intensity of the magic beam."

"But—"

"Look, we've gone over the theoretical limits of the transducer, and I know for a fact that she is well beyond them. If she wanted you dead, you would be. Just try it!"

Derpy complied, exerting less magical energy. Instead of being rapidly overcome by Twilight's attack as she expected, she found that her opponent responded in kind, keeping the impulse between them in perfect equilibrium. She kept reducing the power until she could finally hear Twilight.

"DEEEEERPY!"

"YEAH, IT'S ME!"

"WHY ARE YOU ATTACKING ME?"

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE SOMEPONY ELSE! MY BAD!"

Derpy continued reducing the intensity of the beam until they were eventually both able to stop completely without being obliterated by the other.

"What are you even doing here, Derpy?" Twilight asked, slightly exhausted from the ordeal.

"I'm here to help fight the griffons!"

"Nobody said anything about you being here... How do you even know about the griffons? What's that thing you're wearing? How are you doing magic?"

Derpy flipped up her visor and thought for a second, fully intending to answer all the questions in one run. "Nopony knew I was coming, I decided to do it on my own; I have some connections with ponies who are in the know; this thing is called a transducer and it's something I work on in my spare time; and the transducer lets me do magic. Any more questions?"

"Yeah... lots. But they'll have to wait for another time."

"Princess... Suit..." Rarity interjected, prompting a quizzical glare from Twilight.

"Yup, this is what Sweetie Belle was talking about!" Derpy responded, "Not exactly high fashion, but it's... practical."

"I'd say so!" Rarity replied.

"Ah still have no idea what's goin' on."

"Can I ask a question now?" Derpy asked.

"I guess so," Twilight answered.

Derpy got up close to Twilight, as if she was trying to see something. "It's a bit odd, but your armor seems to be a little radioactive..."

"I suppose that would make sense; I just sort of made it out of thin air. Probably just some residual radioisotopes from my sloppy spell work. I know I could do it better with a little practice..."

"You mean that you magically fused atomic nuclei to make this?!" Derpy asked, frantic, "You pretty much just proved my doctoral thesis!"

Twilight was shocked by what she was hearing, but she was even more surprised by the sudden onset of a hug from the bionically-enhanced pegasus.

"But how did you coordinate the neutrinos for the inverse decay?" Derpy asked, tilting her head almost sideways. Only Twilight seemed to have any clue what she was talking about, everyone else's eyes had instantly glazed over.

"I didn't have to. I used a self-organizing toroidal magic field to increase local neutrino density, and basic statistics took over from there!" Twilight explained, beaming.

"With a magnetic stabilizing field to prevent redundant interactions?"

"Exactly!"

The two ponies jumped up and down like excited schoolfillies, both completely thrilled to even be having such a conversation. After a moment, Derpy's expression quickly jumped from one of joy to one of worry, as though she had just remembered something important.

"You seem to be rather clever, but... An Element? How'd you manage that one?"

Twilight laughed nervously, acutely aware that the princesses had just come out of the royal bunker, drawn out by the commotion. "What do you mean?"

"I'm just curious, how is it that you're still... you?"

Twilight's ears twitched. "Who else would I be?"

"Well, not yourself, I would expect. If what I've heard about NightMare Moon is true, I suspect you borrowed Luna's."

"Maybe so..." Twilight replied cautiously, "why does it matter?"

"Well, that one isn't anything like the Elements of Harmony, there's no protective layer in place. How is it not driving you mad?"

"Believe me, it tried. But I held myself together, and eventually it gave up."

Derpy's gave twilight a look of bemusement. "Elements don't just 'give up.' Almost three-thousand years of history says that you can't bind to an Element unprotected without being turned into a monster."

"But I know I'm still uncorrupted, the coupling frequencies proved it!"

"Coupling fre—" Derpy sighed, and began speaking to the air, as though someone invisible were listening in.

"Dexter, why didn't you mention the coupling frequencies?"

She paused for a moment, as if listening, then continued to have half a conversation with herself.

"Of course I would know what it means. Every detail is important, and you've kept getting me into trouble by leaving things out..."

"Because the Doctor told me about it..."

"Look, I know how you feel about that. Are her CFs clean or not? ..."

"uh-huh... uh-huh... I see... Alright, thanks."

Everyone within earshot was staring at Derpy as though she had just declared that the Earth actually orbited around the Sun.

Applejack broke the uncomfortable silence, asking, "You feelin' okay, sugarcube?"

"Huh?" Derpy responded, "Yeah, of course I'm okay... Sorry Twilight, Dexter didn't tell me they did CF scans on you. I didn't even know machines to measure that even existed anymore!"

Luna was deliberately avoiding looking at her sister, but she could feel Celestia's eyes burning on her back. The Sun-Goddess was definitely learning more secrets than Luna had cared to divulge, secrets that were going to lead to some difficult conversations later on.

"You know that nopony around here is named Dexter, don't ya?"

"Of course, silly, he's still in Ponyville! There's a two-way communication system built into my gear."

"You mean you can just talk to him, all the way back in Ponyville, just like he's standing right in front of you?"

"Absolutely! Normally it wouldn't work over such long ranges, but I worked out a way to boost the signal!"

Having listened quietly for a time, Celestia finally broke into the conversation. "I must say, you are quite a brilliant pegasus, Miss..."

"Hooves," Derpy replied, bowing. She leaned a little too far forward and almost tripped over herself, but she recovered in time to continue, "and if I may say so, it is a great honor to hear such a compliment from the Princess herself!"

"Tell me, do you have any formal training in the sciences? You are very well-versed."

"I studied at the Canterlot Academy for seven years, now I research... independently."

"So you're a doctor then?"

"I'm afraid I never received my degree," Derpy responded, thinking carefully about how to explain why, "due to administrative issues."

"Well, that simply will not do! I insist on making you a royal scientist. And you shall be knighted, as well. Surely your brilliance could be put to good use in serving all the ponies of Equestria."

"Do you really mean it?" Derpy asked, glowing with excitement. She was prancing a bit, almost jogging in place.

"I am very certain that I want you on my side." Celestia added with a smirk.

