Malicious Gift

Chapters

Two Paths
Shards of truth
Error_401
Precautionary Wound Patch
Unwilling Thief
Surfacing Secrets
Powers do not come with warnings
Forbidden History
New Skills. New needs.
Hieroglyphs
Inexplicable Chrysalis
Scheme Unveiled?
Startling Truth
Catalyst

Two Paths

Author's Note

Author's note: Hello everypony! Just like I promised, here is chapter three much sooner than the last one. :D Though I can't make the same promise about the next chapter. It's taking me a bit longer. Still trying to figure out how I want to reveal the next plot twist. :D But this chapter does a little injury description but it's not graphic. Still debating about also posting on FIM but I'm leaning towards posting in both areas. I'll have a decision by the next chapter though. Anyway, enjoy!

And like always; Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony Friendship is Magic or any characters contained in the show. They belong to Hasbro and respective owners.

Two Paths

Cheerilee was going to end class a little early so she could get to the Canterlot train though she had gotten an urgent message from her bottle that she had to keep the foals indoors. The Reception 'ception had apparently escaped and was last seen heading towards Ponyville. So, she promptly gave her students a surprise lesson about art and then challenged the group to a cooperative art project. She hoped that it would keep their attention on the paper rather than the clock in the back of the room. She trotted over to the door and made sure it was locked for the fourth time. The handle jiggled and clanked signifying the locking mechanism was tightly in place. She took in a deep breath and looked out the window wondering what had happened in Ponyville this time.

There are many paths we walk; yet it's not paths that define us. It's the paths we choose to walk on that governs our definitions.

"How did you guys find us again? It would be really helpful right now!" Pinkie asked. After which Rarity looked to Fluttershy.

She coughed getting the last of the gas out and nodded, "I'm not sure how but I've got a, internal compass of sorts that points to that wagon."

"Well? Which way did they go?" Pinkie asked in a hurry but Fluttershy knew she didn't mean any harm. They were all worried about their friends.

"Um," She stated getting a feel for the direction the compass was pointing, "To the right." She started over to that direction but Twilight spoke up.

"We may have a problem."

"What's wrong Twilight?"

"This area of the forest contains deadly thorn bushes and it's a maze to get through it safely." Twilight walked closer to the plants near the entrance. Lifting up the plant's limb with magic, it revealed nasty spikes covering its surface. "One prick from this and we'll be down for days. If we get stuck in this stuff it's lethal."

"Oh dear," Rarity replied lifted another plant with her own magic. "So, what's the plan?"

Twilight paused staring intently at the ground, "Well, I'm not sure. We need a pinpoint location to navigate that maze. There are many paths with many exits. The Reception 'ception seems to know it by the back of their hoof!" She clapped two hooves together for emphasis.

"The Reception 'ception?" Pinkie asked curiously.

"It's the name of those two. They attacked the school earlier and broke my eye." Fluttershy replied.

"Oh, so bad ponies."

"That's not all. I believe they sell ponies or creatures,"

"Really bad ponies…" She whispered staring into the brush as if she could see them.

Twilight suddenly perked up, "We could use the elements! We are all connected to the elements so we should be able to pinpoint where the others are."

Rarity frowned, "Wouldn't they have to power up too? They seem to be restrained quite well. You saw how Rainbow was when she got restrained. Very little struggle, which is very uncharacteristic of her."

Twilight nodded, "Yes, but we may be able to get a better location than Fluttershy's compass because we have more points. Even if they are vague directions, using pythagorean's theorem and multiple directions pointing to the same target we can better transverse this maze."

"That's assuming you've been in this maze before." Pinkie perked up.

Twilight gave her an inquisitive look but didn't press the matter, "Me and Fluttershy have wings. We can view the maze from above. Or at least get bits and parts of it to guess where the path would be at."

"Hmmm." Pinkie said, examining the plants again.

"It's easy! We need at least one more point with Fluttershy's compass to get a pinpoint location. Then using that info, feeling, we can use the foliage cover to guess where the paths would be. The plants won't be able to get very high up to block the sun very well. Wait,"

"What?" Rarity asked.

"If I'm above guiding you guys around, I won't be able to help with the fight. I'd have to get through the thorns, land, and avoid that unicorn's magic. Not to mention the last time we took flight next to that wagon it started to do something. Last time it did that it snatched Rainbow out of the air…" Twilight trailed off, again staring at the dirt in concentration.

"So," Fluttershy started, "We need another line of tracking and an aerial view to guess where the paths would be?"

Twilight nodded, "I suppose you could be alone in the air Fluttershy. Well, no. Because I'd be doing the math and I don't want you to get yoinked out of the sky with the thorns and everything."

Quite suddenly something clicked in Fluttershy's head. It felt she had hit eureka but didn't know why. Her right foreleg swung up, straightened without her command, and began to click at Fluttershy's horror.

Then it opened. Her front leg just opened up like a hatch on a window cover. From it came a black device that reminded Fluttershy of very dull scissors. It was as if some filly had opened the scissors too far and made a horizontal line. At where the scissors would pivot there was a large ball that had been flattened just a little. The device suddenly started to move, mimicking the motion of using scissors but it only stopped half-way making a plus sign. The device then fell to its side with a clank of metal held up only by some rods extending from Fluttershy's leg.

Bits at each end of the plus sign started to spin. Thousands of bees seemed to flap their wings as the device shot upwards. It left behind an outline of the middle section that reminded Fluttershy of a ladle. It merely went further down her leg and rotated 90 degrees back into her leg. With a click the leg closed leaving the group in shock and awe.

The silence held as Fluttershy's remaining friends waited to see a response. Though Fluttershy wasn't focused on her friends at the moment. Her left eye had been in darkness for some time, yet it was suddenly filled with color. In the top right of her orb's vision she saw the words, Drone view, in bright blue. From her left eye she could see the tops of the plants that were blocking their path.

The view was interrupted by a prompt in bright blue lettering. Generating map… Then every outline of the image glowed for a secound in a lateral fashion. It did this a couple of times then the view faded, and she saw a map. Lines of blue twirled together to show the paths of the maze that the Reception 'ception were in.

Furthermore, she saw a pink butterfly on the map. When she focused on the butterfly, she saw her name float up in small font. She curiously took a couple steps to the left, more curious now than afraid.

The butterfly moved with her movements! She felt a small sensation of pride in figuring that out. She also noticed that a white butterfly was hovering around her. She focused on it and saw it was labeled drone. She looked up and saw whatever came from her leg was the, "drone."

She shivered but paused as a line was drawn between her label and the drone's, this time in neon green. The slowly inched forward across the map till they met at a central point to form a triangle. At the top of this triangle appeared two more triangles. One was facing upwards, the other was facing down, and both were layered on top of eachother. She focused on this new mark and found it was labeled as Reception 'ception. Another white line branched from the blue butterfly and traced along the blue pathways of the map. Words at the bottom stated, Routing…

Fluttershy narrowed her eye. Whatever she was now was not important. Right not her friends were in danger. Her new identity could be figured out later, but it was now that she needed to use it.

The white line finished it's path to the triangles and Fluttershy noticed as the red marks moved the line still stayed connected. It would change its path a bit, edging right or left, but it stayed on the triangles like Harry on honey.

Offering no explanation to her friends she exclaimed, "Follow me!" Her friends gave her looks but offered no hesitation in following as Fluttershy charged the right path.

As she followed the white line on the map, a floating line appeared in her right eye. She frowned slightly but followed the line anyway. A triangle suddenly blossomed in the line and pulsated, indicating to the right. She took a sharp right.

She suddenly heard a snap of magic and looked behind her. Twilight met her gaze and shouted, "When you are about to take a right, lift your right wing. When a left is coming raise your left. That last turn almost sent Pinkie into the thorns." Twilight's face nor words were accusing, only informative.

"Sorry Pinkie!" Fluttershy exclaimed behind her.

Pinkie laughed, "No worries! Just make sure you lead us to those vermin! " Pinkie replied adding a bit of Applejack's accent. She also noticed her mane morph into a sort of cowboy hat.

Fluttershy smiled and raised her left wing, a secound later she took a left. This time she didn't hear any magic. She did this for a while until they rounded a turn in time to see the wagon take a left turn.

"Alright! Take two!" Rarity shouted pulling a relatively straight stick from the path. It looked like an old dead branch with deadly thorns reaching outward. Though their defenses had no effect on Rarity's magic.

Twilight nodded and lit her horn. Blue meshed with purple as Twilight added her own magic to the stick, "There! It should be as strong as stone!" She shouted.

"Reception 'ception here we come!" Pinkie shouted dawning a pirate hat.

The group took the left-hand turn and saw the wagon hadn't been traveling at full speed as it had been before. At their thundering arrival the unicorn looked back and shouted, "Aww—" but a beeping noise come out of her mouth at the mare's utter confusion.

"Arhggg! There be no swearing in this here story!" Pinkie said getting into character of the pirate's hat. "Sink their ship Rare and Twi!"

The two magic users chuckled and replied with a hearty, "Aye captain!" The randomness settled as Rarity directed the stick into the wagon's wheel.

"First try!" Rarity grinned as the stick went between the spokes. The wheel stopped cold and dragged along the dirt with a terrible grinding sound. With a snap the stick shattered, sending bits of wood and purple magic flakes disappearing into the deadly brush surrounding them.

"Or not…" Rarity said looking at Twilight.

"Whatever that wheel is, it's able to push the wagon on its own. That's probably the reason those two have been able to keep going without rest." Twilight said wearily.

Fluttershy took a look at her friends. They all looked ready to drop yet the duo in front looked ready to keep running. She frowned, they needed something that could slow the wagon down. They couldn't catch up with flying. Sure, they could track it down at any time, but time would wear her and her friends out. The stick idea was a good idea, but they needed a stronger stick.

Words in her left eye suddenly read, Deploying lance.

She felt her right-side twitch and she watched it open. Unlike the grey metal interior that her leg had sported, a light blue glow seemed to exsist inside her form. Light didn't spill out of it like a spotlight but even as she watched a small rod hovered out parallel with her barrel. This rod was a little thinner than her leg but it was sharpened to a needle like point. It clicked and with the sound of a metal sliding on metal, telescopically extended a couple of feet in front of her. The end glowed blue and started to hum. The opening on her side slid shut becoming seamless once again.

Fluttershy gulped down her fear and anxiety. She'd deal with that later with all of her best friends.

"Oooh! What's that?" Fluttershy heard Pinkie ask but Fluttershy was trying to focus on the wagon and not the weird things that was happening to her. She had to catch up but how?

In her left eye above the map she saw herself but hallow and blue. It was as if somepony had taken hundreds of lines and arranged them to look like her in a 3D scale. She couldn't read the blue ponies facial expression but she noticed it was running with her movements.

Optimizing running patterns…

She felt her legs shift and she started to run different than she'd normally do, but she was starting to go faster.

Boosting main leg motors by 20%...

This time it felt she was made of air. Her speed doubled and she was able to start running like Applejack. She noticed that she didn't need to breathe any differently though but was more fascinated by the lance on her side.

No, it was floating by her side. Hovering about an inch from her coat was the lance, lightly bobbing to Fluttershy's gallop. So, she reached over and grabbed the lance with her mouth, just before the glowing bit. She noted the metal flavor and gave it a tug. No resistance tried to keep the lance by her side and she was now holding it like Winona retrieving a stick a bit too big for her mouth. She slowly edged the weapon to the left so she could better jam the piece into the wheel. She also approached the wagon from the colt's side to avoid the unicorn's magic blows.

"Switch me!" The unicorn in front of the wagon shouted and the two ponies jumped. In the air the two flipped over eachother, pivoting on a swivel built into the harness. Now the unicorn was on the side Fluttershy was on. "Not so fast you little—" Another bleep sounded from her mouth cutting off her words. She gave a shout of frustration and fired a beam of green energy at the pegasus.

Fluttershy jumped and spun left in the air. Three fourths through her spin, she sent the lance into the wheel. She landed on all fours, still running but now she was smiling. There was a dull thunk as the lance sunk into the side of the wagon but was followed up with the terrible grinding from before.

With a snap the wheel gave as the spokes in turn broke itself on the metal obstruction. The wagon suddenly tipped to the right and began to gouge the dirt below.

"How?!" The unicorn exclaiming shrilly, desperately trying to get the wagon to balance. The effort was in vain however, as Twilight, Pinkie, and Rarity circled to the front no longer playing catch up.

"The games are up!" Twilight shouted, wrapping her magic around the wagon. Sparks of green and purple came and went as Twilight overcame the wagon's defensive spell. The alicorn closed her eyes and grunted in concentration.

"No you don't!" The brown unicorn stated coldly as she fired a projectile of her own. Though a holographic diamond appeared to block it. The unicorn merely growled, her horn still lit.

There was a mighty crack of magic and the green magic vanished with a shimmer of light. Twilight smiled as the other unicorn's scowl only darkened.

"Calabunga!" Pinkie shouted as she rushed the other brown pony with a classic tackle and tumble. At the end of the tumble the pink pony was on top to which she shouted, "Can't run now!"

"Didn't need to." The brown pony replied stiffly. Then he proceeded to knock Pinkie in the head with the bat he had on his leg.

"Woooo.." Pinkie muttered, taking a few steps back.

The brown pony merely smiled and got up, "Is that all you got?"

The earthpony shook her head then said cheerfully, "Again?"

The brown pony barely kept a hold on his bat as he stood agape.

Pinkie frown, "Okay, your turn!"

The Reception 'ception's earth pony heard his teeth clack together as the bat was whisked from his grasp and swung around on his own head.

"What constellation do you see?" Pinkie asked excitedly, "I saw the ice cream sundae, but that could be something else."

The other earth pony didn't respond but merely retreated to his unicorn friend, "Is it done?"

The unicorn frowned, "Almost." At that the two retreated from the wagon with slow gentle steps.

Fluttershy and her friends then went to the wagon, inspecting the top. "How do we get this open?

Twilight didn't look back but had her gaze locked on the Reception 'ception, "Not sure. But hurry, that unicorn is preparing some sort of spell…" Twilight lit her own horn and projected a shield around the wagon and her friends, casting a comforting purple light.

"Have at thee!" Pinkie shouted, having procured a crowbar from thin air and trying to pry the top open.

Rarity blinked, "Where was that just a little bit ago?"

Pinkie shrugged, "Picked it up from that guy when we tumbled." She said raising a hoof to the other earth pony. The pony then proceeded to scowl after a frantic search of his bags.

Rarity merely shook her head with a small smile on her face. With a breath, she began to assist Pinkie with the prying of the roof using her magic to apply leverage.

Fluttershy frowned, not sure how to help with the crowbar but instead walked to Twilight, "What kind of spell do you think she's preparing?"

Twilight gave her a sideways glance, "I'm not entirely sure. She's masking it pretty well, but it seems to be some sort of summoning spell. Though I'm not sure what she is trying to summon…"

Fluttershy frowned looking at the plants around them. Who knows what creatures could be roaming these plants? Fluttershy herself could think of quite a few, all of which she didn't want to be summoned to fight them. Then she suddenly yelped as the shield was filled with a sharp crack of breaking metal.

"Whoa!" Pinkie exclaimed as the object she was bracing against suddenly became unanchored and she flew into the shield.

"So much for that…" Rarity sighed, still holding the broken pieces of the crowbar with her magic.

"What about this?" Pinkie asked reaching for the lance.

Fluttershy suddenly was quite alert, "Wait! Pinkie don't touch that!"

Too late. Pinkie's hoof made contact with the yellow lance and was immediately electrocuted. The air was filled with a tight hum for a few secounds before Pinkie was able to snatch her limb away. A shocked expression was on her face but it seemed she wasn't in pain. Her mane puffed up even more as she began to laugh. "WoW! That was quite the jolt! It's like your own mini lightning cloud!"

Twilight frowned, "How were you able to touch it then?"

Fluttershy grimaced, "Maybe because it's a part of me?" She used the word, "part," loosely. Not wanting to dwell of the meaning of what that made her.

Twilight frowned, "Sorry. Think you could use that to help get this wagon open? Sooner we get this done the sooner we can go to that inventor."

Fluttershy nodded and walked to the lance still stuck in the wagon. She grabbed it and gave a light tug. It popped out of the wagon with ease. Then she attempted to plant the device into the top of the wagon just as Pinkie had done with the crowbar, but something stopped her. Her left eye suddenly went blue with two red blobs just below her hooves. The spot she had been aiming for was directly above one of the red blobs. She frowned and chose another spot clear of any red. This time nothing stopped her, and the lance sunk all the way through the roof and seemed to bury its full length till it hit something underneath.

"Alright, now we just push it open." Rarity said throwing the broken tool away only to frown. "I can't wrap my magic around that lance."

Twilight looked back, "What?"

Rarity frowned and seemed to be concentrating, "My magic has no effect Fluttershy's lance. I can't even touch it…"

"Here let me try." Twilight offered and focused on the object as well only to frown. "Neither can I. Though it's not a magic enchantment. Whatever that thing is made out of its magic proof. Like Chrysalis's throne."

Fluttershy frowned, "Oh dear." She was not sure that she could pry open the wagon alone.

Her left eye went black again then it read:

Changing lance settings:

-Magic firewall adjusted…

Users "Rarity," and "Twilight," have been granted permission to manipulate weapon_lance

-Electric preventative measures deactivated.

She blinked at the words not understanding what it meant, "Uh. Try now."

Pinkie gently raised a hoof to the lance and cautiously touched it. "Oooh! What did you do?"

The lance glowed blue as Rarity grabbed it, "Works fine now. Do tell Fluttershy, what happened?"

Fluttershy could only shrug in response.

Rarity smiled understandingly, "Well, no matter. Let's get our friends back." The trio nodded and with Twilight's protection, the three pushed against the lance. Which, unlike the crowbar, held its structural integrity. After a few minutes of pushing and pulling the wagon top popped open.

Two, tired, but relieved faces squinted in the sudden light. Rarity focused on the restraints and the key holes started to glow. It shifted in different directions till Rarity lit up and made the device click. It opened up and floated off of Rainbowdash's face.

"It's about time…" Rainbow smiled watching Rarity remove the restraint on Applejack. "Thanks guys. Was really worried for a secound there."

"No worries my dear." Rarity replied, throwing the restraints to the side. "Though it's been quite a journey to get to this point."

"Journey?" Applejack asked in a voice akin to someone just waking up.

Pinkie smiled and offered a hoof, "Well, for starters, that lance-y thingy belongs to Fluttershy. Literally came from her ribs."

Applejack and Rainbow merely gave looks to Fluttershy and Pinkie.

Fluttershy frowned and nodded.

Though it was Twilight who spoke up, "Girls!"

The group turned towards the purple alicorn in concern. The pony was staring at the Reception 'ception's unicorn. Her eyes were glowing bright green with a wide smile inches below.

"Now, you die!" The unicorn shouted only for it to be drowned out by sudden howling. The unicorn was now emitting a green aura than pierced the ground and the plants around it. Twisting with uncomfortable cracks, the vines morphed into recognizable shapes.

"Timber wolves…" Applejack whispered.

The wolves either walked from the vines they came from or dropped from the higher branches though each and every one had their eyes directly on the ponies protected by Twilight's shield. Yet, they weren't exact timberwolves but spiky relatives. They were made up of brighter shades of wood, just like the vines around. Hundreds of spikes protruded the creatures' bodies presumably with the same toxic poison.

"Not quite." The now glowing green unicorn said, "These aren't exact Timberwolves as their magic is from the Everfree forest. But mimicking that magic with my own makes pretty good duplicates." The unicorn's grin was mimicked on her teammates, "There hasn't been a pony that has been able to best this summoning spell. Let's test it against an alicorn's magic shall we?" She gazed at the wooden wolves around her, that started to growl and approach the purple bubble.

"Uh, Twilight?" Pinkie asked frightened.

Twilight didn't reply, instead she stomped her hoof. The shield flashed white and became a bubble made up of hexagons. Some hexagons glowed and fired at the Timberwolves with sparking purple energy.

The Timberwolves exploded at the touch leaving a pile of splinters and thorns. Twilight smiled as more hexagons fired their energies.

The unicorn only laughed.

The splinters only gathered back together reforming the wolf it had come from. More energy blasts fired from the shield only to be proven ineffective. The blasts stopped coming as the wolves got close enough to strike. Wooden claws sparked green as the wolves slashed and tackled the shield attempting to get through.

Twilight immediately slumped as if someone had dropped heavy saddle bags on her. She groaned slowly raising her stance back up. But the shield cracked, and Twilight fell to the ground. She growled and lifted her head, horn still glowing.

Fluttershy stared at Twilight wanting to get an explanation but she doubted Twilight could even respond. She glanced around the shield and saw it was completely surrounded by the wolves. They couldn't attack close range because of the spikes. Which meant Rarity, Twilight and maybe Pinkie would be the only ones who could attack. Applejack, Rainbow, and herself could only take on the creatures at close range but that would risk getting poisoned.

Enter battle mode?

She blinked as red words appeared in her left eye's vision. She swallowed, unsure if she should. What did battle mode mean? She didn't like the sound of it either.

The shield splintered, cracks crawling along the surface with startling creaks. Twilight collapsed eyes closed in concentration. Her horn slowly losing its glow.

She stared at the unicorn fueling the summoning spell. Why was she beating Twilight so effectively? She took a breath and nodded her head.

Her vision in her left eye cleared only to be replaced with a red haze. Text began to appear on the left side, scrolling so fast she barley was able to read it.

Entering battle mode… Success!

Diagnostics:

Motors check…100%

Pre-charging plasmatic generators…done

Calibrating sensors…error…

Left eye obstructed. Clearing…

Her eye patch seemingly fell off at her displeasure. Confusion on how it had happened was replaced with curiosity as the text continued.

Calibrating sensors…done.

Weapons check…

Lance deployed.

Weapons all accounted for….

Synchronizing magmatic extenders…

Fluttershy felt herself hum. Only for a few secounds as whatever a magmatic extender revved up.

Checks and calibrations done. Assessing battle…

Enemies: 125

The number counter stayed put while the rest of the text blinked out of view. Twilight's shield flashed in her vision for a secound then the reception 'ception flashed as well. Text then explained what had happened to Twilight.

Enemies capable of energy absorption. Twilight's shield energy is being siphoned off and being used for retaliation.

Fluttershy frowned. The wolves were able to take Twilight's energy from the shield and then use that energy to hit the shield harder. No wonder Twilight was tired! She was fighting herself and the other unicorn! Though what was she going to do about it.

Prepping battle strategy… done.

Generating weapon needs…

Deployed devices are sufficient.

Waiting for confirmation…

Fluttershy blinked as the plan was routed to her. She frowned but nodded. The plan wouldn't hurt her friends but how was her shield supposed to be better than Twilight's?

Her limbs moved on their own. Well, slightly. Her and the, "battle mode," were moving her limbs. She took a battle stance and she felt the slight hum again. Her face crinkled in a sort of confusion but fascinated fashion. She could feel tendrils of energy extending from her that could be controlled with her will. She felt the battle mode expertly wrap these new invisible limbs around her lance and noticed the weapon snapped to the energy like a magnet to a fridge, only to realize that's exactly what was happening.

She heard a slight crack as the lance they had used to free Rainbow and Applejack was pried from the wagon and hovered next to her side. It hummed and shot through the shield and impaled an attacking wolf.

Her enemy counter dropped by one as Twilight gasped. The shield was left with a notable hole surrounded with cracks that were slowly crawling along the magic surface. It held for a bit, then cracked more and shattered. The pieces fading before they could hit the ground. Fluttershy saw Twilight look at the lance then at her, but she payed it no mind. She merely extended her wings.

The unicorn growled and the wolfs leaped forward. Yet Fluttershy didn't flinch. Green gems emerged from her wings and they began to shimmer. There was a pop, and a green bubble sprang up surrounding Twilight and her friends, pushing the timberwolf wannabes away. After a moment of regrouping, the wolfs resumed their attack but no green sparks accompanied their claws as they struck the shield.

"What?" The unicorn growled. Though Fluttershy didn't hear her words, only read her lips and saw the quivering of her ribs.

Fluttershy smiled. Battle mode had briefly told her that the wolfs had the ability to absorb energy and redirect it. So, in the case of battle, the guise of the Timeberwolfs was to get the enemy to use their strongest shield so that the spell could have the strongest ammo. She noticed that battle mode was talking to her via words again but it had already been highlighted in the plan.

Changing lance type…

The lance jumped up but with a new addition to the end. It had become a halberd. Now supporting a glowing blue axe blade. It seemed to be made of energy that fizzled and crackled.

"Your magic has no effect on solid objects." Fluttershy mumbled. She wasn't sure what her shield was made of, but she knew that it wasn't magic. The halberd then spun careening into the wolfs turning them back into splinters. Fluttershy stared as she felt the magic supporting the creatures was sucked into her weapon, then into her own being. The energy seemed to course through her, stuck in a loop somewhere in her forehead. She walked over to Twilight, barely noticing her flinch, and placed a hoof on her shoulder.

Beginning transfer of excess…

The loop broke and ran down her neck and to her hoof. It then came in contact with Twilight's coat which greedily took away. Twilight perked up but said thanks, but Fluttershy was too focused on directing her halberd. With the help and direction of the Battle mode, half of the enemies lay in splinters.

"Hey Twilight! Open that shield a bit. I think I can nail that mare in the face." Apple jack said bouncing one of the restraints that had restrained her just a little while ago.

"It's not me!" Twilight exclaimed. "It's Fluttershy!"

Apple jack merely blinked. "Uh, well, Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy turned to the orange pony only for her to flinch in alarm. Fluttershy frowned remembering the eye patch falling off. She frowned and looked down, visibly upset.

"Fluttershy!" Pinkie's voice exclaimed void of fear. "You still there?!"

Fluttershy looked up, seeing Pinkie up close and personal with her face pressing against Pinkie's.

"Your eyes may be all red and creepy but its battering time!" Pinkie exclaimed pointing at Applejack and Rainbow. Rainbow was now bouncing the restraint with Applejack poised to launch the object at the unicorn. Buckymil-giliguty and kicksmcgee facing the target in question.

"We just need a gap in the shield. Can you do that?" Pinkie asked grinning.

Fluttershy frowned and after a moment's notice she nodded. She glanced in the direction of the enemy and flexed her wings slightly. Slowly forming a small hole in the green barriar.

Immediately the hole was filled with wolfs attempting to get through. But were grabbed and pulled out by Twilight's magic. Fluttershy's weapon quickly dispatching them.

"Batter up!" Rainbow cried and lobbed the metal piece behind Applejack. Applejack lifted her back legs and quickly curled and sprung outwards in a powerful buck. Her legs sent the restraint flying into the bubble as Applejack missed.

Fluttershy adjusted her wings again and the hole moved a bit. "Try now." She said calmly still using her halberd to eliminate the wooden creature that kept spawning from the plants around them. None of them were able to make headway against Fluttershy's shield but were kept at bay. Those that tried to enter through the small hole were pushed back by Twilight's magic and were quickly diced.

"Strike!" Pinkie shouted going to retrieve the restraint.

"Here you go. There's plenty of ammo down here." Rarity's voice wafted up from the wagon as another restraint flew up from it's depths.

"Thank you." Rainbow said, snatching the restraint. "Ready?"

Applejack nodded. And again bucked the projectile with a mighty wallop. This time the restraint cleared the hole but was knocked out its trajectory by the colt with his studded bat.

"Strike two!" Pinkie shouted bopping a Timberwolf with her hoof. Her hoof was glowing purple, spikes breaking under the magic glow.

Change in battle tactic detected. Generating new plan…

Fluttershy turned her head to the side and then said, "Hang on Applejack and Rainbow." The two listened to her and paused and looked at her. Fluttershy looked back watching a line, projecting Applejack's firing, go from Applejack to the outside of her shield. She then closed the hole in the shield and directed her halberd to the Reception 'ception who backed up in alarm. "Fire on my mark, don't aim. Just launch it."

Applejack merely nodded.

She then split the two enemy ponies up, slicing the colt's bat in two, much to his dismay. He threw it away, the trailing bits smoking as it flew through the air. After that she herded the two in different directions till the unicorn was almost in line with the line from Applejack. She attempted to blast the halberd with a green magic blast but to no effect.

"Now!" Fluttershy said following the command from the Battle mode.

Rainbow lobbed up the restraint and Applejack bucked it flying. Fluttershy then opened the shield enough for the restraint and watched it sail into the unicorn's face. It clicked together and the unicorn went down. The colt rushed forward only to back up from Fluttershy's spinning halberd.

The Timberwolf's eyes stopped glowing and exploded into bits of wood and spikes. Fluttershy dropped her shield and allowed Twilight to use her magic to move the splinters and spines to a safe area. Then the group advanced to the Reception 'ception.

The stallion was still trying to get to his partner but was quickly snatched up by Twilight's magic. Pinkie rushed over and placed a restraint on the earth ponies face. He blinked and slumped over. Twilight gently put him down and stared at the metal restraint.

"Hmm. Just like your lance, I can't touch it with my magic…" Twilight said.

Rarity walked over and nodded, "Same here. Only the internal lock mechanisms are interactable."

Fluttershy walked up and began to speak, "That's because they are crafted with Dark stone. Parts of it anyway. It's also imbued with enchantments to subdue the natural magic within ponies. Earth pony's natural strength, pegasus flight, and unicorn magic."

Twilight gave her a look, "Okay, now is a good time to ask. How do you know that?"

"I'm not sure. Something in my head does and just told me. Well, wrote to me."

"You see words in your head?"

Fluttershy nodded, "My lance seems to have bits of dark stone embedded within the electromagnetic components. Which allows me to set it to block certain frequencies of magic."

"So, you can allow some ponies magic to work on it but some not at all?" Twilight asked thoughtfully.

Fluttershy nodded.

"Maybe that's the reason she wasn't able to lift you earlier, "Twilight theorized, pointing to the restrained unicorn, "You may be able to project that same effect on yourself. But in battle you may have done subconsciously."

Fluttershy frowned, "So what does that make me?"

"Our friend!" Rarity said quickly, "I'm not sure if we have known you any other way. That doesn't bother me in the slightest."

Applejack, Rainbow, and Twilight nodded.

"Even if you have red eyes, a lance, impenetrable shield, and have crazy flying things coming out of your legs." Pinkie said with a smile.

Fluttershy smiled in return. She still hoped that she could be changed to normal later on.

Twilight nodded again and walked to a patch of sunshine. Her horn glowed again, and she shot a purple beam into the sky. "That'll get the attention of the guards." She explained a magic explosion occurring in the air, "But let's stay with these two to make sure that they don't get away.

Fluttershy sighed, glad the battle was over. Well, she thought and turned to the restrained two. Almost done anyway.

Battle mode on stand by…

"Oooh! You can change the color of your eyes!?" Pinkie exclaimed looking Fluttershy in the eye. The red had shifted to a dark orange.

Fluttershy blinked, "Uh. I guess?"

Pinkie only squealed in excitement, "Can you do pink?"

Fluttershy blinked thinking about it.

Pinkie gasped, "You can! But just your iris…"

Fluttershy only smiled, imagining her eyes a different color than she was used to. The was a swoosh of air to interrupt her thoughts as the lance returned to her side. She watched lance shrink down to its original size. Then her side opened up and the miniaturized lance sunk once again into where her ribcage would go.

"Wow. That is a little creepy." Applejack stated looking aghast. "Is this why we are going to that inventor? It's not just 'cause that eye is it?"

Fluttershy shrugged, "Originally yes. But now, I'm really not sure what I am. Everything I've know is being uncovered to be a lie. I'm a pegasus? Or some killer machine?"

"Killer machine?" Rainbow asked skeptically. "Fluttershy, you are the nicest pony we know. And for goodness sake the element of kindness. There is no, killer, in that."

Twilight nodded, "You are still our friend. And we will stick with you even if you sprout fins and gills."

"Flutter-fish?" Pinkie offered.

That got Fluttershy to smile but only for a bit.

The air again was filled with a mobile beehive as the drone came down from its skyward view. Fluttershy instinctively sat down and lifted up her leg. It opened up and the ladle device again came out. To which the drone hovered close, sending Fluttershy's mane flowing in the opposite direction. It landed in the ladle with a click as the buzzing came to a halt not much later. It became a horizontal line again and swiveled into the yellow leg from which it came. The hatch slid shut and became seamless.

Twilight slowly came close; gaze locked on Fluttershy's limb. Which she had let fall to the ground in defeat. Twilight then met her gaze and asked, "May I look at your leg?"

Fluttershy nodded and offered her limb.

Twilight gingerly lifted the appendage with apparent care, examining where the device had come from, "Wow. I can't even tell where the hatch is. The fit is extremely tight."

"Twilight," Fluttershy felt as if there was a massive weight on her heart, "You may accept me now but what if the next time I pull out that lance one of you get hurt?!" The worry felt like it was constricting her throat and compressing her lungs. She could only imagine instead of the wolfs feeling the brunt of her weapon, her friends feeling the slicing edge.

Rainbow only laughed however, "Fluttershy. How many dangerous situations have we been in? Tons. Never have you once tried to hurt us."

The restrained unicorn suddenly started to laugh, "Still got it!" An audible click echoed through the woods as the restraint on the unicorn was somehow removed. Her horn glowed and her teammate was released soon afterward. "Now. Where were we?" She asked directing the question towards the six ponies.

Twilight snorted and got into a fighting stance. Her horn started to glow as she prepped a spell.

"NO!" The other unicorn shouted and shot a blast of green energy faster than Twilight could react.

The shot never made it to its target however, as Fluttershy found herself in the path of the energy. It hit her hair and vaporized.

Two targets. Mid-range.

Error: Lance retrieved.

Deploying Plasma cannon.

Plasma!? Fluttershy barely had time to register the text flowing in front of her vision. Her left leg shot up and her hoof seperated in six triangles that pulled outward. Then each shape turned and clicked into position next to her fetlock. Her hoof was now a glowing blue barrel emitting a low whine. Her leg took it a step further and widened the barrel by creating seams from the bottom of her hoof to about her shoulder. The lines of grey slowly became blue as the device powered up. A couple of rectangular boxes coming out at the seemingly random points on the leg each sporting glowing blue lights.

Blaster charging…

Using default setting: elimination.

Fluttershy's eyes widened. Her leg had transformed in less than a second. A red targeting ring was glowing on the unicorn in front of her.

"NO!" Fluttershy screamed as she attempted to move her leg. She didn't want to kill anypony!

There was a low thoom as her arm emitted a bright, sparking ball of plasma. It rushed forward right at the unicorn. Fluttershy's last second adjustment made the ball of plasma miss the pony's face by mere inches. Instead, the ball sailed a little too far up just missing her ear. It took a large chunk of her hat and mane. Continuing on its path, the ball landed in the soil leaving behind a large flash and burnt material.

The unicorn of the reception caption could only stare. Her eyes the size of pins as she contemplated how close she had been to death. The reality seemed to crush her and she collapsed into a sitting position. Bits of burning hair falling around her.

"You little freak!" The stallion shouted and rushed forward with a small knife in his mouth. Pulling it from the cloth on his leg.

The targeting ring immediately flashed over to his face and her leg aligned to the target with sharp movements.

"NO!" Both Fluttershy and the enemy unicorn screamed. Fluttershy again wrenched her leg into motion and the colt glowed green as his comrade pulled on him with her magic. The combined efforts got him out of the way and the ball of plasma landed in the soil harmlessly. It rolled for a bit before flashing away. A black mark marking its previous existence.

The reception 'ception merely looked at each other with quiet conversation. Fluttershy was shaking like a leaf struggling to calm the aggressive targeting. All her friend's voices seemed to be a thousand miles away as she stared at her foreleg, in disbelief. She had almost killed two ponies with very little forethought. What had the text said? Default setting: Elimination? She frowned wanting that to change immediately. She didn't know how though. Wait, what about how she changed her eye color? Did the thing inside her head listen to her thoughts?

Unlike her eyes changing on thought, nothing in her head seemed to change no matter how hard she thought. Her frown only grew and she focused her thoughts on her leg. Could she at least change her leg from a death bringer to a, somewhat normal leg? This time her body listened. Her leg hissed as it released steam from two of the boxes. She noticed that her friends had jumped back at the sudden gas release. Though was more relieved as her leg clicked and slid back to normal.

She gingerly set it down and relaxed as she felt no pain. She looked at her friends but looked away fearing that targeting rings would appear over her friends. Her breath caught in her throat as her imagination went wild with that idea, causing her stomach to clench up.

"Fluttershy? You okay?" Applejack said gingerly, "You're looking a little green." Applejack's voice had concern and worry. Though it wasn't all directed at her. Fluttershy could tell that the technology in her leg had frightened her even if she wouldn't admit it.

Fluttershy then flinched as she felt a hoof touch her shoulder. She whipped her head around to see it was Applejack. Though she had pulled her hoof away with her sudden movement.

Fluttershy shook her head trying to keep her friends out of her vision, "No! Stay back! I don't want to hurt you too!" She whispered.

Her friends didn't comply however and tried to reassure her with a hug. She resisted the embrace and took off towards the path. She heard her friends call out but she drowned it out. She had to get away! Otherwise, her battle mode may lock on to her friends! Though it seemed her friends weren't so eager to let her get away.

"Hey!" She heard Applejack shout after her, "What are ya doing!?"

Fluttershy didn't respond. Yet, she heard Applejack's hooves beating the ground near her. She frowned, how did she get faster last time? She wanted to get faster? No. She expressed the need to get faster.

I need to outrun all of my friends so they don't get hurt by this battle mode. She thought hoping something was listening. She felt relief fill her as she got a response.

Optimizing running patterns…

Boosting main leg motors by 20%...

Fluttershy felt her speed increase again but realized that she was now running as fast as Applejack.

"How the—" She heard Applejack mutter but also heard her snort and the beat got faster.

Faster! Fluttershy thought desperately

Boosting main leg motors by 50%...

She felt as lighter than air. Her speed doubled and she almost looked behind her to check on Applejack, whose hooves she could no longer hear, but stopped herself.

She did hear the familiar noise of wings beating the air, carrying whomever through the sky at a faster speed than hooves could. She frowned now worried. Why was Rainbow flying? This undergrowth was deadly. She blinked as she realized the area around her was clear. The unicorn's spell had taken the branches and pulled them into her creations; leaving a large clearing. But even and Fluttershy ran, the clearing was getting smaller and smaller as she ran.

Though Fluttershy realized it wasn't Rainbow that was flying. Instead, it was Twilight who shouted, "Fluttershy! Stop!"

Fluttershy blinked. She had felt this magic before. The time at the castle of the two sisters where her and her friends were hysterical about different things. Where Twilight had snuffed out the emotional turmoil with a freezing spell. She looked down, feeling and seeing a purple glow holding her tightly in place. She heard her friends approach her, also heard Twilight fly over her and land in front of her. She couldn't see because she had squeezed her eyes shut. She felt her eyelid over broken eye limply cover the mechanical device but it felt like blinds on a window with painful scratches.

"Fluttershy? You okay?" She heard Twilight gently ask.

Fluttershy tried to shake her head but realized she couldn't, "No!" She exclaimed in a loud whisper. "I don't want to hurt you!"

"Why would you hurt us?" She heard Applejack ask. The concern for her own being was gone. Instead redirected at her friend who whimpered, trying to make sure her eyes couldn't open a millimeter.

Surrendering running pattern control to user…

Removing boost to main leg motors. Resuming normal power levels.

"It's not me!" She exclaimed. She needed to get out of this magic! She needed to get away! She needed to figure out what was going on with her! Why now? Why had such a comparatively small problem activated such abilities in her when she had faced the likes of Discord and Tirek? Where was her abilities when the Storm King attacked? Why now?

She brushed away those questions knowing they could be solved later. Now, she needed to go. That was the main priority. Though she knew that Twilight wasn't just going to let her go. She had to break free! But how was she going to face the might of an alicorn?

She frowned adjusting her thoughts. She didn't want whatever was listening to think one of her friends was an enemy. She just needed to be able to stop the magic.

"It's not you?" Twilight's voice asked obviously confused, "What do you mean?"

Text was streaming in front of her eye even as she listened to Twilight's question.

Magic firewall settings open…

Change inquiry?

Temporary rejection

Target?

All magic sources

Inquiry accepted. Changing settings…

Internalizing cutiemarkmagic_Fluttershy…

Done.

Confirming settings before initialization.

Temporary rejection of all external magic. Excluding containment protocols and other defined definitions.

That's exactly what she needed! Though she kept reading as Twilight was finishing her question.

Duration: Until user terminations change

Fluttershy frowned, wondering exactly how she was supposed to do that. But the thing seemed to hear her question and responded.

MMO: Users must open Magic firewall settings and remove Temporary_rejection rejection.

Confirm?

Fluttershy frowned and merely thought yes, "I don't know Twilight!" She said aloud. Twilight's magic hold suddenly loosened. She felt her hooves fall back into place. She spent no time and started to sprint away.

"I can't hold her!" Twilight exclaimed and gave chase with Applejack. "Pinkie! Rarity! Keep those two down!" Fluttershy heard her say but didn't give a glance.

I need to go faster! She thought, As fast as I possibly can go on the ground!

Inquiry requires additional settings to be changed. Confirm?

YES! She thought noticing her initial speed boost was gone and Applejack was right on her heels.

Confirmed.

Calibrating balance sensors for a possible differential of 50 degrees.

Preloading wing patterns for control…

Preloading wing patterns for anti-lift…

Preloading running patterns:

-Hard left…

-Hard right…

-Emergency stop…

Done.

Optimizing current running patterns…

Done.

Deploying hoof traction spikes…

Done.

Loading previously generated map from RAM…

Saving Map onto hard_memory…

Success!

-MMO/Maps/Custom_maze

Route generated.

Settings have been preloaded. Second confirmation required. Confirm?

Fluttershy saw the lines fly by her vision. Traction spikes? She felt her hooves were gripping the ground better and that was helping her keep away from Applejack but she was almost close enough to touch her tail.

Yes! She shouted in her mental domain.

Confirmed.

Boosting leg motors by 500%

Fluttershy's eyes widened. 500% percent!? Then she felt like she became the air. Her legs snapped back and forth, delivering powerful pushes into the ground that accelerated her past any sort of personal best. This time she could hear a faint whine coming from her legs. A whine that sounded like something that would come out of Flim and Flam's machines. The thought saddened her but a wall of spikes immediately brushed it away.

The route she had been given was telling her to go left but she was going way to fast to take a left. Well to her knowledge anyway.

But the system in her head seemed to know what to do. She realized her wings were open and flapping in a way that seemed counterproductive to the purpose of having them. They were pushing her down! Yet at the spike wall, they changed their movements to slow her down and push her left. Her legs also started to go left but her whole body seemed to tilt almost 45 degrees and she started to slide. She felt her legs move still but in slower more powerful motions. Fluttershy watched as the spike wall was avoided and her speed was only hindered slightly. The lost speed was forgotten as she was able to recover it in less than a second.

The path ahead of her was straight for a while. She felt her wings resume pushing her down rather than up and after two more tight turns she dared a look behind her. She didn't see any ponies giving chase. This made her sigh in both relief and misery. She needed to figure out what exactly was going on with herself. She didn't want to shoot random plasma blasts at anypony who scared her. Especially not her friends.

Twilight was bewildered. She just witnessed a pony drift. "Yes," she told herself, "A pony drift." Fluttershy had somehow been able to completely void her magic, falling through her magical grasp as if she was trying to hold smoke in her hooves. Any spell she tried further was also ineffective. She was casting the spell right, but it was as if Fluttershy wasn't there in her magical eyes. Teleportation, levitation, even a sleeping spell was cast aside. Applejack, Rainbow, and herself had tried to keep up to Fluttershy's wild speed but to no avail. She had suddenly gotten the speed to outrun the ability to fly. Well, she countered, not Rainbow's speed but the maze had stopped her from flying to her best. Her frown deepened as the trio turned another corner only to find a straight path leading to a left and right. No sign of a yellow pegasus running at the speed of a 12-pony carriage.

"Hold on girls," Twilight said coming to a stop and hovering in the air. The other two stopped if a bit resistant.

"Twilight! Why?" Rainbow asked indignant. "We have to keep going! Otherwise, she is going to get away!"

Applejack frowned, "By the looks of it, she already has."

"Not entirely," Twilight said landing and inspecting the ground. "Look." She indicated to the roughed up ground left in Fluttershy's wake. "Whatever speed boost she got seems to be ripping up the ground pretty bad." Did Fluttershy grow spikes in her hooves? She thought, closely examining the ground.

"Okay! We have a trail! Then let's go!" Rainbow shouted impatiently.

"Hold on." Applejack said to Rainbow's dismay. "Didn't Fluttershy lead us through this maze?"

Applejack's words brought a terrible realization on Twilight, "She could have already gotten out of the maze…" She said defeated.

Applejack nodded, "Yeah. Once she is out of this cursed brush she'd be able to fly away. We can't track air travel, can we?" She looked at Twilight.

Twilight shrugged, "Technically yes. But we'd have to know where the trail starts."

"Well, could you use your magic to see farther?" Rainbow asked in a thoughtful voice.

Twilight nodded, "Yes, I suppose I could but what purpose would that serve?"

"If you were high enough you could spot Fluttershy leaving the maze. She's bright pink and yellow so I don't think that it'd be that hard to spot her."

Twilight nodded, wishing she had thought of that.

Applejack frowned and pointed up, "Uh, how are ya going to get up?" There was little to no sunshine lighting up the area around them.

Twilight smiled and a large dome of magical energy blossomed into existence. Pushing upwards on the brambles she created a large hole to which that she pushed it outwards. Letting the energy fade, Twilight then flew through the new hole in the foliage roof.

She continued flying upwards till she reached the clouds. She wanted to go higher to be able to see better but the cloud would restrict her vision—

She stopped herself and magically willed the cloud to move. It was slow and it caused her to frown.

"Here, let me help," Rainbow said surprising Twilight. She then flew to the edge of the cloud and put both hooves into the fluffy material. She braced against it and the whole thing started to move.

Twilight nodded and flew through the cloud and continuing upwards. Once she was at the height she wanted, she closed her eyes. Allowing her magic to seep into her eyes, she folded and mixed it to allow her eyes to pick up and focus on scenes farther away. She also added safety to make sure she could switch between normal and zoomed vision. Also made sure she didn't burn out her eyes because of the light.

She then opened her eyes and blinked till she saw a focused image. She could see to the far edge of the spike foliage and beyond. She focused on the edge however, scanning for any trace of pink and yellow.

"Twilight?" Rainbow asked.

"Yes?" Twilight answered, not looking up. Her gaze was scanning the edge. She would see yellow only to realize it was a large flower.

"You just teleport to Fluttershy. Me and Applejack would only slow you down."

Twilight blinked and switched to her normal vision, "What? No! We all need to be there for her."

Rainbow nodded, "Yes, but you saw how fast she could run. At this point, it's going to be you and me. That's if I'm able to find her." Rainbow shook her head. "Fluttershy, I'm sure, is worried about hurting one of us with her new, er, leg?"

Twilight nodded, catching on, "I'm really the only one able to defend against something like that huh…"

Rainbow nodded, "Yeah. I'm sure if whatever was making her fire were to do so against you, you'd be able to defend just fine. Which may put our shy friend's nerves at ease. I'll go back with Applejack to those other two to make sure the guards get there."

Twilight nodded, then turned her gaze back to the edge of the foliage. Carefully scanning each and every yellow object till she saw one bolt outside of the spiky plants. She smiled as she saw a pink mane and flapping wings. She focused on that area, a plan forming in her head. She took flight in the direction and prepped her teleportation spell. When she felt she was going fast enough she let her teleportation spell pull her into time-space. To which she exited with the same speed she entered, right next to Fluttershy.

Twilight tackled her friend to the ground. Her careful calculations hitting their mark as the two ponies tumbled along the ground, Fluttershy's previous momentum carrying them along. Twilight anchored a magical shield to herself and wrapped it around both of them since she couldn't anchor it to Fluttershy herself.

After a few tense moments, the two came to a stop, to which Fluttershy started to struggle dearly. Though Twilight wanted to hold her down, she let her go backing up with the words, "Wait! Please?!" Her shield passing right through Fluttershy before she let it fade.

Fluttershy took two steps away, only to pause.

Twilight smiled, "Look. I know you are worried, that's why I'm here. Alone. Anything you throw at me I should be able to defend against."

"Even the energy blasts that nearly killed those two earlier?" Twilight heard Fluttershy whisper. Though Twilight had had enough experience to hear her friend's almost non-existent voice.

"Yes. That energy was composed of plasma. Not a very hard thing to block with magic. Just a solid wall with heat-absorbing weave. You've seen my shields in action."

Fluttershy sighed, "Yes. I have."

"So, what's wrong?"

Fluttershy slowly sat down, apparently looking at her leg, "I'm not who I thought I was." She said quietly, "I thought I was part of nature. Helping its power to grow and blossom. Only to find out I'm pretty far from organic in almost every way…" Twilight saw her lift her leg to her face, examining it with some emotion Twilight couldn't sense.

Twilight frowned, "Well. Does it really matter?"

Fluttershy didn't look at her, instead kept facing the other direction, "What do you mean?" Twilight wasn't able to see her face, but the confusion and curiosity was apparent in her voice.

"Well, think about it. No pony, not even you knew, about your gift. So," She paused finding her voice was taking her along a path she was unsure of.

"So?" Fluttershy pressed. Twilight say her head turns towards her, but not enough for her to see her eyes.

Twilight frowned, "So, we don't know how, um, long you have had this gift." Fluttershy's head turned away so she quickly added, "So that could mean that you've been this way long enough to become friends with us. Become the bearer of the Element of Kindness. Think about it! Does this change our friendship? No. No, it doesn't." Twilight ended triumphantly.

Fluttershy didn't answer or move at all.

Twilight still couldn't see her face so she started to walk to the side of her friend, "I don't care if you suddenly sprout dual mounted," she paused looking for words to finish her thought, "alien, blaster thingys."

"Gatling guns?" Fluttershy offered.

Twilight lit up, "Yes! Those things! From Spike's comic book! Honestly, I think Spike would go crazy over that."

That makes her friend chuckle. Just a little.

"And all of our friends think the same way. Let's just go back!" She pleaded, "Don't run away, let us help you!"

Fluttershy seemed to sink, her head drooping more.

Twilight was now next to her friend and when she had noticed, Fluttershy panicked.

"Don't let me see you!" Fluttershy exclaimed turning so once again Fluttershy's back was to her purple friend.

"Why?!"

"Because you'll get targeted," Fluttershy said sternly, the sternest Twilight had ever heard her say.

"Targeted?" Twilight asked curiously but letting her friend have her wish.

"Like how I almost took out those two? The Reception 'ception? Targeting rings appeared on their faces and my leg just started to, move!"

Twilight sighed, "Okay. Well, I can block whatever you throw at me." She said igniting her horn to summon a shield. Once her defenses were up she said, "Look at me." She made sure her voice was firm but not too firm.

Fluttershy whimpered but turned around. Her eyes were squeezed shut which made Twilight frown.

"Fluttershy…" She said gently, "I can take on the likes of Tirek. I'm pretty sure I can handle a little plasma." She knew that she had all of the alicorn magic in Equestria in her veins at that time but she hoped that it would reassure her friend to open her eyes. She also mentally braced herself for her friend to sprout gatling guns with Quadro-rocket launchers from her sides. She then took a mental note to stop reading Spike's comic books.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Fluttershy's deep breathing. Deep and rapid. Then she saw Fluttershy's eyes snap open. There was a pattern that she hadn't noticed before. That or it had appeared on her eyes. Her broken eye didn't sport such a pattern but her other eye was full of triangles. Two main ones that were at the center were layered over each other, one facing up and the other facing down. Other smaller triangles sprinkled the rest of the eye. Each triangle was as red as emergency lights, but without the piercing reach, those lights had.

Fluttershy seemed to pause, still breathing heavily. Then she flinched and covered her eyes with her legs and her wings, "No, no, no, no…."

Twilight braced her shield, but nothing happened, "Huh, Fluttershy? Is something supposed to be happening?"

Fluttershy nervously moved her limbs and looked at her friend. "Ally?"

"Of course I'm your ally." Twilight smiled and dropped her shield.

Fluttershy nodded, "Yes, but whatever is in my head is also marking you as an ally."

Twilight beamed, "Great! So, if I'm marked as an ally, then all of our friends will be too!"

Fluttershy smiled weakly, "I guess so."

A large explosion sounded off in the distance. Jerking both pony's heads in that direction.

Fluttershy was relieved but felt the emotion fade as she heard an explosion; a magical one. She turned and looked at the brilliant blue ball of sparkles that illuminated the bright sky. Three blue diamonds stood out perfectly even as the mirage began to fade.

"Rarity's emergency signal!" Twilight said with urgency. She then turned to Fluttershy, "Can you allow me to use magic on you again?"

Fluttershy nodded, "I'll try."

"Hurry!"

Fluttershy could only nod as she closed her eyes in concentration. How had she activated it before? She expressed the need to. She even…

A memory ran through her and she thought, Open Magic Firewall settings.

The machine inside her responded, Opening settings…

Done. Inquiry?

Remove: Temporary_rejection rejection, she thought.

Processing…

Rejection found!

Removing…

Done.

Inquiry?

Fluttershy wasn't sure if she did so she opened her eyes and said aloud, "Try lifting me."

Twilight did so with haste in her magical spell. Fluttershy started to float and she smiled.

Twilight also grinned and her horn flashed brighter.

Inquiry?

Fluttershy realized it was still asking. How did she get it to stop? Her mind whirled for a second. She had opened settings so could she close it?"

Close settings?

Closing Magic Firewall settings…

Done.

Her vision when white as Twilight teleported them back to her friends. Upon arriving she saw Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack all together around a blue pony. Applejack's hat was off which alarmed her.

"What's wrong?!" Twilight inquired rather hastily.

"It's Rainbow." Applejack stated mildly, "She seems to have gotten some spike in her feathers. When she took flight, they got stuck in her wings…" She trailed off.

Fluttershy and Twilight rushed over only to stare quietly in horror.

Rainbow's eyes were half-open. Glassy and staring at nothing in particular. Black and purple rimmed, the bloodshot eyes that moved in different directions. It was the only indication that she was actually alive. Her mouth seemed to be half full of saliva which glowed blue as Rarity pulled it away, allowing her to breathe. Her lips were more blue and her entire coat looked pale and tacky. Her wing looked even worse. Dark purple lines bulged along her wing and down her back, creating a spiderweb that continued along to the base of her neck. Each unnatural bump parted feathers like water allowing everypony to see. She didn't even move at the appearance of the missing friends.