Luna and Twilight made eye contact briefly; they were both aware that it was unusual for Celestia to be endorsing a common-pony's knowledge of the Elements, or any other pre-Equestrian technology. Of course, given how much Derpy already knew, it seemed she had very little choice other than to place Derpy under her own direct supervision.

"And you're not only well-informed on science, either, you seem to have quite a handle on current events. Tell me, who is this Dexter fellow you have on the other end of your... communication system?"

Luna swallowed hard. That was the question she had been afraid of. Dexter had been her trusted scientific lackey, and she had confided some very sensitive information to him. If Derpy knew this much, the thought of how much information Celestia could extract from him made the night-princess' skin crawl.

"Just... some stallion..." Derpy replied, slyly.

"Some stallion?"

"Never met the guy in person. Mostly communicates through letters, and, lately, over the wireless intercom. I don't even think his name is really Dexter."

"And you trust this stallion whom you've never met before?"

"Well, he usually knows what he's talking about."

"I see," Celestia replied, clearly frustrated, "Well then. As you seem to be aware — more so than I can hope to reasonably explain — we are currently under attack by an army of Element-bearers. Is it safe to presume that you are here to help defend Equestria from the oncoming hoard?"

"Quite correct, princess. I know exactly what we're dealing with and came to help as soon as I heard what was coming."

"Well, I must salute you for your bravery and loyalty to the state. My private assistant will make sure you are provided with any amenities you require to prepare for battle." Celestia said, sending a guard pony she had at her side to approach Derpy.

Derpy bowed again, and thanked Celestia for her hospitality as she walked off, asking her new assistant where she could find someone to speak to about military strategy. Celestia glowered at Luna, and then retired back to the royal bunker to resume whatever business she had been tending to before Derpy had distracted the entire fort.

"Am I missing something?" Rainbow Dash asked her friends, "I mean, what did I just see?"

"Apparently Derpy's some kind of genius..." Twilight responded, a little dumbfounded herself.

"But she couldn't even hang up a banner at town hall without blowing a hole in the roof!"

"She is pretty clumsy, Ah saw her trample somepony's garden just a couple days ago..."

"Sometimes the smartest of us can be the most absent-minded..." Twilight offered, "I mean, I once went a whole week without remembering to wash myself."

"So that's what that smell is..."

"This was years ago, Pinkie."

"Uh... I think it's now, too."

Twilight laughed uncomfortably. "I guess it has been a couple days..."

"Seriously, though, Derpy? The mail-mare?"

"None of us ever took the time to get to know her, how would we know?"

"It's just... weird, is all..."

"I won't tell you it isn't weird, I mean, that machine was something else. Even with my new... abilities, that machine made her almost exactly as strong as I was. But stranger things have happened!"

Rarity broke back in to the conversation. "Wait, Applejack, do you mean she trampled the flowers across the street from my house? Right after you left, and before she came to see me?"

"Yeah, those are the ones, why?"

"Did you get any sense of why she was there?"

"Said she was lookin for somethin'. Had to do with our little sisters somehow... And she had some kinda baton that could measure magic."

"Small, spherical objects..." Rarity muttered, recalling the warning Celestia had given earlier. "Oh my..."

Twilight was starting to get an idea of what Rarity had just realized, that Derpy now had an Element too. She could hardly believe it, though. "What? What is it?"

"I had a... This thing. A little round rock with bits of gemstone set into the surface... Derpy must've... Wait, Twilight, what did Celestia mean when she said 'you already know why?'"

All five of the other ponies looked at Twilight at that moment, and her ears fell back against her head. There was no sense lying to her friends. They had already worked it out.

"I... Those rocks... They're called Elements. They're similar to the technology used by the Elements of Harmony, but... They're dangerous. They manipulate the minds of their hosts, and make ponies into monsters."

"Is that what got yer saddle up in a bunch two days ago?" Applejack asked Rarity, slightly amused with herself, "Some dumb rock?"

"They're not dumb, Applejack, they are very, very, serious. Any pony who binds to them is subject to go mad."

"But Twilight..." Fluttershy interjected, "Derpy said you had one. That you took Luna's. Are you okay?"

Realizing the implications of this discovery, Applejack added, "how can we know you're not gonna go all NightMare Moon on us?"

The others looked at Twilight expectantly, as though they took Applejack's concerns to heart. Twilight stepped back, clearly hurt by what she had just heard.

"I'm different, okay? I fought it! I was able to fight it by remembering you! I fought it for you" She began tearing up. "And I still have to fight it. I have to fight it every minute of the day, and it hurts! I just want to give up, so much. Letting it take me would be so easy, but I'm doing this to protect you! The Elements of Harmony won't be enough to fight the griffons! Luna and I did the only thing we could!"

Twilight's eyes illuminated brightly as her hair began blowing around her head, causing her friends to inch away. She began speaking with a much harsher tone. "And now you're afraid of me. You think I'm going to be just like her! That I'll try to kill you!"

Twilight's sadness evolved into rage as wind began blowing more strongly around her. The wall they were all standing on began shaking slightly.

"How could you do that to me?! Don't you realize how much I care about you?! ANSWER ME!"

"Ah'm sorry Twi! Ah- Ah didn't mean it! Honest!"

Twilight seethed. "LIAR!" She stepped towards Applejack threateningly. All the ponies except for Fluttershy backed down, paralyzed with fear.

"Twilight..." Fluttershy said, in the calmest, most soothing voice she could muster, "We care about you too. We were just worried about you. We just want to know you're safe."

Twilight furrowed her brow as she processed her friend's words. The wind around her died down and her eyes dimmed. "I... I..."

She fell back on her haunches, very disturbed by what had just happened. With some coaxing from Fluttershy, the others gathered around her and comforted her. The nagging pain of the Element faltered, and her mind was clear again.

"I'm so sorry..."

It would only be another hour before the griffons would attack.

Marching Death

Author's note for returning readers;

Some of you may have noticed that Season 3 doesn't get along with this fic perfectly well. I'm still going to finish it, as planned, and I'm not planning on modifying it to match the new Season 3 canon. For the most part, things are still mostly okay... Though my Twilight doesn't have wings. There are a few other less-important divergences, as well.

I'm not complaining or anything— This is just part of writing fanfiction for an ongoing series. If the show is any good, it will do its own worldbuilding, and my hypotheses will be invalidated from time to time. I'm okay with that. I'm not bitter, I'm still enjoying the show, and I'm still enjoying writing this story.

I am deeply sorry for the hiatus between the last update and this one. Between two part-time jobs, and standardized testing, and grad school, my life has been rather hectic. All those things are going BLOODY FANTASTIC, though, so all the effort has been paying off. I'm getting back into the swing of things, and I hope I'll be able to publish chapters a little more regularly. The story is heating up, right about now, and I don't want to let a little mistake somewhere ruin it.

If you're worried you might not remember exactly what's happened so far (Don't feel bad, it has been 10 bloody months since an update happened), and you don't particularly feel like going back and reading 30,000 words over again, I've taken the liberty of summarizing the most important details of the story here;

http://www.fimfiction.net/story/130474/

So, without further ado, Allonsy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter: Marching Death

Xenea Churchier was Equestria's leading panthaccipologist and Celestia's personal consultant on griffons, renowned for knowing everything that was worth knowing about the race. During the last griffon war, she developed a method by which she could observe a formation of griffons without putting herself in the slightest bit of danger— a few good obfuscation spells allowed her to document every event in unprecedented detail, from a perspective that rivaled that of a soldier on either side.

In that war, as she had noted, Sigrund had unleashed such fury on the state of Atheria that their leaders surrendered unconditionally in only two hours. Having taken control of the last military state other than his own, 'Sigrund the Conquerer' became 'Sigrund the Great', and the other griffon city states were easily folded into his empire until every griffon was united under a single flag. Evidence suggests that griffons may have lived in such a way thousands of years ago, but almost no records exist from that era. Their folklore only goes as far back as some 'great war', in which 'the sky was ripped asunder, and the frost-giants ruled over all land'. The story bears striking and undeniable similarity to the Hearth's Warming Eve mythos, but this is dismissed as coincidence in most academic circles.

Sigrund led his armies in a most fearsome and efficient way, equipping his soldiers with advanced weapons. His first battle was fought with spears, but his last battle was won with weapons never seen before— machines that could spray musket balls at a rate of hundreds per second, and large incendiary rounds that could be hurled, launched, and dropped to obliterate anything within three meters of the point of impact, and maim anyone within ten meters. The soldiers themselves were equally fearsome; they were trained up to, and typically many times beyond, the limits of griffon physiology. Additionally, they were known to wear armor of dragon hides that had been carefully treated to maintain their magical defensive properties, and also to decorate themselves with the feathers of those they had killed.

They would march in great numbers, some on the ground, others in the sky, forming a formidable and fast-approaching wall. Those brave souls who didn't run were mowed down, and then consumed. As if that wasn't enough to break the enemy's will, Sigrund himself would frequently lead the charge, not contented to stay behind and let others kill for him. Some said that he did this out of a sadistic need to see and taste blood. Still others said he thought so highly of himself that he would never trust another general to lead the charge.

But the fact of the matter, Xenea thought, was different entirely. Their greatest weapons were not the technological marvels that Sigrund's genius brought them. The source of the power in their army was not their armor, or their sheer numbers.

Sigrund was their most powerful weapon. He killed more than any other— struck more fear into the hearts of his enemies. Sigrund had something that no other griffon had. He had a horn. He could do magic, alter the field of battle, strengthen his troops— even directly boost the morale of his own soldiers, while striking pure sadness and pain directly into the hearts of his enemies. Late in his career, it was uncommon for any blood to be shed in the course of winning a state, the all-too-proud Atheria being the greatest exception.

But Xenea wasn't sure what to expect here. There was no way that Celestia was going to give in to Sigrund— Equestria would not become a part of the Griffon Empire. Politics aside, Sigrund's magic is of little import compared to Celestia's, Captain Armor's shielding spell is enough to repel the horde indefinitely, and Princess Cadence's heart-changing skills are sufficient to overcome Sigrund's empathic attacks.

Not to mention the Princesses' protege, the legendary Twilight Sparkle, envy of unicorns across the land. She could match the skills of all three of those ponies; some rumors shared around the university watercooler suggested that she could take on all three at once and win, though the biomagic studies department usually scoffs at such sentiments, citing that ambient magic levels would be insufficient for one to take on three in such extreme conditions. However, many argue that they are underestimating how big an impact cleverness can make in such a duel.

Of course, those four would never get into a fight. Celestia was so very protective of her student— Academy faculty and students are barred from approaching or initiating conversation with her, and in the unlikely event that she intentionally started a conversation with you, you were expected to keep it brief and steer clear of discussing her magical abilities. It seems so strange to keep her so isolated; so very strange that many believe that she is privy to confidential information— secrets of the state.

Some ponies, especially a few fringe-types in the history department, and one loony in the biomagical studies department, thought that Twilight may be the 'Element of Magic'— a mythical title bestowed to a sort of warrior-priestess hero who harnesses ancient weapons to do battle with powerful evil entities. It's exactly as silly as it sounds. She's just a talented pony with excellent training and connections; no more and no less. Surely, if such a powerful weapon existed—

Xenea's considerations were cut short as a griffon rushed past her, flying low to the ground, forcing her to jump to the side. She couldn't help but think how strange that was. It wasn't like Sigrund to send scouts, and when he did, they usually travelled in pairs. Her heart-rate quickened as she scanned her surroundings for the partner, but she could see nothing in the fog, and she could hear nothing aside from the first griffon's rapidly retreating wing-beats.

And then... She heard it. Her ear twitched as she picked up what just sounded like white noise. Slowly, she rotated her head to face the source of the sound. A shadow was creeping up, darkening the fog ahead, its sound growing louder with each passing second, building up from a subtle hiss to a deafening roar. All that was clear was that whatever it was, it was incredibly big, incredibly fast, and, Xenea would wager, incredibly dangerous.

With only milliseconds and centimeters to spare, she dove out of the way of a griffon, only to quickly find herself underneath a flowing torrent of the beasts, blurs of brown and white moving over her and sending her mane flying chaotically around herself. She pressed her body hard against the icy surface below, trying her damnedest to keep herself out of their paths.