"How long!?" Twilight demanded.

Her friends were still dumbstruck and didn't answer immediately.

"About 2 minutes ago she started to show symptoms." The unicorn of the Reception 'ception offered gently. There was only sadness on her and her partner's face. They both hadn't moved from the spot Fluttershy had seen them last but didn't comment.

Twilight blinked at the source of information but took it at the nods of her friends, "There's still time! The toxin attacks the lungs, heart, and stomach before it gets to the brain!" She mumbled furiously.

There was a flash of purple and a table with glass bottles filled with various liquids appeared nearby. On the table in simple etched letters was, Emergency chemicals. She began to furiously mix the different colored vials together with a web of purple glow. An arm of magic reached Rainbow's wing and the spike was pulled out. Rainbow didn't respond.

"No!" Twilight said desperately.

Fluttershy looked at her friends, both the moving and unmoving. She knew that it was unlikely that Twilight was going to be able to synthesize an antidote in such little time. Rainbow had maybe two minutes. Though the entire time she watched Twilight whirl around; she was watching through text in her vision. It read:

Critical patient detected!

Activate MMO?

Fluttershy couldn't nod. Nor think. She had little idea what MMO meant. She did know that last time she had let a request go through, she had almost killed two ponies. Well, she had also saved her friends. So, what did MMO stand for? Something worse? Something better?

She frowned watched some chemicals in Twilight's bottles turn a different color. Shouting in frustration she threw them away, disappearing a flash of magic.

She looked back at Rainbow. What other choice did she have? If the MMO could save Rainbow then should she? What if she turned all murder machine?

No, Twilight wouldn't let her hurt her friends. If she started to act up Twilight would be able to help protect her friends. She took a breath and decided to make the choice. She wasn't going to lose a friend with her just sitting there.

Yes.

Activating MMO…

Error. Request denied by P_Void.

Critical patient detected. Overriding with administrative function…

Unable to shut down because of a core program error.

…

Shutting down Battle_mode_Void_ for compromise.

Shutdown complete.

Attempting to boot MMO…

…

Success!

MMO booted and running

MMO requesting Medical Leg.

Request is given to P_Void.

Deploying Medical leg: Left…

Fluttershy grimaced as she lost feeling in her left foreleg. It then straightened out and sank into her shoulder. All the way through to her hoof the leg went. To which she found herself unable to breathe as her leg was reduced to a glowing blue hole. Whether or not it was a program inside her head or sheer shock she was unsure.

There was a clunk and a new leg came out. It was a simple leg that was navy blue in color and covered with rectangular boxes. Once it had come out of her shoulder she once again felt feeling but felt that those boxes. She felt them move as they shifted a bit, spinning around her leg and shifting themselves up and down. Two boxes in particular glowed green in her vision. One was clear and was the furthest down her leg. The other box was next in line, just above the other. This box glowed and text floated nearby it.

MMO: Place toxin in chamber.

It opened revealing an interior draped in shadow. Fluttershy swallowed and looked to Twilight. The spike was on her table. She started to get up but stopped as she felt her hair move. She froze at the sensory input.

Yes, her hair was moving towards Twilight's table. It was only one strand but it seemingly stretched farther than her skull would allow. It gingerly wrapped around the spike and brought to her. Twilight seemed to freeze at the notion in confusion and curiosity. Vials and bottle freezing in mid pour.

The strand then placed the spike in the designated chamber and returned to normal on her skull. The chamber closed and Fluttershy saw in her vision a bunch of balls connected together by lines. Each was labeled by an element, that much she knew, but everything else she didn't.

MMO: Analyzing and attempting for antidote…

Hundreds of lines of text, too small for her to see, flashed by the representation. Another representation appeared next to it and the two seemed to clash. Some parts would fall off but would only be added back on as the MMO rejected the antidote. Finally, she saw the first representation fall apart.

MMO: Antidote found.

Synthesizing…

Fluttershy frowned looking towards Twilight's table. Synthesizing from what? Herself?!

Her question seemed to be answered as the clear chamber filled with an orange liquid.

Inject antidote into subject's neck. The MMO instructed, putting a glowing green target on Rainbow's neck. Then a two-inch long needle popped out of Fluttershy's hoof with a metallic twang.

Fluttershy froze. Somehow, she had been able to make the antidote, but should she be the one to administer it? She had never done something like this before. Nor did she want to mess up with her friend's life on the line. Not to mention a needle had just come out of her hoof.

MMO: Hesitation detected.

MMO is offering to administer the antidote. Allow MMO control?

Fluttershy didn't hesitate with the needle protruding from her hoof and nodded.

MMO: Accepted.

Fluttershy felt herself move towards Rainbow with quick steps. Then she sat down and moved the needle to Rainbow's neck, slowly pushing the needle into her flesh. Then the limb froze and the orange container slowly emptied. The needle was pulled out and Fluttershy found herself examining the needle.

MMO has relinquished control of the Medical leg.

MMO: Antidote administered. Sterilizing needle…

The needle erupted in bright blue as some blue fire or plasma engulfed it. Which it was she couldn't tell. It only lasted for a second though. After which the needle was pulled back into the hoof, still glowing red. Fluttershy frowned feeling for any sign of heat but found none and returned to attention to Rainbow.

Her breathing was starting to clear and the large purple lines on her friend's skin were starting to flatten. Slowing looking as if some filly had drawn on her with a large purple marker rather than her nearly succumbing to a deadly toxin. Some feathers attempting to cover nasty horror from before.

The MMO instructed her to place the Medical leg on her neck, she did so and when she pulled away she noticed a small, pink butterfly on her neck. It was blinking green and Fluttershy also noticed her vision was filled with information.

A small grid housed a line that was bumping up and down. This was labeled as heart rate. Other text labeled numbers as, blood pressure, blood sugar, temperature, and so on. Though there was a beep and the line stopped jumping up and down becoming a straight line.

Rainbow simultaneously jumped up and her legs made an effort to go to her chest, but was unable to pull them up.

Her heart stopped.

The toxin had apparently just enough time to stop her heart before being neutralized. She slumped in defeat but realized the MMO had some other tricks.

MMO: Requesting Medical leg_right.

Request accepted.

Her right leg stiffened and was recalled into her shoulder and a similar leg to her left came out. She didn't react too much to this only with a little curiosity and hope. Her vision marked two more markers on Rainbow and the MMO indicated her to place her hooves on those two points.

She looked at her hooves and saw two circle pads were extending from them. Only about a centimeter though.

MMO: Charging to 50 joules…

Her legs started to emit a high pitched whine.

MMO: Place pads on indicated locations.

Fluttershy hesitantly did as she was told.

MMO: Clear the others from victim's body. Make sure contact is not present. State clear to continue.

"Girls. Please put Rainbow down and don't touch her." She said, unsure in her own voice. Here she was with two new legs on Rainbow's chest. Who had no heartbeat.

Her friends nodded and placed Rainbow down. Moving limbs and hair away from the blue pegasus.

Fluttershy took a second to make sure her friends were clear of Rainbow, "Clear." She stated quietly. Then Rainbow's body shook as an electrical current ran through her. Fluttershy immediately pulled away, pulling her hooves to her face in horror. Then away as she feared she may be shocked.

The heart rate monitor jumped but had large red text that read, Unresponsive.

MMO: Charging to 100 joules…

Fluttershy held out her legs as they again began to whine as if in anticipation to hurt her friend. She shook her head, "No! I'm not going to shock my friend again!"

MMO: Electrical shocks are currently being used to restart victim's heart. Please place pads on designated areas for a stronger charge.

"Restart her heart?" She said quietly.

MMO: Yes.

"She's dead?"

MMO: No, but close. Please place pads on designated areas.

Fluttershy listened this time. Once again the system had her state the words to give the shock, "Sorry Rainbow! Clear!"

Rainbow shook again as the charge was released. This time Fluttershy saw the heart rate monitor come to life.

Heart returning to normal levels. Warning! Oxygen deficiency detected. Recommend facial mask for an oxygen boost

"Huh?"

A plate on her neck slide open revealing a large panel. Four small, black rings occupied the top half of the panel. Each was sharpened to a spike that was divided into 4 sections. Below the rings were four slots filled with wrinkled plastic. Each cubby of plastic had a tube connecting it to a small hole just above each cubby. At the bottom housed six pink rectangles. There was a small crack as plastic gained its shape into an oxygen mask Fluttershy had seen used in hospitals. It popped out of the middle compartment with a hiss. Her hair glided down and picked it up from her neck and placed it on her friend's muzzle.

"So, that's how you did it," Rainbow said weakly after a few seconds.

Her friends took in a collective gasp of air. "Did what?" Fluttershy said just as quietly.

"Buckball. You caught the ball." Rainbow paused, breathing in the air that was coming through the mask. "With your tail."

Fluttershy smiled and realized that what she had said was true. She had previously dismissed it as a pony magic ability. Though this did make sense. She also took a deep breath and noticed that she was breathing more often and quite deeper than normal. Was she sharing her air with Rainbow?

MMO: Almost. Air intake is being increased but also purified to required oxygen levels.

Fluttershy merely took the information without words. She was getting weirder and weirder by the second. First, she finds weapons and drones hidden in her legs which turned her into a deadly machine. Only for that motion to be flipped on its head after the MMO was booted up.

What was she? A healing machine? Or a killer robot? Was she the pony she had grown accustomed to? Or somepony's creation? And if so, for what purpose? To kill? To heal? To what?

Fluttershy merely watched Rainbow slowly recover. Her eyes slowly cleared, and her lips turned to their normal colors. The dark purple webbing was now a weak purple line that was inconspicuous. She smiled as she saw these changes in her friend and looked at the mask on her muzzle. Following the tube up to her neck made her pause again. She then lifted one of her, "medical legs," and examined it. So far, the MMO had only requested to control her limbs and for that occasion, she was glad to let it. Though the battle mode had no such manners.

It had yanked her leg into motion, converting it into a deadly blaster. Then proceeded to try and murder two ponies. Two bad ponies sure, but she didn't want anything to take that hard decision from her. She paused on that thought. Would the unicorn given her the same chance? Would she had taken her life if it were so easy?

Fluttershy frowned feeling the answer was yes. Though, she countered, she was not that kind of pony. She was willing to give every creature a second chance. Though that meant she had to control her own limbs, even if they had the ability to morph into a plasma caster. So she warned her friends not to freak out and attempted to talk to her inner machine.

Uhh, activate blaster, thingy?

This time the MMO answered her request. MMO: unknown device. Did you mean DPM?

Uh, DPM?

MMO: Defensive plasma manipulator.

Yes?

MMO: No current threats are detected. Would you still like to proceed?

Fluttershy nodded and saw a few lines of code flash by her vision. Requests between systems and a few preparatory functions did their thing before her foreleg once again sunk into her shoulder to come out as the leg she was used to. It clicked and once again formed into the blaster she had used earlier.

MMO: DPM deployed. Opening alignment reticule.

A small target appeared in the center of her vision but it was different than the one she had used in battle mode. Same color but it didn't track onto different objects and ponies. It merely held it's position, quivering as if it was excited.

Then she realized that it was her leg slowly quivering. Knowing that she gently moved her leg to the right and left, seeing the targeting reticule following the movements.

"One second darling," She heard Rarity said and turned to look at her. The reticule became a small arrow to the side of her vision marking where her leg was still pointing at. She then saw Rarity's horn light up and organic debris of varying sizes started to float up in a blue glow. It gathered together in a mass in front of Fluttershy and became a target dummy. "There you go, a proper target. One that doesn't strike back and doesn't care if it's blown to bits."

Fluttershy smiled and nodded her appreciation not feeling in the mood to speak. She then turned to the dummy and slowly moved her leg to match the reticule with the dummy.

"Where did you learn to do that?" She heard Twilight ask behind her.

"Starlight my dear. I saw her use this spell for her own target practice and thought it would be a lovely way to pattern my designs if I have a strike of inspiration with full manikins."

"Fair enough."

Fluttershy let the words go in one ear and out the other. She was still trying how to fire her leg. She twisted it, flicked it, and even used the other hoof to try to push on the box extending from her leg. Though nothing seemed to happen. Maybe it was like unicorn magic? Thinking the spell rather than speaking it?

Fire?

Firing…

There was a slight zap accompanied with the sound of a vacuum being released and a small bolt of plasma left her hoof. It connected with the dummy with incredible speed, leaving a small smoking hole.

"Whoo!" Pinkie shouted and rushed over and examined the hole in the dummy.

MMO: Warning! Friendly detected in reticle. Engage automatic ally avoidance?

Huh?

MMO: Automatic Ally avoidance will move the blaster from any marked allies. It will read the subconscious to predict if the user is meaning to aim in their direction or if the ally moved/ was moved in firing line and move the blaster accordingly. It will also deactivate blaster if ally is in firing reticle.

That would be very helpful, Yes.

Activating.

Immediately she saw the reticle go green with an x in the middle. The blue glow in her leg dimmed but didn't disappear. She then lowered her leg and started to walk over the dummy to see for herself what damage had occurred. Then she stopped and lifted her leg, hoping that the device would be damaged and malfunction. She then noticed that the joint closest to her hoof locked when she lifted her leg and unlocked when she put it down. She also noticed the hole in her hoof close when she brought it down as well. She lifted her hoof and placed it down a couple of times not seeing or feeling any indication of pain and continued over to the dummy. There was a slight pull on her neck but that didn't bother her and she was used to having creatures crawl all over her hair.

"That's odd." Pinkie said when she had reached the dummy, "Why isn't it's head still here?"

"Excuse me?" Fluttershy said with concern.

Pinkie looked at her apologetically, "Sorry, it's just the last time you shot glowy energy it was a sparkly blue ball."

Fluttershy frowned and nodded. Indeed, last time she had seen her leg charge for a sec and launch a plasma ball rather than a blast. How did she do that?

Uh, how do I launch the balls of plasma?

MMO: Change the DPM to lobber mode.

How do I do that?

MMO: Command=DPM mode switch: lobber.

Okay? Fluttershy didn't truly understand what that meant but merely repeated the phrase in her mind. DPM mode switch, lobber?

Switching, done.

Fluttershy saw her leg expand a little and assumed that it was done. "Uh, Pinkie can you stand behind me?"

"Okie donkie lokie!" Pinkie replied and bounded behind her.

Fluttershy went to align the reticle with the dummy again but noticed that it had changed a bit. It was now glued to the ground and moved along the ground rather than her vision. A faint blue aura flowed from her leg skywards but curved downwards till it landed on the reticle resting on the ground. She also noticed that the word, strength, was sitting at the bottom right of her vision with 25% sitting next to it. Her expression morphed to concentration as she aligned the reticle with the dummy and then fired with her thoughts.

Her leg hissed then ejected the ball of plasma she had seen earlier. It flung itself at the dummy and went through it rolling awkwardly along the ground for a bit before dissipating. She smiled. She was learning! Though the emotion was short-lived. In her mind, she saw the dummy shift and change color to that of her friends. Purple, blue, pink, white, and orange all took turns on the organic dummy. Her breath caught in her throat as she stood their watching with horror as each color took turns in her head. She covered her eyes with her hooves and the unbroken eye closed with her movements. She tried to take large breaths to calm her self but noted that it wasn't working.

"Nice shot!" She heard Pinkie next to her exclaim, only for it to be replaced with worry, "What's wrong? You okay?"

Fluttershy nodded, "I'm just unsure? Confused?" She uncovered her eyes and looked at her friend's blue eyes. "What else can I do? Who else can I hurt? I don't want to—hurt—" She couldn't finish. Her thoughts were plagued with the idea of her friends being in the crossfire of her weapon. Or some other magical ability. She closed her eye tightly feeling hot tears coming out the side. Was her predicament even magic?

There was an empty silence as Fluttershy choked back tears. Then she felt and saw Rarity wrap her in a hug. She reopened her eye as she spoke in gentle words, "Every powerful pony has to worry about those thoughts. It okay to have them. It's not okay to suppress yourself to tears, my dear. All you need is to practice with your abilities, in private if you must, and with time those fears will be replaced with confidence." Rarity stroked the hair out of Fluttershy's eyes with a motherly touch that calmed her insides, "I'm sure Twilight has had her moments. She is a powerful pony that has to be wary. She may have been the element of magic when she became an alicorn, but that came with powerful abilities and responsibilities. Something that she still may struggle from time to time, but like her, you have friends to help you learn and adapt."

Fluttershy watched as her friends nodded in unison. She smiled feeling her worries mellow but not entirely disappear. She just sat there enjoying the hug Rarity was giving her. She also noticed with a light heart that her other friends joined the group hug and that brought Fluttershy to smile.

She was terribly worried about what she could do. She had already displayed an array of abilities that seemed to help her and her friends to accomplish goals. Her mind wandered to what words battle mode had spawned when activated. Plasma generators? Other weapons than her lance? The DPM? Exactly what had this inventor put in her? The magmatic extenders? What were those? And how was she able to take and transfer magic even though she wasn't a unicorn? She sighed, only feeling the hug tighten in response.

She looked at each of her friends seeing a returning smile in return. Pinkie even gave her a cupcake from her mane. She took it without worry and started to nibble on the frosting. Whatever may come out from her form she was certain of one thing. She wasn't going to let it kill her friends. She was going to try her absolute best to make sure that her friends weren't hurt by these abilities but there wasn't any doubt in her mind that she was not going to let it kill her friends.

Initializing…

Opening program creator…done.

Generating program…

Name: Safety protocol_F

Function: Protect friends from all installed devices and programs. Priority: death protection

Parameters: All functions and devices.

Writing…

…

Program complete.

Program saved…

-F:/MMO/core/custom

Booting MMO for program installation…

MMO active.

Beginning install…

Done.

Closing program creator…

Done.

Fluttershy stared into the air, pausing mid-bite on her cupcake. What just happened?

Shards of truth

Author's Note

*Ehem* Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony or any of the characters contained within. They belong to Hasbro and their respective owners.

Shards of truth

Cheerilee was still in her classroom. Still watching her precious students while literal crickets were chirping outside. She looked out the window again, wondering what was the emergency that required her to keep her students inside, but she wouldn’t let them out without permission from a note in the bottle. She sighed, realizing that she was going to miss the train to Canterlot. She’d have to catch the next one, provided that this lockdown was released. Though she knew it would in time. The bottle on her desk flashed white and a little note was now occupying the previously empty space. She calmly but quickly trotted over to the magical item and retrieved the note. She read it over and smiled. The Reception ‘ception had surrendered after the Twilight and her friends had confronted them. She then frowned. The note wanted her to have parents sign out their foals, just to be safe. She scowled. She’d miss the next two trains.

Be careful whom you trust. Even strangers can have the most powerful influence over your actions.

Fluttershy was looking out the window of the train. Bushes and trees sped by all held in constant motion by the seemingly unmovable train track below. Greens, greys, and browns meshed together when the train was in motion. Sometimes it would erupt in color as the train passed by ponies at stations or in towns. Though she wasn’t worried about getting any ponies in the train car she and her friends were using. Twilight had requested the smallest car for her and her friends. The conductor was happy to oblige since it wasn’t very full at this hour. So Fluttershy was comfortable letting Twilight stare at her eye while she looked outside.

Her mind was elsewhere. Not on the train, but in the forests and grasslands that she’d roam with her animal friends. Sweet Feather sanctuary was busier than ever. Though she didn’t have the heart to see her sick friends with her own sickness.

If you could call it a sickness.

Regardless, she had gotten the Ponyville’s vet for assistance. She was happy to help. Though Fluttershy wasn’t able to confirm that herself, Twilight assured her that her friends would be taken care of for the duration of the visit. That had helped her feel calmer. She blinked, feeling the broken eye hold her eyelid open by some unseen spokes.

She felt a bit calmer about her situation though she still felt uneasy. She had just learned that her insides were possibly made of metal and other magical components. Rather, electro-magical components. Was she at all biological? She again shook her head prompting a concerned look from Twilight. She smiled and nodded softer.

She had already had this argument. If she was completely metal how was she able to eat biological things? If she was completely metal she’d have to eat metal to grow right? She used a hoof and gathered up some of her hair; was her hair made of metal? Surely not?

“Hey, Twilight?”

“Yes?” Twilight asked not moving her eyes.

“What do you think my hair is made out of?” Fluttershy asked curiously.

Twilight leaned back a little and seemed to ponder the question.

“What do you mean darling?” Rarity asked, joining the conversation on the word hair.

“Just that. My hair was able to block magic. So, it can’t be normal hair, right?”

Rarity also took the same look as Twilight but took less time to answer, “Hmm, I suppose. Though whatever it is, it can be styled so it can’t be too far from the real thing.”

“Maybe your hair is just enchanted?” Pinkie asked pulling another sugary item from her mane.

Twilight shook her head, “I’m not sure about that. Her hair is exhibiting magic, but so do all manes.”

“What about a microscope?” Spike said next to Twilight, “Don’t you have one in your pocket?”

“Pocket?” Rainbow asked visibly confused, “You’re not wearing a dress…”

Twilight nodded, beaming, “Yes, you are correct Rainbow, but Spike was referring to another pocket. A magical pocket that uses cutie mark energy to create a dimension of sorts. It’s a common practice in higher-level unicorns.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a...” Twilight trailed off, trying to find a good way to explain it. “You remember the mirror to Canterlot High?”

Rainbow nodded.

“Well it's like that. It’s a door to another dimension that I’ve created using my magic. Only the door is my magic.”

“So, can you send anything to this little, ‘Pocket’?” Applejack asked.

Twilight nodded.

“Even me?!” Pinkie asked excitedly.

Twilight blinked, “Uh, that hasn’t been truly tried. You could store food and such but another creature? Not yet at least. The dimension is held together by my magic, more specifically my cutie marks magic. If the dimension was to lose connection to that magic then it would collapse and I would be buried in anything I had inside. If another cutie mark magic were to enter the flow, then it could be interrupted. I suppose it could work in short batches but even if you were able to somehow stabilize a cutie marks energy to not interfere with the dimension, then you’d still have to have a way to pump oxygen into the pocket and pump CO2 out. There’s also light, atmospheric pressure, and even a stable ground to walk on. Most items are floating in this…” Twilight paused when she realized she was rambling, “Sorry.”

Rarity shook her head, “No, darling, you’re fine. Though I wish I could use that spell. It would be very handy for my work.”

“Or apples.” Applejack remarked, “You know how much I’d be able to get done if I could hold an acre of apples?”

The group chuckled imagining the scene. Then Spike perked up, “Though, microscope?”

Twilight blinked, “Oh, right! Thank you, Spike.” Spike beamed.

Twilight then closed her eyes and lowered her horn for a second, then, while it was glowing, she jerked it upwards. Out of a purple glow came a small microscope. She levitated it over to Fluttershy and looked at her hair in interest.

“May I?” Twilight asked, holding a lock of Fluttershy’s hair in her magical grasp. Fluttershy merely nodded, curious herself.

So, Twilight hovered the pink follicles to the microscope. It was just a little desk one a foal might use. Though this one was made up of metal and had many various knobs and switches. Twilight clamped a piece of Fluttershy’s hair to the viewing plate and flipped a few switches. A light turned on inside the microscope and Twilight put her eye to the top viewer. Some knobs twisted in a magical glow as she focused the image.

“Fascinating…” Twilight stated, “Your hair seems to be implanted with tiny devices…”

Fluttershy was about to ask if she could see when her broken eye’s vision placed a targeting reticle on the hair in the microscope. The top read, Zoom, and her vision scoped in as if she was using binoculars. Though much farther. She suddenly saw her hair but to her, it was the size of a log. A log from a very old tree. She also noticed at the bottom of her vision the words, View locked, were present. So, even when she moved slightly, she felt her eye move to keep her sight steady.

So, she was able to view her hair without distractions. It was a cylinder, like most hair but small blue rectangles were all around the shape. It was also extremely smooth, pony-made rather than biological. She wondered how her animal friends were able to hold onto her hair. She also realized that the end of the follicle was sharpened to a point.

“Oh, my…” She said quietly.

“Indeed, here girls have a look.” Twilight said not realizing what Fluttershy had said till a second later, “Wait, how can you see it?”

Fluttershy shrugged and pointed to her left eye, “I can see it up close with this eye.”

“You have a built-in microscope?!”

“I guess?” Fluttershy said turning to her friend feeling her other eye move differently than the other. It was a very odd experience.

Twilight looked flabbergasted.

By then each of the ponies in the train car had gotten a look at Fluttershy’s hair and made similar comments. Though it was avoided in becoming a discussion due to the nature of the hair. It hadn’t been growing out of Fluttershy’s scalp but rather was put in. So, the others didn’t comment but rather waited for Fluttershy’s reaction.

“You can get poked by a hair, right?” Fluttershy finally asked, breaking the tense quiet.

Rarity nodded, glad for an opening for a discussion, “Why of course! I’ve done so on many occasions.”

“So, it’s not unnatural for the hairs to be sharpened to a point?”

Rarity shook her head, “No, that happens when you snip the hair. Though it isn’t all that common, it is not all that uncommon either.”

Fluttershy frowned, remembering the time her hair had grabbed the spike that had jabbed Rainbow. If each and every hair was sharpened to a point and could move, then it could be used offensively right?

She asked Twilight who’s face morphed into uneasiness, but she agreed.

Fluttershy grabbed a lock of her hair, “Then I’ve got to learn how to control it. I don’t want to hurt anypony.” So, she promptly reached around to her wing and pulled out her emergency flare, and placed it on one of her hooves. It was a small device, only about the size of a thick carrot. Though more cylindrical in shape and no point either. Only a strap hung from one side. Meant for a pegasus hoof to slide through. To which the device was primed with either a pull from the bottom or a quick bash from the top. Lifting it up would launch the high velocity, extremely bright, flare. Her model had a feature that could produce sounds that could be heard from five miles away.

Though she had no intention of launching the flare in the cabin, that would indeed hurt some pony. Instead, she lifted the other hoof and moved it near the other one. She was going to move the flare from hoof to hoof. Simple as that.

Though try as she must she didn’t know how to move her hair. For her entire life, it had been simply a vanity item and, at times, a place for small critters to hide. Though she had seen, and felt, her hair move. So, she could make it move. Right?

She tried imagining her hair as she would a leg. Just a very long, very thin, pink leg. Though she didn’t have the feeling that she felt in her leg. So, she could send commands but if she couldn’t feel where those commands would go, how was she supposed to move it?

Could she command it? She tried that. Letting the thought form, Please move flare to my left hoof.

Her hair jumped! Though she didn’t let the excitement stay for long. The train had merely hit a bump. She sighed with this realization and thought back to how she moved it before. Well, she hadn’t. The thing inside her head had.

With some concentration, she steeled her nerves and closed her eye. The thing could be talked to, she’d done it before. Though she had never started the conversation, it always had.

“Hello?”

“Uh, sugar cube?”

Fluttershy didn’t open her eye, rather just focused her broken eye on Applejack.

Differing view detected, resetting zoom settings…

Applejack blinked but responded after a little delay, “You are talking out loud.”

Fluttershy blushed and stated her apologies.

Applejack smiled, “It’s nothing. Talk aloud all you’d like.”

Fluttershy nodded, but tried again in the space of her mind, “Hello?”

Nothing.

“Helllooo?”

Silence held. Only the train car jostling around the track filled the air.

Fluttershy opened her eye and frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Pinkie asked.

“I’m not sure. I think I can make my hair move if I ask the thing inside my head to do so.” Fluttershy responded, eyeing the flare with a little annoyance, “But I’m not sure how to do that…”

Pinkie pondered that for a second, “Well, you can’t talk to a pony the same way you’d talk to a griffon. Each has their own slang and courtesies. Maybe the first thing you should do is figure out what this, thing, is and how it talks.”

Fluttershy nodded in understanding. You have to talk to predators and prey differently. Though she frowned, “I’m not sure how I’d do that.”

“Well, you’ve had it speak to you before, right?”

Fluttershy nodded.

“Welllll, what did it say?”

“uh,” Fluttershy said awkwardly, “It really didn’t speak. It was just a bunch of words.”

“Well, maybe that’s the problem. You are trying to speak to it. Maybe you need to think words instead of saying words?”

Fluttershy felt her head tilt subconsciously. It made sense in a way, but isn’t that was she was doing? Her face changed to understanding. No, she was listening to her own inner voice. Maybe Pinkie was right?

Hello?

Fluttershy didn’t get anything back, well what she was expecting anyway. She felt something though. It was different than before, “I didn’t get anything back but it was different than before,” She paused trying to put her feelings into words.

“I felt like something was there, listening. It just, well, didn’t respond with words.”

Pinkie pulled out her bubble pipe from her mane, made some bubbles, and pointed it at Fluttershy, “Then you aren’t speaking its language!” She said triumphantly.

“I suppose…” Fluttershy started but paused at Twilight’s gesture.

“If I may.” She looked Fluttershy dead in the eye, “What I’m going to say may not be very pleasant to hear but I feel you ought to. May I continue?”

Fluttershy took a second to respond. Though she trusted Twilight’s intuition, so she nodded.

“I think this, thing, is actually a computer.”

“A what now?” Applejack asked in confusion.

“A computer is an electro-magical device that runs numbers really fast. Put those numbers to work in programs and those programs can run other electro-magical devices.”

“So, you think that I’m a computer?” Fluttershy asked. It wasn’t accusatory, just a clarifying question.

Though Twilight shook her head vigorously, “No. I think that this inventor placed a computer in you to control the electro-magical devices that you have.”

Fluttershy lifted her hoof with mild curiosity. It was a relief that her friend didn’t think that she was a computer but on the other hoof, it didn’t exactly reassure her that a computer was inside her. Then again, she had no idea what could be inside her ribcage. A lance had come out of it earlier.

“Though there is one flaw with that hypotheses.” Twilight continued, “Earlier when you healed Rainbow, it sounded like you were talking to yourself when you were giving her shocks.”

“I did?”

“Yes-sir-diddily.” Pinkie confirmed, “You said, ‘No! I’m not going to shock my friend again,’ and, ‘Restart her heart?’”

“I said that out loud? I was talking to the thing inside my head.” Fluttershy replied.

Twilight nodded, “That’s what I mean. So, it could be a computer but it may just not be listening.”

“Well, if it helps,” Rarity interjected, “Your eyes, er, rather eye did change color from red to green. Did you do something after Twilight brought you back?”

Fluttershy looked down in thought, “No. Well, I didn’t.”

“What happened?”

“Well, when Rainbow was injured, I saw the words: Critical patient detected, and: Activate MMO?”

“Could you try to activate the MMO? Maybe that’s what was able to listen to you?” Twilight offered.

“I can try…” Fluttershy said timidly. She wasn’t too fond of activating things. The two times she had done so a friend was saved but she had also almost killed. But she mustered her courage and thought about the words, Activate MMO?

Her eye suddenly lit up with words:

Inquiry received.

No injury detected, would you like to proceed?

Fluttershy hesitated, then nodded.

Confirmed.

Activating MMO…

MMO running.

Then that was it. No more words were running through her vision.

“Well, whatever you did, it changed your eye color. It’s green now.” Rainbow said.

“Did it work?” Twilight eagerly asked.

“I think so? It said that the MMO was running but I’m not seeing anything else…” Fluttershy said softly.

“Well, try asking it to move your hair.”

Fluttershy did just that. Can you move my hair?

She got one word: Yes. She smiled, getting excited.

Can you move the flare from one hoof to the other with my hair?

The flare in her vision glowed a light blue and an arrow blossomed from one hoof to the other: Confirm?

Fluttershy nodded.

Then just like before, her hair reached up and wrapped around the flare. Then it lifted the flare and moved it to her left hoof. It then gently unraveled and went to its earlier position.

She grinned and looked up at her friends, all of which also had grins on their faces.

“Nice!” Rainbow cheered, “Now you’ve got it!”

Pinkie pie was jumping up and down having gotten off her seat, “Ooh, ooh! Pick me up!”

Fluttershy frowned, “I don’t know. Pinkie, I really don’t want to hurt you.”

Pinkie stopped jumping and frowned, “Well, if it starts to hurt then Twilight can just teleport me out!”

Twilight nodded, “It’ll be a bit of a jump for you since I have to calibrate for the motion of the train but that’s not too hard.”

Fluttershy frowned.

“Fluttershy, you were worried about your hair being dangerous. What if it isn’t?” Twilight’s horn glowed fiercely, and Fluttershy’s flare teleported to her right hoof with a small pop. “See? Easy as pie.”

“Mmmm. Pie…” Pinkie mumbled.

Fluttershy nodded reluctantly. She had to know if it was dangerous, and since Pinkie was practically indestructible and she was backed up by Twilight’s magic; she nodded.

Can you move Pinkie pie from the floor to her seat?

Pinkie glowed, then an arrow from her to her seat appeared, Confirm?

Fluttershy didn’t nod but responded, Gently? Yes?

Confirmed.

Fluttershy’s hair glided over to Pinkie and wrapped around her ribcage and front and back legs. Then Pinkie was lifted into the air and placed gently on her seat. Then her hair unraveled itself and seemingly shrunk back into Fluttershy’s skull.

Pinkie smiled and clapped her hoofs together, “See? Easy as pie!” She then leaned forward and said, “It felt like a blanket wrapping me up and putting me in my seat. It was as gentle as you are.”

Fluttershy smiled and let a breath out, relieved that her friend was unharmed. Then had a thought.

Could I control my hair? She asked in her head.

Not at this current time. Required programs do not exist.

She repeated this message to Twilight who said, “Hmm. I suppose that makes sense. I suppose that we could ask the inventor when we reach them.” She paused and looked out the window, “Which shouldn’t be too much longer…”

So Fluttershy practiced moving items from one hoof to the other. She tried Twilight’s microscope, her flare, and a cupcake from Pinkie. Pinkie had challenged her to unwrap the cupcake, and place it in her mouth with her hair. It had taken no time at all. She merely asked the MMO to unwrap the cupcake and place it in her mouth. She watched her hair gently peel the wrapper off from all angles with multiple hairs, then it wrapped it up with one follicle and lifted it towards her mouth. She opened it and in went the cupcake and out went the hair.

Though when she asked it to fold the wrapper it had asked for clarification. So, she asked it to fold it in half. Then half again, and again, and again. She blinked when she realized she had made eight folds in with the wrapper, much to Twilight’s surprise. She also found that she could hold objects up. She also saw that she could make her hair hold a position and suspected that was how her hair had become as hard as a rock when she had run into Rainbow earlier that day. As she was moving her hair around, she thought of something and asked Twilight to shoot her hair with a spell.

“What?” Twilight had asked.

“Well, remember the Reception ‘ception?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight nodded, “Yeah. How could I forget?”

“Yeah, I guess sorry.”

“No, no you’re fine. What’s your point?”

“Well, remember when I blocked that magic blast from the unicorn?”

Twilight didn’t reply. Instead, her expression became an understanding one.

Fluttershy continued, “Well, I was wondering if I would be able to block most magic. Well, offensive magic anyway.”

“I suppose,” Twilight paused, “But not on the train. I don’t want to accidentally hit something.”

Fluttershy nodded, “That’s fair.”

And so, Fluttershy continued with practicing with her hair. And when the train had rolled into the station, she was able to have her hair move her flare back into the little pouch under her wing. Once she had secured the eye patch back to her head, she smiled and followed her friends out to the station’s landing pad. After greeting some fans of Twilight and Rarity, the group bunched up and gathered around a floating map.

Twilight pointed to the map, “Okay, we’ve got two places and six of us. So, I think that we should separate into two groups to contact both of these inventors. Me, Rainbow, and Applejack will take this inventor and Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity will take other.”

“I’ll go with Fluttershy’s group and Luna will go with you Twilight.” A familiar voice came from over the map.

Twilight let the map drop down a bit and Fluttershy saw Celestia and Luna standing in front of them.

“If that is okay…” Luna said gently.

Twilight smiled and nodded, “It sure is. It may actually help to have a princess or two.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Celestia said with a smile and the group separated into their groups and went off to their destinations.

Rarity was following behind Pinkie pie, who was bouncing up and down. She made sure to keep a good distance as to not get a mouthful of tail but didn’t comment on her friend’s method of travel. If Pinkie wanted to bounce, then by Celestia she was going to bounce.

Not that she minded her friend’s bouncing, except when she about to wear a custom dress she herself had made. But then Pinkie would respect that and stop her bouncing. So, Rarity would return the courtesy.

The bouncing actually helped settle her nerves. In a weird way, Pinkie was very light. And so, when her, and her friend’s, emotions were a bit tight, she helped lighten the entire mood. Which was especially helpful right now.

To find her friend with some extraordinary abilities would be in any other scenario amazing. Though her abilities weren’t magic. Rather they were a mix of electro-magical components. Her mouth curled in distaste when she felt the word roll in her mind.

“What is the matter?” She heard Celestia ask and the white unicorn looked and faced the alicorn.

“I would rather not say.” Rarity replied, gently motioning to Fluttershy. Only to realize Fluttershy was looking at her.

“Speak your mind Rarity. There is very little place for secrets between friends. Especially for friends like you two.” Celestia said gently, looking at the both of them.

Rarity nodded and spoke her mind, “I was just contemplating our friend’s situation. In any other situation, we’d all be celebrating rather than trying to track down some pony. It just struck me that Fluttershy has components. It feels wrong to say that; and I’m terribly sorry for thinking such things.”

Fluttershy shook her head, “No, it’s okay. If I have components, so be it.”

“You are okay with who you are?”

Fluttershy hesitantly nodded, “I guess. If I’ve been this way for this long why fret? Other than the whole sudden lasers. Which we are going to see the inventor about.”

Rarity looked at her friend with mild surprise, “Are you sure?”

“No, but I can’t fear everything as I did in the past.” She beamed, “I’ve got you guys to help me, right?”

“You sure do!!” Pinkie exclaimed, tackling Fluttershy in a hug. However, Fluttershy had seen enough of these surprise hugs to get knocked over.

Rarity smiled at the spectacle and nodded, “Well, I’m glad.” And she was, though she wasn’t sure what else to say. Had her legs suddenly gained the ability to shoot lasers that could evaporate ponies she might still be freaking out. Yet here was her most timid friend showing a powerful confidence. Though Rarity knew her friend well enough to see between the lines.

Her friend was very scared. Scared from the previous encounter with Reception. Though with her friends around, Rarity was sure she’d be alright. They always were.

The group walked up to a shop that made Rarity’s nose tickle just by looking at it. It was obvious that whoever was upkeeping the building, wasn’t doing it very well. Or didn’t want to do it very well. Rarity exchanged a look with the solar Princess.

“Do you think that she is even here anymore?”

Celestia nodded, “I know that some pony pays the for the property, and that hasn’t changed since I first met her.”

Pinkie walked right up to the little building and pounded on the door, dust falling from the frame, “Hellooo? Anypony home?” She called in her normal tone. To which no pony answered. The group didn’t hear anything from the inside though that could have been because of all the hoof traffic in the city. Canterlot was a busy place; it being the home of two Princesses and one of the oldest cities around.

Though the building Rarity was looking at didn’t have the same look as some of the others. It looked heavily modified and made up of more sturdy wood. Wood that cost much more. Though it was still painted and had a nice little roof shaped like a triangle. The house itself was a blueish-grey with the roof being a normal black color, lines separating shingles. Though there were more shapes on the roof, of both different color and style. It looked like there were blue glass rectangles on the roof. Shimmering slightly in the dying light. Large pieces of metal framed the windows and the metal door had a small glass bead on the front. Rarity thought it might be a peephole but noticed that inside the glass bead was a black circle and not an image of the other side.

Rarity glanced near the location of the sun and noticed it was only a few hours till dusk. Then turned back towards the door. She walked up towards the door and gave it a hefty knock, “Hello? We’d like some help?”

“With some of your inventions?” Fluttershy offered gently.

“With some of your inventions!” Pinkie repeated, in a much more audible tone. Though her voice remained unanswered.

“This could be a problem.” Rarity said, “it looks like no pony is home. That or doesn’t call this place home anymore.”

Celestia frowned, “I’m not so sure. This property is paid for, on time, every month. And you see those blue squares on the roof? Those are called Celestial panels. They collect solar energy and convert it into electrical energy. The inventor uses it to run some of their projects. They are still in place, and not cheap to make. So, I do not think she’d just up and leave them.”

Rarity looked at the panels with curiosity. She’d do the same. If she had to move out, she’d at least take her most valuable fabrics and her gems. So that made it seem the inventor was just ignoring them. Maybe because there was the Princess of the sun on her doorstep? Or maybe that she knew that they all knew about Fluttershy?

Celestia’s horn suddenly glowed a dark blue and she closed her eyes for a moment. Then opened them, “It looks like our other group found more success than we have. They have made contact with the inventor and he says he knows about Fluttershy, though is surprised that she didn’t know about him.”

“Let’s go join our other party then.” Rarity said and the group started to walk away. Though after a good while she heard a knock on the metal door. She hesitated and looked back but wasn’t able to see the house from her angle.

“I pray they have more luck than we did,” Celestia said with a smile looking towards Rarity. She had also heard the knock.

“Common slowpokes!” Pinkie playfully cried, “Let’s go get Fluttershy fixed up!”

Rarity started to hurry over, wishing that her friend didn’t use that phrasing. Though, she realized it was perfectly normal to use that term regardless of machine or pony. So, she shrugged and followed the group to the other house. It took some time as it was on the other side of the city, but the differences continued. This house was made up of cheaper wood like its neighbors. The open windows showed off little trinkets and medallions that she assumed belonged to this inventor. Though the house was a dark black. With the roof being a dark hue of red. She frowned, not liking the look of the place but she had met many nice ponies who liked this color scheme. She didn’t particularly like it unless she was going to dress as a vampire, but ponies will be different.

When they approached, their other friends were nowhere in sight. So, they walked up to the door and Pinkie knocked enthusiastically, “Hello?”

The door opened quickly to reveal Twilight, “Girls!” she said in an excited tone, “I think we may know why Fluttershy didn’t know about her electro-magical devices. Quick come in!” She ushered them into the main room.

Rarity was looking around the place and found it wasn’t very welcoming. Shelves lined the brown walls, filled with different types of books. Bits of metal stuck together in what she assumed were electro-magical components covered some of the shelves but were overshadowed by the black books. Thick and made of leather, they looked extremely old.

The center of the room lay a rug that had a spinning array of red and gold. A mesmerizing pattern that took her a few seconds to gaze at. The room had the rest of her friends sitting on this rug and they were all listening to a pony behind a desk.

This pony had a clean look to him. Flat styled hair that flowed to right and down. A simple goatee laid on his light brown coat. Brown eyes, that took everything in little time, were slightly colored red from the glow from his horn. Further down, he was wearing a red vest with a simple black undershirt. A small red, black-bordered, charm rested around his neck. The vest made its way almost to his cutie mark ending in small triangular tails. A shorter tail with a simple cloth band near the end followed after. Though his cutie mark was a black four-pronged star on top of a red rectangle; which didn’t strike her anything tech-wise but a pony was not restricted to his or her cutie mark.

The pony was talking, holding a large cylindrical object that had one end tapered to a valve in his magical grasp, “This device, when coupled with a breather, allows the user to breathe underwater for a set time. Useful for underwater investigations.” His voice had a deep commanding tone to it, though it was not unfriendly. Rarity could still hear some notes of enthusiasm as he showed off his device. Though the pony stopped and looked at the newcomers with a warm smile.

“Ah, the mare of the hour. Do you recognize me now Fluttershy?” The pony asked in a smooth tone.

Fluttershy shook her head, “No, not at the moment.”

“Ah. That is a tad bit unfortunate, but it isn’t the first time a customer has forgotten about me…” A slight disappointment trailed his voice.

“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy responded quietly.

“No, no do not worry about it. I’m glad my inventions are so natural they are forgotten about.”

“Customer?” Celestia asked gently pulling the pony’s attention to her.

“Yes indeed. Fluttershy was brought to me to get some augmentations. Well, replacements really.” The pony replied in a nonchalant tone.

Celestia blinked but it was Fluttershy who asked, “Replacements?”

The pony gave her a curious look, his smooth eyebrows wrinkling in dissatisfaction, “Please tell me you at least remember my name?”

Fluttershy meekly shook her head.

The other pony flattened, “Oh dear that is going complicate things. But my name is Noah. Pleased to re-meet you.”

Fluttershy dipped her head.

“Though I was told you broke the cover on your eye?”

Fluttershy nodded and looked at Rarity, “Can you remove the eye patch?”

Rarity nodded, lit her horn, and willed the eye patch to come off. Gently moving the strands of hair she had meticulously placed to cover the headwear.

“Hmm, indeed you have. Tell me, how did you break it?” Noah asked, turning away and walking to another room.

“We had a run-in with some bad ponies and Fluttershy took a bat to the face!” Pinkie replied after Fluttershy didn’t respond.

There was a clunk and a crash in the other room, but Noah came out unscathed. Though he looked quite surprised, “A bat? My goodness, you must have not gotten the cover upgrade. Though it makes sense now that I think about it…” A small box followed behind him, trapped in a red glow.

“It was a metal-studded bat,” Twilight offered, getting up from her position.

“Hmmm, that would make more sense.” He paused, “Fluttershy could you come over to the rug, there is an illumination spell here that will make it much easier to work on your eye.”

Fluttershy meekly obeyed. Walking to the rug where Rainbow and Applejack were still sitting. The table levitated over it telescopically raised upwards.

“Now you rest your head on that,” Noah said, “Normally I would put you in the harness but since you don’t remember that it may be better to do it this way.” The box he had been holding floated down and rested on the table.

“Sister?” Rarity heard Luna ask. Though she didn’t turn her head.

“Yes?” Celestia replied, matching the quiet tones of her sister.

“What do you think about Noah?”

“Hmm. An odd pony, though he has shown some prowess with his devices. They can be quite useful if you have the budget for them.”

“Well do you notice these books?”

“They look familiar, yes. Why?”

“They are history books! From before we even found the elements. These books are from when you and I first became alicorns.”

That got Rarity’s attention. Became alicorns? She was sure interested but was more interested in what Noah was doing. He had a curved two-pronged fork in a magical grasp and was holding it to Fluttershy’s broken eye. Several other sized prongs and thin metal poles lay on the table as well.

“Ah, here is the right size. Now, Fluttershy. I have to place this tool underneath your eyelid and it will go down farther than you feel it should. Though it will be alright, just tell me if it hurts.” Noah explained.

Though when the tool hovered near, Fluttershy flinched and backed up. Her good eye showed a tiny iris that seemed to be looking in another world. She took a ragged breath, and screamed.

Fluttershy was no longer in the room. Or was she? She didn’t know. All she did know was pain. Pain in the back of her skull, or lack thereof. She had a thought obliterating headache that only seemed to get worse. Wires and tubes were piercing her ribs and there was something in her eye. No, something was pushing at the bottom of her eye, attempting to get it out. Though there was nothing she could do. Her front legs were gone. Her back legs were restrained along with her wings. Each limb pulled to its maximum extent. Along her spine, she felt each vertebra in her spine attached to something. Something pulsing, not with life… But rather electricity. It flowed through her body in painful waves but it was barely noticed. She was just stuck, hoisted in the air as something tried to dislodge her eye. She was crying though, screaming even. But tears made it impossible for her to see who exactly was hurting her.

Though suddenly something enveloped her mind. The pain vanished giving Fluttershy a relief she never knew she could feel. Grateful, she hugged the feeling and squeezed it tight as to not let it go. The energy squeezed as well and seemed to pull her out of mind and body until she suddenly felt something shift and she was back in the room, staring at Noah. Noah had a worried expression on his face but Fluttershy wasn’t worried about that. The painful memory was still fresh in her mind, but something brushed it away.

“It’s over now. You here, with me.” Twilight’s voice reached her ears and she realized she was being hugged by Twilight. She couldn’t see Twilight’s face as her head was resting on her neck. Her mane was flowing into her face but it smelled like books. Old, new, paper books. It was comforting.

But she also noticed that her mane had a yellow stripe running through it. She blinked and attempted to back up to get a better look at Twilight, but was pulled back into the hug.

“Are you okay?” Twilight asked sternly.

Fluttershy nodded, no longer able to remember the memory. Only it’s effect.

Twilight gently released the hug and allowed Fluttershy to back up. Twilight’s mane had a yellow stripe through it. Though she was able to recognize the form she was in. Back when they defeated Tirek, they took on different powered forms. Twilight was in that form, with sparkles dancing along her hooves. Her horn was also glowing, but her face was controlled.

“You were stuck in a memory. A very painful memory at that. I had to delve in and pull you out. I’m still holding back the memory, but I will have to release it. But I’ll release it gently, okay?”

Fluttershy frowned but nodded. Twilight knew more about magic than she did. So, it was best for her to go along.

Twilight’s horn glowed a tad bit brighter and Fluttershy felt the painful memory return. Though it was not as sudden as before. This time, it was much easier to manage but she blocked it regardless. She did not want to remember the pain. Did not want to remember the feeling of missing limbs. Did not want to remember her eye…

Twilight’s horn stopped glowing and her mane and hooves returned to normal. She then spun on a dime and confronted Noah, “You have some explaining to do!” Her offensive actions immediately pulled the rest of the group into offensive positions.

Noah however didn’t flinch, but rather sighed, “Yes I suppose I do. Let me go get the report.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“By all means Princess.”

With that, Noah left the room with Twilight close behind. Her horn was glowing and her wings were flared.

The other alicorns looked uneasy, their wings slightly extended. Though the rest of Fluttershy’s friends were around her in a protective fashion. She was still worried but felt much better. Had Twilight seen the memory as well? It made sense since she was in her head.

Noah and Twilight came back into the room but Twilight’s wings were no longer flared which caused the room to relax. She was instead looking through a yellow folder.

“You really don’t remember?” Twilight asked and placed the folder upright on the table. Fluttershy leaned over and saw herself. Only in a terrible condition. The photo was in a mugshot format with her facing the camera. Her eyes were covered with a white bandage that was beginning to change to the color red. Her hair was a mess and the rest of her expression seemed dazed and out of it.

She frowned and looked to the photo below it. It was a side view of her entire form. Though her front legs were mangled beyond belief. She looked at another photo and saw her front. Her face was the same but she got a better view of her legs. The left leg was gone. Only a wrapped shoulder in its place. Her right leg was better off. It was gone below the knee however with a brace anchored to the top half with metal screws.

Fluttershy swallowed nervously. She also felt nausea that seemed to reflect throughout the group. She turned her head to the other side of the folder that seemed to have words instead of pictures. She read the title: Client Fluttershy. Project: Replacement of broken or missing limbs and organs. Report on damage.

“You were in really bad shape when you got here.” Noah started gently, his voice carefully low, “Your parents, Mr, and Mrs. Shy brought you here in hopes to allow you to continue care of your animals through electro-magical components.” Noah’s face drooped, “It was terribly painful for you. Augmentations need power, and the only way to power them without carrying around a saddle was to imbed crystals into your wings that absorb solar energy. And since you’d be in the sun almost all day it was a viable option.”

“I do remember those crystals.” Applejack stated, “When you put up that fancy shield.”

“Ah, so you had to use it.” Noah said with a smile, “Those crystals are also able to project their energy as a nearly impassable wall. You just have to be in direct sunlight for that to work. Gave her that so she wouldn’t get so hurt next time.”

“Hold on, what happened to her?” Luna asked urgently.

“I apparently fell down a waterfall trying to save some animals,” Fluttershy stated, reading the report.

Noah nodded, “Indeed, your rescue attempt was quite close to the waterfall which pulled you over and into rocks. Large, and pointy rocks. Your entire left leg was ripped off on impact and they were unable to recover it. Your right leg took some major fractures to your lower leg bone, for those who do not know the names of bones, but below that, you right got some nasty gashes and had to be removed because of infections.”

“So, I have an artificial left and half an artificial right?” Fluttershy asked moving her gaze from the paper to her right limb.

“No,” Noah said hesitantly, “Your right leg also took damage to the shoulder joint as well. To be honest, your entire right leg was being held together with screws and magic. And since I didn’t have half a leg prosthetic, we ended up removing it.”

“Okay, Fluttershy has prosthetic front legs. That’s good, but how can she change them into healing hooves of tomorrow?” Pinkie interjected.

Noah nodded, “Tiny rings were implemented into her shoulder. These rings house dimensional pockets tied to Fluttershy’s cutie mark. I believe the legs you are referring to are the Medical legs. I gave those to her to help heal sick animals.”

Pinkie nodded, but she wasn’t done, “Okay, what about the panel she can open on her neck? For breathing masks and stuff? And what about the moving hair? The plasma shooting legs?”

Noah nodded multiple times, “All to help with the healing with animals. Except for the DPM, or Defensive Plasma manipulator. Which comes with almost all my prosthetics for the front legs.”

“I’m not sure if I’m okay with that,” Celestia said disapprovingly.

Noah frowned, “I’m sorry Princess but she approved and did take the training. The DPM is also under the list of approved proto weapons.”

“You have my approval?”

Noah nodded and left the room. He returned with a large tan box. It floated to the floor with a large thump, then the lid floated off and revealed a large number of papers. Each piece took a turn glowing as Noah sifted through the pages. Then with a slight exclamation, a single folder floated out. It opened up and a single page floated out. It was a very bright piece of paper, with a golden wax seal of approval at the bottom right.

Celestia nodded frowning, “I guess so.” Her horn glowed slightly and her frown melted, “This is authentic.”

“What do you mean?” Luna asked. “Did this agreement happen before my release from the nightmare?”

Celestia nodded, “Yes. I allowed ponies to create weapons and register them with me. It was a lot easier to halt issues when the weapons were trackable. Ponies wanting to create a defensible option would come to me with the proposal and if I found those ponies reliable, I would give them this document.” She lifted a hoof towards the floating piece of paper, “Not many ponies created defensible options but a few did.”

Noah nodded, “Initially you weren’t on board with the DPM. It took weeks of persuading, but I was able to compromise with several contracts and leases.”

Celestia slowly nodded, seemingly looking into her mind space with a glossed look, “I do remember that. Not clearly but I do remember.”