It was then that she noticed something peculiar. Among the griffons, there was no rough gleam of dragon-hide, and no sheen of steel to reveal the presence of gun or blade. The army was clothed in naught but their own feathers and fur, and yet, they were more formidable than Xenea had ever seen them.

Soon, Xenea found herself fighting to keep up the spells that were concealing her location— something was weakening them. Perhaps it was her fear breaking her concentration, or perhaps, the keen senses of the Griffons were breaking through what would normally be an impenetrable wall of imperceptibility. She continued pushing herself until the glow from her horn began exceeding the limit of what her spell could hide, and held there, sweating and straining.

Just as the last griffon passed overhead, she stopped casting the spell, and simply laid where she was left, trembling on the ice. Her head ached with a terrible migraine from having held up the spell so long, and she was sure she was about to pass out, but she just barely held on to consciousness.

As she watched the shadow retreat off to the West, headed for the fort, she could think of nothing except how very strange it all was. That was like no formation of griffons she had ever seen, and completely the opposite of what could be expected from Sigrund.

As soon as she felt she had the strength to do so, she sat up, withdrew her notebook, and began scribbling down everything she had just seen, terribly excited over the new information, and absolutely terrified of what it could mean.

Back at Fort Bezzer, Celestia was smiling while looking over a similar-looking notebook, watching Xenea's notes appear as she wrote them.

Luna stirred behind her, prompting her to set the book down upon her desk and turn back.

"Sister?" Luna asked.

"Yes, Luna?"

"Your student is in need of comfort," Luna suggested, gesturing towards the area above. "Would you care to see her?"

Celestia tilted her head and arched an eyebrow. "There is no need for that, Luna. She may comfort herself. If she finds it difficult, then I suggest she begins practicing now, as it will only become a more necessary skill with increasing age."

"But, sister; she has come to rely on you. You were more of a matriarch to her than her actual mother..."

"Tell me, sister, how long should I be expected to look after her? How long do you expect me to live?"

"Sister, I know... We are not long for this world, but Twilight needs your love now, more than ever."

Celestia turned away to face her desk again. "If I love her, I will let her be. She's going to kill me, Luna. The beginning of her life will mark the end of mine, and if I coddle her until the end, she will be helpless when I am finally gone."

"She is very capable, sister, but today may be worthy of special considera—"

"Enough!" Celestia yelled, turning in place and glaring intensely. "I have told you what I feel, Luna, and if you care about Equestria's future, you, too, will leave Twilight to herself. Her friends must be sufficient comfort to her."

Celestia looked scornfully at Luna. "She'll only get to keep one of them, and I dearly hope she doesn't come to regret which one it will be."

Luna's eyelids dropped as she lowered her head. "I understand, sister..."

"I presume you're going to see her anyway?"

Luna's mouth scrunched up, much like AppleJack's might before a lie. "N-"

She sighed.

"Yes."

"Then go. Defy me. We shan't live long enough to see the grudge held, anyway."

Luna left the bedroom in silent, solemn thought, as Celestia again approached her enchanted notebook.

-Estimates of griffon forces number in the hundreds. Despite their obvious increase in strength, they are still unarmed and outnumbered by the Royal Guard. Should be dispatched with ease.

-Another hundred or so just passed. This is too bizarre. The behavior of the griffons is more like that of a swarm of wasps than it is an organized army. I am not sure if this is simply some new and peculiar stratagem of Sigrund's design, or if something far more unusual is at hand.

-I am still shocked by the very unusual attack method. They seem to not be carrying supplies, and I have been walking in the direction of their origin for hours, having found not a single forward base or encampment. Where is the staging area? What are they planning?

-Most concerning of all; I have yet to see Sigrund himself. To me, this means one of two things; either he has passed away, or whatever weapon he is planning on employing is so dangerous that he fears being injured by its use. Anything Sigrund would fear is truly fearsome indeed.

-At least a thousand griffons just passed by to the North of my current location. An exact number could not be determined. I'm starting to fear for Equestria.

The corners of Celestia's mouth fell as she read the last two entries, and she looked up and to the East.

This war might take more intervention on her part than she had thought.

Celestia's Pet

Luna had pulled Twilight away from her friends, into a high tower where they could speak to one-another in private.

"I witnessed your breakdown earlier, Twilight."

"I'm sorry— I just— I don't know—"

"Be calm, Twilight," Luna insisted, gently embracing Twilight from the side, and draping a wing around her, "I do not wish to pass judgement. Tell me, are you in pain?"

Yes you are.

"No, I'm okay."

"It is important that you tell me," Luna insisted, her voice soft and full of concern.

Tell her.

"I'm okay, Luna."

"Twilight, I believe in you with all my heart, but I also understand better than anyone the gravity of the task I have charged you with."

She wants you to give up, just like you give up on everything else.

"I'm fine!" Twilight shouted defensively.

Luna sighed, and retracted her wing. "I understand that you can be... headstrong, at times. Unwilling to admit you have made a mistake. Just know that I cannot stand to see you suffer. If, at any moment, it becomes too much, you must..."

She wants you to give me back to her. Let her have what she wants. You're too pathetic to handle this.

"Return the Element to you?"

Luna glanced to the side, before replying, "yes. If you must."

Giving me back to her would hurt her. You want that, don't you, you sick freak?

"Would... Would you be okay?"

"I do not know for certain. It is quite possible that I would go mad again. In that case, I would expect you to do whatever you must to protect Equestria; send me to the Moon, encase me in stone..."

Celestia would like that. Don't you want Celestia to be happy?

Luna continued, "just know that I would do anything to protect you."

"...And I, you, Luna. I can handle the Element, I will keep it under control."

"Please, do not think of me. I have already lived so long— been through so much. You have much life ahead of you," she said, as she nuzzled Twilight affectionately. "Don't waste it for my sake. Don't become a monster trying to protect me. Please, take some time to think it over... Would you like a moment alone with your thoughts?"

Twilight opened her mouth, inhaling sharply, as though she had much to say, but her lips sealed themselves. She looked down at the ground. "Maybe a few minutes."