Noah nodded, “Now for that panel you are referring to, I believe you are talking about the Medical Distributor. This panel allows the user to share their own oxygen levels through the lungs or blood.” Noah smiled, “A powerful creation that I can’t take all the credit for. But it allows the user to connect to the patient’s circulatory system for nutrient supplication or even to pump blood when the patient’s heart is stopped! There is a little more to it than that, but I do not want to bore you all.”

Twilight, however, was not so easily swayed, “It wouldn’t be a bore at all! Please I’d love to know how you stimulate the heart while to pump the blood as to avoid pressure build-up in the ventricles.”

Noah chuckled, “Well, that’s simple. You can use a special mix made from naturally found herbs that will relax the heart and have all the valves relax which allows blood to flow normally. This allows an external pump to push the blood through the entire system. Though you do have to connect to the circulatory system into specific areas otherwise you would—”

“As much as I would love to hear the specifics, we came here to help Fluttershy get her eye fixed and learn her abilities. We can talk scientist later,” Rainbow said, breaking the conversation.

Twilight blushed, “heh, heh. Doing it again! Sorry!”

Fluttershy smiled, she didn’t mind. It allowed her to contemplate what was going on, “It’s fine.”

Twilight frowned and her face said, ehh. Though she didn’t comment.

Noah grinned himself, “Aye, lost myself as well. My apologies. Let’s get back to the reason you came here.” He walked back over the table and pulled an object wrapped in a white cloth. The cloth was pulled away in a red glow, revealing a glass piece. It was smooth and clear but had an ever so slight texture to it. It was as if someone had a flat plane of glass, curled it around a bit, and smoothed out the corners. It could probably hang on her leg if she wanted to.

“Let’s get your eye fixed up. It’ll take but a minute.”

Fluttershy frowned turned back to the report and read it through again. It had been specific about her injuries, but she didn’t truly remember the waterfall. Though it wasn’t uncommon for memory loss after such a trauma, so she wasn’t too skeptical. She brushed the feeling aside; why is there a reason to be skeptical? Her face frowned as her mind gave her an answer.

“What about battle mode?”

Noah’s face was filled with curiosity, “Battle mode?” His voice was filled with genuine surprise.

Fluttershy nodded and gave a brief recap of the battle with Reception ‘ception but left out the bit of almost killing the Reception ‘ception.

Noah sat down and the glass piece floated gently down and rested on the table. He didn’t respond for a time and seemed to ponder the question. Then after a minute, he spoke slowly, “Perhaps you wrote the program subconsciously. The drone I understand. It’s part of the leg as a search and rescue option. Something you agreed to, though I don’t recall placing such a program in. Which leads me to believe you may have made it.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, Fluttershy’s face mirroring the question.

“Well, to allow the eyes to send signals to Fluttershy’s brain, there has to be a connection to the brain. My guess is that in the events you and your friends go through created a sort of battle instinct. Sort of how ponies train themselves for years to get a skill and when it comes to needing to do it, it just happens naturally.” He said thoughtfully, “I think in the times that you fought Equestria’s threats you may have gotten a battle sense that has manifested in the computer linked to your brain.”

“How does that happen?” Luna asked in a voice thick with accusation.

Noah seemed to not notice however and replied, “Well the connection to the brain is not technically one way. Fluttershy has the ability to move her eyes, which requires the mind to give the computer commands. And since we are magic folk, I’m not surprised that the system has begun to merge with Fluttershy herself. And I’m sure in time that system will become second nature to her.”

Fluttershy frowned, why would she make a program to kill some pony?

Noah continued, “Though it could also be a program glitch. We can check on that if you’d like.”

Fluttershy nodded quickly, “Yes please.” She wasn’t sure what a glitch was but if the system could be checked that was okay by her.

Noah nodded, “Sure thing. Though you’ll need to get in the harness for that part but that shouldn’t be an issue.”

“The harness?”

Noah sighed, “You really have forgotten everything. Let’s fix your eye first.”

“Wait a minute. What about Fluttershy’s lance?” Rarity spoke up.

The group turned to Rarity, some in confusion, some in realization.

“Lance?” Luna asked.

“Could you bring it out?” Rarity asked turning to Fluttershy.

“Lance? You mean the weapon lance?” Noah said with surprise.

Applejack walked close to the stallion and eyed him straight in the eyes, “Yeah. The large pokey stick thing that jousters use.”

“I certainly did not give her that. Frankly, the only weapon I gave Fluttershy was the DPM, nothing more.”

Applejack closed her eyes for a second and then she started to faintly glow. Fluttershy felt her gut start to glow as well. Though she recognized that feeling. It was a feeling from when she and her friends used the Elements of Harmony.

“Alright tell me again that you didn’t implant that lance in ma friend.” Applejack commanded, staring at Noah.

“I did not give, nor implant, that lance into Fluttershy,” Noah said immediately.

Applejack frowned and the aura faded, “He’s telling the truth.”

“I most certainly am. Though I understand your concern.” Noah said, “Let's get your eye fixed and check out your programming.” He paused, “Er, that was poorly phrased. After fixing your eye we’ll check out the code on your computer.” Noah said with an apologetic smile.

Fluttershy nodded but she was in her inner mind.

Deploy lance? She thought but nothing responded. She thought back to the train and remembered the MMO. Did she turn it off?

Turn on MMO. She thought.

No critical patient detected. Proceed?

Yes. She responded silently.

Booting MMO…

MMO running.

“You’ve even figured out how to change the color of your eyes? Fascinating.” Noah said and Fluttershy realized he was looking at her.

“I guess?”

“Hmmm, was its conscious effort?”

“Well, I just booted the MMO.”

Noah’s eyes lit up, “You know what the MMO is?”

“No, not really.”

“It stands for Mobile Medical Operative. It’s a program built to help control the medical functions in medical devices. The fact you can interact with it is amazing!”

“Thanks?”

“Though I’m confused why it booted now. Is there a critical patient? Injury?” Noah looked around at the other ponies with concern.

Fluttershy shook her head, “No, it’s the only thing that will listen to me.”

“Listen? What do you mean?”

“Well, you know how my hair can move right?”

Noah nodded, “Tiny bits of metal were embedded in the follicles; designed to work with a magmatic extender to move and repair tissue. Though it was meant to be controlled by the MMO. Not by conscious thought.”

“I don’t really control it; I just ask the MMO to move my hair in a certain way.”

“Fascinating. The MMO wasn’t programmed to be able to take those kinds of requests. You may be making it a part of you… Which is such a scientific discovery! This is amazing!” Noah seemed to be ready to jump through the roof with his excitement.

Fluttershy frowned but in a shyness kind of way. She felt that her guard was up, though that was normal for her. Which was annoying, to say the least, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. Well, not at this current moment anyway.

“Though why did you boot the MMO?” Noah asked.

“Rarity wanted me to show you the lance, though everything I did wasn’t deploying it.”

“Did it work? I’m very curious about this.”

“Well, I haven’t tried…”

“Well, give it a go.”

So Fluttershy again went into her mind and attempted to talk to the MMO, Deploy lance?

There are no threats in the general vicinity. Proceed?

Yes? She replied cautiously.

Synchronizing magmatic generators…

Deploying lance…

Fluttershy felt her side open up again and the miniaturized lance came out. With the steely slither emanating from the weapon, it popped into its full size. Her side closed and the lance stayed at the ready, floating an inch from her coat.

“Fascinating, but I do not recognize it,” Noah said walking towards the lance.

Though Pinkie jumped forward and stopped him, “Don’t touch it! Or you’ll feel the wrath of a thunder cloud!”

Noah regarded her with concern, “I’m assuming you know by experience?”

Pinkie nodded.

“Alright. Well, I know for a fact that isn’t mine, which worries me.” Noah gave Fluttershy a worried look. “Let’s fix that eye of yours and look at the programming. We may be able to find something that may lead us to the pony who corrupted your prosthetics.”

Fluttershy nodded, “Okay.”

Fluttershy again went to her mindscape, Uh, un-deploy the lance?

Retrieving Lance.

Fluttershy felt her side open up and the lance went back into her ribs. Any sensor input she was expecting was absent. She felt the lance for a second when it hit where her ribs should be but then didn’t feel it again.

Though she did listen to Noah and again laid her head on the table. Though this time she asked, “Twilight?”

“Yes?” Twilight answered, entering her field of vision.

“Can you hold my head down? I don’t want to flinch and break something.”

Twilight nodded, and Fluttershy felt her head steady and glow with a purple aura.

“Alright. Just relax, this won’t hurt at all.” Noah said, levitating the two-pronged towards her eye.

Fluttershy flinched but the purple glow intensified, and her head didn’t move. Her breath quickened but she felt a couple of hooves stroking her hair and heard her friends giving her words of comfort. She steeled her breathing and said, “Do it.”

Noah nodded, “Like I said, it will be quick and painless. Twilight, please do not hold anything in Fluttershy’s head. The eye will have to move for me to repair it.”

Twilight nodded.

The metal tool slowly made its way to her eye and slipped underneath her bottom eyelid. It sunk a couple of inches and Fluttershy was reminded of her memory. Though this tool wasn’t trying to pull her eye out, rather just pulled her bottom eyelid outward revealing the bottom part of the eye. The other small rods from the table levitated up and pushed something on the bottom of her eye. She felt her eye straighten and the words appeared in her vision.

Manual Repair mode.

Manual? Could she repair herself?

Though Noah kept doing his work. She felt several clicks and something hissed gently in her head.

“Bottom piece released,” Noah said and she felt the rod move something in her eye. Gently, she felt the bottom piece of broken glass slowly slide upwards, and visibly noticed the broken edge slide from her vision.

She expected the prong in her eye to be removed but Noah instead inserted another prong into the top of her eye! Though this time it was slower. This time it was inched in with Noah putting rods in deep into her skull. Prodding the top of what she assumed was the top of her, well, whatever the top area of where her eyeball would go, was called. This made the area expand, which was very weird. She actually felt a gap between her eye and her eye socket, yet it didn’t hurt. Noah kept pushing and poking areas until another thing hissed and Fluttershy saw the top layer of broken glass slide out.

“Okay now for the replacement,” Noah said, lifting the whole glass piece he had revealed earlier. The two prongs pulled her eyelids upwards and the glass piece floated over to her. Gently the glass was pushed into her eye socket, perfectly fitting around her eye. The glass kept going till she heard a click and a small hiss in her skull. Her eye socket then seemed to shrink around the eye again till it felt snug and normal.

“There we go!” Noah exclaimed happily, “Now we just remove those prongs, and it's as good as new!”

The prongs then floated out from under her eyelids and she blinked a few times to get her eyelids comfortable.

“You can release her now Princess, the procedure is done,” Noah said gesturing to Twilight.

Fluttershy felt the hold on her head loosen and she rubbed her eye with her leg, attempting to remove any wrinkles.

“Alrighty, your eye should automatically accept that new piece of crystal lattice and return to normal. Here, you should be able to watch it, it may be interesting.” Noah said, casually holding up a mirror from the box.

Here Fluttershy saw herself, though noticed that the previously broken eye still had the mechanical look. Which alarmed her but she continued to watch; both the mirror and words appearing in her vision.

New crystal lattice detected. Checking for imbalance.

The little squares in her eye turned yellow, then pulsed from the inside to the outside rows.

Crystal lattice accepted. Ejecting trapped air…

Fluttershy felt nothing occur but noticed that the vision in her eye got clearer.

Connecting to lattice. Calibrating for iris cover…

Fluttershy noticed in the mirror her eye flash once, from her pupil to the rim of her eye.

Calibration complete. Returning to personal preferences:_default_blue/Fluttershy

The glass shimmered and in its place was her original eye! Fluttershy compared the two eyes together but didn’t find anything different. The color and size-matched each other just how she was used to. She blinked and felt both eyelids close comfortably.

A smiled grew on her face, “Thank you!”

Noah smiled as well and returned the mirror to the box, “Don’t thank me yet. Let’s find out what happened to your computer’s code.” The table that he had been using floated up and off the rug, “Everypony off the rug please.”

Every pony obliged and Noah stared at the center of the rug. After a few awkward moments, the center of the rug sunk into the floor. Sections of the floor sunk away in spiraling patterns and were replaced with various metal arms, metal crates, and a center rig. The rig had a crescent of metal sections connected to a horizontal platform with four circles that looked an awful lot like restraints. The crescent had several arms on the top end and split into two sections while connecting to the platform. It seemed to be made up of steel, though it was brown with age and rust. It creaked while getting into the position it was requested to.

However, the device came to halt and the creaking also ceased, “Alright Fluttershy. Do you see those circles on that platform? You’ll need to place your hooves in those circles. That crescent thing will—”

“Those look like restraints,” Luna said flatly.

Noah nodded, “In a way you are correct. Those bottom connectors will connect to Fluttershy’s prosthetic limbs. That crescent will connect to special pieces embedded into her spine. Only then we will be able to access the access port in her right eye.”

“Port?”

Noah looked exasperated, “Yes. Though it is hard to explain to those who don’t know electro-magical technology.” He paused and looked down, thinking about his answer, “An access port is like a station for a train. You have to be at the station to get on the train, right? A similar concept is at play here. The access port is like the station and the train is the computer’s code. If I can see the code that controls Fluttershy’s spear, I may be able to pin whoever created it.”

“So, you’re saying that by looking at this code, you can tell who made the lance?”

Noah nodded.

Luna looked at her sister then back at Noah with a thoughtful expression.

Noah frowned, “You think I made the lance? Why? Even the element of honesty has clarified that truth. Honestly, I’m surprised that you are suspicious of me. Especially how you helped me with that nightmare years ago.”

Luna’s expression softened, “I am sorry. Though I had to make sure since we are dealing with an Element of Harmony.”

Noah nodded, understanding, “Of course Princess. Now Fluttershy, whenever you are ready, stand on that platform, and we’ll get started.”

Fluttershy frowned. There was a nervous knot in her gut. This device was way too familiar, “Have I been here before?”

Noah nodded, “This device helps me install and fix prosthetics of all kinds. Wings, legs, even hair.”

“Does it hurt?”

Noah shook his head, “It will hold you still but it won’t hurt. It may be a bit uncomfortable since you have wings, it will hold them out. Though if you are relaxed it’ll be fine.”

Fluttershy took a breath and looked at her friends. If Noah were to try anything, there were her friends and the Princesses to help her. Three alicorns and the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony could beat the foes of Equestria. Surely if Noah were to number himself with them her friends would easily quash any attempts.

So, she walked over to the device. She had a flashback to her previous time in the device but shook the memory away. She was tired of chickening out on the simplest tasks. She ignored the fearful voice that she always heard and stepped into the little rings.

“Alright, here we go. Try to hold still.” Noah said and Fluttershy saw his horn glow.

The little rings creaked and slowly tightened around her legs. They glowed blue and Fluttershy saw a message about connectivity in her vision.

Harness detected. Docking…

The crescent came down and rolled along her spine. She felt the motion but also felt the pieces snap to each vertebra and noticed a slight pull from the motion. Sections came from the crescent that formed into rings. Each ring encapsulated her cutie mark from each side of her flank and the whole apparatus glowed pink.

Docking 50%

The little arms at the end of the crescent formed themselves around the base of her head and wrapped up to her chin. Holding it in place along with her head. The device wasn’t uncomfortable but she reevaluated that when her wings were pulled. The pulling didn’t stop till her wings were at their max extent. Which, like she was told, wasn’t painful, it was just uncomfortable. Though it wasn’t the first time her wings were pulled taut. When her would animal friends argue over her care back in the day. Though that didn’t happen much anymore.

Her thoughts were broken by an arm with a cylindrical object hovering close to her right eye.

“Okay, you’ll see this device make some flashing lights and get a little close. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt you, you’re doing great!” Noah encouraged.

Fluttershy smiled but kept her attention on the device in front of her. It looked like the little rings of lights her own eye sported, was this an eye for this machine?

The rings started to light up in a certain pattern with all the hues of a rainbow. Each segment of the ring taking turns lighting up a different color until the vision in her right eye went blank; replaced with the words: Access to mainframe requested. Password?

The device seemed to have the password because a moment later the words read: Accepted.

Then Fluttershy felt her right eye expand and it seemed something was pushing at her eyelids. Then she felt something push against her eye with a small click.

Connected to external device. System on standby…

“Great job!” Noah exclaimed, obviously pleased, “Now let’s find out who’s been messing with your insides.” A small screen rose up out of the floor. The screen had an extension from the bottom that had two circular indents that Noah put his hooves into. Moving his hooves in differing directions, he made the screen light up. “My my. Your computer’s code has really been tampered with. Give me but a couple of minutes and I’ll have fixed it and know who it is.”

Fluttershy attempted to nod but realized she couldn’t. So, she took a breath and watched the words in front of her vision.

MMO has been shut down via external connection.

System bios check requested.

System running version 7.8

Updating to version 8…

Done.

All systems have been set on standby:

Void_Containment

Containment protocol

MMO

Battle mode

Beginning system-wide scan with external parameters…

…

Error_401

Author's Note

Hello everypony! I'm so sorry for the delay but I have decided to split the chapter I've been working on into two chapters. There hence the delay. That and the holiday rush at work. :pinkiecrazy: Anyway, for this chapter, I've done a little tweaking with the computer and pony interaction. So hopefully it will now be easier to tell the difference on who is talking. Tell me how it goes! Regardless, you all stay safe out there and enjoy! :pinkiehappy:
--Incoming message--
I do not own My Little Pony or any of the characters contained within. They belong to Hasbro and respective companies
--End of message--

Error_401

Cheerilee had somehow caught the train to Canterlot. Her student’s parents had somehow been able to check out her students in record time. Cheerilee couldn’t remember the last time that had happened. Lockdowns like this happened all the time. Ponyville was quite an exotic area. Lots of things happened that forced her to keep her students inside the school building all the time. And every time she’d have to wait hours for the students to be checked out.

Though this time everypony seemed to be ready to pick up their foal. So, when the last student had been safely retrieved; she had grabbed her bags, locked the door, and rushed off to the train station as fast as her legs could go.

As such, she had arrived, completely out of breath, at the train station in the nick of time. The conductor had seen her running her lungs out and paused the train for her.

She had tried to thank the conductor, but she could barely form words with her incapacitated lungs.

The conductor, however, gave her a look of understanding, “No worries ma’am. It’s been a slow day. So, it won’t be a problem to hold things up for a moment or two.”

Cheerilee nodded and stepped into the train car after purchasing a ticket. She took a seat and just focused on putting air into her lungs. It took almost ten minutes till she didn’t feel like she was drowning. Afterward, she stayed in her seat and looked around.

It really was a slow day. There were only four other ponies in the train car with her. She turned her attention to the window and watched the indistinguishable color blur together on the landscape. She didn’t think much about the train ride, it was a common trip. Instead, she focused on the inventor of Fluttershy’s eye and tried to picture the pony in her mind. However, it was such a long time ago and the field trip had been denied, she wasn’t able to recall anything other than a blue coat. Though nothing else. She couldn’t remember the color of their mane. If they wore glasses or anything of the sort.

All she remembered was the eye that the inventor had shown her when she had first come to visit. It was years ago and the inventor was really on board with having her students come over to learn about physics and other things. Though a week to the visit the inventor canceled with a very curt note. She never heard anything back. So, she spent a few countless nights revising her curriculum to cover for the missing days. However, she would write to the pony in hopes they would reconsider. She did this every year and every year she received the same curt answer.

“I’m terribly sorry but I am unable to work with your students because of some unforeseen circumstances. I appreciate your understanding.”

She sighed as she read the note again. Though this time she had a reason to visit the inventor. She was going to confront the pony and ask what her artificial eye was doing in the head of an Element of Harmony. She’d barge through the door if she had to.

And so, as she was thinking she heard the stop for Canterlot. She got up and joined the line for the exit. On the way out she again thanked the conductor for holding the train up and got a smile in return.

“It was nothing ma’am. We are still quite ahead of schedule. The rails and weather were quite clean today!”

Cheerilee smiled and was glad that she was able to make it to Canterlot in a reasonable time. She might have enough free time if this trend continued. Though she was a teacher. So, she very much doubted that. She shook her head of these memories as she continued to the inventor’s household.

It wouldn’t take her too long, though she wasn’t in too much of a rush, so she took her time to admire the colors and smells of the city. There were a few smells she didn’t like. Smells of alleyways, and a few of the ponies she passed. No comment was said to avoid contention, but she wrinkled her nose and attempted to focus on the good smells of the city.

The smells from the fresh loaves of bread and bagels tempted Cheerilee’s stomach. The pizzas, exotic soups, and many other smells Cheerilee couldn’t identify yet they still made her mouth water. So, she reached into her bag and munched on a few crackers. Though it was woefully ineffective.

Though after a while of smelling and seeing the sights of the city she neared the street the inventor’s house was on. It wasn’t hard to see the house and she was able to see it from a distance away. The house was a very different color palette than its neighbors and very obvious. Though she was used to seeing the door open. The previous times she had visited, the shop had been open with lines stretching to the sides of the building. This time the door was closed and not a pony was in sight. She didn’t take too much notice as she had only been here a few times coordinating the school field trip before the abrupt end. So, she walked up to the front door, skipping the line for the first time, and knocked hard on the door.

“Glyph! I have some things to discuss with you!”

The house remained silent. There were ponies in the street but since it was a busy city; somepony yelling at a door wasn’t out of the ordinary.

She tried again, “Glyph!! You need to help me with your eye!”

There was a noise in the back of the house. Though just a small noise, so she leaned on the door to hear better.

Then a huge noise filled the air of Canterlot. It was as if she was next to a thunderbolt without the electricity. Right after she fell over as the door, she was leaning on, swung inwards.

In its place stood a pegasus with a metal leg and a metal wing. Bright blue coat contrasted the grey steel but her hair stood out a lot more. Bright red colors mixed in with light bits of pink laid in disarray on her head. Bright green eyes looked past with explicit concern.

“Star pulse….” Glyph asked gently but firmly, “Did you hear that?”

“Yes,” Cheerilee said but straightened and got in her face, “You said that eye was a prototype! And yet I find it in the face of an Element of Harmony!”

Glyph gave her a look of horror, “The artificial eye was installed in another pony?”

Cheerilee nodded slowly.

“Hurry! We have to go!” Glyph said and ran off to the sound from earlier.

Cheerilee merely blinked and rushed to follow her, not too excited about the worry in her voice.

Not everything is as it may seem. You must have all the pieces to the puzzle before you can see the whole picture.

Scan completed. No anomalies detected.

System additions requested.

Receiving new program files.

Fluttershy frowned, new programs? What exactly was a program?

New programs added via external connection:

Attack mode

Aerial targeting

Dying star subroutines: Supernova

Supernova?! That didn’t sound good in any way.

Visual modes: Night_vision, CMI, Ultra_violet, Gamma, Spectral…

Fluttershy attempted to blink but only halfway. There was something in her right eye! But her thoughts discarded that quickly. What was Noah doing?! Attack mode?! Supernova?! CMI?

Missing directory added to system data bank. Applying…

Done.

Calibrating Cutie Mark Gen for additional power.

CMG now running at 50% capacity.

Cutie mark generator. What was that? And what was her cutie mark being used for? What was Noah doing?!

She attempted to ask but found she could not.

Action has been denied.

Core systems have been modified. Would you like to reboot to install these settings? Not rebooting may cause some changes to be lost during operation.

No.

Fluttershy was now panicking, there was something else in her head. That command had not been her own, nor from the computer she had been talking to.

It was from outside her personal bubble.

External program has been started: Void_collection_Phase: one

Fluttershy suddenly felt very strange. Her body felt like it was made of two sections, like an orange. She was the fruit of the orange and her newly discovered mechanics was the skin. Though now, the two were slowly being pulled apart till she could feel a literal gap between herself and her body. Though only a mental gap, it prevented her from interacting with her body almost at all. She could still feel the sensory input of touch and such. Yet, any movements were denied.

There now was only a little string that connected the two parts. This string she gave a desperate tug on to try to move her body back to her mind. Yet, it did not move. The string seemed to be infinite, and any tugging she gave only seemed to make the string longer.

“There we go. All done, and a much too close shave at that.” Noah said, removing his hooves from the panel.

Luna frowned, “Do you know who did this? Made modifications to your original design?”

Noah nodded, “Indeed I do. Fluttershy, you may undock.”

Fluttershy silently gasped in horror as she felt her legs move without her command. She only felt them move by some other thing. Yet the motions were solid and with purpose. The harness removed its grip on her as well.

“Who?”

Noah gave an evil grin, “Why I did.” His mouth gave an evil but low laugh, “That was so close. The fact you didn’t realize that I referred to Fluttershy’s lance as a spear is astounding.”

Fluttershy watched as the three Princesses faces lit up in horror.

Noah began to pace, in a methodical way, seemingly not caring that there were three alicorns in the room with him, “The fact that you almost made it to Glyph. So, tantalizingly close to ruining my plans.”

Celestia spread her wings, “And what plans are those?” Her fellow ponies mimicked her action with their own battle poses.

“Why would I tell you that? It’s got to be a surprise after all.”

Pinkie frowned, “Normally, I love surprises. Though this surprise stinks.”

Noah’s grin seemed to only grow, “I’ve waited for years for this moment. My moment to finally tackle my biggest ambition.” He lifted one hoof as a sort of half-bow, “Let’s not keep the audience waiting. Fluttershy, Star pulse.”

The alicorns began to close in, though Noah didn’t even flinch, “Oh and don’t worry about the house. I have copies of everything here.”

Fluttershy felt herself nod and something began to charge inside her.

CMG boosted to 52% for Star pulse charge. Using 25% for base charge. Damage inhibitors? Off.

Fluttershy felt a sudden energy bloom inside her barrel, then with a catastrophic blast, it blew outwards. It passed through her and Noah with no reaction at all. Though whatever else it hit it picked up and sent it flying outwards. The electro magical devices, trinkets, and books were flung off their shelves. The harness was ripped to unrecognizable bits and it too started to fly outwards in differing colors of steel, red, and gold. The walls splintered and became a dangerous stream of razor-sharp confetti.

Ponies and alicorns alike were suddenly relieved of the duty to gravity and launched into the air. Though the flight didn’t last long.

There was a magical flash of purple and the scene froze in a magical glow.

“Help!” Twilight cried, her magic being strained as her horn was fiercely sparking.

Magical purple was mixed with various shades of light and dark and the strain on Twilight seemed to fade. Then, with a white flash, the debris lost all of its momentum and was once again tied to the ground.

“Thanks!” Twilight said, not removing her gaze from Fluttershy.

Fluttershy returned the gaze though it wasn’t her doing. Her eyes were doing a damage assessment and seeing what Twilight could do in the situation.

From her vision, she saw that Twilight had weakened herself considerably with her spell. Though not enough for it to physically show. She literally could see her friend’s cutie mark energy in her vision. Or that’s what the system told her.

Her friend was consumed by a swirling purple energy that was circulating in her body. A percentage next to it was slowly rising from 89%

The realization came that Twilight used a little more than ten percent of her power. Though even as she watched, the percentage slowly climbed to full.

System on stand by. Phase one waiting for target…

“Target required,” Fluttershy felt herself say.

Noah walked over to her, “Celestia.”

“Target acquisition confirmed. Forming battle plan…” Fluttershy said in a monotone voice. Her gut turned inside out when her actions were denied.

Simulating response from Twilight Sparkle…

In her vision, hundreds of translucent copies of her purple friend appeared. Each doing something different. Some conjured up a shield, others flew up into the air, and a few stood there with a dumb folded look on their face. There was so much purple that she couldn’t keep track of everything but something in her head was able to.

Responses simulated.

Beginning Phase one. Using simulation 4378…

Fluttershy felt herself take a step forward and stare at Twilight. It was like she was living in a horror movie where she was the main character. Yet, here she was; living the entire experience and not being able to do a thing about it.

No! She wasn’t going to sit idly. She knew she couldn’t control her movements but was there something that she was able to control? Her voice? Eye movements? Breathing?

Action denied.

What about something on the inside? She closed her mental eyes and reached out the outer skin that felt out of reach. She felt something, yet, it was not something that she could describe.

It was sort of like when she was learning to move her wings. She had been able to instinctively flap her wings, though when she’d try to move them independently she just couldn’t feel them. Now she was able to gently move and guide animals with her extra limbs. Yet, could that have been just a program? A trick?

She didn’t care. She had been able to learn how to control her wings, regardless of them being made up of flesh or some other non-natural material. So, she tried again, feeling towards the skin with relative haste. Though she just couldn’t reach it! She could feel its presence yet unable to touch it in any sort of way…

She shoved away from the feeling of despair clawing into her mind. This was not a time she was going to give into her soft side. She had seen that had gotten her almost nowhere. There were a lot of times for a gentle touch, though this was not such a time. This machine was intruding on her personal space and controlling her very actions, she was not going to roll over when her friends were in danger!

Twilight stood there aghast. There was her friend. Standing in front of her after setting off an explosion that had sent the group and everything in the house flying. She had just barely been able to hold the dangerous debris from hurting anypony before her fellow alicorns were able to help and put a stop to its momentum.

Though Noah and Fluttershy seemed to be unaffected and Twilight felt Fluttershy was looking through her. Or rather, inside her. She felt exposed in a magical sense. Even as she felt her magical reserves recover from the spell from earlier, she felt that her friend could see it and was waiting for another response.

She glanced around at her other friends, ignoring the screams echoing around her. Each one had the same reaction as her. Surprise, shock, and anger. She could feel it burn in all of their bones. How could she have missed the mix-up? Had her brain seen it as a slip of the tongue? Why? She already felt uneasy about the environment that Noah lived in. Ancient history books dating back to before Luna and Celestia became alicorns, a book she would very much like to read, and other trinkets that looked more broken than functional. Not to mention a very dark color palette.

How did she let that slip?

She took a breath and looked back at Fluttershy. It didn’t matter at that very moment. Right then, she had to help her friend. If there was anything left to save…

She paused however when Fluttershy took a single step forward and flared her wings.

She frowned and didn’t move. There were swords emerging from Fluttershy’s wings. Six swords seemed to materialize out of her wings and hovered in the air. Then, without any motion from Fluttershy, swung around with the blades facing Twilight.

The blades weren’t that special. Just a standard sword with a light, steely, grey blade with a golden handle that had the color of Fluttershy’s coat, only if it was made up of metal.

The blades glinted off the dying light and shot towards Twilight. Even though the danger was coming, her limbs froze in place and she watched the swords close the distance quickly. However, a white-colored body slide into her vision and she watched a golden shield cover the area above them.

Her mind was suddenly back at the Everfree forest earlier that day. Back to where she was unable to affect Fluttershy nor her lance with any type of magic. Also, when Fluttershy passed right through her shield as if it wasn’t even there. Her eyes widened and she lit her horn. Then, in a blink of an eye, teleported the two alicorns out of harm’s way.

When her vision cleared, she saw the shield they were under slowly fading. Yet there was a tangle of swords on the ground where she stood just moments ago.

“Fluttershy is immune to magic! She can pass through shields and her lance was able to as well. It seems her swords have the same effect!” Twilight informed her Mentor.

“In that case…” Celestia said calmly and ignited her horn. There was a flash and a bronze halberd materialized next to her.

“Celestia…” Twilight started to say but the words died in her throat.

“Do not worry Twilight. Fluttershy is not my target, but if I am to defend against swords without magic I need a physical object. I will not hurt Fluttershy.” Celestia gave her prodigy a comforting look, “But I need you to figure out how to release her from Noah’s control.”

Twilight’s mind instantly went to work, “Maybe we could attack Noah?”

Celestia nodded, “A plausible route. Though it seems Fluttershy’s movements aren’t tied to those blades. So, Noah may have her protect him.”

Twilight nodded and watched the blades come out of the ground with no movements from the yellow pegasus, “Well, we can try…”

Twilight heard Luna perk up, “You two shall attack, I shall defend. Noah may be after the Elements of Harmony. So, it may be unwise to put all of our power in attacking.”

Celestia nodded, “Agreed.” Then her halberd swung up towards her head and she danced forward. Her weapon blocked an incoming sword and became a blur as it swung around her body, blocking swords left and right. Her flank was also protected without her turning around, her weapon seemingly having a mind of its own.

Though the thought seemed to gain ground in Twilight’s mind as she saw no glow from Celestia’s halberd. How was she holding it?

She shook her head. Focus, she told herself and gathered magic in her horn. She wove it into a plasma charge and launched it at Noah. It never made its mark however, Fluttershy’s hair seemed to gravitate towards him and caught the attack. Then with a fluid shake, the plasma was launched back at her.

Twilight dodged and immediately realized her mistake. Her friends were behind her!

Though when she looked back, she was relieved to see that Luna had conjured a shield and blocked the attack. “Stay behind me!” Luna called to the rest of the elements, they heeded her call with disappointed looks.

Twilight sighed, knowing that her friends were safe. Well, most of them. She turned back to Fluttershy, who was walking towards Celestia in a slow, menacing walk.

The blades dancing around the white Alicorn were moving faster and faster. Twilight could see a few nicks and cuts along her coat quite well. She also noticed that her mentor was using her metal covered hooves to block the blades as well. Though Twilight could tell that she was slowly being overwhelmed.

Twilight then looked at Noah and warped her form to his location with a small pop. Noah’s eye’s widened but a black sword materialized in front of her. She dodged the blade and summoned her own, swinging it towards Noah’s shoulder.

However, her construct was stopped by a yellow leg. Twilight’s eyes lit up in surprise, her sword did not affect her friend’s leg. It didn’t even leave a mark!

Then Fluttershy’s leg flashed and there was a light, translucent blue blade surrounding her hoof. It was angled around her hoof and ended in a point. Just like a flat raindrop, just with a razor-sharp point. Her sword construct was pushed away from this new blade. Then in a fluid motion, Fluttershy’s leg swung up and around Twilight’s face.

Twilight applied pressure on her blade in an attempted to block, only to realize her mistake. Fluttershy’s blade went right through her magic sword and sliced open her cheek. She backpedaled and lost her thought on her broken blade, causing it to disappear. In shock she lost her footing and fell to the ground, landing hard on her rump. She stared at her friend in fright, watching her blade disappear as she placed her hoof on the ground.

She glanced back at Celestia and saw the swords still dancing around her form.

She turned her attention back to Fluttershy but saw a black sword hovering close to her neck. Twilight froze, feeling blood pooling from the cut on her cheek started to drip off her chin. It wasn’t a terrible nuisance, she had encountered more painful moments, but this one had come from her friend. A friend under some pony’s control but her mind was having trouble registering that.

“As much as I would like to eliminate you and get you out of my hair, I require you in my final plan. Fluttershy? Phase one target switch to Twilight.”

Twilight felt numb as she registered the words coming out of Noah’s mouth, “Target?”

Fluttershy’s gaze seemed to pierce through her again and Twilight noticed that her hair was slowly extending towards her. Fluttershy wouldn’t hurt her? Right?

Her world vanished and she recognized the space between spaces as she was pulled back out. She then found herself next to the Princess of night. Luna must have teleported her. Though she still was looking at Fluttershy. Her hair was slowly retracting back into her scalp. Both friends kept their eyes locked.

“You okay?” Luna asked gently.

Twilight nodded slowly, “I think…” She said breaking eye contact and looking around.

Her friends were around her and Pinkie commented on her cheek, “what happened?” she asked, pointing to her face.

Twilight put a hoof to her cheek and pulled away a red hoof, “I attempted to take down Noah to try to stop the swords. But Fluttershy was suddenly there, and she cut right through my sword…”

“And your face!” Applejack said defiantly, “If I ever get ma hooves on his scaly hide…”

Twilight didn’t respond, but pushed some healing magic to her face and felt her skin knit back together. Normally she wouldn’t use healing spells, but it was such a small wound that she didn’t care. She just wanted to stop the bleeding. Once the spell had finished, she wiped off the remaining blood and looked towards Noah again. Though a powerful voice grabbed her attention.

“Enough!” Celestia shouted and Twilight saw her lock eyes with Luna for a split second.

Luna frowned but lit her horn. Twilight felt and saw her magic envelop her and her friends in an unknown spell. But she trusted Luna and was not worried. She was more interested in what Celestia was doing.

Celestia’s horn had gotten a bright orange glow that made it very difficult to maintain her gaze on her mentor’s horn. Though in a less bright but similar color, were runes covering her body. Or at least Twilight assumed they were runes. It was impossible to tell with Celestia moving around blocking swords. Yet these symbols intensified in brightness and Twilight waited for something to happen. Yet, nothing happened.

At first.

Then Twilight noticed a slight anomaly around the end of Celestia’s horn. It looked as if she was looking at the heat distortion from a campfire. Yet, this distortion was circular in motion and was occurring just above the horn.

Celestia’s new glow gained yet another level of intensity as she jumped to avoid a blow. Then smashed her hooves down. At that moment any sort of path the swords were on was abruptly changed and they gravitated to Celestia’s horn, disappearing from view an inch from her horn. Though they shrunk and thinned as they disappeared. Though one sword managed to leave a two-inch cut along the side of her face. Loose stones from the road leapt upwards and joined the swords as a dust cloud seemingly was vacuumed up.

Then it stopped and the dust cloud swirled around, its pulling master gone. Twilight found her breath catching in her throat. Above Celestia’s horn was a small ball the size of a marble. It was mostly grey with swirling patterns of yellow. Celestia had created a black hole. A controllable, miniature, black hole.

Twilight struggled to understand what had happened and how the event had occurred when she noticed the cut on Celestia’s face was glowing. Glowing with the same intensity and color as the glow from earlier, yet, when the glow faded the cut was gone.

The marble fell to the ground with a metallic ping, and Celestia slumped forward breathing heavily.

“Celestia!” Twilight cried out and started to move forward, noticing Luna’s magic fading.

Yet she stopped when the air reverberated with wingbeats. Then in a fluid line, there were guards landing in front of Celestia.

“Halt!” One of the guards shouted, he started to say something but stopped when Noah gestured menacingly.

“Bring it.” He said gleefully.

Fluttershy front legs crouched down ever so slightly and her wings flared to their full extent.

The guards did not respond immediately, “You are surrounded and outnumbered. Unless you surrender, your defeat will be swift!”

The guards beat the butts of their spears in a single thud, emphasizing the words.

Noah laughed, “Not mine.”

The guards did respond this time and charged the two ponies. Closing the gap in little time.

“Hold them,” Noah said, unfazed by the approaching guards.

The guards were then stopped entirely stopped by an unseen force and lifted up into the air. Each giving shouts of complaint and annoyance. Some of the unicorns fired beam projectiles but landed on Fluttershy with no effect.

“Disarm them.”

The spears were pulled from their grips and levitated away from the floating ponies. They became very quiet.

“Return to sender,” Noah said with an evil tone.

Then, to Twilight’s horror, each of the guard’s weapons turned to its owner. Giving the ponies a very sharp edge to stare at. Twilight noticed Luna’s horn beginning to glow and she ignited her own, preparing to pull the guards Luna’s spell wasn’t affecting into teleportation.

Though she and Luna were too slow, the spears suddenly raced forwards to their previous owners with lethal speed. Then, stopped mere inches from the targets.

Noah and the others looked at Fluttershy, who was twitching in the effort. Her face didn’t show any change but Twilight was sure that she was the one stopping the lethal blows.

“Hurry Twilight. I shall take the left!” Luna cried.

Twilight nodded and turned her attention back to her spell, enveloped the guards under her charge, and let the magic loose. The guards vanished in a flash of purple and blue light and reappeared behind the two alicorns.

“Is everypony okay?” Twilight asked, turning to the group.

The lead pony took a look at his battalion and nodded, “It seems we are okay. Thank you and the Princess of the night.”

Luna merely nodded at the mention of her title but didn’t remove her gaze from Fluttershy and Noah.

“What happened?” Twilight asked curiously.

“I don’t know,” The guard responded, “It felt like my armor was grabbed by magic and it lifted me up. Though these suits have anti-magic enchantments. It should have at least blocked a little…” The guard trailed off.

Twilight took a look at the armor. It was standard-issue; purple, blue pieces of metal stitched together with magic and other alloys. Yet how did Fluttershy or Noah lift them with so little effort? She looked back to see Luna blasting one of the guard’s spears to magical dust as it was sent in her direction. Her friends, however, did not seem to be a target. Which relieved Twilight but she was still wary.

She thought about the swords and Fluttershy’s lance. What did they have in common with the armor? Well, they were all metal. So, did Fluttershy have a magnetic device? Or perhaps it was a cleverly hidden spell?

No, Fluttershy was a pegasus, not a unicorn, how would she power such a spell? Then again, she countered, could she count her friend being a pegasus?

Her frown deepened as her brain completed the thought. She was not going to look at her friend as a lifeless shell made up of metal. She was going to see it as an illness; only Noah being the virus.

She then looked at her friend with this knowledge and concluded that somehow, she was lifting the objects with something other than magic. Or did Noah find some way to gift Fluttershy with magic?

She looked at her friend and found herself entertaining the idea. Fluttershy had many seemingly new abilities, swords and other weapons included. The ability to heal toxic poisons and being immune to magic when she wanted to. It would make sense to have a magical answer. Though why now? If she had all these abilities, why show them now? They would have been helpful to their many other adventures. Though there was a simple answer for that. She didn’t know about them. So how could she use them?

That then brought up another question, then why did they start appearing now? What caused Fluttershy to go haywire? Noah? The Reception ‘ception? A ticking clock?

She frowned. Staring at Fluttershy and the floating spears around her. The spears were attacking her fellow princesses but the two were defending themselves with summoned weapons. She needed to figure out the cause so she could figure out a solution. Though right now she needed to figure out how to help her fellow princesses.

All the objects Fluttershy was able to levitate were made of metal. And since she didn’t sense any magic in the area she assumed it was magnetism. It could be something else, she reasoned, though she wasn’t helping just standing there. So, she gathered her magic in her horn and sent it down to her limbs. She opened her wings and used them to swing in a full circle. Runes and markings appeared in a circle around her as her hooves slid along the cobblestones. The marks shifted from black to blazing purple as she pumped magical energy into it.

Fluttershy, in some sort of unnatural fashion, snapped her neck to look at her. Twilight froze mid spell, waiting for some sort of action to occur. Yet, she kept staring. Then in a sudden realization, she broke the gaze and refocused on the spell. The circle of runes pulsed and the air blurred a bit as her spell took effect.

The clanging of metal filled the air as the spears Fluttershy was holding dropped out of the sky. Twilight smiled but remained in her spell. She would have hooked the spell to her but she wanted the biggest area of effect. She looked to her fellow alicorn Princesses and the two nodded.

Fluttershy was still watching but her hair was lying limp on the ground around her. Twilight smiled. Hopefully, she was going to be able to be stopped. She was not happy about her friend being under control…

The two princesses started to circle Noah and Fluttershy and the rest of Twilight’s friends joined her by her spell circle.

“What’s that doing?” Applejack asked, looking at Twilight’s hooves.

“I’m disrupting any magnetic fields in the area. I believe that’s how Fluttershy was able to control those objects.” Twilight answered, still watching the Princesses circle.

“You mean by magnets? She was using magnets to move those objects around?”

Twilight gave Applejack a glance and nodded.

“Well, I’ll be,” Applejack stated quietly, “Didn’t realize that magnets could be so powerful.”

“Neither did I…”

Her friends didn’t say anything more but watched intently on the Princesses. They were still watching Noah and Fluttershy closely, saying nothing say for their body language. Wings were flared, legs tense, and wide eyes that squinted ever so slightly.

Noah however didn’t portray any sort of fear. Only smug overconfidence lay on his face as he examined his hoof. Fluttershy still kept a battle stance, though in a less strained fashion.

“I must commend you for figuring out Fluttershy’s magmatic extenders. Without them, it will be a tad more difficult, but only just…” Noah said directing his words at Twilight. His tone was devoid of worry, despite the ponies able to move celestial bodies were circling him.

Twilight frowned, why hadn’t the Princesses done anything? She took a deeper look at her mentor who returned the look. Though only for a second before returning her attention to Noah.

Twilight kept her face steady. Celestia had given instructions in that look. It was a look that told her to prepare. She again pulled from her magical stores and prepped a magical shield. The most powerful one she could muster with her current spell. She also noticed the guards near her fly up and hurried to the nearby homes. They knocked in a hard a specific pattern prompting the owner of the house to leave. Soon ponies were running from the area with only the sound of rebellious foals and hooves on the cobble filling the noise.

Twilight noticed that Fluttershy was looking at her again. Though this time she alternated between her and the two alicorns circling her.

Twilight looked back at Celestia who gave her the same look as before. Twilight frowned what else could she do? There was no pony around except them. Those in the area had a shield. Did her mentor want a shield to contain any outreach? That made sense, but in that case what were the two up to?

Twilight modified her shield spell to cover her and her friends as well as create a circle to contain anything that could emanate from the Princesses. Whether it be magic or physical objects she was sure that her shield could be able to contain it.

Upon the reading of her spell, she saw a look of approval on her mentor’s face. Then the two Princesses started to run around Noah till they were in full gallop. Then from each of the alicorn’s horns came a stream of magic. Golden glow and a purple depth mixed till the two colors were barely indistinguishable. Then the alicorns slide to a stop facing each other, their horns still attached to the glowing circle of energy.

Twilight activated her shield, and a purple glow surrounded the entire group, polygons shining on the magical surface.

The two Princesses then angled their horns towards each other causing the magic circle to suddenly shrink down, rapidly heading towards the two in the center.

However, the circle stopped shrinking when Fluttershy’s hair split into six sections and held the circle at bay. Then the hair lifted the circle upwards at a speed at which Twilight could barley track. Then with a crack that seemed to split the sky, the circle shrunk to a ball and exploded. The explosion was filtered under a green light as Fluttershy’s shield blossomed into existence. A deep thud echoed through the air as the shockwave hit the green shield.

Twilight let her shield fade, letting her magical energy recharge. She kept up the anti-magnetic spell, however, not wanting whatever a magnetic extender was to be in operation.

“Nice counter!” Luna cried out, “Though it has left you wide open!” The two alicorns fixed a beam of plasma to their horns and launched it at Noah. However, a cylinder of a shield dropped from the green shield above and shielded them from harm.

Then the shield bulged outwards, smashing into the two Princesses. They gave out a cry as the interaction gave them no time to counter but instead were sent flying. Celestia managed to regain her footing, sliding a decent distance before friction allowed her to stop. Luna wasn’t so graceful, tumbling a bit before getting her hooves under her.

“Rusty as a nail…” She muttered and returned her attention to Noah.

“I’m never, ‘wide open’, as you say,” Noah said in his smug voice, “Not with Fluttershy around. Though let’s stop the child’s play shall we?”

Fluttershy’s gaze snapped to Celestia and she bounded towards the white alicorn with surprising speed.

Though Celestia held her ground and lit her horn.

Twilight was beside herself but kept quiet. Why would Celestia use magic against a magically immune opponent? The answer was comical.

A single slab of stone was pulled up from the ground right in front of the charging pegasus. A dull thud and sickening crunch accompanied Fluttershy as she ran into the sudden wall. The wall then retreated into the ground and Celestia gave Noah a dark look.

“To use one’s friends against them is a dark trick. Yet, some attacks take a subtly that you seem to lack…” Celestia said darkly.

“Who said I was attacking?” Noah said gleefully, “Wonderful execution!”

Celestia frowned in confusion and attempted to take a step back, only to realize a pink string was wrapped around her legs. Multiple of these threads held Celestia’s hooves to the ground and Twilight saw her wings flare in panic.

Why doesn’t Celestia just cut them? Then with horror, she realized that they were strands of Fluttershy’s hair!

Fluttershy slowly started to get up from her interaction with the wall. Pink hair covered her face but even as Twilight watched, the hair parted to reveal her eyes. Wide and unnaturally open eyes stared at Celestia. A sharp blue glow replaced the pupil and iris for a couple of moments and her hair flowed with a blue radiance.

The ground shuttered as a couple of pipes were ripped from the ground, water spilling out from their broken paths. Fluttershy’s hair was threading the metal tubes and held them in the air. The ends connected to Celestia also lifted her in the air. The alicorn struggled but didn’t have any ground to apply pressure, leaving her awkwardly flailing her limbs. The struggle was restrained as the strands further covered the Princesses leaving pink trails along with her white coat.

There was a loud pop on the Princess of the sun teleported out of the living chains. Yet, Fluttershy's head snapped to another direction; the same direction that Celestia reappeared. Fluttershy’s pink hair streamed towards her location and Celestia jumped into the air, quickly gaining altitude.

The hair didn’t give chase but rather retreated back to Fluttershy’s head, leaving the metal pipes to go clanging to the ground.

“Try the fall recovery projectile. That ought to slow her down a bit.” Noah said with an eager smile.

Fluttershy didn’t respond this time. Instead, her side opened and a small, tube came out. It was still connected to a metal arm that extended out of the blue glow of her insides, but it seemed to be able to swivel up and down. It swung upwards and a small rocket came out of the metal grey tube with a small swish. The rocket looked like a black shiny firework, except smoother and fins on the bottom side with perfect symmetry.

Though unlike a firework it angled itself upwards and towards Celestia. Celestia rolled to the right and the rocket sailed by her. She gave Noah a defiant, but wary look.

Though behind her, the rocket made a sharp turn and retuned its trajectory to Celestia.

“Celestia! Behind you!” Twilight shouted at the top of her lungs realizing she was using her super voice a little late.

The message got across, however, and the white alicorn turned around to dodge the projectile again. However, the projectile changed direction and hurtled itself towards its target, again. Celestia frowned and teleported away this time. The rocket continued to fly towards Celestia, once she had reappeared.

Twilight looked to the side and noticed that Luna was attempting to fire projectiles at Noah, yet a small circle of green blocked every shot. Twilight frowned, understanding why Luna was keeping her distance. No pony knew exactly what Noah could do, and his smugness was concerning.

Twilight thought about using her magic against the missile but assumed that it was magic proof, just like the rest of Fluttershy’s gadgets. Though a small rock suddenly hurtled through the air and missed the rocket by a small margin.

Twilight looked over and noticed Rarity holding a rock with her magic. With a small grunt, she sent the rock flying, this time scoring a hit on the rocket but noticed no effect. She frowned, “It was worth a shot…”

Twilight smiled and the rest of her friends mimicked her notion. She then felt a bit of pressure on her spell and increased its power a bit. She was not going to let any magnetism occur on her watch.

Celestia again disappeared with a golden pop only to have to avoid the rocket as it changed direction. Though this time as she lit her horn for another spell, the top half of the rocket popped off. A black device shot out and latched onto Celestia’s face, completely obscuring her mouth and nose. A small cord connected the mask and the rest of the rocket. Without missing a beat, it started to shrink at an alarming rate. Celestia’s magic took effect, making her change positions. Yet, the rocket had joined in on the spell and was still attached to Celestia’s face. The cord shrunk to nearly nothing and the alicorn suddenly disappeared in a thick cloud of sparkling white mist as the lower half of the rocket connected to the mask.

Twilight’s horror was abolished as she saw the mist part as a translucent golden object fell through it. This golden object was crystal in nature and had completely encased Celestia, bringing her to the ground. It reminded her of the spell Starlight had used on her during their whole time-fiasco. Twilight grimaced, stopping the anti-magnetism spell, and extended a hand of magic to the golden chunk, only to feel it go right through.

The encased princess landed on the cobblestones with a crash, bits of the golden shell scattering into the deserted streets. She watched as she shakily got up from the ground, her right-wing still encased in the golden material but seemed relatively unharmed. Bits of the stuff still stuck to her body and she shook her head as the mask popped off her face with a small hiss.

The metal pipes that had been ripped from the ground began to levitate and gravitated towards Celestia, though they returned to the ground not even halfway when Twilight returned power to her spell.

Fluttershy gave Twilight an empty look, a look that made Twilight’s soul freeze and began to send her hair towards Celestia. Twilight frowned, were they in stalemate? Celestia could just take off again, right?

Though it seemed that she couldn’t get the golden chunk off her wing, so she lit her horn and Twilight noticed her sway a bit, then a chunk of stone slid from the floor once again. This time the quick blockade did nothing to stop Fluttershy as the hairs went right through the stone. Once through, they started to once again wrap around the white alicorn. Though this time the strands wrapped from top to bottom, quickly wrapping up her horn before anything else.

Twilight looked at her hooves and saw her glowing runes on the ground. Where would she be needed most? Luna, after a quick glance, was struggling to get to her sister’s side. The green shield she had been grappling with had blocked her movements almost entirely. Magically moving from side to side in a crude joke.

Though she returned her gaze to Celestia as a green shield appearing around Fluttershy and Celestia. She frowned, noticing that Noah was in the shield as well, making the shield-shaped like an egg cut in half.

She charged up her horn and fired a bolt of plasma into the green matter but it didn’t even leave a mark. She could hit it with a lot more force, though it would mean that she’d have to break the spell she was holding on the ground. Which probably wasn’t the best idea given the things the magmatic extenders were capable of.

She then watched as Fluttershy’s hair started to spark with power, blue bolts of energy dancing along the pink strands. It climbed its way through the pink strands and reached Celestia, giving her an eerie blue glow. Celestia didn’t cry out but Twilight could see her facial expression morphing into surprise and resistance. She took a double-take and noticed that she couldn’t hear anything from inside the shield. Was it soundproof as well?

It seemed to be. Though she watched her friends go over and start pounding on the shield with a futile attempt to break it. Pinkie even tried to drill underneath the shield but found that it extended underground as well. She took another look at the runes at the ground and let the spell fade, the purple glow fading as well. She then gathered much more energy to her horn and prepped an even stronger plasma bolt.

“EVERY PONY MOVE!” Luna’s canterlot voice pierced the air and caused every pony to move away, though that wasn’t the only factor.

Luna looked like Nightmare moon once more. Dark black coat and even more space-like mane. Though her eyes were not like a predator but retained their original color and shape. Her wings were open and she used them to jump into the air, leaving blue fire in her wake. The fire tried to follow but left wisps of energy as Luna gained altitude. The fire on the ground had already ceased as Luna began to divebomb. The air around her gained a dark blue glow, so dark that Twilight almost mistook it for black. Though as she dived, the blue fire once again blossomed around her swirling with her movements.

Twilight pulled her retreating friends close to her and used the energy from her previous spell to summon a hexagonal shield. Then created a secondary shield to deflect any magical rebound that could occur when Luna hit the shield.

This time, the green circle did not impede her, so she hit the shield with incredible force. Enough to send a shockwave that traveled through Twilight’s lungs. Making her flinch slightly. Though there was a light blue ring that flung itself from the impact site and at Twilight’s shields. Both shields shattered on contact, but they were able to deflect the energy upwards. The ring then shrunk slowly till it collapsed in on itself, become thousands of glowing particles in the sky.