"I understand." Luna turned to face the window, and rested her hooves on the ledge as she stared out at the frozen ocean.

That's it. Just give in. You were always going to give in to me eventually— it's better that you give up like this, and torture Luna, instead of destroying the whole wide world...

I'm not going to give her back to you, because that's what you want. You know you can't win. You can't defeat me.

You underestimate me, Twilight. Because there is nothing I am if not patient. I've been to the end of the universe once, I've waited so long. Do you know how hard it is to die, bound to an Element?

Quite hard, I imagine.

You imagine correctly. Not only are you going to scare all your friends away with your instability— you're going to outlive every last one of them, knowing that they were all terrified of you until the very end.

Wretched laughter echoed through Twilight's head.

I have control over you. I won't let you hurt them. They know that.

You remind me of Luna... such naivety. Would you like to hear of the friends she lost to time?

I won't believe a word of it. You don't even know what the word 'friend' means.

What about the friends she lost to her temper? The ones whose lives she took when I became too much for her to handle...

She couldn't have. She was on the Moon!

Oh, Twilight. What of the bat-ponies? The kind, caring creatures who took a weakened NightMare Moon into their care. They nurtured her, even took her — my favorite toy — away from me for brief periods. But in the end, she always came crawling back to me, and she turned on them. Repeatedly. They all made the mistake of forgiving her, and she made the mistake of letting them.

Anything wrong she's ever done was your fault. Luna's just... perfect...

What's this about?

She's so sweet... So kind... So caring... So smart...

You willingly ignorant little brat...

You know better than anyone that it's true. She fought you tooth and nail for a thousand years to protect us.

Fought me? You pathetic little stupid filly. NightMare Moon wasn't some kind of psychotic beast from beyond the void, Twilight. It was Luna. Luna did those things. Luna wanted to do those things.

No. You made her do it, just like you're trying to do to me!

In the same way that NightMare Moon was Luna, I am you. That's all there is to it, Twilight. This personality you so despise... It's just you.

But you aren't me! You can't be me!

You can deny it all you want, Twilight, but the truth remains— Luna is a monster, and you are too. Every pony is a monster. It just takes the right motivation to get them to show it.

Luna is not a monster! She cares about everyone! And she cares about me.

Do you really believe she cares about you? Are you truly that deluded?

Yes!

She's just afraid of you. Just like everyone else is. She thinks you'll go mad and destroy her precious Equestria. That's all she's concerned with.

I'm not listening to you anymore. You're sick.

Just try to ignore me, I dare you.

Watch me.

Is it working yet? ... Hey! Hey! TWILIGHT! I know you can hear me~

What can I think about that will make her go away?

Hey, stupid; you might be trying to ignore me, but I can still hear your thoughts.

Twilight lowered herself to the ground and put her hooves over her head. Leave me alone!

Fat chance. Hahahahaha!

As the voice in her head laughed, Twilight felt herself smile. It wasn't a pleasant smile; it was a painful one— It really was her. She was alone in her head, and she was laughing at herself because she was putting herself through pain. Her eyes flashed white for just a moment as a tear ran down her muzzle.

"L— Luna?"

"Yes, Twilight dearest?" Luna replied, turning away from the window without hesitation.

"I have... an important question to ask."

"Anything, Twilight."

"Am I Celestia's pet?"

Luna jerked back a bit, unsure how to interpret the question. "What do you mean, Twilight?"

Twilight glanced down at the ground, ashamed. "It's just that... Everything I've ever done — all I've ever accomplished — was for her." Her face wavered between a smile and a grimace, as she attempted, with little success, to look Luna in the eye.

That's right, you're pathetic.

Luna's sympathetic expression was enough to tell Twilight that her concerns were unfounded. "You are your own pony, Twilight; you've served Celestia because that is what you wished to do."

What a joke. You only wanted to do it because Celestia wanted you to do it.

"But Luna... Even my cutie mark was earned by trying to be like her... to impress her..."

"I want you to examine this image, Twilight, tell me what you see." Luna insisted, dropping an open book at Twilight's hooves.

"That's Celestia... sealing you in the Moon with the Elements of Harmony. Everypony knows that drawing."

"Look closer. Look at the Element itself."

"The Element of Magic? What about it?"

"It's your cutie mark, Twilight. It has always been your cutie mark."

"But this was drawn centuries ago..."

"It looked that way two-thousand years before you were born," She said, gently stroking Twilight's cheek with her hoof. "Your cutie mark reflects who you are, deep inside yourself. Someone with your remarkable talents would have always settled on magic, whether her inspiration was a princess or a two-bit traveling illusionist."

"Th— Thank you, Pri— Thank you, Luna." She replied, blushing as Luna retracted her hoof.

"Any time, Twilight," Luna replied with a smile. Also visible was a bit of a quirky smirk that she wore whenever she knew she successfully used a bit of 'modern vernacular'. "It's a shame how my sister has kept us apart all this time, we might have been such good friends. Our brief time together has felt so very rushed, leaving little time for us to become well-acquainted."

"I know what you mean... We just... We have so much in common! Not that Celestia wasn't a great mentor, but... She never really seemed to have the same passion for learning that I did. And we both love stargazing... And books!"

Luna smiled warmly and nodded, "Still, in this fleeting time, our bond has grown strong. I've not had many friends for nigh over a millennium, and it was yet more centuries before that since I last had company as wonderful as yourself."

The voice in Twilight's head was silent.

Luna straightened herself up, as though she was trying to slough sadness off of herself and address the problem in a regal and stoic way. "Yet, you have roughly a thousand years ahead of you, and I do not believe I will be spending much more time on this Earth. Life can be even crueler than death, sometimes. I believe you're hiding your pain from me, and though it angers me... I cannot blame you. I take responsibility for the pain you must be feeling now; I convinced myself that you would be somehow immune to it, though I suppose no pony is truly strong enough for that."

"It's alright, Luna, I can handle it."

Luna betrayed her excitement as she continued, "I'm know you can— Your cutie mark isn't merely a pink star. There's always been a second star behind it. That's how I knew you were meant to take on a second Element."

"Meant to? Are you saying my cutie mark predicted the future?"