Twilight couldn’t hear Noah but she could tell by his green masked face that he was laughing, gloating at the fact that he had corrupted her best friend and was forcing her to fight them and the Princesses. Hot anger started to burn in her chest, making its way up to her forehead.

“Luna, move out of the way!” Twilight cried out and prepped the most powerful beam of plasma she could. Transferring any emotional energy she dared into her horn, causing it to flash and spark with raw energy.

Luna obliged and took one flap of her wings to move out of the way.

Twilight let the spell go, and felt the energy leave her to become a plasma bolt, speeding towards the shield. Though she saw a blue reflection spell suddenly appear in front of her target.

It was filled with circles and runic markings and it took a second for Twilight to understand what had happened or where the spell came from.

Luna had cast it. Her form was still black as the deepest night sky, yet her magic still felt like Luna’s… She took another look at the spell she had cast, it had absorbed Twilight’s energy instead of reflecting it as she had thought. It was an energy focus. How had she missed that?

With her spell in it, the floating blue lines started to glow purple. Then her spell exited the other side of Luna’s spell with a much tighter radius, but with much more power. Yet, the shield remained unyielding. The occupants giving very little attention to the attack.

“No! Sister!” Twilight heard Luna cry out. She had jumped back onto the shield and was bashing on the shield with glowing hooves. She even tried to blast the energy but then slumped in defeat, leaning heavily on the green shield. Her appearance changed back to normal as she almost collapsed onto the mysterious barrier. Twilight frowned as she saw Luna breathing heavily and noticed she herself wasn’t much better. Her magical stores were still recharging from the non-stop use against alicorn magic. So, she knew that she shouldn’t be throwing around magic if she could avoid it. Though looking back in the shield made her stop and stare.

Celestia was now glowing with a golden glow, her face contorted with concentration and worry. The pink hair was still glowing and crackling with blue energy. Celestia’s eyes suddenly went wide and her mouth formed an unheard word. Then her entire body was overtaken by the golden glow and Twilight wasn’t able to determine any features she was used of her mentor. Face, hair, and even her metal adornments were all masked by this mysterious energy. It flowed like a liquid and started to shrink out of the hair’s grasp, taking Celestia with it.

Twilight could only blink as her mentor was reduced to a small glowing orb the size of a marble. The hair that had wrapped up Celestia dispersed, leaving only a few strands to face the orb. Causing it to levitate in the air. But even as Twilight watched the orb float down to Fluttershy, she noticed that her mentor’s cutie mark was emblazoned on the orb.

Fluttershy’s chest then opened up, the yellow panels sinking inwards and sliding away to reveal a glowing circle. This circle was quite bright and was surrounded by thin vertical plates of metal circularly layered on one another. Each metal plate was spaced a bit apart, leaving black lines on the copper-toned material. Pipes of various sizes snaked around these plates and disappeared below the glowing circle. Another circle of copper color surrounded the white circle, obscuring some of the plates and pipes like a large flat doughnut. Though this ring had visible indents that were circular in nature.

The marble that was Celesta hovered over to one of the indents, guided by Fluttershy’s hair. The marble sank into the indent and the center circle gained a solar yellow tinge to its glow. Her hair retreated and the panel on Fluttershy’s chest closed, leaving no trace of the Solar Princess.

Fluttershy was beyond thoughts with horror. Her brain simply wouldn’t process the fact that she had transformed the solar Princess into a small little ball of energy. Then her chest opened, something she could feel quite vividly, and the little marble went in her chest and it closed.

Celestia containment procedure completed. Phase one of collection complete. Proceeding to phase two…

Fluttershy felt her eyes look around and eventually fall onto Luna, who started to move away in alarm.

Then, it felt like someone had ripped her vision away the same way some pony would take binoculars away. She blinked at the sensory input and was unsure what happened.

She was now in a room. A navy blue greeted her eyes from the walls of the room with lines of red, green, and various other colors running through the blue on straight designated paths. Each color left a small trail that faded after a few moments. She continued to watch the colors run around a bit, wondering where she was and how she had gotten here. She looked at herself and noticed that she was able to move her limbs normally. She examined herself for anything odd but didn’t notice anything. Except for the holographic lines floating around her front legs. They formed squares and words and moving the appendage created a small color change in different areas.

She was about to read the words floating around her limbs when she noticed the wall to her right opened in a large circle. It revealed a tunnel that Fluttershy couldn’t see the end to, but noticed a white blur coming up. It came closer and closer till Fluttershy could see what the object was, or rather, what creature.

Celestia was floating through the tube at the speed of her gallop, then, at the end of the tube, she flipped around and landed with a thud on the ground. Her wings were flared as she scanned her surroundings.

Her eyes fell on Fluttershy which caused the pegasus to pedal back in alarm, “So, you’ve given Fluttershy the ability to capture opponents through mimicry of Tireck’s power. For what? Torture? Power siphon? Imprisonment?”

Fluttershy didn’t respond, but realized the Princess was asking her, “Um, I don’t…know?” She said hesitantly, realizing that she could now speak.

Celestia’s face darkened, “You act like Fluttershy, yet, Noah had control over you. How far that control goes I do not know. But I do not what to be caught off guard a second time…”

Fluttershy frowned and looked at her front legs. She was able to control her limbs again, though she could still feel that mental gap she had felt earlier. So, was this her body? Where had they gone to? Did they die?

Celestia's face lightened a bit, “I know one way that you could prove that you have control over your form.”

Fluttershy brightened but was also slightly worried at the Princess's request. If she failed, was she going to become sunburnt particles?

“Synchronize yourself with your element of harmony.”

Fluttershy blinked, then closed her eyes. That was easy enough, she wouldn’t be able to maintain it for too long without her friends synchronizing to their elements, but she didn’t think that Celestia was looking for that. So, she called out to her element and the answer came immediately.

It was a warm comforting feeling. It filled her body with a wave of memories of her friends and for a second, she lost herself in those memories. Adventures and lessons passed by in the longest heartbeat she had ever felt. The feeling faded with a smile on her face, wishing it could stay.

Celestia’s frown faded, but did not entirely go away, “You are indeed Fluttershy. The element would not answer a call so swiftly. Though how does Noah have such control over you? Are you a prisoner like me?”

Fluttershy gave Celestia a blank look, “I’m not so sure, but how were you able to sense my call to my element? Or its answer?”

Celestia smiled, “Before you and your friends wielded the elements, it was me. Before that, me and my sister. I can still feel their power. Even if they do not respond like they used to.”

Fluttershy nodded, “Okay…” She looked around, “I’m not sure about your earlier question though.”

“Which one?”

“If I was a prisoner as well?”

Celestia nodded, “Did Noah put you in a machine and bring you here?” She gestured around her with her wings, “Then just place a machine in your place?”

Fluttershy frowned. Her gut told her no. No matter how much she wished that was the case. The scene she had seen and felt when Noah had first tried to repair her eye was too real. She felt like she was being disassembled at a biological level. Then, she guessed, replaced with metal and electromagical components.

“I don’t think so.” She stated and told what she had experienced with the dream.

Celestia frowned and scowled at the same time, “If there is even a sliver of truth in that, I will personally send him to the sun.”

Fluttershy paused, wondering if you could walk on the sun. Though she remembered the sun was a ball of plasma and grasped the full meaning of Celestia’s statement.

“It just felt like he was disassembling me. Maybe replacing with what I have now?” Fluttershy said after a moment of awkward silence.

Celestia’s frown was still on her face, yet it turned thoughtful as she thought about what she said, “Possibly. Though how are you able to move now? Before it seemed you could only barely stop yourself with the guards. If that was you?”

Fluttershy nodded. She remembered feeling the invisible energies grasp the guard’s armor and spears. When the energy attempted to throw the spears at the guards, the gap between her mind and her body had shrunk, giving her the ability to fight for control. She couldn’t truly explain it but she supposed it had felt like a tug of war. She just didn’t know who or what her opponent was…

She relayed that to Celestia hoping that she could give some insight. Celestia paused for a moment then said, “That makes me think of mind magic.” She paused and looked Fluttershy in the eye, “The controlling sort. Yet, I do not think that’s at play. It just doesn’t feel like magic, but I can not conceive any other explanation! Answers bring more questions! For example, how did you lift the guards without me, Luna, nor Twilight sensing magic? How did stands as thin as hair block a combined attack from me and Luna!” She paused to take a breath, “Okay. Let’s assume that you were just body swapped with an electromagical device that could mimic your behavior enough to fool us and it just imprisoned me here with the real you. That could explain what happened. Yet that brings more questions! How is it powered? How did I not notice when I looked at your eyelid? Even better, where is here?!” She gestured around strongly, then lowered her head in defeat.

Fluttershy said nothing, unsure how to respond.

Celestia chuckled, “I’m starting to sound like Twilight, aren’t I?”

That got her to smile, “A little.” Fluttershy replied, and looked around, “I’m not sure where we are but I do not think I was, body swapped.”

“Why?” Celestia said curiously, looking up.

Fluttershy paused, wondering how to put it into words, “I’m not sure but I feel everything. Each moving strand of hair, my leg opening,” she paused then put emphasis, the memory running through her mind, “My chest opening. I’m not sure how but I’m sure that, that’s me. I’ve been doing all this just not at my command.”

“Well, do you know how you lifted the guards then? It may offer a clue, or at least a confirmation.” Celestia implored.

Fluttershy nodded, “There are invisible energies that I can feel coming from me. It can grab things from a distance, and I can manipulate whatever it's holding. With that guards, it grabbed their armor and then lifted them up.”

“Why not the ponies themselves?”

Fluttershy shrugged.

“Okay,” Celestia frowned, thinking, “Could you feel the energies like a limb?”

Fluttershy nodded.

“What did it feel like? A wing? Hoove? A nose even?”

“A magnet?” Fluttershy said hesitantly, realizing that ponies did not have magnets as limbs.

Celestia just stared.

“Well, I mean,” Fluttershy sputtered, “It felt like I had an extra hoof and it hooked to things like a magnet. Just more liquid in nature--than a hoof, I guess?”

Celestia’s face did not change, yet her head nodded, “What has Noah been working on under my nose? This kind of device is groundbreaking and yet instead of being used to help ponies it’s being used as a weapon!”

Fluttershy frowned and looked down at her legs. The holographic lines moving slowly to her movements. Had she really given Noah permission to modify her in this way? She frowned knowing that she wouldn’t be willing to give up her biological form for something so far from nature. Especially when she was so close to nature. Then why did Noah do such a thing?

Her leg caught her attention. Floating just above her knee was the words, Share view. Share a view on what? Could she share her view on things with Celestia?

She paused and looked at the rest of the words on her legs. Feeling interface, Internal to external mic, Bio-scan, Power siphon, and quite a few more. Though one word stood out the most at the top of her leg, MMO Virtual interaction HUD.

“What’s that?” Celestia asked, coming closer to look at Fluttershy’s legs.

Fluttershy shrugged, “I’m not sure. I had them when I was first pulled here…”

“Pulled here? So, you were pulled here as well?”

Fluttershy nodded, but she could still feel the gap between her mind and body. Yet, she could also feel her body here in this room?

“Yes,” Fluttershy replied, “Though it felt like somepony just removed binoculars from my eyes…”

“Hmm,” Celestia frowned, “It felt like Tirek was attempting to pull out my cutie mark’s magic.”

“Really?”

“Indeed. It is not a very comfortable situation.”

“I can imagine,” Fluttershy responded, vividly remembering when Tirek had stolen her magic. It had felt like a vital part had been taken from her, not letting her do many things. Though that had given her a thought.

“Hold on, you had your magic stolen by Tirek correct?” Celestia asked, beating her to the punch.

Fluttershy nodded, changing her words she had been about to speak, “Yes. Do you think that I was this way back then?”

Celestia nodded after a pause, “Unfortunately I do. Do you remember the incident with Starlight and the town she created?”

Fluttershy nodded.

“From the recounts that I’ve been told, you attempted to go and retrieve the cutie marks from the cave but detoured to go spy on Starlight.”

Fluttershy nodded again, remembering the experience.

“You were able to move out of sight on two occasions without the use of your cutie mark magic. You had a magic that inhibited such movement. Starlight has told me that she had wondered how you were able to get out of sight fast enough.”

“I guess that answer is pretty obvious now isn’t it?”

Celestia gave her a look of compassion, “So it would seem. Though I’m very curious about what’s powering your augmentations.” She paused, giving her a thoughtful look, “I wonder if it’s being powered by your cutie mark. Which would make sense.”

Fluttershy nodded sadly. Exactly how long has she been this way?

She again looked at her leg and looked at the, Share view. Could she share her view with Celestia? Maybe that could help her figure out where they were?

“Hang on. I recognize that interface.” Celestia said abruptly, “Glyph made that system and I was tempted to add it to the castle. Though it would require some serious renovations…”

Fluttershy gave her a confused look, “Glyph?”

Celestia smiled and nodded, “Glyph was the other inventor we tried to visit. The one who didn’t answer her door?”

Fluttershy slowly nodded, “Okay? I thought Noah was the pony who altered me?”

Celestia paused, “Indeed.”

Fluttershy lifted her leg, “Then why is one of her inventions in my leg?”

Celestia frowned in thought, “I remember Luna talking about a dream of the inventor. It was a nightmare where Glyph was worried her inventions would have been stolen. Oh, why didn’t I mention her name earlier?!”

Fluttershy didn’t respond. Not that she would have known what to say anyway…

Celestia shook her head, “That would have probably jogged my sister’s memory. Stupid…” She stomped her hoof and took a deep breath, “Either way, the thing on your leg is called an interface. This one looks like you would just tap on the things you want to activate. For example, Glyph offered to code it a way to allow me to light up sections of the castle independently from each other. All with simple taps from pretty much anywhere in the castle! I could light up my room before I even got there! Though we would have needed to install a power source, make wall cuts for the wires, and other things.” She sighed, “It would have been a lot of work even with the assistance of magic…”

Interface? That didn’t sit right with Fluttershy, taking into account that it was an interface for her. Or at least she thought it was part of her. Pushing the uncertain thoughts aside she tapped on the word with her hoof and a glowing rectangle appeared in the air in front of her. It was a very large rectangle, easily the size of a wall belonging to a large room. It remained empty for a few moments then flashed with color and Fluttershy saw the image that she saw before she was yanked to the room with Celestia.

It showed Luna; frozen mid-retreat. Her green shield was still up and it tinged the blue alicorn with a greenish hue.

“What’s happening?” Celestia asked urgently.

Fluttershy took a second to respond, “I’m not sure…” After capturing Celestia the computer had said that phase one was complete. Was capturing Luna phase two?

She didn’t have time to think about it as glowing blue lines started to dance in front of her eyes. They formed a rounded rectangle in front of her eyes and she could see several lines in her peripheral vision.5

“What’s happening?” She cried out in alarm and attempted to backpedal. The lines followed her movements, however, and she felt the feeling in her body fading. She shook her head, but to no avail.

She had a chance to look at Celestia turn to her in alarm, then her vision switched to what she saw in the bigger rectangle. Luna was about ready to retreat. Though this time she was moving. She watched as Luna jumped and weakly flapped her wings to get off the green shield.

Celestia? Fluttershy attempted to say but found herself getting a now-familiar response.

Action denied.

Fluttershy could only internally groan in protest as she watched as the shield dissipated as her wings folded back on her back.

“Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy face instinctively scrunched up in confusion. Did she just hear Celestia?

“Fluttershy? What happened? Can you not move?” Celestia said again.

She was now moving towards Luna with careful steps as the alicorn joined behind Twilight and the rest of her friends. She frowned.

Action has been denied.

“Fluttershy? I heard you groan, are you okay?” Celestia’s voice again emanated from, somewhere. Where?

Not really? Fluttershy said in her head. Yet, this time Celestia didn’t respond, instead repeated her question.

She frowned. Where was Celestia? It sounded like she was nearby. Yet, she could hear the Princess’s voice from her head! She had heard her groan, why not talk?

Her mind thought back to the train when Pinkie had helped her talk to the machine inside. Was she talking to the wrong area of her head perhaps?

She heard Celestia’s voice again, this time accompanied by nervous steps. She also noticed that Luna was being protected by the rest of her friends. Each one of her friends had nervous and upset expressions laid on their faces. This time, however, she focused on Celestia’s voice and noticed that it did seem to have a direction in her head.

“Hello?” She said, aiming the words towards the origin of Celestia’s words.

“Oh, thank goodness. Can you move?”

“No. I’m back to where I was.”

Celestia’s voice radiated confusion, “What do you mean? Your right here…”

Fluttershy tried to frown, “Yes, I am. Though I think it’s a bit bigger than that. I’m talking inside my head, and you can hear me. Which means that your—”

“Inside your head?” Celestia finished.

“It would seem that way.”

“Hmm. If that’s the case I may know a spell that might help.” There was a pause. Then panic, “I don’t have my magic! I mean, I can feel it nearby but I can’t use it!!”

Fluttershy was about to respond but noticed that her friends were running at her. The battle mode was also noticed, and a battle plan was formulated in seconds.

Her friends had formed a v-shaped line with the point facing towards Luna. Applejack was at the vertex with Pinkie and Rainbow on her left, and Twilight and Rarity on the right. When they got close Fluttershy felt herself lunge forward like a snake and grabbed Rarity’s front leg with her own. Then, with surprising ease, swung her around once then threw her upwards. Rarity screamed as she easily gained a few hundred feet of altitude.

“This is much less enjoyable without wings!!!” She heard Rarity shout.

“Rainbow!” She heard Twilight shout, even as she felt Twilight pull on one of her front legs. Her alicorn strength pulling it to the ground.

Rainbow shot upwards while Pinkie grabbed the other front leg and equaled Twilight’s strength in pulling her other leg to the ground. Her head shot to the right to look at the pink pony. Her eyes saw a glowing purple aura flowing from the pink pony to the purple alicorn.

Fluttershy felt her hair begin to move, causing confusion to swell in her chest. The feeling didn’t last long as her hair suddenly went limp.

Error. Interference detected at 45/R

Her head snapped 45 degrees to the right and zoomed in. Next to a house was the teacher Cheerilee. She was holding out her hoof with something attached to her hoof. It was glowing and looked like a small metal sock.

Error in Hair modulation. Forming new plan…

New plan formulated. Deploying long-range weaponry. Type=SS Rocket.

Fluttershy felt her wings move as a panel on her back began to move. Though it stopped abruptly when Applejack, without her hat, placed something on her face. She placed two hooves on the side of her head and held her head in place. Fluttershy noted that Applejack was also glowing purple in her vision.

“Now Princess!!” Applejack shouted moving her head out of the way to give Fluttershy a good look at Luna.

Luna’s horn was glowing white. She looked tired, but beneath her hooves lay the runes that Twilight had made, only they were glowing blue now.

Warning! Dream magic amplifier in proximity. Halting previous plan.

Done.

Deploying countermeasures…

Fluttershy felt herself pull backward, angling her entire body back. Her friends leaned with her, till Fluttershy launched the other way and headbutted Applejack in the face.

The orange pony stumbled backward in pain and shock, while Luna launched a white energy beam at the object on Fluttershy’s face. Without Applejack holding her down, she was easily able to duck, causing the blast to land on her back. It landed with no effect.

Luna suddenly collapsed, breathing heavily in the now dark runes.

Fluttershy again felt the invisible limbs reach out from her and grab something underground. Pipes erupted from the ground and weaved themselves around Twilight and Pinkie as if it were a string. Once properly restrained, the energy pushed the two ponies to the side, leaving them struggling.

Twilight’s magic started to work on the bars, but the energy had made sure to wrap Twilight extra snug. The bars started to move, yet the energy moved them back into place. As Fluttershy felt another limb pull another pipe to restrain Applejack, she shook her head and the item on her face fell off.

It looked like a dream catcher. A simple circle encompassing a star-like pattern had small blue feathers hanging from the bottom. She wondered if Luna had made it herself.

Her gaze lifted and rested on Luna. She looked back with a worried expression, her horn igniting slowly. The symbols at her hooves started to glow gently and Fluttershy felt her invisible limbs weaken slightly. Though they strengthened when Luna’s horn stopped glowing and she took deep, shuttering breaths.

“Why did you use that form during the day…” She heard Celestia say in her mind.

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked, feeling her hooves move her towards the disabled alicorn.

Though before Celestia could respond, another pony landed hard in front of her.

It was a pegasus, like her, but with a light blue coat. Bright red and pink hair flowed around as her body displaced the air. Fluttershy also noticed a metal wing replacing a right wing with the right front leg replaced with a metal leg.

“I’m sorry for not answering the door Fluttershy…” The mare said in a somber voice.

“No!” Noah shouted from behind her, and the battle mode immediately tagged the pony in front of her as an enemy.

The pony’s wings flared and the right wing began to faintly glow white. Her hearing was replaced with a faint humming sound.

Error. Ear calibration required.

She paused for a second, then watched as the pony lifted her metal leg and threw a small disk at her face. The device attached to her right eye and a flurry of text filled her vision.

Docking device detected.

Error external docking checks are not recognized. Requesting additional security requirements.

…

Silver bird emergency codes have been confirmed. Booting MMO for authentication.

Error. The request has been denied by Void.exe.

External docking device has connected to hardware mainframe.

…

External docking device is requesting access to: Core system management. Allow?

The text stopped. The single word stayed in her vision silently allowing access to something that she had no idea about.

“Come on…” The light blue pony said urgently in front of her. She raised her hoof as a dark magic bolt rushed towards her location. The bolt exploded on her leg but left little damage. Regardless, the pony shook it slightly with a pained expression. “Darn it, hurry up!”

Fluttershy was only able to lip-read what she was saying, completely oblivious to the outside world except her invisible limbs holding her friends down and her vision. She stared at the new pony, unable to look elsewhere. Could she trust this pony?

“Celestia?” Fluttershy asked.

Docking procedure placed on hold. Rebooting containment communication network.

“Fluttershy? What’s happening? Hello? Can you hear me?” Celestia’s frantic voice seemed to blossom in her mind. Relieving the constant hum in her ears slightly.

“Yes. I can hear you. Can you hear me?”

There was a sigh of relief, “Oh thank goodness. I thought I had lost you…”

“Oh. Um, well I’m still here, but do you know this pony?” Fluttershy asked, still hoping that Celestia could see what she was seeing.

There was a frightening pause, as the pony ducked under another black bolt of magic.

“Yes. That’s Glyph if I remember correctly. I did trust her, though remember. She is the one who created some of the things you now have.”

Fluttershy internally frowned. Things didn’t add up. Noah had obviously replaced her biology with mechanical parts. Yet, if Glyph had been a part of that. Why is she trying to get in her way? If she was truly on Noah’s side, wouldn’t she have let her get to Luna?

She focused on the words in her vision again, only for more to appear.

Docking procedure resumed. External docking device is requesting access to: Core system management, Allow?

“Yes.” She whispered silently.

Precautionary Wound Patch

Author's Note

"I plan to post the next chapter soon!" I still remember writing that two months ago. That was before December's plans hit where work seemed to double and things took a turn for the chaos capital. :pinkiecrazy: I'm fine! I think... But I hope you all are fine and healthy. :pinkiehappy:

Just as a heads up, I'm preeetty sure the next chapter is going to take a bit longer to post as well. This last chapter is the events that I've tied together in my mind. I've got the rest of the story mostly planned out just in events that I want to include, plot points, and that kind of thing. I still have to order them together in a way that makes sense. Both for continuity and for the sequel. :raritywink: But don't worry. There is a basic road map and I do plan on finishing this. I just want to solidify that road map before I go too far. Feedback welcome! But regardless! Enjoy!

//:
Loading prompt...
Ownership of My Little Pony and all the characters contained within belong to Hasbro studios and other respective parties. I do not own them.
Loading story...
25%...
75%...
99%...
Done!

Precautionary Wound Patch

Cheerilee was running next to the light blue pegasus. Directly towards the source of the extremely loud noise. It was not something that she entirely wanted to do, but whatever the sound was, Glyph had recognized it and was worried. Now any normal pony would run the opposite direction in either silence or full volume.

Though she no normal pony. She lived in Ponyville where many crazy events happened. So, without even thinking much about it, she continued to follow Glyph to the other side of the city. Where they slowed down and hid around a house. Cheerilee looked over Glyph's shoulder to see the Elements of Harmony and the Princess in a faceoff. The participants of this face-off surprised her greatly.

One side had Luna, Twilight, and the rest of her friends with the exception of Fluttershy. That pony was on the other side with another pony she did not recognize. Yet, that made her frown. Why was Fluttershy in a standoff with her friends?

“Here.” Glyph said, pulling her attention away. She was holding out her metallic leg in a hoof bump sort of fashion, “You’ll need this to help out.”

Cheerilee looked at the leg skeptically, “Don’t you need your leg?”

Glyph smiled, “Yes, but I’m not giving you my leg. Put your hoof against mine, it’ll put a device on your hoof.”

Cheerilee kept her skeptical look on her face but reached out and did what she was asked. The metal leg then began to click, and the lower portion of the leg extended outwards to cover her hoof. There was another click, and when Glyph pulled her leg away, the portion on her leg still on her own hoof. Glyph’s hoof was reduced to a ribcage of metal beams. Just with electronics and motors on the inside instead of bone and sinew.

Cheerliee examined the new hoof covering she just received. It was simply the bottom of Glyph’s metal leg. She turned it over to examine the bottom to see the inside of a metal tree trunk. Rings of metal completely covered the bottom of her hoof, obscuring any pink color she was used to.

“There. Now, just point your hoof at the pony with the artificial eye. That ought to disrupt any EMDs.”

“EMDs?” Cheerilee said in surprise. They were talking about a pony, not some alien creature! She didn’t even flinch when the two ponies heard Rarity scream. She had heard Rarity use her outside voice quite often. Especially when she ran out of fabric mid dress.

After a quick look towards Rarity’s voice, Glyph replied quickly, “I’ll explain later. Just be sure to point your hoof at the pony okay?” Her wings extended out and she crouched down, preparing to jump into the air.

“Wait,” Cheerilee cried, “Can I step on it?” She was cradling the metal-covered hoof as if was made of eggshells.

Glyph nodded once before taking off into the air with a faint hum.

Cheerilee watched her go and then carefully peeked around the corner of the house. The elements were not in the group hug her mind had originally expected. Instead, Pinkie and Twilight were holding down Fluttershy.

She shook her head, figuring the situation was way over her head. Then lifted her metal covered hoof and pointed it directly at Fluttershy.

A faint but noticeably fake voice came from her hoof, “Axes are in alignment. Beginning interference broadcast…”

Friendship can help soften the journey of life. Even if you have to fight for every single one.

Access granted.

ERROR. Void systems have begun to report corruption.

Connected systems might experience interference!

Warning! Core 4, 7, 3 have begun to overheat because of “Void.exe”

Attempting distribution of workflow to other cores.

Error. Cores are not accepting the diverted work.

Warning! 20+ errors have been detected in the Void.exe.

Void system is beginning to overload, causing malfunctions in main devices.

Core program error. Beginning to release Void.exe functions from devices to resolve overflow error…

Fluttershy’s mind felt no such turmoil. Instead, she could actually feel the gap between her mind and body shrinking!

Yes, keep doing that! She thought happily, but frowned as an electrical pulse flooded her senses, “Ow!” She instinctively cried, and noticed that she had said that out loud.

Glyph perked up, “Bear with me!” She said quickly, guilty tones laid plain to see in her voice, “It won’t be too lon—”

Her voice stopped cold as a black bolt of energy hit her square in the face. Her body went limp as she careened in a diagonal fashion. She landed and did not get up. Yet, Fluttershy saw her breathing as her hearing returned with a small crackle.

Noah appeared in her vision fiddling with the device on her eye.

“No!” Twilight cried, and a black shield appeared to block a magenta energy bolt.

Warning. Void corruption has reached 50%. Attempting to clear program and reboot from backup program directory.

Action has been denied by external docking device.

Another wave of electricity passed through her. Though it was not as powerful as a storm cloud, so it was bearable if not unpleasant. Her body didn’t like the extra energy, however, and she felt herself crouch a bit as her limbs began to twitch.

“Stupid…” She heard Noah mutter then the device came loose from her eye and hovered away in a magical red glow.

404 error in docking port.

Emergency_Stop_Program has stopped working!

Ending program and resuming previous running programs.

Compiling crash log…

Log created and stored in MMO/Crash logs/External/Emergency_Stop_Program__one__

With an internal frown, Fluttershy felt the gap return to normal. The electrical pulses stopped however, and her limbs stopped twitching.

Noah grinned with approval and stated, “Resume Void collection.”

Fluttershy felt herself blink and look at him, “Program already in operation,” Came the words from her mouth with little to no emotion.

Noah nodded, “Ah yes. I forgot about the resume protocol.”

Twilight was unsure what to do. The metal pipes that were holding her down seemed to have a mind of their own. Every time she’d try to move them away with her magic, they’d move right back into position. She even had tried to move the bars holding her friends down but to no avail.

What could she do? Their original plan had been to force Fluttershy to the dreamscape. A sleep only Luna could wake her up from.

Yet, when they had tried to hold her down for the magic to take effect, Fluttershy had thrown Rarity up into the sky like she would a pebble. That wasn’t too big of an issue since Rainbow could fly, so she had used her magic to gift her remaining friends her alicorn strength. Which with all three of them holding her down, Fluttershy was still able to get free and avoid the spell.

Twilight groaned, again trying to move the metal pipes holding her a few inches in the air. Yet her efforts stopped when a blue pegasus landed in front of Fluttershy. The pony flared her wings and threw a small disk at Fluttershy’s face. Twilight’s hearing dimmed slightly, suddenly filled with a low hum.

She had watched and even blocked a few bolts that the grumbling Noah had sent towards the new pony. However, two got through her defenses through some magic she wasn’t sure about. They seemed to slow as they hit her shields then burst through with renewed speed. The first one the pegasus had blocked with her metal leg. However, the second one had hit her square in the face. Sent her a distance away. With her out of the way, Noah briskly walked over to Fluttershy who was twitching in random movements, tiny lightning arcs dancing on her coat.

“No!” Twilight cried even as she had felt a plasma bolt gather on her horn. She sent it Noah’s way but it was deflected by the pony with ease.

Twilight frowned. She could feel her magical essence running low after augmenting her friends. That and she was still recovering from blocking the magic from her fellow princesses. She took a look at the bars restraining her. She could easily teleport her and her friends out of the magnetic rope, yet she wasn’t sure how much energy she would have left…

She had to risk it. Luna was much weaker than she was right now. How long she needed to recover she wasn’t sure. She still wasn’t sure what Luna had done, but she pushed that thought to the back of her mind. She could ask her later. She just had to make sure there was a later…

The familiar teleportation spell wrapped around her and her vision scattered and reappeared. She looked to her left and right and saw her friends next to her. Even Rainbow and Rarity had been teleported to her side.

“Um…” Twilight heard Spike mutter.

She looked to her back and saw Spike sitting on it with a very confused look on his face. She gave him an apologetic look, “Sorry Spike. I guess I forgot the emergency teleport spell involved you as well.”

Spike half smiled, “The one that teleports you and your friends to a location?”

Twilight nodded and turned to Fluttershy, “Yeah.” Noah had removed the small disk that the blue pegasus had placed on her friend’s face, leaving two blue mechanical eyes to stare at her own.

“I guess it doesn’t work on Fluttershy huh?”

Twilight frowned and shook her head.

“Twilight,” Luna said, her voice strained.

“Yes?” Twilight answered, watching Noah talk to Fluttershy. Though she wasn’t able to hear him.

“If Fluttershy catches me like she did my sister, I fear I do not have the strength to resist...” Her tone took a more fearful stance, “Please stay close. I may require your assistance.”

Twilight gave her a glance and nodded, “Of course Luna.”

“I’m feeling generous today. Let’s give you a taste of what Fluttershy can do, shall we?” Noah’s voice said carrying glee and satisfaction.

Fluttershy’s stance changed, her right foreleg lifting slightly. It then sunk into her shoulder, just like how it did in the forest. Then, to her shock, a birdcage came out. Well, not exactly a birdcage she reckoned. It was still shaped like a leg, and much thinner than a birdcage would be. Yet, there were vertical bars that came from where her shoulder would connect to her, “leg.” Then, horizontal rings encompassed the vertical bars in a birdcage esc-fashion. These rings shifted upwards and rested next to her shoulder. Then the other bars swiveled outwards to form an open claw. Fluttershy then pointed it right at Twilight, eyes still unnaturally wide.

She frowned and removed the little dragon off her back. Then she heard a twang and the claw launched itself at her, a small chain bouncing behind it. She flinched a bit and instinctively brought up a shield. Then her mind reconsidered her decision a little too late.

The claw went right through her shield and wrapped around her chest. It tightened its grip till it was snug and pulled taut. She gritted her teeth as she let the shield fade and ground her hooves into the ground, stopping her motion entirely. She teleported out of its grasp and the claw was yanked back to its owner.

Twilight took a breath, watching the pegasus spin and send the claw her way again. Though this time, she used her wings to roll out of the way. The method would put some dirt in her feathers, though that was the least of her worries.

A yelp of surprise made her turn around. The yelp had come from Spike. Who had gotten caught in the claw appendage which had now closed around him? He didn’t look to be in pain, nor did he look too thrilled either. The claw began to retreat with its prize but Twilight, learning that magic had no effect on Fluttershy or the strange devices from her, grabbed the claw with her forelegs and dug her hind legs into the ground. Even with her bracing more than ninety degrees from the ground, she still was sliding towards Fluttershy. Though the slide didn’t last long with her friends all piled on to help pull. Luna, however, held back with her wings still drooping on her sides.

Twilight noticed Fluttershy blink, then the claw began to shine a low blue. Then, quite suddenly an electric shock ran through the group of ponies with a jolt. It caused them to jump back in alarm, releasing the claw in the process.

“Help!” Spike cried in vain, as the cage dragged him along. Twilight and the rest of the ponies tried again to grab the metal contraption but found it too fast to grab. The group gave chase but ran into a green barrier as it materialized in front of her.

“Tsk tsk tsk, Twilight. It won’t be that easy. I do need him as well.” Noah said in an evil tone.

Spike had been brought up to Fluttershy’s shoulder. The cage was a tad bigger than Fluttershy’s leg but seemed to move like a normal leg, despite its new contents. The horizontal rings then returned to their original positions, expanding as they went around Spike. He sat tightly wrapped with a worried look on his face. Despite the Spike being in her leg, Fluttershy didn’t seem to have a problem taking a step back.

Twilight narrowed her eyes at Noah, “You harm a single scale on him, and I will personally toast you…”

Noah grinned, “Lightly toasted or charcoal?”

Twilight replied darkly, “Ash.”

Noah merely chuckled, “I would very much like to see you try. Fluttershy, contain Spike please.”

Fluttershy blinked. Her shoulder expanded with extending panels a couple of inches, exposing a blue glow intermixed with mechanical parts and wires. The glow was emanating from a small circle that grew as her shoulder expanded. The circle’s surface glowed with a light blue base tinged with white highlights that mimicked the resting ocean’s gentle waves.

With a click, the cage rose into Fluttershy’s shoulder, taking Spike with it. The cage and horrified dragon completely disappeared into the glowing blue circle and the shoulder shrunk back to its normal size. It remained a hole for a moment or two, then her original leg came back, and her stance returned to normal. All evidence that the leg had changed at all vanished within seconds. Twilight could only stare through the green shield at her friend. By Celestia’s cutie mark, where did Spike go?

Twilight pursed her lips, not moving as the shield vaporized. Her mind was racing trying to understand what had happened to her #1 assistant. Whatever it was, it was definitely a sort of electromagical feature that had been added to her friend, against her will, but what purpose did that serve? What exactly did Noah do to her friend?!

Her face contorted together in anger. What exactly happened to Spike? She wanted to sit down and figure it out. Though that wouldn’t help her at this current moment. Noah had said that he needed the little dragon so she doubted that the dragon was in any trouble. She hoped. Regardless, it helped calm her nerves. Yet, her anger was reaching her limit of control. Looking at her friends, she noticed they felt similarly.

Her eyes fell onto the light blue pegasus that had attempted to help earlier. She looked towards Luna and asked, “Do you know her?” Her hoof lifted and pointed to the injured pegasus.

Luna followed her gaze and took a second to reply, “Yes. That’s the pony we should have met with.” She took a breath, “We can trust her, though I can not remember her name…”

Twilight nodded and extended her magic to the motionless pony. Lifting her with her magic, she brought her over to her little group of friends. The pegasus groaned in complaint as she was moved. Twilight frowned and noticed immediately what kind of magic was used on her.

“Bah!” Luna scoffed, feeling the magic as well.

Twilight nodded, a frown mimicking her notion, she didn’t like toxic magic either. Though it seemed Noah knew it quite well. She did know how to counter it, however. It was like neutralizing an acid; you just needed to add a base. So, she gathered her magic and condensed some energy with an opposite signature than what she felt stuck in the pony’s skull. Then, Twilight gently prodded the energy into the pony’s head. After a few moments, the pony’s eyes shot open with a small gasp.

After a few moments of breathing and getting her surroundings, she looked at Twilight, “Thanks…” She said quietly.

Twilight nodded and looked back at Fluttershy, whose eyes were glowing green and purple. Spike’s colors.

“Well done!” Noah exclaimed, “Oh I am so glad that system works.”

“System?” Luna growled angrily, “She is not a machine…”

Noah snickered, “Pony once, but no more!” He gestured to the motionless pegasus, “She is the best tool in the shed. A tool sharpened by my electromagical devices and intelligence.”

The mystery pegasus frowned, “Yeah. My intelligence… Then implemented onto a living being. Likely against her will judging on every pony’s reaction…” Twilight noticed that she sounded more guilty than angry. Twilight glanced at her but decided that she would wait for that confrontation. Right now, she had to rescue three friends from a fate she didn’t even know about. She didn’t even know what system Noah was talking about! She needed more information to save them.

“Hey.” Twilight said giving the light blue pony a friendly bump, “What do you say we do? You seem more in tune with Fluttershy’s predicament than I do.”

She frowned but responded glumly, “Yes. I do know a lot. How much pertains to your friend I’m not sure. Call me Glyph by the way.”

Twilight took in the name with a nod and turned towards Fluttershy. She wasn’t moving. Which struck her as odd, but then she noticed that Noah was sitting down. Merely staring at them with a smug look on his face. He was toying with them. Taunting them! She snorted, hoping that it would take some of the rage out of her system. It was ill effective, but it allowed her to clear her mind. Celestia had somehow been converted into some sort of spherical object. So they just needed to reverse that process to save Celestia. How?

She had no clue.

Spike had simply been pulled into Fluttershy through one of her legs. If they could get her to use that leg then a rescue plan could be possible. Though how was she going to do that?

She had no clue.

Fluttershy had somehow been converted into a mechanical being that still had the thoughts and actions of Fluttershy. That only changed with the appearance of the Reception ‘ception and now Noah. The Reception ‘ception was taken care of, so would eliminating Noah solve the problem?

She had no clue.

The only thing she knew was that her friend was taking strict orders from Noah. The only thing she could do without his consent was to protect him from harm. Her mind stopped mid-thought when she realized her friends were looking at her, waiting for an answer.

“Any ideas?” She asked, hoping for any input.

Applejack nodded, “We gotta defang that snake. If we put Fluttershy to sleep then we can deal with Noah. I’m not sure if we could do anything else with her in the way…”

Twilight nodded, “Agreed. Though I don’t have that much magic left. So, I can’t exactly share my strength again like last time. So, we all need to be there.”

Rarity sighed, “Sorry. I really wasn’t expecting to be thrown into the air like that. It was not an experience I would like to take part in again.”

Rainbow chuckled, “Don’t want to fly too close to the sun again huh?”

Rarity gave her a frown but was also trying not to smile.

“Wait,” Pinkie piped in, “Remember the guards? Fluttershy almost killed them.” She paused, “That really doesn’t sound right to say…”

Twilight nodded sadly.

“We just have to remember that Noah may have Fluttershy hurt slash kill us.” Pinkie said after a moment.

“Though I think we can cross Twilight and myself off that list. Noah seems very keen to get a hold of us.” Luna said quietly, gently folding her wings on her back.

“Feeling better?” Twilight asked, hopeful. She still wanted to ask what had happened to her before but held her tongue.

Luna nodded, “Yes but not at full capacity. I should be able to handle low-class spells, but not teleportation. Though I think I can manage dream magic, but not for long.”

“Can you run?” Rarity asked, “We may have to move around.”

Luna paused, tapping each hoof on the ground, “Yes, I do believe I can. Though my wings are still quite tired. I do not think I will be able to get into the air.”

Twilight nodded, “Good. Rarity, can you operate this spell?” Twilight motioned to the circle of runes on the ground, “We may not want those magmatic extenders to be in operation.”

Glyph frowned, “So he’s using them as weapons huh?” She seemed to be in a thoroughly bad mood.

Rarity examined the runes as Twilight frowned, “What’s its original purpose?”

“Construction and manipulation of non-powered prosthetics.”

Twilight blinked, not expecting an answer so fast, “Okay. What about that thing you put on Fluttershy’s eye earlier? What was that supposed to do?”

Everypony turned to the pony, the air demanding an answer.

She nodded, “That was a portable interface. It was designed to be on a docking system for anypony with prosthetics. I just made it able to work without the rest of the docking system. It delivered a program that would overload any rogue programs and shut them down. I was hoping that would release your friend. Though I don’t think Noah is going to give that device back…”

“Was the docking system a, ‘Harness?’” Applejack said suspiciously, making Twilight’s thoughts shift sharply.

Glyph gave her a concerned look, “That’s what Noah called it, but how do you know about it?!” She sounded urgent.

Applejack gave her a confused look and took a half step back, “Er, well. Fluttershy was acting just fine. Well, mostly fine. She had control over her actions until Noah had her in the harness. That’s when the zap apples went bad.”

Glyph brought a hoof to her chin, “Did it look like that she fell asleep? Like she was suddenly knocked out?”

“No?” She responded.

“No. She did not. She was fully awake,” Luna confirmed firmly.

“Then we may have an easy way to save her! It sounds like her systems weren’t rebooted. So, any changes that Noah had made could be more easily disrupted. I think. It’s been a while since I’ve done any sort of white hat business.”

“White hat?” Twilight asked.

Glyph frowned, looking for an answer, “hmmm. Well, it's hacking but fighting black hats. Basically, good guys v bad guys? It’s a little more than that but for now, that will work.”

Twilight shrugged making a mental note to ask her about that later.

“Hats aside; Twilight I do believe that I can make this spell work. What’s next?” Rarity said looking towards her purple friend.

Twilight took a thoughtful pose, “I think that we could again try to put Fluttershy to sleep. It’s the best non-lethal plan I can think of at the moment.”

“Agreed. Though one question, why is she not using her hair?” Luna asked, directing her attention to the yellow pegasus.

Glyph responded before anypony else could respond, “I have another pony helping with that. She has a device that can disable her EMDs. Which I’m assuming is her hair?”

“EMDs?” Twilight asked incredulously. Then she stopped and shook her head, “What do EMDs do?” She was getting used to the fact Fluttershy had non-pony abilities and items.

“EMD or, external manipulator devices, are meant to interact with the environment where the user could not. Say super small objects to very slippery ones that normal hoof traction wouldn’t be able to grip. They can also channel energy if done correctly.”

“Okay.” Twilight managed to say before all of the questions could blurt from her mouth. How did Fluttershy’s hair transform Celestia? How was she able to control it? How was she able to hold up so much weight?

“Okay, the plan is to hold her down while Luna performs a spell, what spell?” Glyph asked, looking at Twilight and Luna.

Luna answered, “It is a type of dream magic that will put even the lord of chaos into a deep slumber. If there is any pony left in Fluttershy, it will put her to sleep.”

“What’s plan B if that doesn’t work?” Glyph asked looking at the two Princesses.

“Why is Noah letting us plan?” Luna asked instead, throwing a glance at the pony in question.

Glyph frowned, “I’m guessing that he is gloating. Baiting us to challenge him so he can crush us with his, ‘superiority.’ Gah…”

“How do you know that?” Twilight asked a little harshly, then added, “Sorry…”

Glyph shook her head, “Don’t be. You just found out that your friend had been changed to metal and circuitry. Then found out that I know that son of a defective bolt…”

“How well?”

“Well, enough to know his basic motives. Though I can explain more when we nail him and save your friend.” Glyph responded, her voice filled with venom.

Twilight nodded in understanding, “Alright, since you have the most knowledge here. What do you think plan B should be?”

Glyph took a second to think, “If her systems haven’t been rebooted then it will be easier to disrupt and cause a crash.”

“Crash?!” Pinkie blurted out in concern.

“Not in the terms of biology,” Glyph said calmly, even as Pinkie’s expression seemed to explode in concern, “It’s in the sense of computers. You said that she was fine till after she was in the harness right? Well, if she didn’t look like she went to sleep then any modified subscripts were not completely solidified on internal memory drives, as they can’t be written on while in use. So, causing a crash will make the system fall back onto the previously working subscripts. Which, if I’m understanding correctly, would be before she was placed into the harness.”

“Okay,” Luna said softly, “So, how do we cause a, ‘crash’?”

“Well, I can think of two ways: manual override of the programs in Fluttershy’s Core system array or an electrical overload.”

“So, if she gets hit with lightning she’ll go back to normal?” Rainbow asked, though her gaze was not on the pony but rather in the sky.

“I don’t think so. If her augmentations are based off my designs, which I’m 99% sure they are,” She added with a groan, “then it will take a much larger charge.” She paused and reached over to her back. She pulled a small metal disk from the base of her metal wing and offered it out to the alicorns, “Put this on Fluttershy and I can handle the rest.” Luna levitated the disk to her and examined it curiously.

Noah’s voice filled the air, disrupting the conversation, “Okay, I grow tired of this. I know you have two plans already, so give it a shot! Futile, but I do not want Twilight to attempt to plan for every impossibility. I know how she can get…”

“How do you know that?!” Pinkie accused, “We don’t even know you!”

Noah smiled, “You published a book remember?” He then proceeded to launch a crackling projectile at the group, who scattered to dodge it.

“Same formation as last time girls! Glyph! Take my left!” Twilight cried.

The ponies next to her listened and soon had a V formation running towards Fluttershy. Rarity lit her horn and the circle of runes again lit up with a light blue glow.

As the V formation got closer to the yellow pony, it flipped to where Applejack was in the back with Rainbow and Pinkie on her right and Twilight and Glyph on her left.

Fluttershy’s stance tightened and became more defensive, though the sides of her jaw opened to allow two small cylinders to emerge and extend just past her muzzle. She then swung her head to the left, then to the right. As she did so, familiar green flames flared from her muzzle and landed on the stone ground to create a fiery barrier.

The charging group of ponies stopped in their tracks and paused in shock at the green flames.

“Spike…” Twilight whispered and dared a glance at Rarity. She remained at her position but looked as if somebody had trashed her dress minutes before a dance. She turned her attention forward and lit her horn. If it was Spike’s fire, then this spell would do the trick.

Small purple sparks flew from her horn and landed amongst the green flames, extinguishing them entirely. Twilight frowned in anger and concern. Though the expression was short-lived as Fluttershy reared up and smashed the ground. Though, not in vertical fashion but rather a diagonal one which caused a wave of dirt and stones to knock Twilight and Glyph off balance. While at the same time, Fluttershy’s head was turned in the opposite direction. From her muzzle came a fireball that hit Rainbow right in the chest.

The green fire greedily took hold and the pegasus jumped back in alarm, wings flared to save her valuable feathers. She desperately attempted to smother the flames with her forelegs but only succeeded in allowing them to spread to her forelegs and mane.

“Rainbow! Hold your breath!!!” Pinkie shouted desperately, her normal cheerfulness fully replaced with worry and demand.

Rainbow listened and Twilight watched her close her eyes and fill her lungs. Pinkie then pulled a bright red fire extinguisher out of her mane and sprayed her friend down with white foam with speed only experience could provide.

Fluttershy turned towards Twilight who lit her horn in preparation for a fire extinguishing spell.

Her attention was pulled slightly to Glyph as she cried to Pinkie, “Pinkie! Toss it to me!!”

The party pony complied and sent red metal object hurling towards her new friend. Glyph lifted her metal leg to catch the fire extinguisher and it made contact with a large metallic ping. She then snatched the nozzle with her muzzle and squeezed the handle with her chin, causing the device to discharge the familiar white foam with a hiss.

The foam covered the yellow pegasus’s face but she jumped forward and smacked the steel canister with her hoof. It made a clang and the canister was launched backward. However, Glyph managed to retain her grip by swinging her entire body around to bring the accelerated canister back at Fluttershy’s foam covered head. Her foreleg snapped upwards to receive the extinguisher causing it to explode with a bang. The contents formed a thick white mist to obscure the area around them. Twilight sealed her mouth and extended her wings to part the mist. She noticed that Glyph mimicked her motions and the two were able to start clearing the chemical mist. She also noticed that Applejack had a lasso queued up and spinning around her head. She launched it at her yellow friend and pulled it tight around Fluttershy’s muzzle. Applejack braced against the rope and pulled Fluttershy into a bracing position. The wings of the alicorn and pegasus had then been able to clear the air, so Twilight refilled her lungs and lunged forward. Glyph mimicked her motion and the two closed the gap between them and Fluttershy.

A clang and a dull thunk filled the air as four prongs emerged from the Fluttershy’s left leg and anchored themselves into the ground. She then lifted her right leg and swatted Glyph away. Glyph had managed to soften the blow with her metal leg but the leg still had enough energy to send the pegasus into Twilight which made both ponies tumble over. Once the tumble ended, she realized that she was a distance away. She looked at Glyph, but she seemed alright.

Fluttershy didn’t give them a glance but rather flicked her right leg up to the rope and sliced it with the blade she had used earlier. The earth pony on the other end tumbled over with the sudden lack of pull. Though Fluttershy didn’t seemed to be affected by the sudden change but rather retracted the prongs from her leg and lifted both legs to her face and removed the rope. She shook her head to clear the foam from her head and tightened the noose on the rope will it was a small knot on one end. Shen then placed either end of the rope on two medium-sized rocks. Each hoof emitted a decently loud click and she looked towards Rainbow who had just gotten all the foam off her face.

“Alright, round two!” She shouted and crouched to take to the air. However, Fluttershy lifted one of the rocks her hooves were on and flicked it towards the two ponies. The rock sailed into the air pulling the other rock in a makeshift bola. The bola then wrapped itself around Pinkie’s right foreleg and Rainbow’s left foreleg, tying them together. Pinkie took one look at the predicant and looked at Dash.

“Charge!!” She shouted and grabbed Rainbow’s left leg. The blue pegasus smiled and jumped into the air despite the pink pony. Twilight jumped forward with Glyph on her tail, hoping to close the gap to reach her yellow friend when Rainbow did.

Once in the air the pegasus did a forward flip and launched herself forward with the extra weight of Pinkie. Though Twilight noticed that her target did not seem to be Fluttershy but rather it seemed to be Noah. However, even before she was close to her target she was enveloped by a light green glow that morphed into a ball with the two ponies inside. The ball hovered in the air and grew small holes along its surface like an oversized wiffle ball.

Twilight looked at Fluttershy and noticed that her wings were extended and glowing green crystals shimmered in between her feathers. Fluttershy didn’t look back as she had reached over and grabbed the rope with her hoof. She gave the rope a hefty pull that yanked Applejack on the other end towards the yellow pegasus. Her hat came off as she was lifted off her hooves and was pulled in her direction with speeds she was not used to. As Applejack reached Fluttershy, her hoof sprouted the blade again. Though this time it was thrust into Applejack’s chest with a small thump.

Applejack’s eyes went wide with a small gasp. One of her forelegs snapped up to the yellow leg currently against her chest. She braced against it and steadied her footing along the ground. She coughed then suddenly slumped to the ground. The blade that had been around Fluttershy’s hoof seemingly having vanished.

“Applejack!!” Twilight shouted and turned her full attention to Noah. Her anger was like a lumbering creature. A creature that had been rudely awoken. It clawed at her veins with sharp claws but it didn’t fill her with pain but a hot energy filled her. The rage swirled around her body in waves but curled around in her horn which began to spark aggressively.

She growled and jumped into the air, ignoring the sudden snap of the neck that Fluttershy did to look at her. She released the burning rage in her head in a blistering blast of magical energy. It hurtled towards Noah but he showed no reaction as Fluttershy jumped upwards and took the blast for him. Yet, it had no effect on the timid pony. So, Twilight tried another approach. With her tiredness forgotten she teleported to an area near Noah and attempted to blast him again. Yet, the yellow pony was able to anticipate the move and Twilight found the pony in her way again. She tried again and again yet found that either the pony or the pony’s hair was blocking her attacks. She didn’t dare get close again but she wouldn’t just sit idly.

Though she felt Luna’s magic wrap around her, stopping her movements entirely. “Enough…” She heard her mentor’s sister’s voice say firmly. She felt herself hover over to Luna’s position and was set gently down next to the alicorn.

Twilight fought the urge to fight the magic restraining her. The logical part of her brain screamed at her that it wasn’t right that Luna would restrain her without a good reason. However, the anger in her mind made her voice a little angrier than she would have liked, “What’s the big idea?!”

Luna gave her a gentle glance and pointed to Fluttershy, “Have you now noticed?”

“Noticed what?” Twilight said, dropping some of her anger.

“Fluttershy seems to be fighting. Not a physical battle but a mental one. Look!” Luna said, pointing at the yellow pegasus. She had been frozen, staring at Twilight with Spike green eyes. Yet, even as she watched, the eyes changed to a brighter neon green around the iris and the pony started towards Applejack. Twilight also took a step to defend Applejack but Luna stopped her.

“Her eyes have changed multiple times. Each time she had started to go Applejack, or at least give a worried glance. Yet that stopped when you attacked Noah, prompting her to protect him. I’m curious if Fluttershy is going to help heal Applejack as she did Rainbow.” She turned to look at Twilight, “You told me this while we were waiting at Noah’s house. Her eyes are the same color as they were then, correct?”

Twilight could only nod.

Fluttershy was hyperventilating and every time she tried to breathe in and out she got the same thing over and over again.

Action denied.

The constant reminder somehow helped her calm down.

“Think Fluttershy! Now is not the time to be freaking out!” That was what she would normally tell herself to calm down and jump into action.

Though this time was different in every way possible.

Spike had been, somehow, taken into her form through her shoulder. Where was he? Was he alright?

Action denied.

She internally frowned, getting frustrated at the constant reminder that her body was no longer her own but her concern was not forgotten. She had to make sure that Spike was okay.

“Spike?” She called out in her mental space. She tried again in the same area of her mind that Celestia was in but confirmed that it was only her. So, where was Spike? Was he…

Action denied.

Oh, come on!!! She screamed into her mind. Feeling the words echo around in her head did not make her feel any better, but she got an answer.

Unknown command.

Command? Who or what? No, wait. That was the computer Twilight had talked about before, Fluttershy recalled, careful not to set off the denied prompt again. The computer would know where Spike would be right? It was, after all, controlling her. Well, that’s what she reckoned since she didn’t see anything connecting her to Noah.

Where’s Spike? She asked quietly. The words were taken, and she got a response a moment later.

Unknown command.

Fluttershy frowned, then growled as she was again reminded. She returned her focus to the words she felt. Command? How would she say, ‘where’s Spike,’ as a command?

Find Spike? She tried and got a different response.

Error. Incorrect syntax at: ‘’’Spike’’’ Please define an internal drive location before the file name.

“Drive location? What was a drive?” Fluttershy thought. She frowned and took a mental breath. She had to think like Twilight. What would she do? She’d break it down to analyze. So, what to break down?

She could feel the gears turning in her head as she pondered what the computer had said. Then she wondered if there were actually gears turning in her skull. Then, it clicked. The computer had said internal. Was that talking about her mind? Or more specifically the computer in her mind?

She knew that she wasn’t attempting to look for something in the computer. She was looking for something outside that, Spike wasn’t part of the computer.

Though she was on the right track wasn’t she? She had gotten the computer to respond without booting the MMO. That brought a thought to her mind, though she was very sure it wasn’t going to work…

Boot MMO? She asked hopefully.

Error. MMO boot sequence has been denied by Void.exe.

Her frown seemed to emanate throughout her mind. She had figured that it wouldn’t work. She couldn’t even breathe on her own.

So, she had to go back to what worked. The word, “find,” seemed to work. Would something similar work as well? She thought about it for a second.

“Locate Spike?” She tried, she felt something click, and…

Sensors are already in function…

Scanning for ‘spike.’

Fluttershy then saw many circles appear along her vision, each highlighting a certain object. Twilight’s horn was highlighted along with Luna’s and Rarity’s horns. Though there were circles around the corners of the roofs on top of the multicolored houses. She frowned. She guessed that it did locate spikes…

While she was paying somewhat attention to her friends she noticed they were in a group in front of her. She felt herself take a step forward but paused when Noah said something.

“Stop, let them plan. I did not wait for years for this final plan to action for it to end so fast… Let them sweat a bit.” He then gave her a second glance, “Why am I talking aloud?”

Fluttershy frowned at this. She was still in here. Regardless of whether or not “here” was her own body. Her frown persisted as she thought about what the computer had done. It had identified things that she would identify as a spike, just not Spike the dragon. Okay…

Locate Spike the dragon. She asked.

…

Entity Spike the dragon has been located in core memory banks. Beginning scan with data bank information.

Scan completed. Entity Spike has been located in Dangerous item containment cell #1.

Dangerous item containment cell #1? What did that mean? Her mental expression became thoughtful. Could she ask the computer?

“How many plans have they discussed?” She heard Noah ask.

She felt herself respond, “Two.” She then heard the pony talk about her friend’s planning habits though she tuned it out. She needed to figure out exactly how Spike was trapped, where, and how to get him out.

Her concentration broke for a second as she watched Noah shoot a bolt at her friends. They avoided much to Fluttershy’s relief. She took a breath even as she watched her friends charge her. She needed to focus.

Though she was interrupted by hearing Celestia’s voice calling for her. She frowned and thought about the area that she had previously talked to Celestia. Her vision looked like it was taken off again and she found herself next to the Princess in the cube they had met earlier. Only now, the cube had much more activity. The moving lights were now red, and the ground below them seemed to glow slightly. Rays of bleached red seemed to emit through the floor through square tiles.

“Oh thank goodness!” Celestia said in a very concerned voice. It was then Fluttershy realized that the rays of light were only around the Princess. “Do you know what is happening?” She asked meekly.

Fluttershy shook her head, slightly distracted by what was happening. She was seeing Celestia, but unlike before she could also see her friends jump back from a wall of fire that she had apparently created. Her mood turned hopeless when she realized it was Spike’s flames.

“That’s not good…” Celestia said, flaring her wings halfway.

She was about to say something, but her attention was again ripped in two as she felt the intent to torch her friend. She gritted her imaginary teeth and played tug of war with the command, strange as it was.

Then, quite suddenly four curved spikes emerged around Celestia in four diagonal directions.

Fluttershy’s concentration broke and a stream of fire was let loose after she created a dirt avalanche. She just managed to cut it off to a small ball of fire, but it still made contact with her friend.

Fluttershy watched the green flames as well as Celestia’s face clench with fear and worry as she tried to jump forward to avoid the spikes. However, she was grabbed by an invisible force mid-air and was pulled to the middle of the curved spikes.

Fluttershy watched the party pony pull out a fire extinguisher and douse Rainbow in white foam even as she jumped forward to help. Though small curved rectangular prisms jumped from the floor and arranged themselves in between the spikes to create a sort of caged ball around the alicorn.

Fluttershy attempted to push one of the floating pieces out of the way but a wall of fire stopped her hoof. She yanked it back, expecting pain. Yet, it didn’t occur. She placed her hoof back on the firewall but realized it was a solid object that she couldn’t push through. She tried to anyway, and the flames around her hoof begun to turn slightly pink. The air around her was a mix of Celestia and the contents of the fire extinguisher exploding on her hoof.

Though she stopped when she saw a glowing yellow orb appear above Celestia. The alicorn also looked upwards at the glowing ball with concern. It crackled for a second then a bolt of energy connected it to Celestia. The ball shrunk in size as the energy was transferred into Celestia. She shuddered as she began to glow gently.

“Princess?” She asked with a little bit of volume, also feeling a rope wrapping around her muzzle.

The princess shuddered again, her limbs were curled inward like a dying spider. Then, she let loose a restrained scream.

“Princess!!” Fluttershy shouted. She again began to pound on the flame shield as Celestia convulsed mid-air. Pounding mixed in with her two hooves on two rocks, connecting them together with small metal staples and rope.

Fluttershy could feel guilt building in her throat, even though she knew that it wasn’t her fault. The screaming stopped and so did her pounding on the shield. The princess collapsed to the floor as the rectangular objects fell and sank into the floor. Once they had completely disappeared, the shield vaporized as well. She rushed over to the Alicorn and gently propped her up.

“Celestia! You okay?” Fluttershy asked, noticing the guilt coming out of her throat. She barely registered the makeshift bola being thrown.

Celestia didn’t respond, but she noticed that her eyes went wide above her. Even as Fluttershy pulled on the rope that Applejack was holding.

Fluttershy had enough time to look up before the now golden glowing orb connected to her with a crackling bolt of energy. She twitched expecting a terrible pain to wash through her, but, nothing seemed to happen. She felt the energy pass through her to the floor which pulsated with a yellow wave. It only lasted for a second, but for that time she was able to feel a secondary energy pass through her. It was, warm, but it reminded her of the sun…

It ended and the two ponies remained where they were, staring at each other. One with tired, concerned eyes. The other had eyes of pure horror.

Fluttershy realized with a gasp that she had a blade on her foreleg, and it was in her friend’s chest. Her heart seemed to skip a beat as she mentally screamed for the blade to vanish. Not just her voice screamed though. Every fiber of her being, both natural and unnatural. Both known and unknown. Each one screamed in perfect harmony. Something in her mind heard her request, no, she heard her own request and the blade vanished; causing Applejack to collapse.

“Fluttershy?! Are you okay?” Celestia said wearily but with heavy concern.

Fluttershy could only mutter, voice gone with sadness, “I killed AJ.” The nickname seemed to roll off her tongue with little resistance. She could not muster the full name. She could not muster to say anything else to the Princess’s other questions, even as she watched her eyes widen with shock.

Then she felt something familiar, then words appeared in her vision.

Critical patient detected! Activate MMO?

Fluttershy’s chest seemed to swell with hope and she shouted in response, “Yes!!”

Activating MMO…

Error. Activation has been denied by Void.exe

She growled at the response, making Celestia jump back in alarm. Her friend was dying!!

“Activate MMO!!” She commanded.

Error. Activation command has been denied by Void.exe.

Core program error: Safety protocol_F parameters have been crossed. Activating MMO for parameter correction.

Core program error. Void.exe can not be shutdown.

Creating compromise…

Fluttershy grimaced as she felt the gap between her mind be filled with thousands of tiny wires that connected her mind to her body again. Though it felt like her mind was filled with too many feathers.

Warning! Core processors are reaching Bio-critical and will begin to cause discomfort. Please lower the calculation processes or re-tune bio connectors!

Fluttershy shook the message aside. She didn’t care if she was in a little discomfort. Right now, Applejack was bleeding out because of her hoof. She took a step forward and noticed that there was no denial. She took a few steps towards Applejack but it felt like strings were connected to her legs as she jumped away to block a shot from Twilight, the magic dissipating as it touched her skin. She watched Twilight disappear, so she attempted to get to Applejack again but was pulled away to block another blast of magic. This kept going, giving Fluttershy time to only glance at Applejack. She did notice that magic was keeping her friend alive. The computer recognized it as Rarity’s magic weaved into an emergency medical spell. Though it wasn’t going to keep her alive for long. She also didn’t know how the computer knew what kind of spell it was, but the thought was let go.

Fluttershy then realized another magical signature had entered her vision, holding Twilight in place. It was blue and belonged to Luna. Fluttershy watched Luna levitate the furious Twilight over to her as the battle mode gave many recommendations. Though Fluttershy ignored them. She needed to get to Applejack.

So, she rushed over to her. Nothing stopping her motions this time, and when she got close. A request appeared in front of her vision.

MMO is requesting control for a complicated medical procedure. Would you like to grant the request?

YES! Fluttershy begged the computer. It had already saved Rainbow, could it save Applejack?

She saw and felt her forelegs sink again into her shoulders and the navy blue medical legs come out. The boxes on them swiveled and moved in a seemingly random pattern till an empty area was visible on both legs. The area sunk inwards to reveal a hidden panel. From it emerged a white tube. Though it didn’t look like any normal tube but rather a random array of holes dotted the surface of it. She did notice that it had a clear surface completing the tube.

She also felt the side of her neck open, revealing the area the oxygen masks had emerged when she healed rainbow.

She looked at Rarity who had slumped to the ground, gasping for breath. Applejack twitched, and a pool of blood started to expand along the stones at her side. Fluttershy’s hopes began to fall as she watched the gruesome sight. Though something appeared in her vision that pulled her attention slightly:

Interference faded. Resuming EMD operation…

EMD? What was— She managed to think before she felt her hair again sprung to life and almost half moved to Applejack’s wound. Meanwhile, her vision changed to a stark blue.

White lines ran across her vision to outline her orange friend. Her head, hair, legs, everything seemed to be outlined. Even her internal organs seemed to be marked out in darker white lines. Her stomach and lungs were the most recognizable things she was able to identify. Though she knew what the heart looked like, she thought, so why didn’t she see it?

MMO diagnostics:

Internal organs damaged:

-Lungs

*-Heart\critical!*

Commencing healing process…

Fluttershy wasn’t told what was happening but she could listen to what was happening. Well, not really listening as the system wasn’t talking. Though she just watched as something in her mind seemed to know what was happening.

Each strand of hair that was going inside Applejack’s chest was going to a very specific spot. Each glowing a faint blue. When the strand reached its destination, a pulse ran from her head along the length of the strand. It reached the end to create a hotspot that cauterized the area it was touching. Hundreds of hairs were moving and sealing hundreds of tiny broken blood vessels.

Though for the larger ones, only the length of a few hairs across, were spliced together with the tubes that were being made with from her foreleg. As every tube was taken another took its place only to be taken again. Each unique tube temporary reconnecting broken paths.

A couple of strands pulled two tubes from the panel on her neck. The ends were spiked and shiny silver. The tube connecting it was small and clear. It was rushed over to the chest wound to disappear inside. In her vision, she saw the ends inserted into two much larger vessels. The spikes expanded inside the vessels to create a seal.

Aorta bypass has been completed. Beginning artificial blood flow…

Fluttershy watched in worry as the clear tube became filled with a red liquid that climbed upwards from her friend’s wounded chest towards her neck. She twitched as she saw the fluid enter her neck. Her mind objectively thought about sanitation issues but was swept away with a realization. Why did the MMO need to bypass the Aorta? She knew that was one of the main connections to the heart from the body so why was that connection broken? What happened to her heart?

She watched a group of hair that seemed to fiddle with an area in the chest cavity but a small fabric being pulled from her foreleg caught her attention.

Creating organ graph…

The “organ graph,” was shaped like a pointy egg. It was a few inches in length and she could see the tiny little lines that make up the paper-thin fabric. Once it was completed, two strands lifted it up and brought it to Applejack’s lung. It was then she noticed jagged lines on the organ. It was torn! She watched as her hair seemed to tap on the graph and when they retreated, the graph stayed put.

Graph has been applied. Waiting for pleura to accept…

Twilight was still in a hot mood. Her angry outburst restrained only by the alicorn next to her. Though it was mellowing as she watched her friend’s hair move in and out of Applejack’s chest wound.

Holed tubes was the cargo that confused Twilight at its effectiveness but said nothing about it. She continued to watch the pegasus but felt her gaze shift over to Noah. Though frowning, he did not intervene. Twilight’s frown grew deeper. What was he planning?

Noah noticed her glare and scoffed, “You think looks alone can kill me?”

Twilight shuddered as she resisted the urge to charge him, so she responded with something else, “One must know their enemy…”

The brownish pony smiled, “Indeed, but regardless of what information you can get you can still never win. Your, ‘friend,’ can do so much more than you can imagine.”

Twilight didn’t respond immediately. Even though her friend wouldn’t respond to her words, she still didn’t want to throw any jabs, “She was that way before you messed with her.”

Noah laughed, “Ha! She was a shy excluded filly when I found her. So weak. So helpless. So, useless. Though now she is a beacon of development. A weapon, tool, and so much more.”

Twilight couldn’t stop herself this time. Hot anger intensified in her mind as she realized that Noah had changed her friend when she was a filly! A filly!

Her mind wandered over to the memory where she pulled Fluttershy out when her eye was first repaired. Where she felt Fluttershy’s pain. Felt the missing forelegs and the back of her head.

Something clicked inside of her. Something in her alicorn magic but she was too angry to recognize the power boost. Too angry to think, she changed her stance to an offensive and felt energy gather on her horn, wings outstretched to their intimidating span.

Though that feeling was abruptly interrupted as her vision spun. No, rather she spun. Rapid enough to make her fall to the ground with dizzy notions. After a few moments, she got back up and looked for the source, though she could not understand what had spun her.

“Twilight,” Luna said gently pulling her attention, “For the sake of your friend do not attack. I do not think you noticed. Look at Fluttershy’s eyes.” The last bit was a command, however gently she said it.

So, Twilight bit her anger and did what she was asked. She looked at Fluttershy and found she was staring at her with a soulless stare. Though it just wasn’t a single stare. Two ponies were staring at her. One had a red eye that stared at her with unnatural and programmed emotions. What did it see in her? She couldn’t say. Yet the other pony was more familiar. Her friend, albeit with green eyes, stared at her with worry and fear that told her to wait. Told her to not attack. For the sake of Applejack.

She blinked and she was staring at Fluttershy with a green eye and a red eye. She frowned, but sat down and extinguished her horn. She then saw the area visibly get darker. She looked around in surprise, had she been glowing?

“Remind me to never prank you again…” She heard Rainbow say with a chuckle, “You might hit me so hard I’d become a rainbow!”

“Huh?” That was the only reply she could muster.

Rainbow gave her a look, “You were glowing and looking like you blast a house away with a glance! Awesome! But I don’t want to be at the end of that!”

The rest of her friends nodded.

“Indeed. Your magical prowess is quite a spectacle.” Rarity said in a tired, but elegant tones, “I can barely manage an emergency medical spell!” She let her breath out sharply and took another.

Twilight smiled, “It does take a lot of practice. I’m sure you can improve! I’d be happy to help as well!” She smiled, masking the anger that still was going through her veins. She was happy for the distraction before she exploded and hurt somepony she didn’t want to.

Though it seemed that she wasn’t the only one struggling to control her anger. Twilight noticed that her friends were also wearing masks. Though she had been their friends long enough to see through them. Pinkie was smiling, but she could see the opposite expression in her eyes. Rainbow’s wings were beating faster than was needed to keep her airborne, causing her to go up and down in slight motions. Rarity, though tired, had an annoyed expression that accompanied a slightly frizzy mane that stayed forgotten.

Though Glyph had no such mask. Her expression laid flat to see. Anger. Hot and pure.

“I understand why my friends and I are so mad about Fluttershy. Why are you so mad?” Twilight asked, having to control her tones carefully.

Glyph didn’t return the look but rather spoke, hotly, “Noah used my technology. A technology developed to assist ponies in search and rescue. Medical means. And more. Yet he is using it to control another pony. To hurt. To kill!!” The last word was a growl that felt unnatural for a pony’s voice, though Twilight felt herself almost growling.

She shook her head sympathetically but noticed her anger was making her anger rise. She needed to keep a cool head lest Luna spin her again. She had no books to read. She could catalog a list of plans but without information, she couldn’t make too many plans.

She felt her tail swish with annoyance but turned back to the angry mare, “Medical means?”

The pony nodded still looking at Fluttershy, but her face mellowed slightly, “Yes. I created the MMO and many devices it can control to save lives. Take your friend for example,” She said pointing her metal hoof towards the orange pony, “If Noah implemented the MMO right and those are the medical legs she is using right now, your friend will be healed guaranteed. Even if that blade punctured both lungs, severed her spine and split her heart in two.”

“That’s quite the claim!”

Glyph nodded, “Indeed but it will be proved by your friend standing up.”

Twilight nodded and turned her head back to her friend.

Graph has been accepted. Beginning pleura repair…

Fluttershy felt and saw her hair move along the surface of Applejack’s lung, gently applying some sort of repair. She was definitely curious about what she was doing and how the mesh lines, that made up the lung, were slowly becoming whole.

She felt her lips purse together as anxiety tightened her chest. Her friend was not reacting to her hair touching her lungs which seemed to imply the worst to happen…

Vitals stable.

Pleura has been repaired. Respiratory system has been restored to previous levels. Disinfecting for reboot.

Fluttershy felt some of her hair retreat from the chest wound and saw her hooves gently lift AJ’s head. She physically opened her mouth and watched with concern as her hair floated in. She maintained her position as she watched the air slide down the windpipe and enter the lungs. Each strand seemed to hover inside the lungs just before the edge.

Disinfection in process…

Virtual heart repair has finished its simulation. Beginning removal…

Removal?! Fluttershy started to panic. Won’t removing the heart kill her friend?! She froze. She could stop the MMO, maybe, but that probably won’t help her friend? Was there a better way to save her friend?

A thought occurred to her. She had spoken to the MMO and it had replied. Could she ask it to not remove her heart? She took a breath, “Can you not remove Applejack’s heart?”

It was silent for a second.

The heart has been critically damaged. 30% of its biomass will have to be replaced to restore function.

“Could you do that while it’s in her chest? So, you don’t have to remove it?”

No. An external tool that will not fit in the chest cavity.

“Are you sure there is no other way?”

It paused, and Fluttershy could feel the computer thinking, Another method exists. However, containment protocol would have to be used. To change methods now would require disconnection from the circulatory system which would result in an 85% chance of death.

Fluttershy paused. She knew the heart was one of the most essential organs of a pony; wouldn’t removing it kill them? Another thought entered her mind. Was a heart that was missing 30% of itself still working?

“Is Applejack’s heart still working?”

No. Heart function has been destroyed.

Fluttershy could feel herself tearing up, “So she’s dead?”

No. Circulatory system is being assisted through an external pump.

Fluttershy felt her vision return to normal for a moment. Then she turned her head to the glowing tubes connected to her neck.

“So,” Fluttershy stated, starting to understand, “I’m acting as Applejack’s heart?”

No. You have a system that is sustaining blood flow.

Fluttershy blinked. The system was a part of her. So, wasn’t her statement correct? She shook her head. She wasn’t going to argue semantics. She took another look at her unconscious friend. The MMO had already saved one of her friends so she knew she could trust it.

“Okay. Do whatever you need to do to save her.” She relented.

She didn’t get any verbal response but felt a sense of confirmation. Her vision returned to the lines that had occupied her vision before. Though this time she saw a highlighted object in her vision, deep in her friend’s chest. Now that it was highlighted and standing out from the rest, she realized what it was. AJ’s heart. A cut, broken heart but a heart none the less.

Additional strands of hair threaded into the wound and gently wrapped around the organ while other strands cut, and cauterized tiny blood vessels still connected to the vital piece. Though the entire line structure seemed to move.

With a cough, the orange pony took in a stuttering breath and started to get up, bewildered.

“Whoa, wait! Please!” Fluttershy cried quietly, her hooves reaching out and pushing the earth pony back down.

Applejack didn’t resist but gave the yellow pegasus a look of concern, “What happened? Are you alright?” Her face lit up in realization and her hoof shot towards her chest. Though a pink hair stopped the movement with greater speed.

“Please Applejack. You’re hurt. I’m working on helping you.” Fluttershy said gently.

Patient has begun to breathe. Supplemental oxygen levels have been reduced…

Applejack gave her a confused look, “How?”

Fluttershy frowned, watching her friend's face through lines. She was also watching her hair gently pushing open the chest cavity and the wound entrance. Then the heart began to move towards the expanded opening, guided by her pink strands of hair.

Applejack grimaced, again trying to pull her hoof to her chest, “What are ya doing?” Her voice was thick with confusion and concern.

“Healing you,” Fluttershy said simply as she felt the MMO place the medical legs in front of AJ’s chest. The boxes on them shifted around a bit, then, once settled, several claw-like appendages came out. Two of them glowed pink and faced their ends towards AJ’s chest. A small semi-translucent bubble faded into existence. Its pink color mostly masked the surface of the chest wound and formed a half-sphere around it.

The bubble formed pink lines in Fluttershy’s vision but seemed unaffected by her hair that was pulling Applejack’s heart out. Once the organ was inside the pink semi-sphere, it too began to glow slightly pink. Fluttershy then gently pulled her hooves away, barely noticing that she was balancing on her back legs.

She then sat down and held the pink orb near to her face. The heart floating inside, though she wasn’t sure if anypony could see it except her. Albeit she was seeing it in a sort of outline, but she hoped for Applejack’s sake that she couldn’t tell what was going on.

Though she couldn’t say she knew what was going on either. She was a mess of emotions at the moment. Anger at hurting her friend. Anger at Noah as well. Sadness that her entire past was built with metal rather than biology. Worry for her friends. Concern for her future. Disgust at the fact that she was holding an organ. Curiosity on her new abilities. But she tried to focus on what the MMO was doing rather than lose herself in emotions.

Reconnecting cutie mark magic to severed organ…

Fluttershy frowned in thought. She didn’t hear anything from the MMO till she directed her attention to it. She pushed the revelation aside; she’d reflect on that later. Instead, she watched two strands of hair glow a familiar blue and enter Applejack’s chest, much to the dismay of the earth pony.

The strands touched a section on Applejack’s chest cavity and when it pulled away, it pulled a faint orange mist along with it. It pulled the mist to her forelegs were two more claws accepted the orange mist and it seemed to attach to it. The strands that brought it gently floating nearby.

With a jerk the small hooks snapped into motion rotating till they were opposite of each other, then with a click pierced the orb and touched the heart.

Reconnection complete. Beginning bio-reconstruction. Using Simulation M-1532.

The other hooks that had emerged earlier also sprung into life, poking and prodding the organ with organized movements. They glowed different colors as they moved around, rotating, and snapping inward to do some, unknown tasks to her friend's damaged organ. Her hair even got in on the action, pulling the cut pieces together at certain intervals, all within the simulated timeline.

It was quite a spectacle for the yellow pegasus. It felt as if she had just learned to fly again. Finding out about some awesome ability that she couldn’t unlock. Though it was tinged with somberness. Applejack wouldn’t need the healing if she hadn’t stabbed her in the first place…

Organ reconstruction completed. Beginning cutie mark pathway repair…

The emotions were replaced with curiosity. Cutie mark pathway? What was that? Was it some type of magic? Or was it referencing the natural magic that existed in all ponies?

Her vision again changed but this time it changed to a stark grey with everything seemingly bland but Fluttershy could still tell the difference between the individual stones on the ground. However, the smaller they got, the harder time she had to discern them apart.

The ponies however glowed with bright, swirling colors. Each color seemed to match up with a pony she knew. Bright violet for Twilight, bright pink for Pinkie, and even a mix of dark blue and black from Luna. She could also see hundreds of other colors, dotting the landscape in front of her. Though it seemed to be inside the homes or behind objects. She blinked, trying to make sense of it all. She could see her friends in the stark grey tones that she saw everything else as, but she could also see the swirling colors swirling within their bodies and limbs. She glanced over at the nearby houses. She could see the colors swirling into recognizable pony shapes without seeing the ponies themselves.

Though the exploration of her new vision was short-lived as the MMO redirected her eyes towards the orange pony in front of her. The orange mist trails she had seen earlier were even brighter now, and seemed to be coming from a swirling mess of orange. Chaotic was the word that came to mind, while the others had a more consistent swirl.

Two of her hairs started to glow a bright blue and floated over to Applejack’s head. The blue strands pressed gently on AJ’s temples and Fluttershy saw the swirling orange start to slow.

“Fluttershy?” Applejack said with genuine fear.

Fluttershy gave her a comforting smile that did not mimic her own feelings, “It’s going to be okay Applejack.”

“Ya sure? I feel, so, odd…”

Fluttershy nodded. It was slightly comforting that she could recognize how she felt. Though she was surprised that she didn’t feel pain. There was a hole in her chest and her heart was in her now navy blue hooves. Was she stopping the pain?

Her thoughts stopped as she watched the now frozen orange swirls that seemed to be infiltrated by a familiar yellow color. Fluttershy frowned as she saw her friend’s face contort into more discomfort and tried to give what reassurance she could.

The yellow color seemed to push the orange around till there was a gap in Applejack’s chest. At that point a couple of hairs wrapped around the heart again. Though before moving it, the two hooks that connected to the lines of orange mist gently touched the heart. The mist moved into the organ, flowing along invisible paths till there was a small swirling ball. The hairs wrapped around the heart started to glow blue as well, freezing the orange glow in its place. She then moved her hooves to AJ’s chest and the pink orb carrying her heart once again became a semi-sphere on her chest.

Applejack grunted as her wound and chest cavity was expanded but the heart was moved quickly and her face relaxed as the pressure vanished.

Fluttershy couldn’t see inside her friend anymore but noticed that the yellow color she had seen earlier had disappeared. Her curiosity was strong but her will to save her friend brushed it away. She blinked as her vision changed to the lines again and she saw the hairs begin to realign the heart back into position.

Beginning organ reconstitution…

Fluttershy felt the side of her foreleg open again as another organ graph was printed and held aloof by a hair. Though this time it was a rectangle. A very wide but short rectangle that was soon joined by another the same size. Two more holed tubes were created as well. All four items were brought into Applejack’s chest and brought close to her heart. The tubes were inserted into the heart until they were halfway visible. The graphs merely floating nearby.

Please tell the patient to hold their breath for at least 30 seconds.

“Why?” Fluttershy asked, curious. It did not take long for the answer to come.

The heart is about to be reconnected to the circulatory network. To do so the external pump will have to be disconnected which will leave the circulatory system stationary for about 27 seconds. The blood will be oxygenated to account for this, however, if the patient is breathing, the blood in their lungs could get too much oxygen, causing harm.

Fluttershy didn’t understand fully, but the MMO had gotten her this far so she might as well trust it. She turned to Applejack, “Um, Applejack?”

“Yeah?” Her voice was strained with discomfort.

“I’m going to need you to hold your breath for at least 30 seconds…”

“Why?” Confusion was now in her voice.

“Well, I’m about to disconnect you from an artificial pump that is keeping your blood moving around to reconnect, um,” She paused realizing where she going.

“Reconnect what?” Applejack’s voice took an incredulous tone.

Fluttershy figured she’d just rip the band-aid off, “Your heart.” She replied plainly.

Applejack gave her a blank look, “Ya mean my hearts gone? Or, was gone?”

Fluttershy nodded but paused as the MMO said something.

Warning! The heart is in a form of stasis that slows the natural destruction of the heart since it is not connected to anything to stop that process. Please have the patient hold their breath before the reconnection window closes.

Fluttershy frowned then pursed her lips, she saw her friend about to say something, but she placed a hoof over her mouth to smother what she was about to say, the extra appendages moving to avoid poking her, “Sorry. I know this doesn’t make a lot of sense right now but it’s really important that you hold your breath till I say, okay?”

Applejack blinked but nodded. Fluttershy removed her hoof and watched Applejack fill her lungs and cheeks with air.

“Okay. She is holding her breath. Now what?” She asked the MMO but the system was already ahead of her.

Beginning artificial pump shutdown. Returning blood to circulatory system. Stopper created.

Fluttershy watched as a clear fluid started to push the blood from the tubes in her neck, leaving no trace of red behind. The fluid reached her friend’s chest and reached the end of the tube where it entered the circulatory system. The tubes then clicked and were pulled away with strands of hair. Though, immediately the other end of the white tube, that was in the heart, was pulled to the corresponding blood vessels till the two seemed connected. The graphs suddenly jerked into motion and were wrapped around the blood vessels where they were originally disconnected. Several hairs then began to tap on the graphs in an unknown pattern.

Blood vessels being repaired. Reconnecting heart to the nervous system.

Her hair remained around the heart however, holding it in place for a reason she wasn’t sure about. Though she watched a few more hairs enter the wound and tap on certain places of the heart. It did this for a few seconds, then:

The heart has been reconnected to all systems. Restarting…

The hairs then touched a few more places but held their position.

Delivering charge…

Her hair sparked with energy that traveled to the critical organ. It jumped in response and then continued to jump in rhythmic patterns. Applejack merely twitched.

Heart has successfully been restarted. Continuing to monitor for anomalies.

Fluttershy sighed, relieved that her friend’s heart was working again.

Patient can now be told to breathe.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened as she watched Applejack’s eyes, closed in concentration, twitch, “Oh, you can breathe now!”

Applejack sputtered and took in a deep breath. It took a few more deep breaths before she responded, “Thanks. Now, tell me why I needed to hold ma breath again?”

Heart is operating optimally. Beginning to reconnect heart to the chest cavity.

Fluttershy frowned. She contemplated what to say as she watched her leg produce spiderweb-like material that was transported to her friend’s chest, “Well,” she said unsteadily, “You were connected to an artificial pump as your heart was disconnected by, um.”

“Being stabbed in the chest. I can guess that” Applejack said plainly, “Not your fault sugar cube.”

Fluttershy bit her lip, but continued her explanation, “Yes, but to fully heal you I needed to disconnect the pump which would leave your circulatory system stationary. Which would cause excess oxygen to gather in your lungs which in turn would cause problems.”

Applejack blinked.

Fluttershy smiled nervously and started to fiddle with her hair, “I don’t understand it much either…”

“But it’s marvelous isn’t it?” Noah said and Fluttershy realized that he was still next to her.

Fluttershy flinched but it was Applejack who spoke, “Aye. I can agree it is amazing to watch and a whole ‘nother experience to feel. But what did exactly did ya do to ma friend?!” Applejack’s voice was weak but still carried plenty of venom.

Noah’s face fell and took a look of seriousness. He stood and took a few steps towards the injured earth pony but was barred by a majority of Fluttershy’s hair.

Warning! Anti-microbial field is still active. Introduction of new microbes is not recommended.

Noah looked at her expectantly, but she frowned and shook her head, “The anti-microbial field is up.” She didn’t know what else to say, but could feel a headache growing.

Noah frowned and nodded, then turned to Applejack, “You’ve made friends with something that I’ve created. Not the other way around.”

Fluttershy paused on that sentence. So, she was made or made into what she was now, since before she met her friends. Any other interactions that were made between Noah and her friend were lost by pure noise of mind.

Heart has been reconnected to chest cavity. Testing tensile strength of artificial connections…

Fluttershy’s mouth felt dry. She was alive, wasn’t she? What about her parents? Her animal friends? Were they all fabrications built by Noah to hide her true nature? Was that the reason she never could seem to get comfortable around big groups?

Tensile connection is satisfactory. Decompressing cavity and closing entry wound.

Fluttershy merely blinked as she watched her hair unwrap from her friend’s organ and slowly pull out of her friend’s chest. Once everything was removed, a clump of hair went to the top of the wound and started to move and flutter around. It began to pull the hole together and layer by layer began to repair the damage. The hole disappeared, covered by a small film of flesh. With a grunt of discomfort from Applejack, the ribcage shifted as the hole in the bone was pulled together. Her foreleg lifted up and the hooks followed the line of the cut, sealing it with a white fluid that hardened almost instantly. Then one of the rectangles on her leg reached out and pressed against her friend’s sternum. It clicked and sounded like a stapler. To her mild surprise, that’s what it was. As it moved downwards to click again, she saw a pale grey line that was not like the lines that made up her friend’s skeletal system.

It was a rectangle, with one of its sides missing, that was embedded into the sternum. Four more staples were placed before her hair began to knit the wound together again. Layers were quickly repaired till her vision shifted back to normal to reveal a familiar orange skin.

Wound closed. Printing Precautionary Wound Patch…

Her foreleg opened on left and right sides and large rectangles supported by a small arm emerged. They swiveled forward and made a-foot-long rectangle in front of her hoof. It shimmed blue on the face that she was now pressing against her friend’s chest. With the guidance of the MMO, she gently slid the device downwards. As the rectangle went, it left a glossy orange surface that shimmered from the blue light.

She continued the humming rectangle along the path the MMO wanted till she was a few inches past the original wound. As the rectangles returned to her arm, she admired the now glossy addition to Applejack’s chest. Her hair also retreated and returned to normal on her skull. She also saw the clear tubes that were connected to her friend’s heart return to her neck. She also heard a click, and a small rhombus device was retrieved from the back of Applejack’s neck which was also returned to her neck. The entrance closed with a click, leaving Fluttershy wondering what that little device was, and how much she could heal an injured pony. Though her thoughts scattered when words appeared in her mind.

Please tell the patient to be gentle with movements of the chest. Everything is whole but sudden jerks could cause it to break apart. Optional metaphor: She is put together like a completed puzzle piece that has just been glued. You can see the picture, but it can be broken apart if you apply the right pressure.

Fluttershy blinked, processing what she had been told, “Um, Applejack? I fixed your heart. So, you are all good to go. Though you have to let it heal fully otherwise you may hurt yourself.” She paused, wrapping her head around the metaphor she had been given, “Like a finished puzzle that you have just finished gluing. The glue has to set before you can move it, or it will break.”

“But a’ can move right?” Applejack said, exploring the glossy patch on her chest.

Fluttershy nodded slowly, “Yes. I do think so, just take it slow. I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

Applejack nodded, threw a glance at Noah, and said, “I’m still, me. Right?”

Fluttershy nodded.

“Then what’s this smooth thing on my chest?”

Fluttershy tilted her head a bit, “Not su—”

The patient is referring to the Precautionary Wound Patch. It is a material created by crystallizing cutie mark magic and will degenerate over time. This patch prevents accidental bumps or scrapes from tearing premature skin.

Fluttershy took in the knowledge and started to reply, noticing that Applejack had barely been able to open her mouth, “It’s called a precautionary wound patch. It’s made up of crystalized cutie mark magic and will protect your chest till it's fully healed.”

Applejack nodded, “Does it come off?”

“It will fade on its own.”

Applejack nodded, “Alright Fluttershy this is all weird and such but I’m still grateful. Thank you.”

Fluttershy smiled and nodded. She was glad that she was able to help her friend, but she wasn’t sure if she was okay with all her modifications, “Thanks but you wouldn’t have needed healing in the first place if I was just a pony.”

Applejack smiled and a small chuckle emerged, “Ha, yeah. I suppose you’re right.”

Patient has been healed and no other patients are detected in the area. MMO entering standby.

…

MMO systems have been shut down by the Void program.

Fluttershy felt her eyes widen, “No!” She said quietly. She felt the turmoil in her head dissipate, releasing the discomfort she was feeling. However, she was denied her movements as she again felt the gap between her mind and body.

“Stop resuming phase,” She heard Noah say quietly.

Resuming paused. Waiting for command. She heard the computer respond in her head.

“Jump to their group with a star pulse, 30%, and catch targets one and two for containment protocol. Once caught, use the buildings to block the EMD interference.”

Fluttershy felt her nod once.

“Resume with those modifications,” Noah stated plainly and something in Fluttershy’s head seemed to accept the command, despite her best efforts.

Charging star pulse: 30%

Estimating airborne trajectories for targets one and two upon delivery.

She could only watch as she saw ghost versions of Luna and Twilight take a step back and fly into the air. Why did she lose control? Was it because the MMO shut off? Why?

Trajectories locked.

Fluttershy felt her wings snap open as she crouched down. She was staring at her friends. She tried to let them know that she wasn’t herself anymore. To warn them. Anything. But nothing worked.

Action denied.

Though she wasn’t the only voice. Her heart soared when she heard Applejack shout behind her, “Watch out!!!”

Though she was a bit too late. Fluttershy had already jumped into the air and landed hard next to her group of friends, her hair flowing upwards with unnatural length. Her coat glowed blue as the star pulse was released, tingeing the air blue with a mysterious energy.

The energy lifted her friends and threw them outwards. Though her hair seemed to catch Luna and Twilight with uncanny accuracy. They struggled as her hair wrapped around every limb, stranding them in the air. Twilight’s horn began to glow but pink strands stopped the flow of magic before it could be woven into any sort of spell.

Using last known location of EMD interference for cover selection.

She felt something compute in her head. Though she wasn’t able to see, hear, or even tell what it was computing before she was moving again. She jumped, carrying the two alicorns, and landed next to another building. She seemed to stay behind the side of the house as if she was hiding from something. Was the computer scared of something?

Beginning containment protocol…

Fluttershy felt the thought in her head. It was not from her mind, yet it was from somewhere connected. Regardless, she attacked it with any sort of mental weapon she could think of. Yet, nothing occurred. Well, not nothing. She could feel her mental weapons glance off the thought. She growled and sent more, trying to overwhelm whatever was occupying her thoughts.

Her hair started to glow blue, and she felt the energy that had transformed Celestia flow through each strand connected to the alicorns.

“No, no, NO!” She mentally shouted, but she could only watch.

Twilight nervously swallowed as she hovered in the air. Pink strands of hair restrained both her and her fellow Princess, till they could merely flail in the air. She threw a glance at Luna as Fluttershy jumped to the side of a house. The dark blue Alicorn returned the look with worry.

Twilight frowned and looked around at her scattered friends. They seemed alright as they picked themselves off the ground. They all looked at her with worry and concern, though each didn’t seem to know what to do. What could they do without being caught themselves? Or attacking their friend?

Though her attention was diverted to the pink strands of hair as blue streams of energy began to travel up the long lengths. She swallowed and braced for a magical attack. A physical attack. Anything. She prepared for anything and felt her body stiffen and her magical essence lock inside her. Though she wasn’t expecting what she felt, familiar as it was.

The blue energy coursed through her, but it wasn’t magic in the typical sense. She blinked as her entire body twitched in response to the magical flow. Though it wasn’t her physical body responding. Her body was responding to the change in her cutie mark magic. Whatever the energy entering her body was, it was related to her cutie mark. She twitched as she looked at Luna who was also twitching. Maybe not her cutie mark but just cutie mark magic in general.

She flinched as she felt her cutie mark magic get tugged on. She reeled it back in with a growl. She was reminded of Tirek taking her magic, or when Starlight replaced her cutie mark with a math sign. She growled as she resisted another tug.

“Glyph!” Luna shouted with concentration, “On my mark!!” Her voice rose in volume then dropped. Twilight flinched as well as her magic was tugged on. Whatever the spell or process, it was getting harder to resist. Twilight knew she’d be able to resist for some time. Though she was quite weakened, and Luna was even more so. She watched as Luna pulled off her neckpiece and fiddled with it for a second, pausing as another round of tug of war occurred, and held it back.

Then with a grunt, she threw it at the yellow pegasus restraining them. The pony didn’t even blink as the adornment wrapped around her neck and clicked into place.

“Now!!” She shouted and grimaced as the energy again pulled on her magic.

Twilight released the breath she had held. The energy was pulling at random intervals. Not something she could predict, so she had to remain on guard. She frowned and brushed away the question for Luna’s accuracy, bracing for another tug. Though her concentration was broken a bit as she watched Glyph press something on her artificial fore-leg with the opposite foreleg.

It took a moment, but eventually a small buzzing filled her ears. She paused, pulling on her magic again, but found it difficult to focus as the buzzing grew in volume. Her mind automatically thought of the cause, but it didn’t bring her reassurance.

“Luna!” She called, curling as the energy pulled, “Electricity!” She managed to say. Though she watched a glowing Luna nod. She probably couldn’t hold out for much longer…

She looked around for Glyph and shouted at her to hurry when she noticed Fluttershy sit down. Her hooves shot up in an attempt to take the neckpiece off with haste.

It was then she saw a small flash of light fly from her yellow friend to the two Princesses in the air. It shot past them with Twilight barely logging its existence. Then another, much, brighter flash surged the air between them. The air crackled with uncomfortable snaps as electricity found a path to Fluttershy. It flowed into the pegasus with ease and crackled all over her body before Twilight could blink.

She continued to watch as the stream of energy didn’t seem to stop. Fluttershy twitched in random directions as the energy affected her modes of movement. Twilight grimaced with worry. Whatever her friend had become, she knew that much electricity couldn’t be good for anything.

Then with a flash of light, the neck ornament exploded, sending the pony flying backward. The movement pulled the restrained alicorns downwards. Twilight grimaced and teleported to the ground, pulling Luna with her. Twilight then groaned with discomfort and crouched with exhaustion, realizing exactly how much energy the spell had taken. She looked up with a heavy breath and noticed her friends were congregating around their shy friend. Her hair was strewn about but was slowly retreating. Glyph was in the center; her hoof was on Fluttershy’s right eye.

She quickly galloped over and placed an energy shield around the group. Though the action was straining her magic, she wasn’t going to let Noah get near the pegasus.

The stallion in question frowned and circled the purple energy shield, waiting for an opening.

“Fluttershy, I need you to relax completely okay?” Glyph said to the pony, who had wisps of smoke whirling from her coat.

Twilight grimaced as she felt her shield ebb at her energy. She took another deep breath, steadying the flow of magic to her horn. She did weaken the shield however, she just needed to keep out a single pony. Though the shield didn’t change in appearance, she didn’t want to invite any challenge.

She turned what little attention she dared to her friend. Glyph had produced a sort of long hinged device that had one of its faces glowing.

Glyph was looking like she was about to cry as she moved one hoof around the surface of the face that did not glow. Twilight watched as she gritted her teeth, but her hooves remained steady and stable.

She gently walked over, her legs not as stable as the pegasus’s, “What are you doing?”

Glyph did not immediately reply, but said to Fluttershy, “Fluttershy. This thing is directly connected to your head, I need you to clear your mind. I don’t have the tools to filter out signals from the computer or from you.”

Twilight frowned, “What do you mean?”

Glyph again didn’t respond but rather muttered to no pony in particular, “This was meant to save ponies. Not corrupt them…”

“Glyph!”

The pegasus jumped, pulling Fluttershy’s head with it. She took a second staring at the alicorn, “Yes?”

“What are you doing to my friend?” She asked, her voice was tired, but the sharp edges clearly conveyed the message.

“I’m trying to reset the computer to the point before Noah changed it. Though I can’t get a clear reading with Fluttershy’s thoughts encrypting them or changing them entirely.”

Twilight blinked.

“Nothing harming her. Just trying to revert her to what she normally was.”

Fluttershy’s other eye widened a bit and she shook her head, pulling the other pegasus with it.

“Woah! Hey! You’re going to hurt yourself!” Glyph said, stopping the movement with her other hoof.

“Don’t. Save them first!” Fluttershy said gently, but firmly.

Glyph blinked, “How are you—hmmph. Never mind that, save who?”

Fluttershy twitched but repeated her sentence that only increased the pegasus’s confusion.

Twilight frowned, noticing her friends also understanding what she meant, “Celestia and Spike.”

Glyph turned to the alicorn, “Save them? What do you mean? What happened to them?”

“Celestia was transformed into a ball and put in her chest and the dragon was captured by a claw thing and pulled into Fluttershy’s shoulder.” Pinkie said in quick succession.

Glyph looked like she would cry, “Did her ribcage expand at all?”

Twilight shook her head, “No, not really…”

Glyph growled and threw an angry look at Noah, who didn’t respond.

“Do you know what happened?”

Glyph nodded, “Spike was probably taken to a containment cell. Celestia was captured via containment protocol. It shouldn’t be too hard to free them, but I can do that after I fix whatever Noah did.”

Fluttershy twitched and shook her head the best she could, “Save them…” Her voice was softer than usual, but it seemed, glitchy?

Twilight frowned on the use of that word. She only recognized that sound because of some of the electromagical stuff she had done. She groaned and closed one eye, putting some focus into her shield. She turned to the left and saw Noah pressing on the semi-clear material with a hoof covered in a black aura. She gritted her teeth and transferred more power into her shield.

“Hurry Glyph. I’m not sure how long I can hold this shield…” She said weakly.

Glyph nodded and turned to Fluttershy, “Okay, Fluttershy I’ll save them first. But I need you to clear your mind. Okay?”

Fluttershy twitched again, and her eye closed.

“Great. Just like that…” Glyph said gently after a moment. She again began to move her hoof along her hinge-like device. She looked at the device to see the glowing side was a screen. On the screen were lots, and lots of characters. She could read them, but she had no idea what they meant or what their purpose was.

“Disable power inhibitor in Sector C: code 256.”

Disabled.

“Requesting access to core system management.”

Granted.

“Requesting file location for containment.”

20+ files found:

“Refine search; program use: MMO external -medical”

2 files found:

Containment Protocol

Dangerous item containment

“He didn’t even change their names…” Glyph said sadly.

Twilight wanted to ask another question, but she pushed it aside. She had to focus on the shield…

“List contained items.”

Cells empty except cell #1. Entity, “Spike,” is contained.

“Release Cell#1. No constrictions.”

Releasing…

Fluttershy’s eye opened and she grimaced.

“Relax Fluttershy. It’s me doing that.” Glyph said gently.

Fluttershy nodded lightly and seemed to relax partially.

Her shoulder expanded wider than her leg as the leg was pulled inside. Twilight again looked at the blue glowing surface that reminded her of the mirror to Canterlot High. Her thoughts were broken as the cage containing Spike was pushed through the surface. Her shoulder clicked gently back into position.

“Spike!” Twilight exclaimed, “You okay?”

Spike couldn’t move too much but replied nervously, “I think so?”

Fluttershy twitched and was now staring at her leg.

“Fluttershy! Calm down I can’t read the computer’s code!” Glyph said firmly.

Fluttershy didn’t respond, but Twilight noticed that her breathing was starting to increase in rate, “Can’t…” She said weakly after a few moments of notice.

Glyph frowned and closed her eyes for a second. Then a section of her metal leg opened, and a small rod clicked out. It looked like a hex wrench sticking out of the metal interior.

“Rarity?” Glyph asked opening her eyes, “Can you take that tool rod and release Spike?”

The wrench glowed blue as it was pulled gently from the leg. It hovered over to the trapped purple and green dragon, “How?” She asked with determination.

“There should be a small hole at the base of that cage apparatus. The rod should fit. Turn it 180 degrees and the claw should lose its grip.”

Rarity frowned and motioned the tool rod to the base of Fluttershy’s leg, “Here?”

Glyph moved her head a bit to look, “Yes.” She stated after a moment's pause.

Rarity nodded and applied the 180 degrees of rotation that was requested. The claws started to droop in response.

Glyph nodded, “Okay, now you should just be able to peel away those claw arms and free Spike.”

Rarity nodded, then frowned as she tried to move the metal pieces with magic. She shook her head and pulled the pieces with her hooves. Once she had done a few, she pulled Spike out with her magic; immediately embracing him in a tight hug.

Twilight smiled but grimaced as the shield took a hit from Noah’s magic, “Hurry!!” Twilight said urgently.

Glyph nodded and instructed Rarity to put the leg back together, then to Fluttershy, “Kay, relax Fluttershy. I can’t read the code with your mind inputting random variables. Spike is safe.”

Fluttershy nodded, but her eyes closed with a worried look on her face, “I’ll. Try.” Her leg twitched and was replaced with her normal leg. Twilight shivered, wondering what had happened to Spike. Her body went still as she pushed even more energy into her shield. “Focus,” she reprimanded herself.

Glyph nodded, “Do your best. It won’t take long for me to get Celestia.”

Twilight looked at her new friend with hope and worry. Her shield was almost at max endurance. She sighed thinking about the recovery time this was going to take.

But she brushed that thought aside as watched Glyph’s device lit up with more characters.

“List containment protocol.”

Entities in CP:

Celestia.

End of list.

“Release Celestia.”

…

Error. Administrative requirement not met.

“Administrative? Hmm…” Glyph stated to no pony in particular.

“Status: MMO”

Inactive.

“Boot MMO”

Error. Booting process blocked by Void.exe

“Find @drives Void.exe”

…

Found Void.exe in Core programs/Void.exe.

Glyph frowned and exhaled sharply, “Fluttershy, brace yourself. You might get a headache.”

Fluttershy didn’t open her eye, yet nodded.

“Boot PW.”

Booting Program Writer…

Open.

//:

“Disable(Paradox/Protection{Four}”

“Variable::C==4;”

“Variable::G==0;”

“Variable::A==(Compute: C/G);”

“Variable::Runtime==0”

“IF(Runtime>0)”

“{Print(A);”

“};”

“Finish program.”

Name?

“Infinity.”

Saved.

“Move File Infinity to: Core Programs/Void.exe”

File has been moved successfully.

“Boot file: Infinity. Runtime=1.”

File has been run successfully.

Fluttershy began to grimace, which caused Twilight to worry.

“If Fluttershy okay?” Pinkie asked worriedly.

Glyph nodded, “She’ll be okay. I have to cause some lag in the administrative Void.exe so that the MMO can take administrative control. Then I can free Celestia.”

“Administrative?” Rainbow asked, her wings still holding her in the air.

Glyph merely nodded.

Rainbow frowned, “Care to explain?”

“Later. I promise.”

“We’re holding you to that.” She said, Applejack nodding in affirmation. She was standing up now. Her coat was stained with red in certain areas but the glossy patch on her chest seemed to stay firmly in place.

Glyph nodded.

“Release Celestia”

…

Error. Administrative process required. Void.exe is taking too long to respond.

“Shutdown Void.exe”

…

Shutdown was successful.

“Boot MMO.”

MMO has been booted.

“Release Celestia.”

Releasing…

Fluttershy gently stood up, where her chest opened to reveal the matrix of pipes and dents Twilight had seen before. Glyph mimicked her motions by standing up as well, her metal leg still attacked to Fluttershy’s eye. Twilight paused looking at the brightly glowing orb with Celestia’s cutie mark on it. It wasn’t even the size of a large marble.

Two hairs hovered over to it and gently picked it from its spot. It moved it outwards to the space in front of her.

“Watch out girls. Give enough room for Celestia.” Glyph said as the hairs began to glow blue.

The ponies took a step back, and Twilight noticed her shield taking a beating. She looked over at Noah, who was blasting the purple energy with a bolt of black. A steady one that was slowly attuning with the magic of the shield. She grimaced and started to change the weave of the shield every ten seconds. Hoping that her energy would be able to last long enough for Glyph to do her work.

The marble that held Celestia suddenly grew brighter and, as the hairs pulled outward, grew into the shape of a familiar alicorn. The glow subsided to reveal the Princess but only if she hadn’t slept in years.

Her mane was no longer flowing but individual strands seemed to separate from the group with rebellious acts dependent on the wind. Her face was worn and haggard, even her coat seemed to have lost its shimmer. She gasped with exhaustion and nearly collapsed, holding herself up with a single hoof.

“Sister?! What has happened?” Luna cried out before Twilight could even open her mouth and ran to her aid.

Though Celestia started to reply, her voice was drowned out by the headache that was approaching a critical point.

She watched as the pink strands retreated, and the opening in Fluttershy’s chest close.

Though she drowned that all out by closing her eyes. She crouched and laid on the hard stone that seemed like pillows compared to the pain in her head. She raised both hooves to her temples to try and stem the tide of pressure but it helped little. She grunted and felt her hold her breath as she focused everything into the shield.

It held, but not for long.

A sharp crack reverberated the air and broke through her mental deafening. She growled as she felt more cracks spread through her shield, then the pressure in her mind vanished as her shield shattered. She let out a sharp cry and rolled onto her side. She took in deep breaths and watched helplessly as Noah strode forward with a smug air about him.

“Enough.” He said plainly, though his demeanor changed when he ran into a transparent blue shield that was shaped like a familiar diamond. This shield pushed Noah back and then returned to its previous position. It then was joined by several copies that intermeshed to create a barrier of gem brilliance.

Twilight looked at it in amazement. That was the shield that she had been helping Rarity develop. She smiled to see the progress that months had produced.

Noah growled, “Another shield to break. Shouldn’t be too hard since it’s not powered by an alicorn.” He then blasted it with another black energy bolt. But when it made contact, it merely splashed against the shield. Noah stopped the blast with a look of amazement.

“It’s going to take a lot more to break this shield you ruffian!!” Rarity shouted with Spike nodding on her back. Twilight smiled. Rarity’s magic had a peculiar twist. Her magic was tightly knit together like a gem was. That’s how her mind was able to levitate many items without straining the unicorn, even at a younger age. Twilight then helped Rarity form that into a shield. She wasn’t able to support a high-level shield on her own, yet, her shield wasn’t meant to completely block an attack. Just disperse it.