"Things don't always happen in the right order, Twilight. You don't have to believe that, if you don't wish to. However, when the Element of Magic was permanently bound to you that day in Celestia's school, it knew you could do more. It knew you could do even better. And it knew you had the purity of heart required to fight another Element."

Luna looked back out the window, wistfully. "It never gave me the same complement... My cutie mark was always just the simple pink star, adjacent to five small white ones reflecting the other Element-bearers, but there never was a large white star."

"Wait..." Twilight interjected, taken aback, "the Element of Magic hadn't been made until you were already a grown mare. How did your cutie mark reflect that you would come to bear it?"

"As I said, Twilight, things don't always happen in the right order. A very old, and very dear, friend taught me that. He also gave me some other advice, that you may find useful..."

"Yes?"

Luna moved forward and wrapped her neck around Twilight's. "Never let yourself forget. Never let yourself forget that you're loved. Sometimes, the memory of your friends is all you have, and you must never let it go."

Twilight leaned into the hug, pressing her ear down against Luna's ribcage, so she could hear her heartbeats. She was reminded of her childhood; of Celestia's embrace, all those years ago, and Cadence's. To most ponies, the sound of two hearts in one body would be disconcerting, but to Twilight... It was a promise of comfort. It was an intimate and secret characteristic of the most important mares in her life. It brought memories of late nights in her youth, falling asleep after hours of continuous studying and playing, collapsing into her weary-less teacher's arms.

"And Twilight, I promise... after this is all over, when you no longer feel obliged to carry the Element, I will do anything and everything in my power to rid you of it."

"Thank you, Luna. Just..." Twilight drew back a little bit.

"What is it, Twilight?"

"Is there a way to stop the voice?"

"The voice, Twilight?"

Twilight's own voice, from the previous day's delusions, echoed through her head. 'Merlin's beard, how am I supposed to trust a pony who's hearing voices?!'

"N-Nothing, Luna."

"You're certain?"

Twiight scratched the back of her head. "Yes."

"All right." Luna replied, nodding solemnly, as her eyes began welling up. "I am still very proud of you, Twilight. Please— go— be with the other Elements."

"Are you okay, Luna?"

"Yes... w-we are fine. Just go. Please."

Twilight complied, taking one last look back at Luna before shutting the door behind her. The soft sounds of sobbing carried through the walls, but Twilight decided against going back in to comfort her. Luna hadn't wanted her to see it, and it would be disrespectful to invade her privacy.

FWOOSH!

A straw griffon went up in flames, as a crowd of unicorns broke out in applause.

"Pyromancy too? Bravo!"

Derpy took a bow, enjoying the accolades as she showed off the features of the transducer to a number of envious unicorn guards. Even Celestia watched out of the corner of her eye, rather impressed by what the pegasus had accomplished.

There's more to that mare than meets the eye. She looks so familiar, too. Like I've seen her before, centuries ago.

Disquieted, Celestia looked away from Derpy and looked down at the paperwork she was handling. Maybe that's just what happens when you live to be two-thousand; everything blends together, everypony starts to look alike. Maybe I've just run out of new experiences to have...

Derpy unleashed a whirlwind of stormclouds onto another effigy, simultaneously wetting it with rain and burning it with lightning. A passing pegasus, amazed by the finely articulated weather-manipulation, gawked at her just long enough to crash into a flag-post.

"Molto Bene!" she shouted over the excited hoofstamps of her audience.

Celestia blinked a few times. No... No. It can't be. It can't be him. Could he even become a mare? Or perhaps she's a companion. She may be more dangerous — and much more valuable — than I thought...

"Miss Hooves, a word?" Celestia requested with a sly smile, beckoning the pegasus.

"Oh, of course," Derpy replied as she began walking towards the Princess, much to the dismay of her admirers.

Desperation, Revelation, Inundation

After a day of work she could hardly take seriously, Twilight finally managed to get her nap in. A couple hours wasn't much, but it was definitely refreshing. Again, she put Spike to bed, then proceeded upstairs. She whispered to herself to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything.

"Alright, three teleportations, remember the obfuscation step, gotta be quick. Okay. 1. 2. 3." She whisked through two waypoints, small areas which Luna explained were not well-covered by Celestia's spies, and finally found herself in the lunar throne room. Twilight was shocked to find Luna there, waiting, with the library door already open. Luna urgently gestured for Twilight to come inside, and sealed the door quickly behind her.

"Twilight, I have something very important to tell you. I don't want to spring this responsibility on you, but you're the only pony who I could possibly expect to be of help."

"What is it, princess?"

"Equestria is in grave danger. Diplomatic communications with the griffon nation are deteriorating, rapidly. This is why Celestia has been missing for the past few weeks — she is desperately trying to repair the peace we've enjoyed for over a millenium. The griffon King is obstinate and refuses to accept any offer she makes. He has sworn that his soldiers will invade by the end of the month, and they will either kill or enslave every pony in their path. I was hoping to be able to wait longer before telling you this, but the situation is progressing much more rapidly than I expected."

"So you need me to use the Elements of Harmony to stop them?"

"Perhaps, but the griffon King is well aware of the Elements of Harmony. If he didn't have some reason to believe he could overpower them, it would be foolish for him to even make these kinds of threats. This is why Celestia and I believe he has acquired Elements of his own."

"There are even more Elements?"

"Tons of them. Relics from a bygone era. Mistakes which must never be made again. The more we lose to time, the better."

"But what are they? Where did they even come from?"

"A long time ago, unicorns were practicing forms of magic far more advanced than anything we see today. They were starting to create sophisticated forms of automated magical constructs. Machines that could solve problems and exert magical force without pony intervention. A research program at a place called Torchwood was working on magic receivers that would be able to pick up more magic from the Sun, providing the energy needed to perform more difficult tasks. They found something very interesting. An anomalous data point. One of their test receivers was picking up thousands of times more magic than any other. It was even a hundred times above the theoretical limit that could be derived from the Sun. At first they dismissed it; it must have been a mistake, they thought. But in reality, it was the first time ponykind managed to tap into dark magic."

"Dark magic?"