She hadn’t been able to cover herself with the shield diamonds yet but ten seemed plenty to cover at least the area between her friends and Noah. She threw a glance at Glyph who was furiously working on her device.

“Impressive. I’ve never seen a shield like this before. A shield able to block a strong attack but supported by such a weak unicorn.” Noah said bluntly.

Rarity scoffed.

Noah took a step in surprise, “You can hear me?” He chuckled, “Fools.” He then shouted, “Resume Protocol.”

Nothing happened. Rarity gave Fluttershy a cautious look but Fluttershy’s eye was still closed with Glyph working furiously as ever.

“What. Did you do?!” Noah shouted and stomped a hoof along the ground. Then, paused and shook his head, “No matter. You were always the one to teach about back-ups.” Then in a much louder voice, “Emergency action: Lost Foal.”

Fluttershy’s eye opened with a sharp click. Her normal eye phased away to reveal the black camera Twilight had seen before. The little squares around the center circle turned yellow and started to blink.

She turned her head towards Noah with a sudden twist. She attempted to walk towards the unicorn but Glyph used both her legs to pull her back. Her leg still attached to her eye. Applejack, Pinkie, and Rainbow all jumped forward to assist.

“Hold her! I can stop the program!” Glyph exclaimed receiving nods as the others braced against their yellow friend. Though their combined efforts only slowing their augmented friend to a crawl. Glyph again reached for the hinge with a screen but Fluttershy’s movements had pulled her out of reach of the device.

Twilight again reached for her magic but found she didn’t even have enough to levitate the device. However, it glowed with a dark blue aura and floated into the sky blue pegasus’s reach. Twilight turned to Luna with a grateful look. She was supporting the solar princess, horn glowing with a weak levitation weave.

Glyph furiously started to fiddle with the mysterious hinge, taking steps back as Fluttershy’s steps pushed her towards Noah. On one step, she pulled back causing the yellow pegasus's head to jerk towards her direction. There was a click and a hiss and Glyph fell to the ground as the connection between her hoof and Fluttershy’s eye was disconnected.

Twilight looked with an expression of dread as she saw Fluttershy’s eye withdraw a port and become a mirror-like image of the other eye. More so, she saw Noah was advancing towards her friends, glowing with a dark power. Rarity’s shield was still up and blocking his advance, but the gap was closing as Fluttershy took small steps.

Then with a flick of his horn, he shot a blast of black energy towards Rarity. She flinched back and brought up a small magic diamond to block it. However, in doing so, her bigger shield dissolved. Noah didn’t waste a beat of his heart to send a magical blast at the struggling group. The magic fell on them like a shockwave, sending them past Twilight and the rest of the exhausted Princesses. Once they landed, Fluttershy got up as if nothing happened and galloped towards Noah before the rest of the group could stop her. Rainbow grunted and flew after her, though her movements were stopped cold by a sudden black shield.

Rarity again summoned her shield to try and hold her friend back but watched in annoyance as the pony walked right through it as if it wasn’t even there. Fluttershy joined Noah on his side and stood there, staring at nothing with flashing yellow eyes. Noah then conjured a black shield to protect them both. It was still transparent; allowing Twilight to see inside.

Disregarding being watched he pulled a red gem from his simple pendant and placed it on the ground. Then using magic, began to etch runic symbols in the ground around the red jewel.

“Shield breaker!” Luna called out with her Canterlot voice. Seconds passed with tightness all around. Then Twilight noticed a few Pegasus carrying three unicorns. Luna gestured with a free hoof towards Noah’s shield and the group landed right next to the black energy. The unicorns arranged into a pattern where two of them were facing each other and the last was facing Noah. They leaned forward and connected their horns with white energy. The energy grew into a tight ball then became a bolt of energy that launched itself at the shield with a reverberating zap. The unicorns closed their eyes and focused on sending the energy with trained emotions.

Noah, however, didn’t even respond to the unicorn’s attack but rather finished the small circle of runes. He tapped it once, causing the red gem to glow and levitate off the ground. Once it had reached eye level, it shattered but remained in the air. The shards then arranged themselves into a very familiar pattern.

Twilight growled. He was using a spell that stored a location in a jewel and then—She shook her head. No analysis! Noah was making a portal!

She slowly got to her hooves, shaky legs trembling with her weight.

Rarity looked at her with concern, “What’s he doing?”

“Making a portal…” She grunted with what strength she had left.

“What?!” Rarity turned to the black barrier. With a grunt, she began to blast the shield with her own energy laser, weak as it was.

Twilight shook her head as the shards took shape, making an elongated ellipse large enough for a pony to pass through. She shuddered as the space between the shards began to shimmer, the colors slowly fading to whatever would be on the other side.

Anger again filled her now tired frame. How dare Noah take Fluttershy’s free will. Her life, and her entire reality. She twitched with renewed strength as she once again felt the power surge through her. This time she was able to realize the power boost. Yet, she did not care about its origins. She honed in her sights to the black shield and took a stance with steady legs.

“Noah!!” Twilight shouted, her voice amplified to the volume of the Canterlot voice.

The pony turned sharply towards Twilight and seemed to pale. Twilight smiled, lowered her head, and charged. Her limbs propelled her beyond her normal speeds allowing her to cross the gap instantaneously.

She peered upwards looking at the now frightened unicorn as her horn had penetrated the black shield. The razor-sharp end mere a foot from his face. Twilight smiled as the shield’s magic began to flow into her being, becoming part of her magic. The shield wavered as it lost its strength. She again pushed at it, slowly pushing through it.

She aimed her magic on Noah but found she couldn’t weave her levitation spell. She frowned, barely noticing that the guards had stopped trying to break the shield. She couldn’t weave magic while she was taking it in it seemed. Her horn, however, disagreed and began to glow and hum.

The energy she was taking from the shield funneled into her horn, collecting into one of the simplest spells a unicorn could summon. She aimed her horn at Noah and let the energy flow. It collected into a laser blast that narrowly missed Noah’s face as he ducked in response. The bolt however, didn’t collide with the shield. It flew into the now completed portal and hit something that she could not see. However, she could see the explosion that blossomed on the other side as it destroyed the object it had hit.

Noah didn’t waste another step as he jumped into the portal. Fluttershy watched him then jumped in as well.

“No!!” Twilight shouted. She attempted to jump forward but the shield held her back as if she was in tar. The resistance suddenly vanished as the shield started to fade, the connection between its creator snapped. However, she paid it no mind as its fading energy was pulled into her being. Her attention was at the shrinking portal. She growled and flooded the ethereal gateway with magic. Her supply seemed endless as she pushed against space and time to keep the portal open. She stepped slowly towards the portal as if she was stuck in a vat of cold honey. She peered into the portal and got a face full of magical energy. The bolt of magic didn’t even make her flinch as it was siphoned into her internal stores.

She watched Noah’s face tighten in fear as he took a few steps back. Fiddling with objects on the desk nearby. He found what he was looking for and placed another amulet around his neck. It was black and twisted like the roots of a black tree branch. It looked as if it had termites at some point, jagged holes creating darkened spots along the amulet. The knot-like piece looked extremely uncomfortable to wear, yet Noah didn’t show any pain as he began to mess with a device similar to Glyph’s hinge thing from earlier. Though this device was slightly bigger and seemed to be built into the desk.

Twilight growled, not wanting him to do anything to her friend, and wrapped a tight grip around the unicorn. Or, at least tried to. Her magic got close to the pony but suddenly dissipated when it got any closer. Her frown deepened. That amulet must be channeling based, judging on the look and effect alone. She shook her head and started spread her magic out to the surrounding room. Her magic seemed to be able to interact with the environment. She began to pull on some poles she felt in the walls even as she put her head through the portal.

The air on the other side was clean, a bit too clean for outside. Its artificial warmth suggested it wasn’t outside. Though the cleanness was polluted with smoke from the explosion she had caused earlier. Though the sensory input was blocked by Twilight, the only thing she could feel were the metal poles she felt in the walls. They were tightly packed in, hard to pull on. Yet, Twilight pulled more power into her magic, the energy seemingly endless, but her movements slowed even more. The walls then tore open and sparks flew for a few split seconds as electromagical wires were ripped from their housing and fashioned themselves into a rope. The rope, reinforced with her magic, then coiled around Fluttershy’s barrel. Twilight began to pull her friend back to her, though the pegasus began to resist, her hooves sliding along the floor.

The movement stopped with a sudden clang. The sides of Fluttershy’s legs swung down, creating four prongs per leg that clattered to the floor. The prongs latched into the floor, anchoring her to the ground. Twilight frowned and just pulled harder, the floorboards squeaking in protest.

Then her magic was disrupted when Noah ran over with a small device connected to a long line. She noticed that he wasn’t holding it with his magic, but rather a hoof. Twilight growled and again launched a magic projectile at him. The blazing ball of magic formed into a sideways raindrop before dissipating in a cloud of purple dust. Her face writhed in anger as Noah spoke.

“Disengage Lost Foal.”

Fluttershy slumped a bit then pushed Noah to the side. She took a few quick steps towards Twilight with normal frightened eyes. Then with a click, one of those eyes disappeared as Noah managed to place the device on her eye. She twitched and fell to the floor, then straightened and looked at Twilight with a blank stare.

Twilight tried to reach the device with her magic, however, Noah was too close to her friend for her magic to affect the device. She paused for only a second, pondering if she could throw something at Noah, then decided to follow the line till she could affect it with magic. It didn’t take long before her magic stabilized enough for her to grab the line and begin to pull on it.

“Launch Extra wings, type rocket. Twilight!” Noah exclaimed worriedly.

Fluttershy’s head snapped to the side as Twilight pulled on the line in an attempt to remove it, though it remained fastened. Her friend’s sides opened and two firework devices came out. They both were connected to a half-sphere that looked like a metal belt. The fireworks turned one-eighty and a small pink glow emerged from the end. They then flew at Twilight with surprising speed. She instinctively put up a shield to block, the hexagons shimmering with strength. However, the two devices flew right through the shield leaving it untouched. They went around Twilight’s barrel and connected together, forming a belt with two rockets on either side of her. Her wings fluttered in annoyance, but they remained open, their resting place now occupied.

“Reverse thrust! Full power!” Noah exclaimed.

Fluttershy didn’t move besides her head as the desperate movements caused by Twilight’s pulling on the device on her eye. Yet, it slowed as Twilight felt energy gather around the two devices on her sides. Then she was suddenly yanked backward as the device pushed her back with enough energy to push a Chinzilla over.

She slid backward several yards before she stopped herself with her magic. Her body glowing as it absorbed the kinetic push. She released her grip on the line, feeling more energy going into the portal. and growled, “Now I start throwing things…” She muttered, rearing upwards. She then brought her hooves down, filling the air with sharp cracks as the ground shattered. She could still feel the rockets attempting to push her back as she levitated the broken pieces of the ground into the air.

“Forward shield! 7!” Noah cried, giving Twilight a frightened stare.

Twilight let the stones in her grip fly towards Noah with startling speed. Though they shattered as they impacted into Fluttershy’s shield, summoned in the nick of time.

Twilight growled and picked up another rock. This one she was going to make bounce on the wall then hit Noah in the back of the head. She compacted the rock till it was as strong as metal and let her mind calculate the angles.

“Launch a CFD!” Fluttershy began to say something but it was cut off as Noah shouted, “Do it! Turn on avoidance protocol level 5!”

Twilight already had the rock prepared but paused when she saw Fluttershy’s side open again. Then a familiar grey tube came out of it. It swiveled till she could see the black rocket inside. Her polished sphere remained stationary as she prepared to dodge the rocket. She only needed to dodge it once, then Noah’s head would resemble a cracked coconut. The rocket accepted her challenge with a swish and hurled itself at her.

She gave it a blank stare and ripped some of the floorboards upwards in the rocket’s path. Though the rocket had begun to dodge even before the floorboards began to move. Twilight’s gut began to knot as she felt a terrible feeling build inside. She let it out through her nose and attempted to jump to the side to dodge. Her mind however, realized that she couldn’t jump at all. Her motion to jump was executed with perfect accuracy, except in slow motion.

Her eyes had time to widen before the rocket shot the device into her face. Her breath seemed to be in her ears as the rest of the rocket emitted its white mist. Her body slowed even more as golden crystal grew on every part of her till she was fully encased. All Twilight could do was watch as the portal snapped shut, her connection to it stopped by the artificial crystal. The pieces of the location crystal bouncing on the stone ground before coming to a stop.

Twilight strained her magic, yet, no matter how much energy she channeled it did not affect the substance surrounding her. She could still breathe, as the device around her mouth and nose was giving her air. Then, there was a click and a thud in the crystal that reverberated in her head.

Then her prison shattered, the chunks falling to the ground. Twilight slowly got up, her speed of her own accord again. Her mind was fuming, and she tried to close her wings only for them to get stuck on the rockets on her side. She gave a small shout of frustration and teleported out of their grasp. She reappeared next to where the portal was and lifted the broken crystals with her magic. She closed her eyes and flooded the crystal with magic. Then with a cry of annoyance, she threw them down and they scattered on the stones. She stared at the ground feeling tears welling up in her eyes. The crystal was only meant to store a location. The actual crystal that performed the space spell was at the other end of the portal and needed to be active for her to reopen the portal. Though she couldn’t even feel the other end’s magic which meant the crystal had been destroyed.

She stomped the ground with her hoof, the impact not causing nearly as much damage as before but merely a thud that echoed through the now silent grounds. The impact that Noah had gotten away with her friend and that she could do nothing about it, seemed to hit her like Applejack’s kick to the face. Her energy drained as whatever was fueling her retreated into her being leaving her alicorn magic fluctuating. But that didn’t matter to Twilight too much. She allowed gravity to pull her to the ground and merely laid there with her head in her hooves. She barely could keep her eyes open as exhaustion was demanding she close them. She relented, only to leave tears to travel down her face.

Unwilling Thief

Author's Note

I'm back! I'm terribly sorry for the delay but I can confirm I now have a basic roadmap. :yay:
That'll help keep things in order and help my OCD and continuity stay together.
Though the reason it took so long is because I got bitten by an inspiration bug. Created three more stories in my mind :raritydespair:
Here are the names I've come up with:
Harmony's shadow
Fluttershy and the Rainbow Phoenix
Up high, down low, and really, really far from home

But don't worry, I do plan on continuing this story to the end. And this time won't take as long. Excited for this upcoming chapter :raritystarry: I may start on the previously mentioned stories, but this one will take priority. Unless you all show interest in one of them. Let me know if you do. :twilightsmile: Also let me know about the voice of this chapter. I feel it's changed a bit, but not for the bad. What do you all think?

As always, I do not own My Little Pony Friendship is magic. All characters contained therein do not belong to me. They belong to Hasbro and other respective companies.

Unwilling Thief

“Twilight? Are you okay?” Celestia’s voice sounded distant. Whether it was because her mind was far away or her voice was quiet, she couldn’t tell. She could tell she was tired though. Pure exhaustion crawled through her veins, making her limbs feel like living stone. Cold and stubborn.

“Twilight?” Celestia asked again, sounding a bit more urgent.

Twilight gently shook her head, body groaning in protest. She gently opened her eyes and looked up at her friends who were looking at her. The feeling of loss made the environment seem too dim. Yet, there was a fear and worry in the eyes of her friends.

“Are you guys okay?” She asked slowly, her mouth sluggishly rebooting.

Rarity nodded, “Yes. It seems now I am. Though I thought I had lost my magic for a bit…”

Twilight’s face shifted to concern, her tiredness pushed to the side, “Lost your magic? What do you mean?”

“Just that. My magic seemed to be brushed away just outside my reach.” Rarity replied.

“Can you feel it now?”

Rarity frowned and didn’t respond, but turned her attention to one of the gem shards on the ground. It glowed blue and started to float, but it flickered and fell before being caught again. Rarity let out a breath and looked at Twilight, “Yes but it would seem it’s on the fritz.”

“I do believe we know the reason for that, “Luna said tiredly, her horn glowing gently as she finished raising the moon. “Though I do not think we can discuss it here. Nor do I think that we are all in the mental capacity to discuss such topics.”

Celestia nodded, “I agree with Luna. Let us discuss this when we are all rested.”

Luna frowned, “Most of us anyway.”

Celestia gave her an understanding smile, “I shall help what I can. It might be easier for both of us to be at half power than one at full.”

Luna returned the smile and nodded, “Aye. That would be most appreciated.”

Twilight slowly got to her hooves, “How Celestia? I thought you had no power in the dream world.”

Celestia nodded, “Yes, but we can connect our energies. While I sleep and recharge, my sister will get a portion of that energy. A simple and effective spell.”

Twilight nodded, “Ah.”

Applejack adjusted her hat, “Well, we might want to catch the train home then.”

“Last one there is a rotten apple!” Rainbow said before attempting to get into the air. Though her attempted was thwarted as she jumped and fell right back to the ground. Her face filled with panic and exclaimed, “Whoa, what’s going on?”

Celestia unsteady walked over to Rainbow and studied her for a second, then closed her eyes and her horn glowed. She remained still for a second then said, “Just as I thought. Don’t worry Rainbowdash, the effect should wear off in a few minutes.”

“What effect?” Rainbow asked impatiently.

It was Luna who responded, “We can not discuss that here.”

Rainbow looked like she wanted to argue but held her tongue and folded her wings.

“I suppose you guys can stay at my place for the night.” Glyph perked up, “I’ve got enough sleeping spots. Some ponies will have to sleep on couches or such but if you all don’t mind…”

Pinkie smiled, “Works for me!”

Applejack frowned, “I do suppose that my family is used to my sudden absences…”

Rarity smiled, “I’m sure we could all lend a hoof when we get back.”

Applejack nodded and smiled, “That would be appreciated.”

The group nodded, smiling.

Celestia then sighed, “Alright. It sounds like we all know where we are staying for the night. If everypony would be willing to meet at the throne room in the morning? Just after dawn?”

Twilight and her friends nodded, feelings of tiredness, sadness, and concern echoing in their motions.

Twilight then looked at where Noah had created the portal and taken their friend away, “I just hope that Fluttershy will be okay…”

The group all followed her gaze and Twilight could feel they all felt the same.

After a few moments of silence, Pinkie broke with it with a dull cheerful voice, “Well, it won’t help anypony if we are all sleepless zom-ponies.”

The group chuckled and nodded with agreement, but the silence resumed. Twilight could feel her thoughts churning in her head. The structure surrounding her mind seemed to complain in protest as she tried to fully understand what happened. Fluttershy was some kind of electro-magical creation that somehow had the soul of a pony and now she was in the control of some power-hungry pony! She shifted her legs again as the realization sunk in. She had been manipulating magic for most of the day. Dealing with the Reception ‘ception, Noah’s intervention, and blocking alicorn magic had taken quite a toll on her mind and her magic. She doubted she’d fully recover with even the best night's sleep.

“Luna, can you take particular care to watch for Fluttershy’s dream tonight?” Celestia suddenly said, breaking the group’s train of thought, “If we can find where she was taken then we may have a better chance at saving her quickly.”

Luna nodded but said nothing. Her tired face seemingly getting more tired with each passing moment.

Celestia nodded, “Alright, I will see you all in the morning.” She then called some of the guards over and began talking with them. The group then sanctioned off the hole Twilight made and other pieces of damage in the area. Twilight and her friends stayed for a bit and watched them work. Their stances in silence.

“Well, Rarity knows my place. I’ve got to go and get Cheerilee. Don’t want to forget about her…” Glyph said abruptly.

Twilight gave her a curious look.

Glyph smiled, “Yeah. I’ll explain when we are all together. I don’t want to explain everything twice.”

Twilight nodded and returned her lifeless gaze to the guards doing their task. Night guard and the Day guard were working in tangent. Twilight then sighed, realizing that she’d better get to a more comfortable place to sleep than the stones beneath her. She moved her body with a groan and turned to Rarity. The mare gave a small nod and started to lead the group along the street. Yet the group took it in silence, still lost in thought.

Till Rainbow asked in a gentle voice, “So…. What happened with that portal?”

Twilight looked up from the path in front of her and gave her friend a curious look, “What do you mean?”

“My dear, you were glowing. Your mane and tail were flowing like liquid cosmos that complemented your glowing eyes! Not to mention you went right through a shield. Well, not right through but you were able to push through a magical barrier.” Rarity replied, turning back towards her. She kept the steady pace though.

Twilight blinked, realizing her friends were talking about her attempted rescue. She had been glowing?

“It looked awesome, but it seemed you were on another level from your usual magic attacks,” Rainbow said, face perking up ever so slightly.

Pinkie nodded but stayed uncharacteristically quiet.

Twilight frowned, “I’m not sure. It seemed that my magic was, well, endless. I was able to hold open that portal will only my magic. I didn’t weave it into a spell, or anything. I was just, doing things, doing anything I could to get Fluttershy back…”

The group frowned, but Applejack replied, “It was quite an attempt though. Not to mention a light show.”

Pinkie nodded, “Yeah! That we thought for sursies that Noah was toast. How did he escape?”

Twilight frowned and her mood fell a few levels, “He had some sort of amulet that blocked my magical touch. I couldn’t touch him nor anything too close to him.” She looked up at Pinkie, “I think it was changeling in nature. But I’m not certain.”

“Changeling?” Spike said concerned, “Wasn’t the changelings reformed now?”

Twilight shifted her attention to Rarity to look at Spike, “I thought so too. But then again this could have been gotten before we made peace with them.”

Rarity nodded, “I do suppose. But one thing’s for sure, we are dealing with quite a snake. Clever. Intelligent. And I would bet willing to sacrifice quite a lot to get to his goals.”

Twilight smiled at the emergence of detective Rarity, “I agree. Though I’m pretty sure I could overwhelm him in a magic battle.”

Rarity nodded, “Most definitely. The only blockade is the strings he has on Fluttershy. That and the new side of Fluttershy that even she didn’t know she had.”

Twilight nodded, noticing an odd house was coming into view. The unique glow of the solar panels as the moonlight reflected off of them acted as a beacon to their destination. She blinked as her mind asked her a question, had a similar thing happened to Luna? Were both of their power boosts connected? Her head bobbed. Probably, after all, Luna and Celestia seemed to have an answer. They just didn’t want to disclose it out in the open. Why? That question frightened her.

“They do still work!!” Rainbow shouted as she took off into the air. The trail of rainbows making loops in the air as she followed from the sky.

Twilight smiled and noticed the group had increased their pace just slightly. She didn’t mind either, the faster she could go to bed, the better.

Fluttershy was staring at the wall. Seconds ago there was a portal there yet now, empty space was between her and the way home. A large crystal seemed to accompany the blank wall but that detail was dismissed. The systems in her head were a mere distraction as her mind seemed to be in a trance. What was to happen now? Twilight had entered some sort of, power form, that she had never seen before. Glowing eyes, flowing cosmic hair, and an energy output that Fluttershy couldn’t understand. To her computer, it was just off the charts but that didn’t exactly mean too much without something to compare it to.

There was a sudden crash as the large crystal the size of her head exploded.

Action denied.

She had instinctively tried to jump but found she couldn’t. She felt her lungs fill but not of her own accord. What had caused the crystal to shatter suddenly?

“There. Our friend Twilight will now not be able to reopen the portal. I hope…” Noah said quietly as if he was scared of being overheard.

Noah must have destroyed the crystal. Somehow the large crystal and the crystal from Noah’s necklace were connected to make a portal. She guessed that magic was involved, though, she wasn’t too educated on unicorn magic so she couldn’t be sure. The two ponies stood in silence, Fluttershy waiting to be able to move, while Noah just stared at where the portal was. His eyes barely blinking as if he was waiting for Twilight to suddenly appear in front of them.

Yet, much to Fluttershy’s dismay, Twilight did not appear in a flash of purple light. Fluttershy felt a sense of despair start to grow inside her chest. What was going to happen to her now? She mentally frowned, noting that at least she could still feel emotions how she wanted to.

“Okay. It seems that Twilight can’t reactivate the portal. Now, let’s figure out what that blue nuisance did to my code.” Noah stated.

Fluttershy felt her throat try to nervously swallow, but the action was denied. Though she couldn’t feel much moisture in her mouth anyway so she doubted she could. She could feel something now probing the back of her mind. It was a hint of a feeling anyway, something she could feel when Glyph had worked on her code. Er, her computer’s code.

MMO has been shutdown. Void administrative override.

Fear and anxiety slurred together in her chest, making an uncomfortable concoction that seemed to weigh her down. Whatever the MMO was, she trusted it. Or at least trusted it more than the Void systems.

“Infinity?” There was a pause. “Did she really create a paradox program?” Fluttershy heard Noah mutter under his breath, “Clever. Very clever…”

Program “Infinity” has been removed from core systems. Backup has been saved in MMO/Unsure-Bin/Temporary_Backup. Program will be deleted after 10 days if not saved elsewhere.

Fluttershy again was reminded that she couldn’t move after she tried to frown. Infinity? Is that what Glyph had put on the computer in her mind? For what purpose?

Then she had a thought. Glyph had told her to calm her thoughts because she couldn’t discern between thoughts of pony and thoughts of the computer. Could she do the same thing here?

So she filled her mind with thoughts. Her friends came to mind with all their colors. Her worry for Applejack’s recovery. Her curiousness about Twilight’s change. What about her animal friends? Sure, her veterinarian friend would be more than willing to help but it just wasn’t the same. She wanted to be there to help her animal friends out, to care for them with her own two hooves. She imagined holding the furry bunnies and the smooth skin of a snake draped over her shoulders.

Yet, it did not seem to affect Noah’s movements. What was different now? MMO? Void?

Her thoughts paused as she felt a click occur in her head. Her vision returned as the device attached to her eye fell off. Noah walked over and quickly shoved it to the side.

“Come,” Noah commanded and walked out of the nearly scorched room. Fluttershy felt her legs quickly move to obediently follow. The two walked down several long hallways, down some stairs, and passed quite a few rooms that she only caught glimpses of. The hallways seemed to be made of stone bricks that seemed to have been there a long time. Worn edges and failing interlocking pieces reminded her of a castle. There were even medieval-style torches that lit the path entirely. Yet, instead of illuminating fire, there was a glowing glass orb in the clutches of the medieval frames. She looked at them the best she could but wasn’t able to discern if it was magic or something electromagical. The group then went into a room that completely threw out the medieval look. Inside was a polished room that was a comfortable wooden color. Red and black furniture created a spacious-looking living area far left. No beds were present, but messy tables and several screens reminded Fluttershy of Twilight’s thinking sessions. The mess of pictures and strings on the screens rather than the boards she was used to.

Just in front of that area lay shelves in neat long rows. Yet, the contents of the shelves were anything but neat. Many gadgets, metal bars, and other devices she couldn’t discern laid haphazardly on the wooden shelves. She even saw metal versions of pony limbs. Wings, legs, and a head? It looked like a head at least, just a metal skull with several multi-colored wires threading various parts of the skull.

She mentally frowned, her expression remaining flat. The skull seemed to stare at her till her eyes couldn’t see it anymore. Was something like that in her own head? Did she have a metal skull? Just with mechanical eyes and more connected wires?

Though that thought faded as she saw where Noah was taking her.

The right side of the room contained another harness. Though this one was white, with polished sections, and was clearly maintained much better than the previous one. This harness was also surrounded by several large screens. The blue faces didn’t show much besides a few words.

No docked devices.

The floor around it was lined as if she could pick up the panels and move them. Large arms hung from the ceiling accompanied by large tubes and wires that were glazed with darkness. Fluttershy couldn’t see the top too well since she couldn’t look up but she could see several holes in the ceiling that were lit. Though nothing seemed to be inside the compartments.

“Dock,” Noah said flatly, seemingly believing that she knew what to do.

Yet, something inside her mind seemed to understand. She felt herself walk over to the harness and step into the little rings that restrained her legs. She felt the device pull her wings and connect to her spine. Her vision was again blocked as a device was connected to the hidden port behind the orb. Or it could be inside her eye, she had no idea.

Docking successful. Exchanging security handshakes.

Success.

Waiting for external device…

Fluttershy again felt the motion to swallow but stopped it before she could be reminded. Now what?

She couldn’t ask but saw Noah move around the screens in the corner of her eye. He manipulated several consoles with the circular indents, but she wasn’t able to see much more.She was able to see the screens come to life though. She saw at least two. Each had a version of her on the screen; one had a wireframe while the other was a sort of energy flow that she found interest in. It was similar to the swirling energy she saw in her friends while she was healing Applejack. Was that representing the flow of her Cutie mark magic? It looked similar but had fewer swirls and seemed to have more corners and lines.

“My my. Your cutie mark magic has indeed created new pathways…” Noah said quietly.

Fluttershy’s curiosity was through the roof. She so badly wished she could ask what pathways her cutie mark magic was making. That and how she had her cutie mark even though she was seemingly made of some sort of inorganic material. Her curiosity was diluted with the fear of what Noah’s plans were for her, however, Noah had done this to her quite a long time ago. Somehow changing her memory of the event to the point she didn’t realize she was completely different from her friends.

“That’ll have to be replaced. The cutie mark generator has been upgraded since Glyph’s first model…”

Blueprint received: Cutie Mark Generator Mark 3

Installation has been requested. Beginning virtual creation…

Fluttershy felt confusion fill her thoughts. But continued to watch the words cross her vision.

Virtual creation completed.

Distributing power assignments for assembly mode.

Done.

Her vision suddenly went black. With the small clicking from Noah’s interaction the consoles vanishing as well. Her feeling vanished. She could feel the confusion morphing into panic as she could only feel her insides. Well, the normal stuff like her breathing and heartbeat but every other sensation went silent.

Shutting down Cutie Mark Generator for disassembly…

Battery backup holding…

Sanctioning materials for the upgrade of generator…

Metal storage depleted by 10%

Mineral storage depleted by 5%

Inorganic storage depleted by 7%

Beginning construction…

Fluttershy felt nothing changing. Whatever the system was doing, she had no feeling of it. She just felt like she was in a tight box with nothing outside of it. No skin, hair, or limbs to explore the new cage she was in.

Construction at 50%...

The fear was nagging at her insides. Would she be able to see again? Could Noah just turn off her vision at any time? She felt her lungs fill again. All she could do was wait, right?

Construction at 75%...

Could she talk to the computer? Could she make her vision work again?

“Boot MMO.” She mentally asked.

Unable to process requests during power upgrade. Please send the request after construction has been completed.

Fluttershy’s mood darkened. Guess she couldn’t even talk to the computer. She waited, watching the words slowly raise the number.

Construction 100%.

Starting Generator…

Fluttershy felt her internal magic swell, then be pulled away from her. Though, she didn’t resist. It felt, natural. Like the accumulation of her cutie mark wasn’t…

The box she was in seemed to break as she could feel her magic thread through holes in this invisible box. No, renew the holes in the cage.

Generator startup has been successful. Restoring previous settings…

Fluttershy twitched as her sense of feeling returned. The air she was in was comfortably warm. Her coat was pushed a bit by the metal harness that was restricting her movements. The uncomfortable feeling in her wings pulled by the harness.

Then her vision blinked with a blue with the words, “Opticals rebooting.”

Then much to her relief, her vision returned. She felt herself blink a few times then continue to stare forward regardless of her attempts to move them.

Noah was humming an unfamiliar tune, completely oblivious to Fluttershy’s discomfort.

Generator has been installed.

Power usage now at 5%.

Clunking and clicking sounded above Fluttershy, as several arms sprung to life. Or at least that’s what she assumed since she was unable to look up. The clicking vanished to leave behind a small whine as the arms moved around above her. Two arms came into view in front of her as they brought two leg-shaped devices down from above. She also felt her sides open and two boxes get fed inside. The expected feeling of the boxes was again not present as they passed through her ribcage area.

New devices detected. Requesting appropriate programs for new devices.

…

Programs received from the Harness. Programs being installed…

Her mind felt as if something was crawling on it. Like an ant had somehow gotten into her skull and was trying to find a way out. She felt her insides twitch, but there was nothing she could do about it. She instead focused her attention on the devices hanging in front of her.

They looked like a weird pair of front legs. Just, blocky rather than cylindrical. The inner sides of the legs were made up of fins of silver material mere millimeters apart. A majority of these fins were covered by the rest of the leg. It was a bright red and obviously not organic by the shiny material. The material’s color was only interrupted at the sides of the hooves and just before the top of the leg. At these points she saw small golden squares that were parallel to the other leg. In fact, the two devices were identical copies; just one was inverse. She was trying to understand the top part though. It was a stark grey metal. A multitude of tiny squares of differing materials were present on this very thick snowflake. She felt a smile get denied. It was as if somepony had made a very thick snowflake on placed it on top.

Foreleg retrieval initiated for Dying star Cannon installation…

The rings holding her forelegs loosened as her legs were pulled into her shoulders again, though nothing came out this time. The devices in front of her were maneuvered to her shoulders and pulled inside until the snowflake disappeared. They clicked and when the arms let go, the devices remained on her. Her sense of feeling flushed to the ends of the devices till she could feel every fin’s, edge, and definite weight to them. At first, they remained the blocky versions of forelegs, but after a few seconds the fins retracted, and the sides slowly retracted till they looked similar to a leg. Though, a metal one at that. She could feel the fins moving and the feeling made her want to squirm.

She saw Noah enter her vision and look at the new legs, “Good. No damage to the energy directors. Let's test the connections. Prep the Dying Star cannon for fire.”

Fluttershy watched as her legs lifted up and the fins redeploy. She then snapped the two legs together at the golden squares to create a single device. The fins were now a few inches apart and as she watched, they pulled in and out of their housing in a weird fashion. It was as if an invisible ball was traveling between them, pushing the fins out of the way as it went.

“Calibrate for unicorn magic.”

Calibration completed. No charge was detected.

Fluttershy watched with curiosity as Noah’s horn lit up, then flickered and went out, “Darn it, what did that cursed alicorn do?!” He angrily muttered.

“That cursed alicorn is my friend…” She said angrily in her thoughts. Then immediately started to reprimand herself, then stopped. Noah was controlling her every action. A little hostility towards him was fully warranted. With that in mind she watched Noah again lit his horn, but this time the red glow stayed glowing.

“There we go.” He muttered and then summoned a small ball of red energy. He then put it close to her chest, in between where her connected legs separated.

Charge detected. Beginning launching sequence…

The charge was pulled in between the thin flaps and held in place as they glowed an otherworldly blue.

DSC Ready for launch.

“Aim the charge towards the ceiling and fire. Got several meters of concrete and metal. This level of charge should serve as a nice test.” Noah said, causing her to aim her hooves towards the ceiling. Her target causing her to nearly stand up fully on her back legs. Yet, she felt no strain on her muscles. Was the harness helping her?

She was interrupted by an intense hum from her legs, but only for a few seconds. Then, with an energetic thud, the ball of magic was expelled from her legs with a speed that Rainbow would be jealous of. The red ball of energy hit the ceiling and exploded with small red arcs of lightning. Though she could barely track the projectile, so it looked like the ceiling had just started to spark with magical energy.

“Wonderful!” Noah said with glee, “A few years after decoding her design, I have finally created it. Well, built it anyway.”

“Her?” Fluttershy thought. Was she talking about the blue pegasus from before?

“Normal stance switch.”

Fluttershy felt her legs come apart with a jolting snap, then the fins retract into the leg which became the somewhat viable leg; still a bit blocky. Fluttershy felt the feeling in her legs disappear as they were pulled back into her shoulders. After a click, her normal legs returned and were placed back into the rings of the harness.

Normal. Like anything of her was normal anymore. She now had legs that could channel unicorn magic and send it faster than any pony could track. What’s next? A horn?

“Bah. Why did that program not work correctly?” Noah said. Then, there was a spark of magic, and an acrid smoke smell. It took her a second to realize that it was a fire. Then a second more to realize what was on fire.

Her tail!!

Her artificial tail extensions melted as some sort of fire engulfed them. The pieces curling up against her real tail, letting her feel the heat for a moment as they peeled off. Her thoughts turned bitter as she felt some sort of air blow against her tail. She guessed to blow them away, but that wasn’t in the forefront of her mind.

Those weren’t cheap! And had to be customized directly to her! When she originally wanted to have her tail extended, the original devices wouldn’t work on her hair, or so she was told. Then, she had to discuss a sort of enveloping bonding method that held onto her hair by going around it. Rather than the cut and splice method that so many others had used.

Come to think of it, had she ever had a haircut? She racked her mind and could think of only one. Where her mother had worn out several pairs of scissors in the process.

Readjustment of Tail EMDs requested.

Error. Tail at proper length.

…

External device has changed default length.

Extending by a meter.

Her upset feelings seemed to fizzle out as she felt her tail extend. She had gotten about meter long tail extensions, so things were back to normal? Sort of?

She always had a longer tail when she was younger, yet as she grew older her tail didn’t grow along with her! She had however grown attached to her long tail and reached out to fix her, “defective tail.” Though was it just because of a programming glitch in her now revealed computer? How long could her tail go?

A sudden lack of light made her thoughts stop. She tried to look around to see the source of the blackness but was again reminded that she couldn’t look around. Though she didn’t need to as she watched Noah leave the room. The door closed behind him with a quiet slither, leaving her in near blackness. Only the light from the screens pushed the hungry darkness away from her. She shivered, realizing that Noah had left her in the harness. How long would she remain? Who knows? She was starting to really dislike Noah. She didn’t hate him, mostly. Maybe he had done this to her to stop a massive evil that was immune to the Elements of Harmony? Maybe she was his secret daughter that her parents took from him?

“No. That is insane. My parents have cared for me my entire life...” She paused, “Did they know I was an electromagical monster?” Her thoughts were again bitter. Though she couldn’t be all bad right? She healed Rainbow and Applejack. Though she was the one to stab Applejack.

The darkness seemed to press against her as the screens dimmed, further increasing her fear. She tried to pull against the harness, anything to help her get away. Yet, nothing she did allowed her to move.

Action denied.

That was really starting to get on her nerves. She let out a mental sigh and just lay in the grip of the mechanical device. At least she could get some sleep? The night before had no sleep for her. The stress and anxiety from visiting Cheerilee’s class had kept her up for the majority of the night. So, going to bed a tad earlier than normal wasn’t against her agenda. So, she tried to clear her mind. Forget the thing that she had become. Forget she was lost in an unknown location. Forget Noah. Forget that she was alone.

Maybe she wasn’t. Could she still talk to Luna? The thought brought reassurance and sleep became even more appealing, despite the wall of darkness nearby. What monsters or electromagical devices could be behind that veil? She didn’t know. She brushed off that thought knowing that she couldn’t do anything about it. Though she could still feel her heart rate pounding in her chest.

She took a mental breath and began to hum, mentally of course.

“Hush now, quiet now. It’s time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now, quiet now. It’s time to go to bed!”

The melody did little to help her to sleep, yet she was persistent. Even such, it took several repeats to slow her mind down.

She couldn’t close her eyes, which didn’t help. But sleep eventually wrapped around her, bringing her to a familiar, and more comfortable world.

“Relax, this is a dream…” Luna said gently, stepping from a poster that hung on the wall of a building. The building was next quite a few more. Together they lined up to create the city of Manehattan. Though normally quite busy, the city was abnormally quiet. Expect for the taunting ponies in the middle of the street, oblivious to any sort of street courtesy.

In the center of the group was Luna’s target. A pink pony, that lay crying among the onslaught of taunts, jeers, and rude gestures. While this wasn’t the party pony, Luna had seen this type of dream before. Even had a similar one herself. Yet, this pony seemed to have her teeth intact.

She lit her horn, sending a bolt of magical energy at the group. The energy collided with the ground and send the imposters flying, disappearing in sparkling dust as they did. Luna then gently walked over to the still crying pony. Though even as she waited, the pony’s crying slowly stopped. She looked around, then looked up at Luna. The pony’s eyes went wide and she backpedaled the best a pony could on their back.

“I’m sorry!! I won’t do it! I’m—” The pony desperately began sputter, but stopped mid-sentence.

There was a vine growing up. It slowly pushed its way through the stone streets and reached the pony’s eye level. Then, it blossomed into a bright pink flower. It seemed to radiate light from its yellow core as Luna watched the pony’s guard drop.

“What?” The pony said gently.

Luna took a step and from her hoof the stone turned to grass, to become a field. The buildings shook then seemed to flatten as nature pushed them aside. The pony seemed to brace as the buildings crumbled, but no sound emanated from the structure as it became part of the field. No dust choked the air either, just a gentle breeze carrying refreshing wind from the now visible mountains.

Sunlight caught in Luna’s flowing mane as she spoke, “Do what?” Her tone was carefree, friendly. She could guess what the pony was worried about though.

The pony blinked twice before she could answer, “I, uh. What?”

“This is a dream, friend. You were having a nightmare before I arrived.”

“A nightmare?”

Luna nodded firmly, “Yes, now what were you going to do? Dreams reflect on the waking mind’s thoughts, experiences, and,” She paused, “Worries. What worries you?”

The pony looked sheepish as she looked around, “I’m an actor. Inexperienced, and just not ready for the big stage. Yet, tomorrow I have to get on stage for an audition. Me and the other actors will put on a small act for the employers. Then they pick the best and those move on to the big performances!! I’m so worried!!”

“About?” Luna said calmly.

“About?” The pony said exasperated, “Didn’t you hear me?”

Now, normally tone and words like that might offend a princess. Though Luna was in a dream, not real life. Rules were temporary, often made up between dreams. She also knew the best way for a pony to open up was not to demand authority.

“Aye, I did.” Luna said gently, “Yet, you didn’t say what you were afraid of.”

The pony looked baffled.

Luna smiled, “Are you afraid of the big stage and moving on in your career? Or are you afraid of failing?”

The pony’s expression morphed into realization, “I guess… Yeah, I think I’m afraid of failing.”

“Failure is a part of life. You must fail to learn. A pony doesn’t learn to get up unless they have fallen over.”

The pony paused, taking in her words, “Yeah, but if I fail then everyone will look at me badly!!”

Another pony started to walk towards them, but a vine smacked them away. Their malicious intent thwarted as their shouting faded into the distance.

“Do not let others dictate your actions. If your actions are not evil intent, then it is pure to the heart. Others may try to push you down to, ‘thin out the competition,’ but do not let them. If you fail, then learn from your mistakes and strive to improve. Lift others in your efforts and you will find those who may taunt you, may also help you.”

The pony smiled, “Thanks, Luna. I’m glad you’re here. I’ve been stressing about this all day…”

Luna chuckled, “It is the nature of living beings to stress. Though, with ponies, it seems all too often.”

The pony smiled, gently examining the flower.

Luna also examined the flower, it was her creation; made to calm her subject. Yet, it reflected part of her own worries. The bright pink was the color of Fluttershy’s mane, a pony she hadn’t yet seen.

“Luna?” The pony in front of her asked.

Luna shook her head, “Uh, yes?”

The pony looked at her with a confused expression, “Do you have others to help tonight?”

Luna didn’t respond right away, letting the breeze flow through her as she examined the dream realm, “Not at the moment. It is a quiet night tonight.”

The pony smiled, “I suppose that’s good. Princesses have a lot of responsibility.”

Luna smiled, “Aye, though it is our duty—”

Luna froze, then snapped her head to the right. Some pony was calling for her. Though not just any pony.

“Luna?”

Luna turned her gaze back to the pony, “I’m sorry friend. Duty is calling.” Her tone was strong as she tried to retain the direction the call had come from.

“Good luck!” The pony said waving.

Luna gave her a smile before walking through the door that had materialized next to her. It led to a sudden drop but she was not startled. She allowed gravity to pull her down as the door shrunk into a transparent orb. She extended her wings and pulled up from her fall.

“Come on, call for me again!” She thought, navigating through the thousands of tiny orbs. Each one had a pony doing some sort of activity. Playing the piano, playing with friends, or even having a party with Pinkie pie. Though she had no time to examine the sweet dreams of others. She heard Fluttershy. But where?

“Luna?”

She braced upwards and with a hard flap, she shot up. Then angled to the left. Her targeted orb already glowing as she transformed it into a door. It snapped open and she dashed inside. However, with hindsight, she should have looked before she entered. She narrowly avoided a tree and tumbled to the ground. With a roll, she regained her footing before she slid into another. Once she had stopped, she took in her surroundings to find herself in a forest.

A very, very dark forest. The trees looked like large clumps of grey ash arranged in what looked like trees. But even as she looked closer, she saw large beams of steel holding up the tree through holes in the bark. Spinning gears and other metal objects were peaking through holes as well. Luna’s skin crawled as she watched the surrounding ground move as metal parts pushed through the soft earth.

“Fluttershy? Are you there?” She called out, straining her ears for any sounds of the Element of Harmony. Then she heard it.

“No! Let me—GO!!” Fluttershy’s voice shrilly rang through the dark woods.

Luna frowned and cautiously walked forward, then realizing it was a dream, ran forward. She dived in and out of unnatural growth. What was Fluttershy dreaming about? Then she saw the pegasus and paused, only for a second.

The pegasus was in a clearing, though it seemed all the color was choked with grey. Color was absent except for the two ponies in the area. The grey ground seemed to pull the pony down. Her hooves already disappearing into the soil. Black tendrils of shadow seemed to help with the process by pulling every one of her limbs taut. Her mouth was tightly shut as the tendrils of shadow had almost completely covered her.

The ground shuddered as it seemed to collapse beneath Fluttershy. She then sunk a bit, managed to get a look at Luna that screamed for help. Then the ground crumbled beneath her, inviting gravity to pull her down. The ground writhed for a moment then turned normal.

Luna armed some dream energy and blasted the ground Fluttershy had disappeared under. A large hole opened up that covered only blackness that not even Luna could see through. Yet, she didn’t fear. This was a dream, that she knew. Whatever Fluttershy was dreaming about, it couldn’t truly hurt her. Yet, it could damage Fluttershy’s psyche. Not to mention that she needed to find where Fluttershy had gone.

So she jumped in as the ground closed behind her. She felt the darkness close in around her like a sealed blanket. Though she was no stranger to the feeling from the time she was Nightmare Moon. Yet, this wasn’t the same type of darkness that she had spent years in. It was different, familiar at the same time.

Like the difference between an apple and a honey crisp. Both were apples, yet different in nature.

She frowned, realizing that she was thinking about food. Not something you should think about when you are working. She shook her head and continued to look around. Yet, the darkness shrouded everything, making it impossible to find the yellow pegasus.

“Fluttershy?” Luna called out, “Can you hear me?”

She didn’t get a response. She let the air out of her lungs and pulled magic into her hooves. She used her wings to spin in circles, the aura at her hooves creating lines as they went. She continued to spin till she was surrounded by lines of magical energy. Lines split revealing runes and other worldly signs. Then she spread her forelegs, causing the ball of magic to spread outwards.

The darkness parted before the expanding aura. She watched it expand, seeing only the darkness go through it. The glow from her magic like a distant flashlight in the dark. Then, a glowing pony emerged from the black. She immediately went in that direction, flying fast and straight. Once close enough she wrapped the now glowing Fluttershy in her magic and ripped her from the darkness that was trapping her.

Luna felt the pressure on her ribs as Fluttershy clung to her like a frightened foal. Luna frowned and summoned a shield. She felt the pressure build on her shield as shadow beings beat on them. Each being, even unseen, spoke in differing ghostly dialects.

Power…

Limbo…

Alicorn…

Gems…

Element…

Host…

“Enough!!” Luna shouted, and took hold of the fabric of the dream. She forcibly twisted it into the peaceful field she used to calm ponies down. Even before the mountains came into the view from the darkness, Luna was on the ground embracing the Element of Harmony in a hug.

“Fluttershy, listen. I only have so much control over this dream. It is yours and you can bend it more than I can. You must relax for this plane to stay.”

Fluttershy nodded, and Luna felt the strain on her magic decrease.

“There you go. Let the plains calm you, the breeze push any thoughts out of the mind.” Luna said, gently straightening the pink hair. She retained this action till she couldn’t feel Fluttershy’s heartbeat.

“Feeling better?” Luna asked gently.

Fluttershy nodded, “Yes.”

Luna pursed her lips, “Do you know where your sleeping body is?”

Fluttershy shook her head, quivering, “No…”

“Can you describe your surroundings?”

There was a small pause as Fluttershy composed herself, even so, Luna still had to strain her ears to her the shy pony, “I’m not sure. Lots of stone bricks in the walls and old-style torches lit up the place. Only, they don’t have fire, just glowing orbs.”

“Magic?”

“Maybe. I really wasn’t able to identify them. I was forced to follow Noah.”

“Where?” Luna pressed gently.

“To some, room. With another one of those harnesses. Only kept much better. There were also, shelves full of electromagical devices. Or, at least that’s what I thought they were.”

Luna nodded. She guessed by the stone bricks that it was a renovated area. So someplace that has been standing for a decent amount of time. The different style of torches seemed to confirm that in her mind.

“Did anything happen to you when you went through the portal?”

Fluttershy nodded, “No. Not until I got into the harness.”

“What happened then?”

“I got some new legs that could shoot Noah’s magic. Other than that…” She paused, “I think I got the Cutie Mark Generator Mark 3. Though I don’t know what that does, sorry.”

Luna smiled, “No need to be sorry. None of us truly know what is happening at these current times.”

Fluttershy smiled, then her face froze. She whimpered as if somepony had just bucked her stomach.

“Fluttershy?” Luna asked, feeling something was wrong. The dreamscape was beginning to deteriorate.

Fluttershy grunted, then small electrical arcs began to jump around her body.

“Fluttershy! Please relax, let me know what is frightening you! You are going to wake up!” Luna said again embracing her in a hug, noticing the electricity didn’t bound to her.

“Some, thing is—” Fluttershy grimaced, “Waking, me up!!”

Large blue cracks spread across Fluttershy’s body, emitting a blue glow. They traveled to the grass around her, setting it ablaze. Luna growled and tried to hold the dream together, yet, it was as if something was fighting her. What could be fighting her?! Only Fluttershy and her could manipulate Fluttershy's dream.

“Oww…” Fluttershy muttered, then the cracks were spurred along the landscape. This time they didn’t stop, but continued to the mountains and shattered them. The ground crumbled and Fluttershy disappeared in a white blaze of light. Luna felt the ground beneath her disappear, causing her to fall into the dreamscape.

When she got her bearings, she saw the white orbs of other pony’s dreams littered along a dark blue aura. Luna summoned some of the aurae to stand on, letting her wings settle to her sides as she landed. Luna then growled, judging on Fluttershy’s last saying, she knew what woken up Fluttershy.

Some pony had forcibly woken her. Likely with electricity.

She also had a darn good idea of who did it.

Twilight felt the sunshine on her coat. It was warm and pleasant, and to her resting mind, it was a welcome sensation. Yet, even as time passed the pleasant light traveled up her body and eventually landed on her face.

Not so pleasant.

It dug into her eyelids like a bug till she opened her eyes just a crack to see what was disturbing her. The sunlight greedily washed into her groggy eye. The sudden powerful light made her wince and pull the blanket sharply over her head. Though the light had already done its job.

A now throbbing eye kept her from going back to sleep. Try as she could, sleep wouldn’t come. So after a few minutes of fighting, she got up from the comfortable bed and looked around.

It took her a moment to realize she wasn’t in her castle but rather, in Glyph’s bedroom. Glyph only had two beds. One was hers, and then there was a guest bed for patients that had just received a new device. What device? Twilight had been too tired to ask but when the bed was offered, she tried to direct it to her friends. Yet, the argument didn’t even get a chance to spawn.

Rarity had lifted her up with her magic and tucked her into bed before she could fight against it. The light was turned off, and the door was shut before she could utter a word.

“Good night darling! See you in the morning!” Rarity had called back.

Twilight had groaned at the action. But whatever Glyph’s bed was made of, it was like sleeping on a cloud. Her body’s aches sunk into the bed. Her eyelids sunk to cover her eyes and she was out. Just like that.

Though now she was awake, feeling much better than she had expected. What time was it?

She looked around the room for a clock but didn’t find one. She frowned and exited the room, noticing the hinges silently doing their job. She walked over to the stairs and, now that her brain was functioning, took in the little abode.

The upstairs was functionally tight, but not uncomfortably so. The room she had just left took a majority of the upper floor, leaving only a bathroom, a guest room, and a closed room. There was a lot of blue and white with the rooms and connected hallways. Though there were comforting browns in the furniture. The bed frame had a dark brown wooden look. The same for the desk that was covered in papers and small pieces of metal that she wasn’t sure about. She was curious about it though, yet she curbed the curiosity. She had to help her friend. Then she paused and looked back at the room. The bed sheets and blankets glowed purple as Twilight remade the bed. She had to be polite.

That being done she closed the brown door and walked down the steps. She was immediately greeted with a wonderful smell. She looked to her right to see the kitchen. The kitchen was empty, yet to the right of that was a large dining table. At the table were all her friends, talking together eating pancakes.

She gently walked over, drawing the attention of Pinkie who shouted, “Hey! You’re awake!” Then in a much gentler tone, “Feel better?”

Twilight smiled and nodded, “Yes, much better thank you!”

“I hoped you felt better. It's past mid-day after all.” Rarity stated with a smile.

Twilight sat in an empty chair at the table with a heavy thud, “Excuse me?”

“It’s mid-day Twi.” Applejack said, also smiling. Though she was serving up a plate of pancakes for her friend.

“Then, we got to go! Do we have any lea—opff.” Twilight sputtered as Pinkie stuffed a pancake into the lavender mare’s mouth.

“Exactly. So, hurry up and eat. Glyph’s working on a few things downstairs, she said to get her when we are ready to go.” The party pony said with her characteristic smile.

Twilight began to chew and tried to hurry and eat. The plate of pancakes, and two more, were devoured. The plates from her and her friends magically washed themselves under Twilight’s direction.

“Okay. Where’s Glyph?” Twilight said eagerly.

“Geesh Twilight. Did ya need to breathe between those pancakes?” Rainbow said, surprise mixing with amusement in her voice.

Twilight shook her head smiling, “I guess not. It must be an alicorn thing.”

That got the group to chuckle.

“But where’s Glyph?”

“Downstairs.” Pinkie said, then started to bounce towards the back of the dining room. The bouncing continued to the side of the stairs Twilight had just used. On that side, was another set of stairs leading down.

“There’s a downstairs?” Twilight asked, but still followed her friends down.

Rainbow nodded, “Yeah, it's bigger than you’d think though.”

Twilight’s face showed some of the curiosity she felt, but it seemed to hit a bump when the group reached the end of the stairs. The stairs lead to a steal door. To the right of the door lay a blinking panel, with purple glasses below it.

“Um, what’s happening?” Twilight asked, a little confused.

“Not sure…” Rarity said looking at the panel, “Oh, wait. Here the panel is asking us to put on these glasses before entering. Something about welding?”

Twilight looked over Rarity and saw the panels message:

Welding in process. Please put on safety glasses before entering.

Twilight shrugged and levitated a pair to her face. Once every pony had put on the shades, which turned everything a shade of purple, they all stared at the door. Yet, it still didn’t open.

“Hmmm. What?” Rarity thought aloud, looking at the door.

“Well, she did say to come on down when we were ready. Maybe the door is unlocked?” Applejack asked and gently pushed on the door. It moved silently towards the wall. Now the steal obstruction had moved, the group moved into the basement, to see that it was in fact bigger than the room above.

The basement seemed to have only one wall. It was near the center of the room, but farther from Twilight’s position. It had several glowing panels on the surface, all glowing blue. Along the wall ran a desk, filled with various pages, devices, and machines that she couldn’t recognize. Well, she did recognize one. Just at the end of the wall was another Harness. Just like the one Noah had Fluttershy step into. Only it was white and polished. Also, it had several different sizes of rings around the whole apparatus. They were currently compressed into a flat circle that was just above the crescent. Twilight frowned at the shape. It had aligned itself along her friend’s spine. Connecting to, who knows what.

She pulled her sight away from the device and set her sights forward. Behind the wall, she saw rows of shelving. Many types of metals and more mysterious devices lay along the shelves in neat rows. The only unruly shelf she could see had tons of wires all jumbled together. She could only imagine trying to pull that mess apart.

“Glyph?” Pinkie shouted.

No pony responded, yet there was a sound echoing in the room. Twilight tiled her head and noticed the sound occurring in intervals. Though it sounded like flesh was burning. Like something very hot was in contact with a pony. She trotted forward and followed the noise, then realized she was half right. In front of her was Glyph. She was holding an angled tube in her mouth and holding a stick of metal in the other hoof. Her metal leg was on the table she was leaning on. It seemed to be in a sort of stand, with her poking it with the tube in her mouth.

Though every time she did so, it sparked and shone brightly. Her glasses reduced the light to an uncomfortable level but was grateful for the device at the base of the stairs.

“Glyph?!” Twilight made sure to raise her voice as the device was quite loud. Though the pegasus did not respond. So, she waited till the device went dim and tried again.

This time the pony looked up, her eyes covered in green lenses. Each lens was connected together at the base of her nose with black plastic. The other ends of the transparent material were connected to large rectangular devices that had several blinking lights on them. Though it did not go higher than her eyes which made Twilight wonder how it was staying on her face.

“Oh, sorry! I guess the Princess has awoken.” Glyph said after she had put the tube device in a little holder.

Twilight nodded and smiled, “Yep.” She was looking at the little area next to the blue pegasus. She was next to a table with several large boxes. All made up of metal, with several glowing panels accompanied by little lights. She did recognize one tool though: a solder blaster paired with a solder pencil. So, she guessed the rest of the boxes were also tools.

“Did you sleep well?” Glyph asked, bringing the alicorn’s attention back to the pegasus.

Twilight nodded, but turned to the Harness, “You have one as well.”

Glyph frowned, “Yes. It is my design after all. Its original purpose was to help those with prosthetics get them calibrated. Yet, from what I’ve heard, Noah gave it a bad vibe?”

Twilight frowned and walked up to the machine. Unlike the rusty device Noah had, there was nothing to hid her prying eyes from needles, electrical outlets, or anything that could harm a pony. Yet, she saw none. Only smooth white surfaces with textured black surfaces underneath. Her gaze fell on the rings at the base of the device. She gave a look at Glyph, then began to step into the rings.

“Uh, Twilight? What are you doing?” Rainbow asked, her hesitation not hidden.

“I wanna see if this thing will hurt me.” Twilight said firmly.

Glyph smiled sadly, “It won’t.”

Twilight gave her a look and was about to respond, but the tightening of the rings on her hooves stopped her thoughts. She was lifted up about an inch or two then the crescent slid into motion and laid along her spine. It beeped a bit, then the rings above the device expanded outwards and began to spin. The spinning wasn’t very fast, but it was a steady movement that created a sphere. A see-through sphere as the rings wasn’t spinning fast enough. But if one were to see them spinning, one could imagine a sphere.

Though Twilight was paying attention to the air in front of her. She was braced for a device to latch onto her eye, to which she would warp out of the device's grip. Instead, she saw an image appear in front of her. It was a forward view of a pony, made up of blue lines, floating in the air just before the spinning rings. The pony then shifted into a pegasus with half-open wings, then mostly open wings, and finally fully open wings. It was harsh transitions, like a slide show. The pegasus then became a pony again and the cycle continued. She squinted at the hologram and looked back at her wings. The crescent on her back moving fluidly with her movements. She shrugged and gently opened her wings, being wary of the spinning rings around her. The wings, however, did not come too close to her feathered parts. But two arms deployed from the crescent and held her wings out. Though unlike Noah had said, the devices did not hold her wings out too tight.

Hold still.

The words in front of her made her freeze. Once she did the floating letters disappeared, replaced with an empty bar. Then the rings began to emit lines of turquoise energy that covered her entire form with dancing light. Though this light did not hurt her eyes, nor make her squint. She wanted to look around, but she had been asked to hold still.

She instead focused her gaze in front of her, where another pony appeared next to the bar. This one was a side view of an alicorn. It spun and began to fill.

Once the bar filled, the pony resembled her. A lot. It was as if she was looking at a blue mirror of herself. More words began to appear next to her 2D self.

No medical ailments currently detected.

Subject is in good physical health.

Mental scans show recent signs of emotional stress.

Scan end.

The rings around her slowed, then returned to their original position. She looked at Glyph, who had begun again to work on her leg. She looked back at her hooves, still restrained by the rings.

“Uh, how do I get out?” Twilight asked, and noticed the rings immediately released. The crescent then lifted off her back and returned to its original position. She cautiously walked out of the harness, exiting to the side. Had it heard her request?

“Ooh, ooh! My turn!!” Pinkie exclaimed and jumped into the harness. The rings tightened, and the crescent went down.

“That was a medical scan.” Glyph said, making the group jump. “This device is also able to do a thorough medical scan. Physical, mental, even able to monitor cutie mark pathways.” She walked over her metal leg in the clutch of her biological wing.

“Fascinating…” Rarity said, turning her gaze back to the now spinning device.

Twilight followed her gaze, watching hundreds of lines dance along Pinkie’s body, “But how?” She asked, turning to Glyph, “It was able to detect my mental stress about losing Fluttershy…”

“Really? Can this thing read minds?” Applejack stated, turning to the blue pony as well.

“Ooh. What am I thinking right now?” Pinkie exclaimed from the harness.

Glyph smiled, her expression conveying excitement, “No, not really. There is a device for that, but that requires a direct connection to the grey matter. No, this device can read, and even see the cutie mark magic running through us.” Glyph connected a few wires to her leg, then continued, “I was able to map out the general cutie mark pathways of several hundred ponies. I got several samples, of depression, excitement, and loads more. The Harness probably saw something that looked similar to somepony who had lost a loved one. That and probably a few more connections to magic usage.”

“Wow. You used statistics and placed it in an electromagical device?” Twilight said, slightly awed. That was genius! If you could have something do the stats for you, you could better analyze the results! “But how do you account for error?” She asked eagerly.

“Well, the entire thing is based on others' experiences and readings. It is all merely a point in the right direction. Another pony would take the results and then they would have a better road to go on.”

Twilight nodded understanding, “Ah. So it can’t exactly tell you what’s wrong?”

Glyph shrugged and tapped a few glowing panels, “Yes and no. It has an accuracy hit of 87%. Though that’s only the mental scan. If you have something physically wrong with you, well, it's pretty darn accurate. With my devices paired with the MMO, very few physical injuries are a problem. Well, you saw the results.”

Glyph’s smile faded, as the group was staring at her. Rarity gave her a stare and asked, “You made the MMO?”

Glyph returned the look, “You know what the MMO is?”

Applejack nodded, “Aye. It stands for Mobile Medical Operative. Fluttershy said it was the thing that would listen to her. Well, in all this electromagical mumbo-jumbo…”

Glyph’s face took on a curious look against the stares she was receiving, “Hmmm. I guess that would be the same program then since you know its exact name. Yes, this program is meant to be implemented into first responders to help them assess injuries and what to do. It could also sync with their devices to give the best care.”

“What kind of devices?” Rainbow asked.

“Well…” She paused as her leg gave a beep. She then disconnected the wires and placed them on the metal stump on her shoulder. The thick snowflake disappearing in the process. She gave it a few turns and when she let go it stayed in place. She stared at it for a few seconds, then it moved in accordance with her movements.

“Okay, say, Pinkie was a pegasus and lost their wings. She would come to me and I would have them in this harness. It would scan and create a model of the pony which I can work on. In this case,” She touched some of the glowing panels and across their blue glow appeared text with pictures. These pictures were only lines and looked like schematics to Twilight’s eye. Schematics for some sort of artificial wings. The text appeared to describe the pictures. Though Glyph doubled tapped on the picture, which at first didn’t seem to do anything. Until she looked at Pinkie that is. On her back now were a pair of holographic wings. The rings were still spinning around the mare, but no lines were now dancing along with her coat.

“Ooooh! I have wings! Won’t Starlight be jealous?” Pinkie exclaimed.

Rainbow gave her a confused look, “What do you mean?”

Pinkie just smiled.

Glyph, oblivious to the conversation, was pushing on some other spots on the panels. They didn’t look like buttons to Twilight but seemed to act as such. “Okay, Pinkie,” Glyph said, “Imagine that you have wings. Give them a flap.”

Pinkie gave Glyph a look, “Okay?” She then seemed to focus on a random spot, then the holographic wings on her back moved. “Whoa!” Pinkie exclaimed.

Twilight and the rest of the group were stunned into silence.

Glyph smiled, her eye gleaming under her green shades, “I know right? The harness is able to see the attempt at controlling her wings. You see, cutie mark energy is very predictable. It works much the same regardless of earth pony, pegasus, and unicorn. I haven’t been able to test very much in regards to Alicorns, but I’m sure you know why.”

Twilight squinted at the harness, “So you’re saying the device is able to see the cutie mark magic, then predict its path to simulate theoretical limbs?”

Glyph nodded.

Twilight nodded, impressed. She watched as Pinkie brought one of her “wings,” around to her eyes to cover it. Then with impressive accuracy, attempt to stroke her face. Though the hologram fritzed out when it came into contact with her coat.

“Awww…” Pinkie said, watching the hologram spas out.

Glyph smiled, “So with this, I would be able to craft prosthetics accurately. And make it cosmetically pleasing to whoever.”

“How did ya do legs? Them rings seem like they hold your legs down pretty well.” Applejack stated.

“I can move my legs!” Pinkie said, demonstrating by moving her legs in a standstill trot.

Glyph smiled, “Those rings are there to help keep the pony in bounds of the device. They may not look like it, but those rings on the outside? They weigh a lot! I did want to have a wing or leg get smacked by one of them.”

“So they are just boundaries? Not restraints?”

Glyph’s head wobbled, “Eh, not really. In reality, that what they are. Though only as a safety measure. However, that’s not their only purpose. They also help with virtual placement of the holograms.”

“Virtual placement?” Applejack asked, her face showing confusion as she tried to comprehend.

“Um, yeah. It's kinda like when you want to place a fence in say your farm. To keep the chickens out of the corn,” Glyph said, making a square with her hooves, “That’s kind of how it is. You know you want to place a fence in that area, so you make a mental picture. The field, the fence, and any other requirements you may need. The rings help build that mental picture. So I can place the fence anywhere in that picture. It is then displayed for others to see.”

Applejack nodded, “Okay. But how do ya display it?”

Glyph smiled, “Have you ever seen a unicorn make a floating light thing that helped convey information?”

Applejack blinked, “Yeah, I think so.”

Twilight smiled and summoned the floating grid she had used when Flutterbat was loose. The thought brought a bit of sadness to her mind.

“Yes, just like that!” Glyph said, walking over to the projection, “Twilight uses magical energy to slow down light through her spell. She then uses that energy to color the trapped light and let it go. The light then can reach our eyes as the picture. I use the same concept, though I have to use a field of low energy cuite mark energy and then project light into that. I color the light how I want to show the picture, and then it’ll bounce off that cloud and into your eyes. Different power levels give you depth, and tada! Floating pictures! This method bounces light instead of trapping it, but it’ll give the same effect. The problem is you need the equipment to show the projection. And a decent amount of power.”

“How do you get the cutie mark magic?” Twilight accused.

Glyph put a hoof on her chest, “Ponies radiate a lot of energy. Some of that energy is usable Cutie mark magic.”

“So you’re not taking it, just using what’s already there.” Rarity said, her thinking voice audible.

Glyph nodded, “Cutie mark magic is a very powerful energy. I’ve even been able to make a generator that can create electricity. Huge amounts of electricity at that.”

“Like that bolt you used to fry Fluttershy?” Rainbow said bluntly.

Glyph’s expression dropped, “Yes. Just like the bolt I used to fry your friend.”

The room turned somber. Twilight kept the silence but looked at Glyph, it seemed that she had created the stuff that now was hurting her friend, but it wasn’t created for that purpose. It was created to help others. It seemed that Noah had just taken that and created what he wanted from it.

“You mean our friend.” Twilight then said with a smile.

Glyph gave her a wary look, “What do you mean? I created the stuff that infected her!”

Rarity scoffed, “Sure. But did you put it into her?”

Glyph shook her head.

“Then it's like me saying one of my clients did something wrong in my dresses. I can’t blame myself for saying that the dress caused the pony’s actions, it was the pony. Not me.”

Glyph sighed, “Yes, but I could have stopped it! I let that jerk blackmail me and we’re here now…” She sat down, grief seemingly emanating from her coat, “All I had to do was answer the door…”

Twilight smiled, “Yeah. But you’ve got to stop dwelling on that. Now, we need your help to get our friend back. I’m sure she’ll be happy to be your friend. You probably know her predicament better than even she does.”

Twilight’s friends nodded, causing the light blue pegasus to nod in gratitude.

“Then what are we waiting for! Let's go save our friend!” Pinkie shouted, suddenly behind the inventor.

Twilight smiled as the pony jumped, “Not yet. We need to talk to Celestia. She needs to be involved in this. It’s about the Elements of Harmony after all.”

Glyph nodded, “Let's get going then. The streets are a bit crowded at this time, so it may take us a bit to get there.”

“Can’t we fly? Twilight can just carry everypony else with her magic, right?” Rainbow asked, flaring her wings.

“Yes, but I don’t think that’ll be wise. I’m sure Celestia is in the middle of things right now. It’s the middle of the day after all.” Twilight replied, “I think if we walk we might catch her at a better time. That is if her schedule hasn’t changed much since I lived in Canterlot.” Twilight said, causing Rainbow to close her wings.

“It hasn’t, can confirm that.” Glyph replied, “I agree with Twilight. Walking should give us enough time to catch her during one of her down times.”

Twilight smiled, “Great! I’ll send her a letter to know we will be coming.” Then the realization smacked her upside the head, “Wait! Where’s Spike!?”

Rarity chuckled, “Don’t worry darling. He’s up at the throne room helping where he can. Seems we weren’t the only ones affected by Fluttershy’s forced actions.”

Twilight let the air leave her lungs as she refolded her wings, “Oh, that’s a relief.”

“The Princess also told us to come over whenever, so we could just go over.” Rainbow reminded the group.

“Yes, but we shouldn’t just barge in. Celestia has quite a few responsibilities to worry about. I’m sure that will only cause more unnecessary stress. This is new territory, we all need clear minds.”

Rainbow shrugged, “Alright, walking it is.”

“Let's go then, we don’t want to use up too much time.” Glyph said, then added after looking at Twilight’s face, “We can talk science later. I’ll even show you my Cuite mark Generator, mark three.”

Twilight smiled gleefully. She was trying hard not to focus on the fact her friend was missing. That and was probably not as biological as she originally thought. When the group went up the stairs, she lagged behind as she put her glasses back in the bin.

Would she be able to recover her friend? She was magic proof it seemed, and that’s what she was. The Element of Magic. She froze as she realized something. The Elements! They could cleanse Discord’s chaos, it could probably revert Fluttershy to what she was before, right?

She would have to ask the Princesses. They were attuned to the Elements before she was.

“Ya coming Twilight?” Applejack asked at the top of the stairs. Her chest was still glossy after Fluttershy had healed her.

“Yeah. I’m coming.” Twilight said and lugged herself up the stairs.

“You’re worried, arent’cha?”

Twilight nodded, “Yeah, though I think I’m not the only one worried about our friend.”

Applejack nodded, “Agreed.” She gently touched the patch on her chest, “Ay just hope that we can get our friend back. Regardless if she is electromagical or not.”

Twilight nodded, then followed Applejack to join the rest of her friends.

In any other situation, Fluttershy would enjoy the wind blowing past her face. Though she’d rather control where she was going. This time, she was going to who knows where, following Noah on a four-wheeled wagon thing.

The wheels were made up of rubber, and it pushed itself. So she didn’t know if it counted as a wagon or not. Not that she cared too much. She was definitely curious, but she would have been just fine not knowing if she could have her free will again.

She felt her wings flap and she mentally yawned. Noah had woken her up from the nightmare the night before. Though this was an unhappy awakening. She had been talking to Luna at the time, an event she would have much rather continued, before electrically shocked to reality. Then Noah implemented something to make sure she couldn’t fall asleep, so it was a long and uneventful night full of fear. It left her exhausted, not that her body showed any signs of it, however. Any pony she had passed when Noah had taken her outside, didn’t comment on her tiredness. But rather glowed with respect and pride.

She didn’t like it. It reminded her of the time she became famous with Photofinish for Rarity’s sake. It made her insides squirm, though then she could show an inkling of that fear. Now, nothing could be shown.

Though her thoughts were broken as she saw the Everfree forest appear on the horizon. Her mind took a new form of curiosity. Were they going to the forest? Why?

Her frustration grew. She had been flying for the last two hours next to the automatic wagon at a faster speed than she normally flew. To add to that she had no idea where she was going. What the purpose of going to the destination was, and the fact the destination was the Everfree was not reassuring.

“Sir! We will be within range of the forest in a few minutes.” One of the ponies on the wagon said, that made Noah merely nod.

Fluttershy then felt herself lag behind the wagon a bit, just high enough to avoid the dust cloud that was being kicked up from the wheels. With this new angle, she was able to view the wagon a bit more.

It was black for starters. A glossy black finish that seemed to be unaffected by the dust and grime from the dirt below. It was not as rectangular as a wagon but was much more rounded out on the front. The inside of the wagon was not covered as another would, but it did have a metal cage in its place. Red planes of material were on the back, one on the left and one on the right.

There were three ponies on the inside. Two upfront, and one in the back. The two groups were separated by two rows of seats. The front pony had their fore hooves in a rectangular device mounted in the front of the wagon. Every time the pony turned the device, the wagon also turned in that direction. She consequently also felt herself turn in that direction as well.

She turned her mental gaze away and tried to focus on the forest nearing the group. Yet, the wagon didn’t even slow down as it plowed through the undergrowth. The brushes and vines proving very little resistance to the metal chassis.

“Fluttershy, please arm the plasma cannon. We may need help dealing with the forest’s natural growth.” Noah called to her aerial position.

Fluttershy felt and saw her leg expand into the cannon she used against the Reception ‘ception. She mentally frowned, fighting the urge to try and frown herself.

Her vision was interrupted by a blue line coming up from the bottom of her screen that continued to the top of her vision. Several plants were highlighted in red, to which Fluttershy aimed her cannon at and blasted the plants to bits. As the wagon traveled through the forest, she blasted hostile plants and Timberwolves. Other creatures tried to attack but a single shot injured them greatly, deterring them from further investigating the group.

Fluttershy felt bad, really bad, for hurting the creatures. They were hostile sure but attacking them before they attacked her felt wrong. Yet she wasn’t able to stop her motions before she attacked, no matter how bad she felt. She just felt her leg snap up and fire blue energy even before she could see the hostile creatures.

“Oh no…” She said internally when she suddenly understood the reason for going to the forest. The sudden realization spurred by the appearance of a very familiar temple.

It was tangled with vines, old and dilapidated stones created the structure. It was a pyramid of sorts, the fashion being broken here and there with cubical rooms attached at various angles. This was a temple previously cleared by Daring Do. Yet it had been repurposed to store the Alicorn Amulet. Each one of her friends, including her, made a defensive trap and kept it secret from the others. This ensured that the amulet would not be taken again. Not allowing it to corrupt anypony again.

Yet, somehow she knew those traps weren’t going to stand up to her new form. Not even hers…

She felt herself land at the door of the ancient building. She stood where she was and turned back to Noah. She watched the unicorn get out of the wagon, and tell the others to stay. She was worried about that choice. While both looked armored, they were both earth ponies. Fluttershy was aware of the strength of earth ponies. Yet, the ancient magic of the forest was able to subdue even Alicorns when left alone.

“Can you force down the door? Using the door busters please.” Noah said, directing his words at her as he walked over.

Fluttershy felt her legs again get pulled into her shoulders. Then, similar, but bulkier versions of her legs come out.

Charging to 75% ramming power.

She felt her legs tighten, and heard them whine slightly. She then walked over to the door and place both forelegs on the door. Eight prongs snapped down from her back legs and anchored her to the ground.

“Ramming. Stand clear of the door!” She felt herself say. Then, her legs clicked, and the doors in front of her blew outwards. Shards of stones flew so fast that they embedded themselves in the ground, and the walls on the other side of the door. The larger parts of the door that refused to be shattered flew into the hallway inside. Though, the walls were perfect mirrors. Except for the parts that had received a chunk of stone flying faster than Rainbow.

Fluttershy looked at the hallway, no, hallways in front of her. Every hallway seemed to go down, revealed by the multitude of cracks caused by the stones. Though as she looked further down, it dissolved into a single wall that reflected back at her. The perfectly polished mirrors began to hide any further pathways. It looked as if she would walk into a mirror if she continued forward. Yet, judging by the cracks making pathways, she assumed that it continued.

“Use the sonar,” Noah said. Walking forward and knocking on the mirror with his hoof. It didn’t shatter, however, “This surface is hard and smooth. Use the sonar to find a surface that is not so smooth. Stone or obstructions.”

Fluttershy felt herself nod. Then she opened her mouth and let out a high-pitched scream. The scream continued for a few seconds then it stopped. When it did, she could feel the walls of the cavern. Every wall, floor, and turn she could feel.

Plotting route…

Fluttershy then felt her hooves move her forward. Stepping onto the mirror without it breaking was an odd experience. It was as if she was walking on water, only the water was all around her and completely still. Completely voiding her eyesight. Everywhere she looked, it was just her and Noah. Thousands, and thousands of times. Yet the computer in her head seemed to know where to go. It guided her along the mirrors, and she didn’t run into anything. Noah followed close behind her. In any other situation, she wouldn’t want some pony she didn’t know right behind her. Yet, if she had found herself in the same situation, she would have been okay with the company.

All she saw was her walking form for quite some time. The computer guiding her through high-pitched shouts. Eventually, the mirror ended, morphing into a long unmarked hallway. So long, she could barely see the end.

“Hmm, do a scan of the—” Noah began but he was interrupted by a loud thunk. The walls along the hallway slid away to allow axes to slide from the walls. Fluttershy counted at least 15 axes along the hallway. Each perfectly swung with each other enough to completely block the other end of the hallway.

“My goodness,” Noah said looking at the hallway.

Fluttershy would have said the same thing if she could. Who made this trap? She remembered agreeing to have the traps at least passable with all six of them in case they needed to move the amulet. Yet, how was this passable? Could she take a hit from the axes? Wait, she had a shield now right?

“Activate a Destruction Catalyst,” Noah commanded next to her.

“What?!” Fluttershy screamed in her head.

Checking for charge…

Charge found.

Deploying charge.

Warning! Destruction catalyst is active. Do not touch things you do not want to destroy!

Fluttershy could only take the message in the silence.

She mentally braced against her walking motions as she moved to the swinging blades. Yet, as she came into contact with them, she didn’t feel anything to push her to the side. She continued through the blades as if she wasn’t there. Spikes shot from the floor and impaled her underside, yet, they didn’t.

She saw the spikes shoot up and felt the expected pain wash through her belly. Yet, nothing seemed to stop her motions even though anypony hit with these traps would drop dead. Very dead.

Thoughts vaporized as the walls on either side of her slammed together, with her in the middle. Yet, despite the sudden shock, she was fine. She kept walking and the inside of the wall cleared from her vision. Various other spikes and medieval weapons swung from opening spots on the walls but none could stop her from simply walking. Arrows, darts, and even small stones were sent her way but she didn’t even see them bounce off.

She finally reached the end of the room and pulled on a switch at the end of the hall. She knew this switch was safe since the group had told them the nature of the deactivation switch in each of their traps.

The axes and such stopped swinging and Fluttershy got a look at what happened. Or, at least a clue to what happened. In each of the axes, walls, and other large weapons there was a large piece simply missing. The axes were reduced to their handles, spikes lost a majority of their length, and the wall had a pony-shaped hole throughout the section.

Was the Destruction catalyst magic that allowed her to phase through material, destroying it in the process? If so, how was she, a pegasus, able to perform magic?

Action denied.

Her frowned turned mental as she pondered the thought. Was she even a pegasus? Was she a mix? Like an alicorn only made up of who knows what?

Fluttershy was stuck with her thoughts as she watched Noah walk down the long hallway. He was probably the only one who knew the answer and she couldn’t ask. She doubted the pony would give her an answer anyway. Once Noah had reached her, she turned and continued down the hallway, leading deeper into the temple. Her curiosity was high though it didn’t match how worried she was. She was hoping that one of the traps her friends had created would be enough to stop her before she reached the amulet.

She just didn’t have the heart to break her trap.

The march continued on to a large cubical-shaped room with a door at the other end of it. Yet, above it was a myriad of sharp-looking weapons, devices, and other things she would rather not touch.

Well, would that even hurt her anymore?

“Deactivate the destruction catalyst,” Noah said, looking up at the myriad of spikes and sharp edges.

“Deactivating now will dissipate the remaining charge. It will—” Fluttershy’s voice said.

“I know. Just deactivate it.”

Dissipating charge…

Charge depleted. It is now safe to touch important objects.

She felt herself look around and see one of the deactivation switches just next to the opening. The computer inside had her switch it down, making it glow green in the process.

Nothing seemed to happen, however, so she continued to look throughout the room. As she was looking, the switch next to her clicked and went back to the position she had found it in. Fluttershy frowned, understanding the nature of the room. She guessed that her friend had created a series of switches that would need to be switched in order to open the door. The time limit? Ten seconds. If she had to guess.

Though the computer had her again hit the switch, and it glowed with a green aura. Though this time the computer had her stare at the switch in front of her. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10! She counted, and on cue, the switch flipped back up.

“A timed puzzled huh?” Noah said, looking up as well.

Fluttershy felt her wings extend as she flew upwards into the mess of sharp points, she felt herself look for the switch but found round buttons instead. They were made of stone and were about the size of her hoof. She felt her pause for a moment or two, then pressed the button. Nothing seemed to happen, however, even after she pressed it a few times. Fluttershy felt herself smile. Just like Rainbow to make an aerial course to stop anypony from getting through. Pushing her aerial stunts to the max. Though it was effective, as who was faster and more agile than Rainbow?

She pondered that thought as she was piloted through the aerial maze looking for the buttons she had stumbled upon. She found 9 in total. Then, she went back to the switch at the entrance and gave it a flip. Then she felt her body zoom back to the maze, to which she was stunned at how she was able to press every single button and leave the maze before the switch returned to its place. Yet, nothing happened as the switch flipped back up. She could only hear several thuds in the walls as the mechanism reset. Why didn’t the door open? She remembered Rainbow telling her about the exit mechanism revolved around levers and switches mixed with her flair. She frowned, looking back to the buttons. Was there an order the buttons had to be pressed? Maybe they were multicolored?

No, she thought. The buttons were only brown, matching the same color as the walls around them. As she was thinking, the computer had her land next to the exit. She examined the door but found no switches or handles. It was just a black outline that marked where the door would be. She stepped forward to look at the door, yet the computer paused when she stepped forward. Her hoof went up, then back down again. Did she feel her hoof go down?

The computer repeated the action and she confirmed that she could feel her hoof go down. She couldn’t see it. Yet she could very clearly feel the motion, tiny, but barely noticeable. Was this a switch?

The computer didn’t wait to hear her answer, instead flew back over to the entrance, flicked the switch, and returned to the maze to hit the buttons. Though instead she flew over to the exit door and landed hard on the floor. She felt herself go downwards into the floor, yet, it was only a few millimeters. Still, nothing happened. The door remained fastened in its place.

A sudden thud in the wall jerked her head to the side. Something was moving inside the wall or rolling in the wall. It continued for a bit then stopped with another dull thud. Then, the door began to lift with a low rumble. She watched it go as it disappeared into the wall with a small thud.

“Well done!” She heard Noah exclaim and watched the unicorn again make his way to her. She watched him, thinking about the next trap. The first one with mirrors was probably Rarity’s, given the mares appreciation for looks and her craftsmanship. The only other pony that could potentially have made that trap would have been Twilight. The hallway trap still stumped her, but she was pretty sure it was Pinkie’s trap given the sheer impossibility and Pinkie’s ability with the impossibility. The one she was in now was obviously Rainbowdash’s. That left Twilight, Applejack, and her. She hoped at least one would be able to stop them. Though she could feel that hope dripping through her hooves as the two ponies continued through the door. Twilight’s trap was probably magic-based, judging from her friend’s powerful magic nature. Applejack’s trap was probably not as elaborate given the pony's simple nature. Though, she was a little stumped as she walked into a peculiar room.

For one, it was all the same color. A light brown sandstone made up the entire room. Light filtered in from above through a crystal light duct covering the room in a warm light. This light changed up the colors a bit, adding darker shades to the room.

The room was mainly a cube, with an elevated floor just towards the back of the room. The floor curved from a door and created a petrified stone waterfall. At the base of the angled floor was a sandpit. On the right-hand side of this sandpit was a sandstone apple tree, its roots disturbing the sand.

Yep, definitely Applejack’s room.

“Do a subsurface scan. I want to see if there are any openings elsewhere.” Noah said, also taking in the bland room.

Fluttershy felt the back of her head spin as if it was thinking about something she was unaware about. Yet, even as she thought about it, she felt an energy running along the sides of the wall. She could feel every imperfection in the carved stone, every bump, and granules of dirt stuck to the wall. She then noticed that the floor was slanted towards the sandpit. Yet, after feeling about the entire room, that’s all she felt.

“Nothing. Nothing but imperfections and dirt on the wall.” Fluttershy heard herself say, in an unusually blank voice.

Noah growled, then jumped up to the elevated platform. He then tapped on the door, leaning onto the cold stone surface. “Come.” He said, stirring her into motion.

She took a quick jump and landed next to Noah.

“Doorbusters. Full power.” Noah said standing back.

Her legs were whisked back into the bulkier versions she had used on the door earlier, then, after a little whine, she placed them on the door. Her back legs anchored her down with the 8 prongs and she felt herself rock as her legs pounded the door with an unknown mechanism.

From the spots, her hooves were on were deep imprints of a circle. From the circles spread large cracks that spread almost the length of her tail. It looked like a spider had weaved a web of lightning and placed it in the wall. Minus the circular imprints.

“Hmm,” Noah stated, leaving Fluttershy’s legs to whine again. This time she noticed silver cylinders slowly retracting into her legs. She focused her attention on them and felt the inside of her legs. Only for a moment, she felt something spinning, and that was somehow pulling those rods back in. Yet, she could focus more and she could almost feel—

“That was a fake door.” Noah said, “Yet, here.”

Noah fiddled with one of the cracks and pulled a chunk off. It was a plate! Covering a set of nine dials.

Noah sighed, “Passcode. I’d assume.”

Fluttershy frowned, was this really Applejack’s room? She really wasn’t expecting this…

“Okay, look around the room for a set of nine characters.” Noah said, switching up and down the dials, “It seems it’s an alphabetical password. No way I’m waiting to brute force that,”

“Brute force it? Is it some sort of lock?” Fluttershy thought.

Noah then paused, “Wait, how many possible outcomes are there?”

“5429503678976 possible outcomes,” Her voice stated.

“Filter out the amount of combinations that match to a possible word.”

Fluttershy felt her mind tingle again, then, “Approximately 41,000.”

“Words that relate in some way to farming or apple trees.”

“Insufficient word bank.”

Noah frowned, “Figures.”

Fluttershy felt attacked but wasn’t sure why. Though the feeling was compressed as she continued to watch through her eyes, unable to guide their movements.

Noah then glanced over at the sandpit and lit his horn. Lifting up the sand with his magic he uncovered the floor of the pit to reveal nothing. Noah let the sand go, causing it to cascade everywhere, but even as she watched, it flowed back into the pit. Leaving very few granules behind.

Fluttershy nearly forgot she was in the clutches of an electromagical machine and was intrigued by the puzzle Applejack had made. She knew it was hers by the apple tree unless that was a ruse.

Something seemed to click in her mind. Wait, AJ was an earth pony. Earth ponies had a very powerful feel for the ground beneath them. Would an earth pony be able to sense something underneath the sandpit?

Fluttershy felt her body jump down to the sandpit and felt a strand of hair penetrate the sand till it hit the bottom. She was surprised she could feel the thud.

“What are you doing?” Noah said, joining her next to the sandpit.

Fluttershy frowned as the system didn’t let her respond, nor did it let her respond. Not that she knew what the system was doing either.

Noah’s face softened into annoyance, “It’s stuck in a loop isn’t it…”

Loop? What did that mean?

Ting

Fluttershy paused with the computer. It had been sending her hair strand into the sand till it hit the bottom in multiple places. Each was about the same feeling, until now.

This was lighter, as if there was a, air pocket beneath the floor! Fluttershy then watched her hair assemble into a line and go to the far-left side of the pit. Then, she felt the line of the hair descend into the sand till it hit the bottom. Her mind was bombarded with staggered thuds and tings. Though it didn’t stop there.

The hair then lifted out of the sand, moved a little to the right, and went back down to hear a bunch more tings and thuds. In her vision, she saw a few lines of black and white dots, arranged in a similar pattern to the hair’s probing. It then continued to fill as the strands went in, and out of the sand. After several minutes, the hair reached the other side of the pit. Then simply returned to her head. She was confused, wondering what the computer in her head was doing.

The square of dots was now filled with several types of whites, blacks, and greys that seemed meaningless to her. Though, that changed when she could swear she saw a letter. The square seemed to shrink as the dots came together. Then, a single white word jumped out among the black and grey.

Bijection

Bijection? What—Wait. She knew that word. From Twilight discussing math, stuff with her. It was a comparison of two sets, where, something or, other….

Her thoughts trailed off as she felt her body again jump up to the destroyed door. Nine strands of hair cycled the dials next to it till the word was aligned on the wall. There was a small click, then another rumble as a portion of the left wall began to sink inwards.

Noah nodded, seemingly impressed. But Fluttershy wasn’t sure if the feeling was aimed at her or himself. Though that didn’t bother her, she was correct! There was something under the sand! Something that an earth pony would be able t—

The thought stopped mid-flight, crashing along her mindscape as she realized that she had come up with the solution. Realized that the computer in her head was able to hear her solution and act upon it. Hopelessness again filled her mind. That’s how the computer was able to know the safe switches! Her mood was now sour as she watched the door sink into the ground, revealing a hallway.

Fluttershy felt herself trot on though into a much bigger room, with a large curved archway. Though it looked as if somepony had pulled the top higher up to make it a tall and skinny archway. The computer had to turn her head upwards to see the top of the archway several times her size. Just behind the archway was a small pedestal with a large purple gem inside a green cushion. Behind that was a curved room with all sorts of natural growth. Its circular nature supported vines, flowers, and grass that made it look as if nature was invading. In the midst of the natural growth, was another pedestal. This was a little bit farther back and had a familiar red and black amulet.

Noah stepped in behind her as she watched him. Noah then took a look at the archway, and stated, “I was wondering when we were going to encounter any sort of magic…”

Fluttershy felt her head turn to the arch, then walk forwards to it. Once she was close to it, she stopped and felt her hoof lift up towards the open air. It glowed purple as she touched something magical. It then sparked blue and her hoof shot backward. It didn’t travel far though as she regained its momentum.

Noah followed behind her, then looked at the invisible barrier, “That’s new. Hmm, I don’t think you’ll be able to pass through this barrier without a decent running start,” Noah said, putting his hoof close to the barrier. It glowed purple in response, “Generate a hologram of the magic structure. I need to see how it’s made.”

Fluttershy felt her brain tingle again and then she lifted up her hoof and made it face the ceiling. From it, came a light blue hologram that had several flowing energies flowing into differing shapes. Noah stared at the graphic interpretation, and motioned left and right with his hoof. The floating light responded by turning the project according to how strong the unicorn gestured. Then, he looked back at the pedestal and lit his horn.

At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then the barrier flashed, causing a purple energy to cover the entirety of the archway. It remained there and splashes of black and red appeared here and there. Then, the purple crystal glowed red as Noah’s magical touch engulfed it. It then was lifted up, turned 90 degrees, and then placed back down. The purple energy vanished, leaving Noah panting heavily.

“Stupid element of magic…” Noah muttered.

Fluttershy again frowned at the insult to her friend, wishing she could retort. Yet she could only watch as the unicorn slowly walked through the archway, but was stopped by her halfway through.

“Next trap is animal-based and is recommended to give User a chance to disarm.” Fluttershy felt her voice say. Was it talking about her?

Noah paused for a second, looking at the alicorn amulet on the pedestal. He then turned to her and stated, “If you try to run or destroy the amulet, know I only have to say a word for your systems to be under my control. If you do not retrieve the amulet from your, animal friend, then I will make you eliminate them.” Noah’s words stung Fluttershy to the core. On one hoof, her friend would be okay, yet she’d be giving one of the most powerful artifacts to Noah. What if she were to refuse?

“Relinquish control to User. Terminate when I say.”

Void systems on pause.

Fluttershy blinked and found that she was able to on command. She took a look at the exit and considered refusing. Then thought better of it. The computer seemed to be able to read her mind, and would easily take down her animal friend. No matter how hidden they were.

She turned away and nodded. Then walked towards the pedestal. Though she stopped just after the invading nature. She sat down and gently hit the grass-covered soil.

Thump

She waited, closing her eyes to help her sense of touch grow stronger.

Ba-thump

She smiled, glad the creature was awake. She lifted both hooves this time and pounded the ground with the responses below.

Da-da-ba thump, thump

Thump, thump, thump, She felt the pounding directly below her this time.

Da-ba thump, thump, was her response. She continued this action along with the previously practiced routine between her and the creature below.

At the end of their routine, the ground began to shake. The ground just in front of her broke and fresh earth tumbled upwards as a very large mole dug its way to the surface. It paused, then tackled Fluttershy into a hug squishing her to the floor.

She found herself laughing as the mole vaporized any thought, though it didn’t last long as she remembered what she needed to do, “Hey there!” She said, pausing only to give the creature some rubs, “I’m just going to need that amulet.”

The creature seemed to steady itself, but Fluttershy could feel the creature's joy in seeing her. The mole literally vibrating like an excited, oversized, dog. She then reached over the front of the creature’s neck and found the real alicorn amulet. She grasped it with her hoof magic, then gave it a firm pull. It clicked, then came loose.

The mole backed up and watched her expectantly. She smiled, then placed the amulet around her own neck. It clicked into place and she could feel the amulet’s power swell. Yet, she wasn’t a unicorn so the power faded back into the amulet. She could still feel the power coursing through it, however.

She turned her attention to the mole in front of her, then flew over and gave it a hug, “Thank you Sub-Terria! You’ve been such a great help. Though I’ll be taking the amulet to another place.”

The mole seemed to be saddened by this.

Fluttershy smiled and tightened her hug, “I know, but don’t you worry. I’ve got a sanctuary now. Sweet feather sanctuary! It's close to my place, you can’t miss it. There you’ll be able to see me when I get back!”

That seemed to brighten the creature’s mood.

Her smiled widened, “Good. Why don’t you head there now? I’m sure Dr.Fauna will be happy to guide you to the right zone. A large sand and dirt pit where you’d be able to burrow your cares away!”

The mole gave her one last hug nodding, then it returned to the hole it had come from. Fluttershy watched the creature go. Wanting to dive in after it, to escape Noah’s grasp. Yet, she knew if she did, she’d be risking her friend’s life. So she turned around and walked back to Noah. She reached to the amulet and plucked it off her neck and offered it out to the unicorn.

Noah gave her a look of surprise, “A fake?”

Fluttershy shook her head, “No. That is a fake.” She lifted her wing and pointed to the pedestal.

“So,” Noah started, walking up to the fake, leaving the amulet in her hoof, “After all the traps you let them steal a fake?”

Fluttershy nodded, “Yes.”

“But how did you take it off the mole? The amulet has a magical lock?” Noah asked, turning to the shy pegasus.

Fluttershy didn’t respond right away, deciding on if she should answer. Though, she figured it may be better to answer Noah’s curious questions. She didn’t want him to get mad.

She sighed, then, “The lock is only armed by cutie mark magic. It’ll attune to that and require that magic to unlock it. Though it doesn’t react to other forms of magic like the ones found in nature. So, I had it placed on another animal keeping a visible fake in the area.”

“So, you locked it on another animal? To where only you’d be able to take it off?” Noah finished.

Fluttershy nodded emptily.

Noah chuckled, “That’s quite clever. Though I didn’t know about that loophole with the lock.”

Fluttershy nodded, feeling sheepish, “To further protect it. That amulet on the pedestal will create a sonic disturbance down below. Once Subterria felt that she’d go and alert one of the mane six. That way we’d know about it trying to be taken.”

Noah’s eyes widened, “You sneaky-“

“No. I’m not trying to deceive you. She’s going to Sweet Feather Sanctuary.” She said firmly, “She won’t alert the others.”

Noah glared at her, “And how can you be so sure?”

Fluttershy took a small step back, worried for her burrowing friend, “I sent her directly to the Sanctuary. My friends spend little time there. She’d also be underground most of the time!”

Noah seemed unimpressed, “And if she is seen? By accident?!”

“It won’t mean anything.”

“Why?!”

“Because—” Fluttershy sputtered, taken aback by the aggression, then reeled in her nerves, “Because each one of these traps were built independently. I didn’t have any idea about the traps my friends set besides Twilights! Even then I wasn’t sure of the true nature of it, besides the fact of it surrounding mine. My friends will not know what Subterria’s original job was. So, they’d think it was another animal under my care. Among the hundreds of them…” Fluttershy finished, greatly missing her animal friends. She secretly hoped that her animals would know about Subterria and maybe alert the others to the missing amulet. Yet, she wasn’t sure that was going to happen. When she was trapped in Angel’s body, Twilight was unable to get any of the messages she was trying to give and she knew the pony language! What would happen if one of her animal friends tried?

Noah took a deep breath, then muttered, “Fine. I will take your word on it. I know how deeply you care about your animal’s health. It would be a shame if it were taken away.”

Fluttershy nodded quickly, then offered out the amulet still in her hooves, “Here.”

Noah shook his head, “Resume.” He said, causing her body to freeze up as the computer resumed control, “Store the amulet, please. I do not want its curse corrupting me.”

“Curse?” Fluttershy thought but the thought was flushed away into her mind as her chest clicked. It then opened by panels sliding away into hidden compartments. Though, she didn’t see what she expected to see.

She was expecting the glowing circle and tubing from earlier. Yet, this time there was a six-pronged star in front of four divided panels. The star turned a bit, then a small cylinder came out of the center of the shape going about a foot out of her chest. The top side of the cylinder was gone, replacing small compartments separated by thin walls. Yet, each compartment was strangely shaped, as if it were waiting for a specific object.

Her guess seemed to be correct as she was directed to place the alicorn amulet in the furthest company. It clicked into place after the band was placed behind the dangerous jewelry. A faint blue glow suddenly enveloped the piece as it settled into position. Then, with a click, the cylinder retreated back into the star. A hiss signaled her chest closing back up, making it as if it had never been able to open.

Fluttershy felt herself try to swallow what moisture there was in her mouth. Just how much did she not know about herself? The ability to change legs was one thing, but to have her chest open to different compartments was strange. Did she even have a ribcage at this point? Or was that interchangeable as well?

“Let's go.” Noah directed, turning to the exit, and started along the path backward. Noah said nothing else till they reached the mirror maze to which he directed her to lead them back through.

It was easier than before however, the computer seemingly have saved a mental copy of the maze. So the two were out quicker than when they first entered the maze. Yet, Fluttershy wasn’t really concerned about that. Her mind was with her animals as her body moved of its own accord, driven by some unknown mechanisms and, “programs.”

Though a large growl interrupted her thoughts, instantly pulling her and Noah into a defensive state. They quickly left the temple to see that the wagon had been taken over by a large, flower.

Yes, a flower.

Fluttershy took in the sight of a large, purple flower with large black vines that extended from below the surface. The vines were wrapped around the wagon, and the two earth ponies the two had left behind. One could only watch as their companion was lifted up towards the large purple flower. The center opened up to reveal a large mouth among the pleasant petals. The vines loosened as the flower attempted to eat its catch. Yet, it was sorely disappointed as a green bubble enveloped the falling pony and lifted them to safety.

Fluttershy was keenly aware of what was happening as she felt her wings shift and turn, directing the bubble away from the carnivorous plant. It screamed in rage, a large growling that seemed to make her want to run away, then tried to consume the other pony still in its grasp.

Though Fluttershy didn’t summon another bubble this time. Instead, her legs shot up and expanded into the blaster. With a single shot, she decapitated the monster, causing the flower to fall over and covering the hideous mouth. Though the vines around the flower writhed in anger and Fluttershy saw the trapped earth pony get pulled downwards. With a snap of her foreleg, however, she shot the vine holding the pony and released them. However, more vines grabbed their prey and the pony was pulled underground, desperately screaming for help.

Fluttershy didn’t waste a second. She felt herself dive forward, her wings again producing swords but only two this time. The invisible limbs snatched them out of the air and kept them close to her sides. When a vine got too close, the sword would slice it with uncanny accuracy and speed. She reached the now closed-hole she had seen the pony get pulled, and reared up. She felt her front legs snap together and the blade she had used to hurt her friend now covered both sides of her hooves. Though this blade was much spikier and she could barely see a straight curved line along its edge.

Though it began to spin, and then it became recognizable. It was a drill. Fluttershy found herself chuckling. Looks like Pinkie wasn’t the only one able to drill.

She began to pitch down as the drill pulled her down into the freshly moved earth. Dirt was flung out of way, bouncing off the drill, her hair, and her eyes. Yet, it didn’t cause the pain that she expected. It was a mere annoyance as her eyes blinked, removing the natural material. Though now she was underground with the drill producing light that was barely visible with the sunlight from above. As the hole quickly became a tunnel, she found herself at a near 90-degree angle moving deeper into the earth. As she did so, she felt her hair spinning behind her. Lifting the airborne dirt and throwing it out of the tunnel with energized air currents. Though the realization was thrown aside as her vision went grey again. Among the dirt and destroyed plant material, was a swirling blue aura. She felt herself lean in that direction, pushing the drill to it. Once she was close she saw the drill dissipate and fade into the air. Her vision returned to normal, and she heard a click on the sides of her head. Then, in front of her, the darkness parted by a bright light.

Among the dirt and the micro roots was a large plant wall. It was not smooth but staggered into different lumps. Fluttershy felt the blade form on her hoof again, then, she sliced at the wall. The blade went through the material as if it wasn’t there, revealing a chamber inside. After a few more cuts, a square hole emerged as the panel fell inwards. Thanks to her light she was able to see the stark yellow interior was half full with a vile, glossy, fluid. In that fluid was the pony she was after. Her hair glided in and gently lifted the pony out of the plant’s digestive zone. The pony seemed bewildered and was covered in a thick slime. Fluttershy didn’t look at him long though. She instead held her right leg out straight. It clicked then she reached inside the plant and placed her hoof along the side of the chamber’s wall. When it was pulled away, there was a medium-sized crystal that was the color of her hair. Four prongs on the corners seemed to anchor it into place.

“Watch out!” She heard a voice behind her shout. But she didn’t even turn her head as she felt the invisible limbs slice up the attacking vines with the swords. Fluttershy then placed two more crystals and turned to leave. She motioned forward with her head to the other pony who clambered up out the hole. Fluttershy followed, watching the vines get chopped up by swords both behind her and in front of the pony ahead of her. She then found herself wondering how she was able to see in front of the pony, or behind her without turning her head. Though once the two were outside, she turned back towards the hole and reared up again. Only this time she brought her hooves down hard next to the hole. The unsupported tunnel collapsed, leaving freshly churned earth and ditch that led to the wagon.

Then Fluttershy felt something click in her head. Only to have that feeling blasted away as an ear rattling thud enter the area. The ground beneath the wagon shuddered as bits of loose earth were launched skyward. It returned to the earth covering the area with a fine film of brown. The attacking vines slowed their movements and slowly fell to the ground with differing amounts of volume, filling the area with sound. Though it didn’t last long, again draping the area in a peaceful if uneven quiet.

What did she do?! Fluttershy could only think as the clearing went quiet again. Her swords hovered close to her wings where they seemed to impale them with a steady scrape. Yet, she felt no pain as she again folded the extra appendages against her back. She turned to the pony covered in grime and walked over to him.

“Hold still.” Her voice said.

The pony nodded and flinched slightly when the breathing device popped from her neck and was placed on the pony’s face. Her right leg switched to the medical legs and the boxes on them switched around a bit before settling. A small ring emerged from the outer rim of her hoof, filled with tiny holes on one side. She then faced the ring towards the pony, which caused it to release a white foam. She then proceeded to cover the pony in the foam. Once the summer snowpony was completed, the medical leg was switched to her normal leg. She waited, keeping the face mask on. Though Fluttershy’s curiosity perked when she saw the foam’s bubbles pop and the substance became clear. Once it did the mask was removed and returned back to her neck. The opening sealing once more.

“Um, what did you cover me in?” The pony hesitantly asked.

“Anti-acid.” Fluttershy’s flat reply came devoid of emotion.

“Anti-acid?” The pony asked.

Yet it was Noah who replied as Fluttershy hovered the ball containing the other pony near, “You were eaten by a plant and likely had digestive enzymes soaked into your coat and skin. It wouldn’t be wise to let that acid remain active on your skin.”

“Oh,” The pony said with an empty expression and watched Fluttershy’s green shield vaporize, releasing the pony within, “I guess I should say thanks!”

Fluttershy’s head merely nodded in response.

The pony smiled awkwardly, then examined the wagon, still covered in vines, “That’s going to be fun,” he remarked.

Though the two earth ponies took a step towards the wagon, they were stopped by the Fluttershy’s wings extending in front of them. She shook her head and once again felt the invisible limbs reach out towards the oddly styled wagon. The limbs reached under the wagon and snap to specific circles underneath. Once attached, the limbs lifted the wagon upwards, held down only by a mess of vines. Some simply unraveled themselves due to gravity, yet some remained vastly coiled. The vine’s rebellious resistance snapped however as the force pulled them apart. Then the limbs placed the wagon near the group of ponies. It clanked and whined as metal bits rubbed together, mostly from the wheels. Fluttershy’s hair then spurred into motion as strands removed any other unwanted plant bits.

“Never mind then,” The pony to her left said now examining the cleaned carriage.

Noah smiled, “Let’s go,” he said, causing Fluttershy to become airborne.

The rest of the ponies jumped into the wagon and it started up with a sputtering cough. Then the pony guided it around the mess of vines and trees back the way they came. Fluttershy felt her leg straighten then become the blaster she was not comfortable with yet. She watched in annoyance as it blasted plants to bits and warded off not yet warned animals.

Now that there was no stimulus, she felt her mind remind her that she was tired, a mental yawn poking her in the brain. She idly watched a timber wolf explode as the group left the forest. She mentally sighed, back to the boring fly route again she supposed. Though this time, she took note of her surroundings. Noah had allowed her to use her body without any restrictions. If by some reason she was able to talk to her friends, she needed to let them know where she was going.

Though marking landmarks proved to be an issue for her exhausted mind. Time seemed to blend, and she found herself following Noah back to the harness again. She was talked to by a few ponies this time, though she wasn’t able to respond. The computer did with curt replies and courtesies. Not that her tired mind could formulate a response. Though that ended when she entered the same building she had before. Down the long hallways, and past the many rooms. The now-familiar polished room accepted her in as Noah left her in the harness again. Which at first she was happy as she could get some much-needed sleep. Though sharp electric shocks jolted her awake every time. She sighed, forced to look in a single direction.

She hoped her friends were doing better than she was.

Twilight yawned. Then surprised filled her as she was sure she wasn’t tired. She had gotten almost a half day’s rest. Yet, she was yawning. Why?

Her mind combed her mental images of the medical books she had read.

“Great. Twilight Sparkle is bored.” She thought and looked at the rest of her friends. All of which had a blank expression on their faces. Each one contemplating things in the privacy of their minds.

She returned her gaze to the empty stool she was staring at. The group was in a small waiting room, waiting for the Princesses to come out of a meeting. Well, Celestia anyway. The Princess of the night was asleep, but had told her sister to wake her when the group was ready to talk.

A time that was coming hopefully soon. Twilight was still eager to learn about what she had unlocked. Was her ability to hold open quantum gateways without leverage, an Alicorn thing? Or maybe being part of the elements of harmony?

Hmm, no. She had a power form from the Tree of Harmony. A small smile played on her lips as she remembered defeating Tirek while he had all the magic in Equestria.

She found herself thinking about the power surge the combined alicorn magic had given her. She remembered how hard it was to control, but found it easy when she was locked in combat with Tirek. She chuckled, finding herself going along a path she had already thought about. She let it continue however, she didn’t have anything else to do at the moment.