"Not the kind you're thinking of, I'm sure. It's a mysterious kind of magical particle which comes from beyond the Sun and Moon. Something among the stars. We ponies can't access it naturally — it's a fairly inert form of magic. However, the ponies at that particular lab were able to build a receiver to capture some of that energy and convert it to a form that a pony could use. That was the first Element. It was an amazing invention developed by brilliant ponies. Brilliant, but careless. Immediately, they set to work building more of those... devices, without testing them thoroughly enough. Before long, it was apparent something was wrong. Those who had been using the Elements started expressing aberrant behavior. They were violent and destructive — some reported that they were hearing voices. It was discovered that the magic the receivers had been picking up was not just random background noise. There was order to it. Information. The only thing we could tell for certain about the, well, things, on the other side, is that they knew what they were doing, and they enjoyed toying with us..."

Twilight just stared at the princess, unsure of what to say. The room was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

"...My mentor, Starswirl the Bearded, worked in that program. He understood dark magic better than anyone else ever has, and he was the only pony in the program who refused to bind to an Element. In a matter of months, nearly all the Element-bearers had been driven completely insane; they were demented beyond repair. They assaulted the townspeople, hundreds died...”

Luna’s voice shifted a bit, expressing some pride and hope, as she continued, “Fortunately, despite the massive amounts of magic available to them, they were limited in the amount their bodies could channel, so Starswirl was able to fight them and allow the ponies who survived to escape. The remaining unicorns settled down in a new land, and the Elements were not heard from for hundreds of years afterward. That was not meant to last forever, though, and the Windigoes appeared, seemingly out of the blue. Nopony knew where they came from, except Starswirl."

"So then the unicorns had to evacuate again?"

"And the earth-ponies, and the pegasi... No one was spared. But we found that the Element-Bearers had settled almost everywhere. Naturally, all three kingdoms settled upon the same tract of land; the only place free of the Elements' chaos — there were brief skirmishes, and the Element-bearers were drawn in by the smell of blood and fear. Desperate, Starswirl developed a risky solution. He developed six new Elements, each one regulated by the most sophisticated artificial intelligence system ever devised. The Elements of Harmony instituted a complex network of checks and balances, and were completely unable to function without the full set of six operating in tandem. By requiring the bearers to represent the important aspects of friendship, the new Elements would be able to ensure that they were only used by ponies that remained uncorrupted and harmonious... In theory, at least. He fitted these Elements to the six strongest ponies he could find, and they were quite effective. Working together, we were able to fend off all the bearers in the area, and drive them away for good."

"So... those six ponies then became the rulers of Equestria?"

"Not a moment too soon. The bearers had done such damage to the environment, land, and planetary system that life as we knew it was soon to end. The Sun and Moon were orbiting too fast, and as they drifted further and further out the temperature dropped lower and lower. The natural air currents in the atmosphere were so disturbed that the weather was chaotic and unpredictable, and the land was so scarred that it was difficult to get anything to grow. Even the animals were afraid to return to the area. But together, with the help of the Elements of Harmony, we were able to put everything back the way it was. We maintained order in the area that way unchallenged for centuries. That is, until Discord came into the picture."

"Discord..."

"A truly powerful being. Were it not for my sister's help, you surely would have stood little chance against him. Not that you should be ashamed of that — he defeated all six of us, in the same way he defeated you. You and your friends differentiated yourselves from Celestia and I in the way you solved that problem. See, Discord is capable of channeling six times the magic of any ordinary creature, since he is a combination of six creatures. An earth-pony, a unicorn, a pegasus, a dragon, a griffon, and a bat-pony, fused by the magic of an Element. The Elements of Harmony, in their normal state, must pass all of their magical energy through the bearer of the Element of Magic. I acted as a bottleneck which limited the total strength of the group. And..."

Luna's face expressed a deep shame. "I didn't have what it took to take on the magic-channeling abilities of Discord. He swatted me like a fly. It took us weeks to recover from being exposed to the void. That's something you accomplished in a matter of hours, thanks to your friendship reports."

"So that's why the book says they all died that day... Everyone believed that discord killed them."

"Exactly. When we finally came to, we were able to determine why it was that Discord defeated us, and we all agreed that there was only one solution. None of us liked the idea, but there was no other option. Besides... we had already lived for centuries. Even with the immense magic at our disposal, we wouldn't have lived much longer on our own. We chose to fuse together... and I died three times on that day."

"Three..." Twilight's face contorted with pity and anguish, "Luna, I... I'm sorry..."

"It's quite alright, Twilight. That was a very long time ago."

"If I could ask... What is it... What is it like?"

"To die?"

"Yes."

"It hurts. It's the worst feeling you can imagine. You lose control of your body... then you lose your senses... and then you lose your mind. That's followed by a very brief moment of peace... and... I don't know what happens next; my next memory was of being alive again. Reborn as Luna."

"And... once you fused together, you had the magical abilities of the three ponies who you once were, combined?"

"Yes... maybe even more than that. Suffice it to say that I was able to channel more magic than Discord could, and the Elements were able to provide all of it."

"And my friends and I are going to have to do the same thing?"

"Perhaps, one day. Though, I don't think it will be of any assistance. For now, at least."

"Because I was able to channel enough magic to defeat discord? How?"

"That's exactly the point. You're much more powerful than I ever was. You can channel the same amount of magic through your body that three of your very powerful predecessors could barely manage merged together. That's what Celestia felt, seeing you in the crowd at your first Summer Sun Celebration. It's what I could feel all the way from the Moon on the day of your entrance exam. You and your friends are immensely powerful, Twilight Sparkle, but you are truly the most amazing of them all. My sister and I knew you would be the one to free me. Only you could channel enough magic to defeat my corrupted form, and imprison the Element's twisted thoughts deep within my mind. You have already accomplished, in your short life, more than anypony ever would have expected you to."

"So, what's the problem with the griffons? Shouldn't I be able to channel enough magic to stop them?"

"Well, if the griffons have access to unbound Elements, it means they've been digging on ancient unicorn land. They are sure to have found many. We're not expecting one bearer. We're expecting an army of them. And griffons are not creatures to scoff at. Sure, they don't have horns, but they make up for it in size, wingpower, and physical strength. The Elements are going to make them into tanks. Their king is another story entirely... You, your friends, Celestia, and I, are going to be the only forces to stand any chance of winning this battle and defending the innocent life within Equestria's borders. But it won't be enough."

"What can we do?"

"You've already maxed out the Elements of Harmony. You've channeled all the magic they have to offer, and you still haven't reached your full potential. But you can do something no one else can. Something I tried to do and failed. You can tame an Element."

"WHAT?!"

"Twilight, I wouldn't even offer this to you if I didn't think you could do it. If a unicorn as powerful as you was corrupted by an Element... You would make Discord look like a friendly foal. That just goes to show how absolutely certain I am that you have the power and mental fortitude to take it on. You are, perhaps, the first unicorn in the history of time to be capable of this. I cannot say for sure what will happen if you do not, but Equestria's fate hangs in the balance, and we're going to need every bit of magic we can get."

"Is there... really no one else?"

"What I'm asking you to do is barely possible. I came so close to accomplishing it, but alas, my mind, and my heart, they were not strong enough. I was not organized enough. Your remarkable skills make you suitable for the task."

"But... What if you're wrong? What if I can't do it? What if it really is impossible?"

"Then Equestria is doomed either way."

"Where would we even find an Element?"

"There's still one bound to me. You put a wall between it and I. A wall to keep it out of my mind, and take its power away from me, but I could still will it to someone else, if they accept it."

"But even after a thousand years, you were never able to defeat it! What makes you think I can do better?"

"I just know, Twilight. This is what you were meant to do."

Twilight sat in silence contemplating the issues. Suddenly, with everything hanging in the balance, she started calling what Luna had told her into question. What if it was all lies? How would she know that any of it was true? She had been learning in secret, from a library that only Luna knows about... What if some of it was true, but the Element was still in control of Luna, and simply leading her on, trying to take her power as its own? No... That was too hard to believe. All of this just made too much sense. With a sigh, she glanced up at the princess.

"How long do we have before the attack?"

"We believe we have until the end of the week before he crosses the Eastern Sea."

"And you're sure he's acquired this ancient unicorn technology?"

"It's impossible to know for sure, but I've observed countless spikes in magic levels within their borders. You can review the data if you'd like. Hundreds of peaks well above the specific-solar limit."

"Then I'm ready to do it."

"Once I bestow the Element to you, there is no going back. You will have one chance, and one chance only."

"I understand."

"Are you sure you're ready?"

"I am, Luna. You were right. I was meant to do this. I don't know how I know... I just know you're right."

"Then follow me. The battle can be quite destructive. We should move to a safer place."

Luna led Twilight through the library, and into a large, circular, domed room. The roof was at least twenty meters tall at its highest point, and the walls were at least 40 meters apart. Twilight stood in the center of the room, glancing around at the distant walls.

"What is this room for, exactly?"

"You may begin throwing things around... or you may throw yourself around. The extra space will ensure that nothing is broken."

"No, I mean... What is this room usually for?"

"Ah, this is the home of my pet, Pebbl; do not worry, she has several other homes to shelter her for the duration of your binding."

"Merlin's beard, she must be massive!"

"Adult rocs often have a wingspan exceeding twenty meters, she is of normal size."

"Oh my..."

"Quite. Before we begin, is there anything more you wish to ask?"

"What will the Element do? How can I fight back?"

"When it corrupted me, it exploited my anger towards Celestia. The feelings already within my heart were intensified manyfold. The Element relies on confusing you, misleading you, and using your own fears against you. All you need to do is stay organized. Remember what's true. Don't let it lie to you, and make sure you stay harmonious. It's going to try to corrupt you, but you must stand resolute. You must will it to obey you, instead of submitting to it. Stay strong. Stay positive. Remember only love, friendship, and harmony. Don't allow anything else to creep into your mind."

Twilight took a deep breath.

"Shall we begin?"

"Luna..."

"Yes, Twilight?"

"Thank you."

"You are a very good student. And you are welcome."

Luna drew a small metal sphere from a box behind her, shut her eyes tight, and forcefully willed a great deal of magical energy to the tip of her horn. The ball levitated between the two ponies. That was an Element. Or at least, the case for one. Twilight stared down her enemy, waiting for the fight to begin. Small symbols and patterns decorated the rough surface. Bits of gemstone arranged in complex arrays. It began spinning — Twilight thought she may have heard clockwork ticking away within it.

Luna slowly brought her horn down to touch Twilight's. Just before contact was made, a spark jumped the gap, and both ponies were thrown back. Twilight writhed in pain for a moment on the ground before curling into the fetal position.

"Twilight?!"

"I feel... cold..."

"That's normal. Fight it, Twilight. Remember that your friends love you. Remember that I love you!"

Twilight stood up, jaw clenched, breathing hard. She stamped at the ground forcefully with her hoof.

"No. No. No, no. NO!" Twilight yelled, as her body was lifted into the air by her own telekinetic force. Her breath was short. Her eyes were sealed, but the glow inside her head could be seen through her ears, nose, and mouth. Even her heart glowed a rhythmic glow, pulsing brighter with each heartbeat, shaded by her ribcage. Every part of her body twitched, as though she was having a seizure, and blood dripped from her nostrils.

Her heartbeat grew faster by the second. After merely a minute, the flashing became violent and unpredictable; her heart was fibrillating, and the glow was fading. The pulsing of the light stopped, as Twilight's body hanged limply in the air. With a great convulsion, her limbs were flung back, her eyes opened wide, an even brighter flash filling the room. The pulsing began once again, her heart fluttered ineffectually for a few moments before being extinguished once more, and her body returned to its flaccid state.

Luna looked on in horror as the scene repeated itself several times. She knew the binding was supposed to be painful and violent, but it had never been like this. After several minutes of near-death, Twilight's heart began beating properly again. For but a moment, she levitated peacefully, only to be dropped from the air carelessly seconds later. The thud echoed through the grand room as Luna rushed to her aid.

"Twilight!? Twilight? ... Twilight?"

The young unicorn was still breathing. She hadn't lost yet. There was still hope. Hope. Luna held her, speaking softly into her ear. "Your friends love you, Twilight. Never forget that they love you."