Celestia had said she was the only one capable of holding the three alicorn’s magic. Not Celestia or Luna who had more magical experience and just plain experience than the group combined. The previous babysitter she understood. Cadence wasn’t a fighter, yet anyway, and wasn’t as skilled with magic as Twilight was. Though, that could change; in one aspect anyway.

Starlight was with Cadence at the Crystal Empire, attempting to unravel a powerful crystal magic. Magic that had been misused by King Sombra and was the source of his tell-tale crystals. Celestia and Twilight believed that the magic could be used in a less dark fashion. Cadence seemed a great subject to try since she had lived in the empire for some time. It may come naturally at that point.

She had soo badly wanted to help with this rediscovery of magic, but had to stay behind to help the Princesses with the planning meeting. Then the whole thing happened with Fluttershy and that’s where she’d been for the last day or so. Now, she was waiting for—

Her thoughts paused as the group looked up and down the hallway. Quick clicking could be heard, same as the fashion of a brisk trot. The group waited to see who it was though, a few ponies had passed through that weren’t the Princess of the sun. Though this time, her mentor quickly trotted into view. She reached the group and gave smiles to everypony.

“By my mane, I hate finances.” Celestia said lightly, getting a small chuckle from the group, “Alright, is everypony ready?”

The group nodded.

“Good. Let's go and wake my sister. It's time to see if we can all get caught up to what’s happened in the last day.” She said, pulling the group into motion.

Twilight smiled as she too followed suit, “Finally, some answers.” Her mind paused, “Or at least push in the right direction…”

Surfacing Secrets

Author's Note

Hello! I'm back! :twilightblush:
Okay, so originally I had this chapter pretty much done a few days after the previous one. Though I stopped and looked at the word count. I was shocked to see it at 20 000 already. So I became worried about the word count and tried to reduce it a lot. I removed whole parts and decided not to write a few parts. I was fighting myself on this and decided in the end to write as it was and ask you all.
Do you guys want shorter chapters? Or are the longer chapters okay with you? :pinkiehappy:
Regardless, let me know what you think. Feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Enjoy!
As always, I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It belongs to Hasbro and respective studios.

Surfacing Secrets

Fluttershy had seemed to memorize the unmoving section of her vision. The door fastened in its hinge along the left side. The plain wooden textures giving her only so much entertainment as she followed its lines. Some would give her a rollercoaster ride as it would weave up and down among slight variants of color. Though the ride was only good so many times. So, she again turned her attention to a part of the shelves on the right side of her vision. She couldn’t see the whole section, only a few shelves. On it was several bars of metal. What type? She wasn’t sure. Yet, she did know they were metal from their shiny appearance. One type did strike her as curious though. An unmistakable yellow taking some of the bars.

Gold. Several bars of pure gold seemed to be on the shelf.

Though covered in other sorts of wires and small green gizmos, the color was unmistakable. Her curiousness was spiking again. This time she wanted to go over and hold it in her hooves. Though that curiosity had come and gone quite a while ago.

She idly stared, again finding herself looking at the cracked pieces of green on some of the shelves. Small boxes of black and tan tubes broke the color as they seemed to almost cover the surface. Whatever these things were, they were plentiful. Wires were the same case as she spied them along every shelf she could see. Though, towards the bottom of one that she could see, was a pile of tangled colors.

In any other situation, she wouldn’t want to spend the time untangling the mess. Yet, in her current state she would be happy to; if she could only do something but stand and stare!

Her request was not answered for a length of time. She attempted to sigh. Time had lost all meaning in her mind at the moment. With nothing to keep track of it, it just slipped away. From a single circular window, that was just barely bigger than she was, filtered in light, but it was dispersed so well that she couldn’t get a time off of it. She could only tell if it was day and night at that point.

The door in front of her suddenly opened. Fluttershy perked up but mentally frowned as Noah walked right past her to the monitors on her left. Her frown stayed as he did who knows what on the monitors. Her only clue was quiet clicking which gave her nothing.

New program received from external device: Mimic.

Mimic has been activated.

A small, but noticeable green rectangle was in her vision now. It's new home taking up the top right corner of her vision. Though it was too small to affect her too much.

Undocking…

She was confused but felt joy after the harness released her and she took a few steps away from the device that had kept her still for so long. She expected to feel stiffness in her legs and joints or along her back. Yet, she didn’t feel any of it. Whatever her body had become, it seemed to not care about the limits of a pony. Nor did she think it had the limits of a pony anyway. She frowned with memories about her with her friends, seemingly nothing wrong.

It was then she realized that she was frowning. She blinked and felt her eyelids close and open at a familiar speed. She looked towards Noah, suspicion in her now controllable eyes.

Noah gave her an exasperated look, “Looks like you’ve noticed. Yes, you are able to control your frame but I can resume control in a single word. Remember that well…”

Fluttershy’s frown deepened and she resisted the urge to take a step back.

“Do you see the green square in your vision?” Noah asked plainly, clearly not caring for the pegasus’s shy actions.

Fluttershy nodded.

“That is a warning of sorts. We must go and retrieve some magic.” Noah said, in a matter-of-fact voice, “Though I lack the programming expertise to simulate your behavior.”

“My behavior?” Fluttershy asked meekly. She was seeing where this was going.

Noah nodded impatiently, “Yes. Unlike Glyph, programming is not my strong suit. Regardless, you will behave the way you normally do. Interact with ponies the way you do. Yet, I do not want you giving away any knowledge you learned about your frame to any creature besides the ones in this settlement. Do you understand?”

Fluttershy nodded, accepting what Noah was saying. She wanted to turn and run. Or barge past him and fly away. Though she was smart enough to know that she couldn’t outrun sound. Even with all the different changes to her body.

“Good. The square will warn you when ponies are suspicious of you. Yellow is the warning and you must try to settle that suspicion before it turns red.”

“What happens next?” Fluttershy asked, scared of the color alone.

“If it turns red, a single strand of hair will pierce their chest and impale the heart, causing a heart attack. Quick, simple, and effective. The pony will die in a matter of hours.”

Fluttershy nervously swallowed but nodded.

“Alright with that out of the way I need to tell you a few things about the folks who live in this settlement. They see you as an idol.”

Fluttershy’s surprised face was tinged with fear and confusion, “What?! Why?”

“Everypony here has an artificial part of them. Some are prosthetics, artificial organs, or simply devices that assist other organs in functioning. You,” He paused, looking the mare dead in the eye, “Have every single one of those artificial parts.”

Fluttershy could only take in the words with shock. So, she was probably all metal then. No pegasus left?

Noah continued despite Fluttershy’s expression, “They were told that they were testing the devices for you to take on. To bridge the gap between those with artificial parts and not. Each one of the ponies had received discrimination because their bodies failed to grow a certain part, or malfunctioned in a socially degrading way. I helped them, and you are the perfect version of them all. They know that and embrace it. They hope that you will be able to show how far prosthetics can go and finally end the persecution they’ve suffered through for years.”

Fluttershy was getting mixed feelings. On one hoof she was still upset at Noah for changing her against her will. He could have asked! She still might have said no, but seeing as it was for a good cause may have swayed her. The memory of her being changed flashed through her mind again.

Maybe not.

Noah was still speaking, still oblivious to her discomfort, “You must keep up the charade. I do not what you to kill any of them because you let them in on a forbidden secret.”

“You’d make me do this to your people?” Fluttershy asked in horror.

Noah shrugged, “Have you ever played Chess?”

Fluttershy frowned, understanding the words, “You surround yourself with mere pawns huh? Can you take control of them as well?” She found her thoughts bitter but didn’t want to change them.

“What piece am I?” Fluttershy said quietly her face clearly displaying her emotions.

Noah chuckled, “You, are the king in this chess game.”

Fluttershy paused, not expecting the answer.

Noah smiled, and responded to her reaction, “Yes. You are the most important piece of this game of chess and without you, the entire game will fall to the ground in chaotic destruction.”

Fluttershy frowned. That meant that he’d probably go to extreme lengths to keep her under his control. Which only made it harder for her friends to set her free…

Noah cleared his throat and spoke, “Well, you and I will be going under the guise of a friendship mission. Though only outside of this settlement are you to say that. To any pony inside this settlement, we are going on a retrieval mission.”

“How will I be able to tell the difference?” Fluttershy asked worriedly. She really didn’t want to accidentally, red square somepony.

Noah nodded, “The system will be able to tell you.”

Fluttershy wanted to ask more, but was cut off by Noah talking.

“I’m Todd to every pony outside this settlement. In this friendship mission, I know the place we are going and am helping guide you to the problem in question.”

“And where are we going?” Fluttershy asked hesitantly.

“I do not share my plans with anypony unless it’s in that moment.”

Fluttershy frowned, not quite understanding why he wouldn’t share to somepony he had complete control over. Though she didn’t comment. Her shy side not wanting to start any sort of contention. She merely nodded instead.

“Good. Let us go.” Noah said and walked out of the room. Fluttershy made sure to keep close behind him, and when the hallway would permit, to the side. She figured it would be more natural. This time she passed a few ponies who all gave her smiles and enthusiastic nods of approval. Fluttershy smiled and returned the nods with as much enthusiasm as she could muster, however pitiful in comparison.

The hallways were all made up of the interlocking stone bricks but changed to wooden walls with comfortable paintings as they went up several staircases. She remembered that she could look around this time and looked at the hallway with interest. Paintings were of lakes, forests, and even rustic medieval times. It filled her with comforting memories. Though she couldn’t stare at them long as the two continued walking. Eventually, she reached a large, well-furnished room.

Two large doors led to the outside. Though the doors were carved with incredible designs that seemed to catch her eye. Looking at the rest of the room rewarded her with a dark color experience. Dark reds, greens, and tans made up the room. Walls of red, dark brown couches and chairs, and bright lamps. Above her head was a crystal chandelier that filled the room with even greater light. The room led into four different paths. Two hallways like the one she had just come out of, and just to sides of those hallways were similar staircases. More paintings and a clock or two decorated the walls.

Though her inspection of the room was brought to a halt when a mare burst through the doors in front of her. On her back was a small colt.

“Noah,” the mare said, seemingly in a worried tone, “I need your help.”

The mare was a dark shade of purple while her load was an equally dark shade of green. The colt bore no cutie mark but the mare’s was a large light purple flower with a bright shade of yellow in the center. Though on her right side it was partially glossy due to the metal leg she was sporting. Plain steel with rivets that fastened plates of steel to an unseen frame. The leg seemed to move smoothly with the mare’s movements, the noticeable hoof making a click on the wood. She doubted that she’d be able to tell if one of her legs were fake from sound alone.

Fluttershy gave her a smile, which was returned with dividends. Noah however, looked unimpressed.

“He broke the leg again, did he?” Noah asked in a monotone voice.

Fluttershy took a closer look at the colt on the mare’s back and found that the colt’s front leg was bent at an awkward angle. Yet, the bent metal didn’t put an expression of pain on the colt’s face. There was only a guilty frown.

The mare looked a bit sheepish, “Yes.”

Noah shook his head with a sigh, “Unfortunately I am not in the position to help your son. I and Fluttershy are off to a retrieval mission and can not delay further.” He walked out with the two mares following him.

The mare gave Fluttershy a desperate look, “Can you fix it? With your abilities, you’ll be able to do it really fast?! Right?!” The mare’s desperate voice dug into her ears.

Fluttershy backpedaled slightly, pondering the question for a second as the group was nearing the wagon she had seen earlier. How much did the group know of her abilities? She opened her mouth to respond but Noah beat her to it.

“She doesn’t have the time either. The time is short for this mission and like I told you, we mustn’t delay.” Noah said flatly. They had reached the wagon that was parked near the front of the doors. Fluttershy took a look back to see a large mansion behind her. She felt her eyes widen at the sight but blinked to hide her surprise.

“But my son can’t walk without the prosthetic!!” The mare pleaded, then seemed to take a different course of action after seeing the unicorn’s face. She sighed, then asked, “Do you know when you’ll be back?”

Noah didn’t reply immediately but climbed into the wagon motioning Fluttershy to follow, “I am not sure. There are quite a few variables…”

The mare frowned in defeat, “So not before mid-day?”

Noah shook his head, “Definitely not. It’ll take us that long just to reach the mission.”

Fluttershy took a look at the unicorn and noticed that he was saying his words carefully. She then climbed into the wagon after Noah and sat down next to him. The cushions were quite comfortable.

“Oh. Well, I’ll wait for you to get back then.” The mare said, her head drooping in disappointment and defeat.

Noah nodded. The stallion at the front then put his hooves to the rectangular device and the wagon jumped forward with a small whine. She looked around casually and saw the home of the ponies in this settlement. They were large homes, if similar to each other. Though there were many different colors between each house. Further than them, were the crystal mountains. They were partially blocked by the large walls that seemed to surround the entire collection of homes and shops. Though a large gate parted for them as they approached and exited outside. Now she could see the crystal mountains in more detail. It was still quite close, walkable range even. Provided you wanted to walk for a few hours. Though this didn’t seem it was going to take a few hours as the wagon sped along. Her mind began to slow as the wagon seemed to glide across the ground rather than roll. Though the illusion broke when she noticed the wheels were in fact rolling. She stared at them and after a bit, she felt her eyes get heavy. She allowed her eyes to close, then opened them with a sharp cry. She still couldn’t fall asleep it seemed. Though the other two ponies didn’t seem to hear her timid cry at all, much to her relief.

She then frowned, not sure how to keep her mind awake. There was no pony to talk to, or at least she would want to talk to. The pony in front of her was controlling the wagon, so she wasn’t sure if she’d be bothering him and she didn’t want to talk to Noah. She sighed and set her eyes on sightseeing. Then noticed in front of the pony controlling her, was a plane of glass surrounded with a black edge of metal. From her earlier perspective, she wasn’t able to see that detail. She smiled and looked at the rest of the wagon, hoping to find some sort of hidden detail to keep her mind going.

Twilight was now in the throne room along with her friends. The two sisters were at the base of the thrones with the rest of the group with a foldable table in between them all. Luna yawned as she sat down on a pillow, then turned her tired attention to the rest of the group.

Though it was Celestia that spoke, “Finally,” She said, “I’ve been eager to start all day. I hope that you slept well?” She directed the last bit at Twilight who nodded, blushing a bit.

“Sorry, I guess I really slept in this time.” She said nervously fiddling with her hair.

The group chuckled, but Applejack spoke, “It’s not a wonder why you’re so tired sugar cube. You’ve been doing magic all day,” She paused, “Er, yesterday.”

“Indeed,” Rarity said, “I’m surprised you were able to block that much magic at all after that incursion with the awful Reception ‘ception.”

“You fought the Reception ‘Ception!!!” Luna shouted, slamming her forelegs into the makeshift table. Surprisingly though, it held.

Rarity blinked, “Why, yes. Yes, we did.”

Celestia gave her sister a look that said, really? It pulled a chuckle out of the other alicorn.

“Forgive me.” Luna said withdrawing her legs to the floor, “My mind is not quite my own.” She then stifled a yawn by shaking her head. Then continued, “The Reception ‘Ception is a group of two that steals ponies and sells them to other races for, unknown purposes. We have been able to recover most of them due to the more friendly connections we have made in recent times.”

“Thanks to the efforts of you and your friends,” Celestia said beaming.

Luna nodded, gratitude in her eyes as she rubbed her temples with her hooves, “Yes, while they still have been quite a headache in these times. I’m grateful that they are now locked up?”

Twilight nodded, “Yes, they are currently at Ponyville I believe. They were going to be transitioned to Canterlot the moment the guards had the chance.”

Celestia nodded, “Good. Their case should be pretty open and shut.”

Twilight nodded, “Yes, but they seemed to have changed even a little bit. They might be willing to discuss their trade routes.”

Celestia and Luna gave her confused looks, “What do you mean?” Celestia asked, mimicking both the alicorn’s confusion, “They’ve been doing their, thing, for years. What happened to make them stop now?”

“Nearly being vaporized by a ball of plasma.” Rainbow said bluntly, “Both nearly had their heads wiped clean off! I’m sure that could be a reason.”

“Ball of plasma.” Luna turned to Twilight, “Your doing?”

Twilight sadly shook her head, “Not mine. Fluttershy’s.”

Celestia looked at her student with curiosity and concern, “Pardon?”

Twilight nodded and began to recount the experiences from the last day. From the beginning with Cheerilee’s class, or at least what she was told of it anyway. She then recounted the part when she had come to her during the meeting. Celestia and Luna nodded at that.

“Yes, I do remember her eye. That was quite,” Luna said, looking for the right word. It took her a moment, however, nopony filling in her sentence, “Exotic. I’m not sure that I’ve been the same way if I had never seen it before.”

Celestia nodded, “Agreed. Yet, after we cleaned up the discussion room we left to see that you all had already gone. We couldn’t even see your group heading to the train station.”

Luna smiled, “We assumed that your determination had driven you to teleport you and your friends to Canterlot. So, we did the same.”

“Yet, we didn’t find you. Nopony had any recollection of seeing you. So, we waited and told any pony to give us word of your arrival.” Celestia continued.

“That’s where we met you at the train station. I know of the events that caused you to be delayed. But my sister does not. Will you explain?” Luna said, causing Celestia to give Twilight a curious glance.

Twilight nodded, a small, but sad smile on her face. Her recounting of the capture of Rainbow by the Reception ‘Ception was short. But Rarity helped out and recounted what happened when she and Fluttershy fell behind.

“She simply started to tumble and fell. I stayed behind to make sure she was okay. Though you should have seen the amount of air she was taking in!” She remarked, “It was as if she had just run a marathon in record time! Though she recovered quickly and told me about how her mouth had shrunk, letting something down. She didn’t know what had happened, and quite frankly, none of us did. Though the darling suddenly had the ability to track the wagon with uncanny accuracy.”

Twilight nodded, “That’s how you caught up to us.”

Rarity nodded.

Celestia put a hoof to her cheek, “In Electromagical terms, there are devices that can transmit its location to other devices. I know that there are several tracking devices in the Electromagical world, though they do not last long since they do not have a proper power source. I wonder if that action was Fluttershy putting a tracker on the wagon.”

Twilight found herself thinking about the wagon and regretted not investigating the vehicle.

Rarity frowned, “I’m not sure. I did not see anything.” She paused as again she pondered her memories, then again shook her head.

Twilight frowned, “I guess that warrants a check on the wagon later.” The group nodded in agreement, “But in the meantime,” Several quills and papers appeared around her, all held in a magical purple glow. She turned her gaze to Glyph, who returned the look with a smile, “I’ve been waiting long enough! I need some answers!” She said in a non-threatening tone. Her friends smiled as Twilight did so, a few wondering why it had taken so long for her to ask in the first place.

“I’m afraid not, Twilight. My sister still has yet to learn about what happened at the clearing with Fluttershy, the Reception ‘ception, and Rainbowdash.” Luna said, a small smile on her face as well.

Twilight returned the quills and writing paperback to where they came and continued the story with a small frown. She talked about how the group had tried to stop the wagon by jamming large sticks in the wheels, but how it was ultimately Fluttershy’s lance that managed to stop the wagon.

“It just came out of her ribs!” Pinkie had said energetically causing the Princess of the sun to wear an uneasy face.

“Did you see her ribs?” Celestia asked warily, clearly hoping that the answer was no.

Thankfully though, Pinkie shook her head, “No, just a bright blue glow when her side opened up.”

“Wait,” Glyph suddenly asked, quiet until that moment, “A bright blue glow? That seemed to have ridges and kinda looked like an ocean?”

Pinkie gave her a happy look, “Ooh, exactly!”

Glyph took the information in with a frown, but not one of discomfort, but one of thought, “Why would she had a dimensional connector at her side?” She muttered, barely loud enough for the group to hear.

Dimensional connector? Twilight thought but didn’t ask. She had already been asked once to hold her questions till Celestia had been caught up, she didn’t want to be asked again. Rather, she summoned a scroll and wrote the question on the thin parchment. Then immediately crossed it out as Celestia asked herself.

Glyph nodded and replied, “It's exactly what it sounds. It a connection to a dimension. Though, please, continue. I want to make sure my thoughts are correct.”

Twilight frowned but did what she was asked, recounting the battle between the two with Fluttershy’s new shield, the bucking of the restraints, and when Fluttershy had nearly blasted the Reception ‘ception.

“The Reception had just moved and she whipped up pointing her hoof at them. Yet, it expanded into, some sort of plasmatic ejector. It shot balls of plasma that disintegrated anything it touched, leaving black marks as it went. Fluttershy seemed frightened by this, and took off. We tried to catch up, but she was suddenly as fast as Applejack!” Twilight said to the attentive group.

“Faster even!” Applejack added.

Twilight nodded, “Yes, just not at first though. I was able to grab her with my magic and we were able to catch up. Though she suddenly became magic proof and fell through my grasp!” She again looked at the paper and wrote down a question, “I even tried sleeping spells and she still kept running. Her speed boost continued however as she was able to outrun us flying!”

“Really?” Celestia flatly said as she took in the information.

“Yes, but we were in a tight area with hundreds of poisonous thorns so I’m not sure if we were going full speed. Though I was able to teleport to her and reassure her. Though that’s when Rainbow got poisoned.”

“Poisoned?” Celestia asked, looking at Rainbow.

Rainbow looked sheepish, “Yeah. Must have been a thorn in my wings after flying. When I closed my wing it jabbed me. Not cool.”

Twilight nodded and recounted the memory of Fluttershy healing Rainbow much faster than she could.

“So she made an antidote? From what?” Celestia asked, turning to Luna. She shrugged and turned her look towards Glyph.

Glyph responded with a frown, “I can’t be certain but several of my, ‘Silver birds,’ have kits that can generate various types of regenerative concoctions. Medicine and antidotes are some of those things. I wouldn’t be surprised if Fluttershy had one. Materials are pulled from storage that the pony has. Not biology but you can boil most products into a base of certain components.”

Twilight opened her mouth to ask a question but stopped herself and wrote it on the parchment instead.

“So, Fluttershy took down the Reception ‘ception and healed Rainbow? All by herself?”

Twilight nodded, “Mostly yes. After that, you pretty much know. We got to the train station after the Reception ‘ception had been placed in custody. On the train, she learned how to control her hair and learned her eyes could look in the near-microscopic level.”

“Hmm, it seems our friend has many new abilities both for attack and the nature of healing.” She turned to Glyph, “Ready?”

Glyph gave her a confused look, “For what?”

Celestia didn’t respond but merely looked at Twilight. She had a crazy grin on her face with her scrolls and quills all floating in her purple glow.

The grin caused the blue pegasus to smile awkwardly along with one of her ears all flat against the back of her head, but that morphed into understanding and she laughed, “Oh, I guess. Ask away.”

Twilight turned to her scroll and chose the first one that wasn’t crossed out, “You said storage for basic building blocks of products in the medical sense. Where do your,” She paused, “Wait, what’s a Silver bird?”

Glyph smiled, “They were the first ponies to get my first responder equipment. They were trained as such and wanted a special name. They took inspiration from my cutie mark and called themselves the Silver Birds. So, in any emergency; fires, landslides, or creature attacks, they would be there. Though those storage devices you talked about were large enough to have to be in a small wagon. Not a very big one if you used the smaller versions, but still not small or light enough to carry multiple of them.”

Applejack frowned, “Then that can’t be. She wasn’t carrying nothing.”

Twilight nodded looking towards Glyph, “Yes, but you mentioned a dimensional connector earlier. Could one of those storage devices be stored in an accessible dimension?”

Glyph nodded, “Most definitely. Connectors can be quite large, or quite small depending on the need. You could take a tube and split it with a set of connectors. With that, you’d be able to send matter through that tube, effectively in and out of the dimension.”

“So, it’s like a pocket dimension?” Rarity asked.

Glyph nodded, “That’s exactly what it is.”

“How does Fluttershy have a pocket dimension? She isn’t a unicorn,” Celestia paused, “Right?”

Glyph nodded, her face betraying some excitement, “Yes, but you can open a pocket dimension in an electromagical way. It still is contained within the cutie mark magic like a unicorn’s is, but it is held open by electricity rather than magic.”

Twilight frowned, her mind wandering to her own pocket dimension, “How? The fabric of reality isn’t conductive! Well, not to electricity anyway, it’s on a whole other plane of existence!”

Glyph’s smile widened, “Yes, but you have to use your horn to channel your magic power right? The concept is the same here. I just have a device that uses electricity to channel cuite mark energy to hold open the dimension.”

“And if the power runs out?” Luna asked curiously.

“It's just like a unicorn’s pocket,” Glyph said turning to the princess, “Everything would just spill out of it.”

“Alright,” Celestia said, “But how do you power it? Alicorns and Unicorns alike use spells to leverage the amount of power required to keep such a pocket open. By this, we use only a fraction of the energy. Is it the same here?”

Glyph shook her head, “No. There is a little bit of leverage but it still takes a tremendous amount of power to run. That’s why I built the cutie mark generator. With that, you can produce the amount of power needed and still have quite a bit leftover.”

“How does this, ‘cutie mark generator,’ work? Does it create a cutie mark?”

“Nope. This uses the natural movements of the cutie mark to create a sort of sphere.” She paused making a sphere with her hooves, “This sphere can then be manipulated to make it tighter, therefore, making it spin faster. The energy then can be threaded through other devices to transfer that spinning motion. The cutie mark sphere has an extremely strong resistance to other movements so you can hook it to an extreme gear ratio. If you would let it, it could move a mountain!” She smiled, but the smile faded as the group looked at her with expressions of fear, worry, but also awe.

“My goodness. Where did you come up with the idea?” Celestia asked after a few moments of silence.

The pegasus in question looked sheepish, “The Elements of Harmony…”

The curious look turned slightly hostile on the Princess but the pegasus hastily continued.

“Don’t take it wrong. I didn’t harvest the elements nor take anything from them. It merely inspired me.” Glyph’s words eased the alicorn’s expression, if only slightly, “I saw the power of the elements in stories and legends.” Glyph’s face went to another world as she recounted, “The amount of power required to revert matter back from its chaotic change must have been huge! Not to mention to send Nightmare Moon away, and further cleanse her of the nightmare that plagued her! Though I did come up with it far before the elements of Harmony chose Twilight and her friends became their new bears. I still took inspiration from their power as I knew that everything needed a power source to move, change, or act on things. So, I read through stories and wondered if Cutie mark magic was the source.”

Celestia nodded, “Yes, you would be correct in the sense. Though I myself do not know the full power. They do have a limit however,”

Glyph nodded, “All things do. But the amount of energy behind Cutie mark magic is enormous! My first iteration utilized only the Cutie mark magic to spin generators. Mark three was the first iteration to truly change that concept by having the energy spin crystals. I know the elements are made up of crystals, so I tried hundreds of types and formations to see if any would react to the energy of a cutie mark. After months of trying, I found a crystal combination, that grown from a synthetic chemical, would react to the energy much like unicorns' horn! Which made the energy efficiency between magic and electricity increase tenfold!”

The group was now surprised, “Why did you not tell the public?” Luna asked curiously, “Such a discovery would be a milestone in science!”

Celestia nodded.

Glyph, however, seemed to sink into the table, “Noah. He, well, blackmailed me. A while back there was an organization interested in my prosthetics and energy production. Their leader told me that they were the spearhead of the new age and they wanted me to be the spear’s handle. I was cautious however, and looked into their company using private eyes and other resources. Something about them felt off…”

Celestia nodded, “I believe I know the group you are talking about: The Silver Swords?”

Glyph nodded, “Yeah, that’s what they called themselves after they figured out some of my inventions. They lead in some of the Silver birds and took their prosthetics to reverse engineer. Though, they didn’t have my harness and couldn’t manipulate cutie mark energy the way I could.”

“Manipulate? Why were you manipulating Cuite mark energy?” Twilight asked concerned.

Glyph lifted her leg, “My prosthetics channel Cutie mark energy the way normal limbs would. In that way, they can be controlled naturally. Cutie mark magic will eventually make its own pathways through pretty much any material given time. Though, the subject needs to believe that the lump of metal is their leg before the magic will grow into it. It’s a lot easier for devices that aren’t seen to be grown into I’ve found. Like an artificial liver, or gallbladder. Though the process would still take up to a year to do. So, I created the harness to help in the process of that. It would take the severed ends of the magic and guide it into whatever limb I’m working on. This would be only a guide, built on the hundreds of volunteers who donated scans. The magic then would normalize and personalize itself to the user. Though it was much easier since at that point the pony could move their limbs as if it was always there.”

“So the Silver Swords tried to mimic your technology but couldn’t mimic your control?” Rarity asked, “Why is that blackmail?”

Glyph’s frown returned, “Because they tried to reverse engineer it. They forced ponies to succumb to experiments that often resulted in death. Brain connections were a common practice but it was new in the field. Nearly a hundred subjects died before the group got it right. Though they create new neural pathways to splice into the prosthetics; strong feedback could still kill whoever was using them.”

Rarity frowned, “Yes, but you do not dictate other's actions dear.”

“Sure, but because I refused to help them, they killed to get to their goals. Was it worth the lives for me to refuse to join their group?!”

“Why did you join their group then?”

“I found out later that they wanted to use my inventions on the military scale. To create a power surge to wipe all non-ponies from the face of the land. I didn’t want any part in that.”

“Then I doubt the ponies that died would have lived. Creatures of that personality often do not care for the lives below them unless it benefits their ultimate desires.” Luna said, “Your choice did not condemn them to death.”

“I could have saved them. I could have saved Fluttershy.” Was the pony’s response.

Twilight was starting to understand why Celestia had told the everypony that the inventor wasn’t too popular anymore. She felt as if all her creations were being used for evil. Though there was a question that poked her mind, “You said that Noah blackmailed you, how? Was he a friend?”

Glyph nodded, “Yes, though more of a partner than a friend but me and him did get along pretty well.”

“Until?”

“Until he saw that the Princesses trying to create friendly relationships with the other races. He saw them as, ‘imperfect,’ and wanted nothing to do with them. He suggested that we use my creations and some of his own to augment ourselves to a degree higher than the princesses. Then cast them down and take other their roles. He wanted to squash the other races to make sure pony kind was superior and not oppressed by anything. That’s when we drifted apart. Fast. Though one day he came to me and told me about his knowledge of my interactions with the Silver Swords. He threatened to tell everypony that the reason those ponies died, was because I refused to help them. In exchange for his silence, he wanted me to stop all communications with the outside world. He wanted to use my inventions for himself. I gave him my schematics at the time but none more. I still invented things and was able to make the Cuite mark generator mark 3, among other things but thought nothing of what Noah was doing. It had been years since the unicorn had come to me to give his threat. Only now I know what he’s been working on.”

The group went silent, but Twilight’s brain was ablaze. Any hidden doubts of Glyph were gone. She was an honest inventor trying to make inventions to help save the world. Noah was just a leech feeding off the poor pegasus.

“I must ask though,” Celestia said, turning to Glyph, “Did you create the DPM?”

“The Defensive Plasma Manipulator? Yes, yes I did.” The mare responded.

Twilight’s head seemed to hit a speed bump.

“Why?”

“Well,” The mare paused, choosing her words, “In the forest or other parts of Equestria, ponies sporting my equipment may have to defend themselves from hostile parties. Changelings, dragons, Ursa Minors, the list goes on and on. I thought while Unicorns have magic, what about the other ponies? Bucking and hoof to hoof don’t always cut it. Especially if your opponent is a changeling with long-distance attacks. So I created the DPM as a defensive measure and trained all the ponies I gave it to.”

“How did you power it?” Twilight asked curiously, “With a Cutie mark Generator?”

Glyph shook her head, “The Cuite mark Generator would need a large wagon of its own to be mobile. No, DPMs have a battery made up of crystal that can provide the user with a few shots. It can charge on its own through the user’s passive cutie mark energy but it wasn’t going to charge it in the heat of battle in time for it to be of use.”

Pinkie raised her hoof to the air, “PFFFT, Uh, oh…”

“Exactly. Though I’m going to be honest, I did design a few more weapons but never built them.”

“Like?” Celestia asked.

“Like the blade Fluttershy used on Applejack…” The sheepness had returned.

“Okay. But you never built it correct?”

“Yes and no. The original purpose was to be a scalpel. Or a blade that could cut through a downed tree.” Glyph replied, holding up her fake leg. She focused on it for a second then a small blade appeared from her fetlock, aligning itself with her leg, “With this, you didn’t need to carry around a set of surgical tools. Didn’t need to worry about sanitation as badly and didn’t have to worry about the blade staying sharp.”

Twilight disappeared with a pop and reappeared next to the half mechanical pony, “May I take a look?”

Glyph nodded, “Sure, but do not touch the sides,” she said sternly, “It slice through you like water.”

“Is the top okay?” Twilight asked, staring at the light blue blade in curiosity.

Glyph nodded and held out her artificial leg.

Twilight sat down next to her and accepted the outstretched leg. The blade was slightly transparent and was the same shade of color as Fluttershy’s blade. Just a lot smaller.

She looked up at the pony’s face, “Can you change its appearance? Fluttershy’s was much larger.”

Glyph nodded, “Yes you can. I can’t because of a power restriction. On command? Not really.”

Twilight nodded and warped back to her spot at the table, she wrote on the scrolls a bit. She was starting to get a good picture of her friend’s abilities.

“Did you create anymore?” Celestia asked, her stare was friendly and piercing at the same time.

Glyph nodded, “Yes, I did. Though none were put into any sort of production without my knowledge. Though the only ones who had any sort of access were me and Noah.” She sighed then continued, “You’ve seen star pulse. That was part of a series of devices I call Dying star. This lineup was designed to use the full potential of the Cutie mark generator.”

Twilight stared at the pony, “The ability to push mountains?”

Glyph nodded, “Yes. Though they are only plans on paper. Untested and I’m only able to prove their viability through mathematics.”

Twilight smiled at the word. She would be very happy to look at those equations.

Though Glyph continued, “I also created a set of blasters that could fire at high rates by spinning. It couldn’t create balls of plasma but tiny shots that pelted the target with tiny bits of energy.”

Spike lit up, “Just like the gatling guns from issue 40?”

Glyph smiled and nodded, “Yes actually. I got direct inspiration from those things. Though the older version, not the newer one. The one with floating parts?”

Spike just seemed to grin, “I’m going to have to show you my collection later.”

“As long as I can show you mine.” Glyph said with a smile.

“Before I lose you both to the lure of comics,” Luna said, closing her eyes, “I have a small test for you.”

There was a pop and a medium-sized rock appeared on the table. It was not a special rock. Simple grey interrupted with tiny specks of darker shades.

“Can you cut this in half?” Luna asked, her challenge one of friendly intentions.

Glyph reached over with her normal leg and lifted up the rock. Then she pulled her other leg up and put the blade into the rock. The rock rotated with the pegasus's hoof magic and after a complete circle, lost its top. The blade on the pony’s leg disappeared as she placed the severed rock on the table. The smile of pride was on the pony’s face as the group was stunned to silence.

The rock’s color did not change, yet, it was perfectly smooth on its top. The light shimmering off its not reflective surface.

It glowed blue as Rarity’s magic gingerly picked it up and brought it close, “My word…” The pony started staring at the now smooth edge, “You’d make a fortune in the gem refining business.”

Glyph smiled, “I was hesitant to give out this technology since its possible application to military technology,” She frowned, “You saw what it did you Applejack.”

Rarity nodded and saw Pinkie reaching out her hooves in a notion for the rock. Rarity nodded and placed the rock in her hooves for her to examine, “Wow. It’s almost like you polished it!” She exclaimed, then passed the rock on.

Twilight was confused, and now realized that she wasn’t restricted on her questions, “But cutting that requires energy! A lot! Not to mention the equal energy that you’d feel! How does that handle that?”

Glyph smiled, “It’s super strong, and super thin. It has enough leverage to cut through the bonds with ease. The, ‘kickback,’ from the cut is absorbed by the blade itself and dissipated. If it were used to cut a lot, then it may fizzle a bit before returning to normal. But that depends on the energy put into it.”

Twilight took in that knowledge and her brain found a connection, “Is that the same material that Fluttershy’s shield is made out of?”

Glyph nodded, smiling, “Yes. That is probably one of my finest creations. It’s quite a power hog that only uses power at an exponential level. The bigger it gets, the more power it needs.”

“Okay, but what is it made of? It's incredibly tough. Not even a combined effort of me and Luna could dent it. Now I see it cutting through stone like it wasn’t even there…”

“Not even my power form could shift it even a little bit,” Luna stated, keeping her gaze on Glyph.

Twilight gave her mentor an inquisitive look, but she returned it with a smile, “Later Twilight. Let’s let our friend answer.”

Glyph paused, and Twilight could see the strive for information that she could feel. Though she bit her tongue and listened to Glyph.

“You know when you layer fabric together it can become stronger; harder to puncture with a needle?” Glyph asked, receiving a nod from the group.

“Indeed darling. One must be careful not poke their hoof when they stack too much.” Rarity replied with a smile. Though her eyes seemed to be in a small memory of her own.

Glyph smiled, “Indeed. Benefits of a metal hoof though. Anyway,” She continued, “My shield works the same way. Only it folds up the fabric of space so dense that solid objects can no longer go through it.”

“Wouldn’t that weaken the fabric of space around the shield?” Twilight asked in concern.

“It does,” was the reply, “Though after the shield is released, the fabric will snap back into position. I stumbled onto this concept when I was trying to make a teleporter to help non-magic first responders get to a location quickly.”

“Impressive,” Luna said quietly, “Though did you succeed in your effort on making that teleporter?”

Glyph nodded with pride, “Yes in fact. Though it was a power hog. I quickly found that mimicking unicorn spells was possible. Though quite expensive in the power requirements. To put it into some perspective, I had to use the power of 20 lightning bolts to successfully teleport.”

“20?!” Rainbow said, breaking her spell of silence as talk of the nerds had continued.

Glyph nodded, “Yes, but with a Cuite mark generator that wasn’t a problem.”

Twilight nodded, and made another note in her scrolls, “Okay. Do you know any weaknesses of that shield? Something that we can use to get around to Noah?”

Glyph frowned and paused in thought, “Yes,” she said after a few moments, “The shield can only be broken by things that would normally break or tear the fabric of space. A strong enough teleportation spell could break it, though that would depend on the availability of power, and how many layers the shield has.”

Twilight frowned, wondering if she’d be able to summon enough power to break the shield with said spell. Then found herself wondering if she would have better luck teleporting something else than her. She didn’t want to find herself halfway in the shield.

“Though if you had another shield of the same type, it would just pass right through.” Glyph said, disrupting her thoughts, “Say you were able to surround yourself in a shield bubble. Then you’d be able to pass through the shield but probably would lose your shield to the existing shield.”

“So, I’d be inside the shield but unprotected?”

Glyph nodded, “Yes. Though if you had a bigger shield than her and walked towards her, I think that she’d lose her shield as she entered yours.”

“Kinda like Endocytosis?”

Glyph paused at the comparison, “Yes. I suppose so.”

Twilight took another note on her scroll. She’d probably also be trapped in the shield as well, since losing her shield probably meant she couldn’t create a new one inside. The air grew quiet as the only sound was Twilight scribbling on her paper. Then she spoke, “Okay, I have a few more questions. First one. Did you know what Noah did to Fluttershy?”

Glyph frowned, “No. Though from seeing her prosthetics in action I’d assume he attached certain prosthetics to her. Mainly her front legs and maybe her wings. Then he added several dimension connections to a storage medium and the ability to change legs on a whim. And her hair was probably changed as well. Eyes most definitely, and possibly changes to her head? Add that to some sort of controlling mechanism and I think that’s what he did to her.”

Twilight nodded, “Okay. But when we were fixing Fluttershy’s eye at Noah’s place she got stuck in a painful memory. It took me to dive in a pull her out to release her from its grip. The memory was, gruesome.” Twilight shuddered as her forelegs tingled in response.

“What happened?”

“Not much, but she was suspended in the air.” She paused, “Come to think of it I think she was in the Harness. Though I’m not sure. She was crying at the time and I don’t blame her. From her memory, I couldn’t feel her front legs, nor a patch of the back of her head. Her tears made it impossible to see, but I vividly remember something pulling on her eye as if to pull it out.”

Glyph’s anger seemed to return, “So she was a perfectly healthy pony when she was changed? Is that safe to assume?”

Twilight nodded, “I would say so. Though this probably happened before we all met her, so we don’t know.”

“We may want to question her parents,” Luna said to the group.

“Not right away. She normally lives alone so it would not impact them too much.” Celestia replied, “I want a plan of action to help soothe any emotional distress that may occur. But I do agree with you sister.”

Luna merely nodded.

Glyph sighed, but it carried an angry tone, “Though that emotional distress may be anger. According to what Twilight said, Fluttershy was changed while she was fully awake. So, she probably lived the experience of getting her limbs taken off, and replaced with metal ones. Anything that was changed on her insides were done while she was awake as well. You can’t change massive amounts of a pony while they are asleep. The cutie mark magic simply won’t seep in as fast.”

The room seemed to heat up as the group collectively got angry.

“So, she was ripped apart slowly and put back together?” Rainbow asked, voice carefully controlled.

“If I have to assume, yes.” Glyph replied with equal control in her voice.

“That little…” Applejack muttered.

“Meanie. No,” Pinkie finished then said, “What’s a stronger word for meanie?”

“There are many darling,” Rarity responded, “Though they should not be said with others around.”

Pinkie nodded but said nothing more.

Twilight reeled in her own anger and spoke, “Okay.” She had to take another breath, “What about the containment protocol and the administrative processes?”

Glyph's anger dropped a bit, morphing to pride, “The containment protocol is a system of transporting ponies to a safe location without the need of so many wagons or caravans. It uses the cutie mark energy to compress the body into a tight sphere of energy, effectively shrinking them and halting any processes the body may be having. Poisoned? The containment would put a pause on the poison’s effects till you’d be able to get care. It was also useful to get ponies out of say, a collapsed cave. Or a ruined building.”

“Hmm, interesting. Though I was able to talk directly to Fluttershy.” Celestia said, gaze again resting on Glyph.

The pegasus nodded, “I did make a system to be able to communicate with the ponies in the containment but it was limited to only words.”

“Odd. I was able to see her. Interact with her as if she was in front of me.”

Glyph’s head tilted to the side, expression showing curiosity, “Really? What did it look like?”

“Well, it was as if we were placed in a large room. More of a cube really. Just a really long one with the sides missing. The walls seemed to twitch and bounced in partitioned sections as colors ran through the walls at random. Though when they turned red, I was imprisoned further by a ring of spikes. Fluttershy attempted to help, but she was blocked by a wall of fire. Then, a ball of energy zapped me. When it did,” She paused, shuddering. Her forelegs and wings wrapping around her in a hug, “It felt as if something was pulling my insides out. Even now I’m still recovering from whatever happened. I feel rested, yet some part of me is still regenerating. What part? I’m not entirely sure but I believe part of my magic was stolen from me. Was that an intended feature?”

Glyph shook her head, “No. Not at all. Sure, your cutie mark magic could interact with Fluttershy’s and they may have mixed slightly, causing the discomfort.”

Celestia chuckled, “It wasn’t discomfort. It was quite painful. Though when the bolt of energy hit Fluttershy, she didn’t react at all. Though that was all she was able to do before she healed Applejack.”

Luna looked at her sister, “How do you know that? You weren’t able to see the outside world to see that, how are you able to sequence it so well?”

“Fluttershy was able to show me what she saw in a large, rectangle. Much like the Record and show spell.”

Twilight smiled. She knew that spell. She used it to help Applejack’s friend with her boss who was a jerk to her fans.

“That’s interesting,” Glyph said, “I didn’t program that kind of thing into the MMO. Nor does it sound like Noah would do such a thing either.”

“Really?”

Glyph nodded.

“Hmm, that’s a bit odd since she said I was in her head,” Celestia remarked.

“I guess that Noah has connected the prosthetics directly to her brain. That would make sense since he is able to control her.”

“Hmm,” Celestia didn’t respond but thoughtfully hummed for a moment.

Twilight broke the silence, “Okay, that’s the containment protocol. What about the administrative functions? That word is generally used for work hierarchy.”

Glyph nodded, “Yes. Though the computer is like the building where the ‘programs,’ work and are run. Certain programs have higher needs and fewer restrictions when talking to other programs and devices. Those that control and essentially command the system are administrative programs. While looking at Fluttershy’s computer there are two: my MMO and something called, Void.exe.”

“Which one is more,” She paused, “Powerful?”

Glyph frowned, “I’m not sure if that’s what you’re asking. I assume that my MMO is more powerful because I’m better at coding than Noah. He’s always struggled with connecting programming to biological actions. Though in this case, it seems Void.exe was in more control than my MMO. But it seems that the critical patient protocol can partly override it, judging on how Fluttershy was able to heal Applejack.”

Applejack gently touched the patch on her chest, “Yeah, that was an interesting experience…”

Glyph smiled, “I hope it didn’t hurt too bad.”

The earth pony shook her head, “Not at all. It was a little uncomfortable, but bearable.”

Glyph smiled in response.

Twilight however was thinking to herself, “It seems the MMO is something we can trust. Whatever Void.exe is, I don’t think Glyph trusts it. It sounds like it’s the thing that is controlling her. Though, why now? Why out of the blue? Is there a way to shut it down?”

Would that be the way to save her friend?

Her thoughts dissolved as Rarity spoke, “Spike dear, do you mind explaining your experience?”

Spike frowned, “Well, after I was caught by the claw she had. I was taken through some sort of blue, thing. It felt like the mirror to Canterlot high.”

Twilight nodded, “Sounds like the dimension connector…”

Glyph nodded.

Spike continued, “Yes, after I was on the other side though, I was surprised. I was taken into a much larger room. The claw I was in was, in a sort of merry-go-round. It was rotated to the top and was picked up by another claw.”

“Did you get a look around?” Twilight asked, trying to create a mental picture.

Spike nodded, “Yeah. It was a very big room. No lights, except for blinking dots. And a large glowing blue tube in the center of the room. Behind that was another tube with several glowing circles with a plate of sorts on the front. Besides that, I didn’t see much before I was in another room of sorts. The claw released me and I was deposited into another tube. From there a mask was put on me.” The dragon paused, shivering. Rarity reached over and put a hoof around the dragon’s shoulder.

The dragon shivered as if he was cold, “Then it felt like the fire was being ripped out of me.”

Twilight frowned, that’s exactly what had happened. Her wandering gaze then rested on Glyph. Though her expression was that of confusion and annoyance, “That is not something I created. From the code, you were placed in a containment cell. That I did make. That was made to quarantine things, ponies, or creatures. Though, it confuses me since that is also a system the size of a wagon, often bigger.”

“So this pocket dimension, is huge.” Twilight thought. Calculations of energy were running automatically through her mind. It was a staggering amount of energy… She watched Rarity embrace Spike in a hug, to which the dragon smiled.

“Okay, last thing.” She looked back at Glyph, “Fluttershy said that her lance had bits of Dark stone in it to make it immune to magic. Do you know about that?”

Glyph frowned, “Yeah. Not in that exact way but yes. It’s a similar concept to how the harness can manipulate cuite mark energy. Though that process is through special crystals that are similar to the elements. It would make sense for Dark stone to fulfill that role as well. Was it immune to all magic?”

Twilight nodded, “Yes, though it seemed to be able to be controlled.”

“Controlled? Like turned on and off?”

Twilight nodded.

“Hmmm. Then I guess that it was wired through some sort of cutie mark tunnel. If the stone was forced to accept cutie mark energy then it may be possible to control its effects through changing energy levels. That or Dark stone has that natural ability to block certain frequencies of magic depending on how energized it is. It’s unenergized state blocking all frequencies.”

Twilight smiled, enjoying the answer. She would very much like to pick Glyph’s mind. She might be able to do that when she asked her about her cutie mark generator. Though for the moment, she returned to her scrolls. She had touched all the points she wanted to. She looked through her scrolls and took a breath, “Okay,” She said drawing the attention of the room to her, “So Fluttershy has prosthetics that were repurposed from search and rescue for some sort of military use. She has two programs in her head that are arguing for power, which depends on the situation our friend finds herself in. She has to have the Cutie Mark generator since she uses devices that consume a ton of power. Furthermore, she has a massive pocket dimension in which she can store organic and non-organic materials. Anything else I missed?”

Rainbow nodded, “She also has the crazy ability to heal and has a near-impenetrable shield that she can summon seemingly out of nowhere. She’s also immune to magic.”

Twilight nodded.

“She also has had some close calls in killing, some, of us…” The party pony added but the sentence fell halfway through.

“That doesn’t sound right ta say.” Applejack said plainly.

Twilight nodded with the rest of the group, “Well, since there is technically another Fluttershy, why don’t we give it a name? That way we can say that the other her is doing all those bad things.” She said, avoiding certain words.

Pinkie nodded, “Oooh! A naming game… Um, what about Flutterbot? Robotic Flutters? Robotto of Kindness! ROK for short. Uh, Future flutter? Oh, wait! Shyborg!” Her pose held among the other poses she made when suggesting every name.

The group nodded, liking the name but she continued.

“Oh wait, no. I feel that name is taken.” Pinkie’s pose fell as she put a hoof to her cheek, “Yeah. Definitely taken. Though I’m getting dark vibes from the me in that dimension.” She shivered, emphasizing her point further.

Twilight smiled as the group gave her a knowing smile. Though they waited for her to continue. Yet, it was Glyph who spoke, “What about Flutterbyte?”

“Flutterbite? She doesn’t bite ponies, does she?” Pinkie said, turning to the pegasus.

Glyph smiled and shook her head, “Not that I know of. No, I’m referring to the byte in computers. It stands for either on, or off; one or zero. It’s spelled with a y.”

“Ooh, I like it!” Pinkie raising her hoof to the air, “All in favor for Flutterbyte raise your hoof!”

The group raised their hooves, not able to offer another name, not only that but it stuck.

Twilight then spoke, “Okay, so how do we stop Flutterbyte from controlling Fluttershy? Glyph? Thoughts?”

“Hold on Twilight,” Celestia said, “We need to know of her captor’s plans first. That may give us an idea of exactly what we are up against.”

Luna nodded, “Agreed, but I feel it is time I told you about my dream walk last night.”

“Did you talk to Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked eagerly, asking the question on everypony’s mind.

Luna nodded, “Yes, if only for a time. Yet, her dream worries me. It’s not something I’ve ever seen before.” She paused and closed her eyes, “I entered her dream to see a forest, draped in almost perfect shadow. Visibility was low, though, the trees were clearly visible.” Her eyes opened, “They were made up of condensed ash, with internal workings of metal, and gears. Their movements seemed to move the grey earth around as they went. I was able to find her by her shouting but I found her trapped in claws of shadow. The ground crumbled beneath her and she fell into darkness. I was able to follow her, and with some dream magic, was able to save her. Though, ethereal beings seemed to speak to us even as I protected her with my shield of dreams…”

“What did they say?” Twilight asked in a whisper.

Luna closed her eyes again, “Power, limbo, alicorn, gems, element, host. That’s what they said, in that order.”

“Anything else?”

Luna shook her head, “No. I forced the dream into another more calming shape so I could talk to her. From her, I gather she is at a place with medieval-style brick layouts, same style torches, and that she got the Cutie Mark Generator mark 3. Though she didn’t know what that meant.” She said, ending to look at Glyph.

The pegasus was visibly confused however, “How? I came up with that after I closed off contact with Noah…” She looked down towards the exit of the throne room, “Did he bug my computer?”

“Bug your computer?” Twilight asked.

Glyph nodded, but her voice sounded distant, “Yeah. Basically, it allows him to access my computer from another platform. Have I been this stupid this whole time?”

“You said the mark three was an upgrade from your previous models, correct?” Celestia asked gently.

Glyph nodded, “Yes, it can make it seem the devices connected use only a tenth of the power. Yet, in reality, it just has that much more power to give. Though there is a weakness in this model, along with my other models.”

Twilight perked her ears and brought a scroll close to write.

“It can only handle one cutie mark magic at a time. If you were to have two types of cutie mark energy in the same generator, it would generate way more than any system could handle. Effectively, frying the system till it did an emergency lockdown. This would continue to drain energy until it was viable to restart the generator.”

Twilight paused her quill, “So if we were to somehow infect her with our cutie mark energy then it would cause the generator to overload? Rendering her prosthetics useless?”

Glyph nodded, “Yes. But it's like the lightning bolt I used earlier. It won’t be comfortable at all. This even more so as her cutie mark magic pulled and twisted into tight shapes. It would be very painful…”

Twilight looked at the pegasus and put a line through that idea on her paper. She then pondered what the dream had said to Luna and Fluttershy, “Maybe he’s trying to banish the alicorns to Limbo? So, he can gain control of the Elements of Harmony?”

“No Twilight, you are a Bearer. That and the elements choose their bearers.” Celestia said thoughtfully, “Though I think he is trying to harness the power of alicorns. He might have stolen some magic from me through our friend. Though I’m unsure.”

Luna nodded, “He seemed to be set of capturing Twilight and me,” She added.

The group nodded but Rarity spoke, “Then why take Spike?”

Celestia pondered that for a moment, “Spike has a portion of Twilight’s magic and may be attached to his fire. Noah may be after that.”

“Though why would he be after Alicorn magic?” Rainbow asked, thoughtful then added, “Actually don’t answer that…”

Pinkie smiled, “Yeah, it's not like the magic can move the sun, the moon, and create its own rainbows of harmony.”

Rainbow chuckled.

Though Twilight’s face went pale, her ears falling back on the back of her skull, “What about Cadence?”

Celestia’s face also went pale, the back of Twilight’s mind remarked on that fact, but she forced it away.

Cadence felt her wings like lifeless pieces of paper draped along her sides and part of them rested on the floor. The rest of her form was flopped on the floor as she filled her ever seemingly empty lungs. She looked up at Starlight Glimmer, who wasn’t as worn out as she was. Her smile was broken only by her medium breathing.

“I’m really bad, aren’t I?” Cadence said in between breaths.

Starlight chuckled, “No. Honestly, you are doing better than me!” She said gesturing around the room they were in. It was a simple square room in the castle. The walls were made up of a cool blue crystal. Though these walls were covered in blue crystal spires that erupted in random points. Splinters of blue crystals littered the ground in a fine powder.

“Really?” Cadence said lifting herself up to the window. It magically opened at her command and she stuck her head out of the window.

Starlight nodded with a laugh, “Yes!” She cleared a small area with her magic and sat down, “Honestly you can control this stuff much better than I can!”

Cadence smiled seeing her words. But she was trying to stall, “Wasn’t Twilight going to be here?” Her lungs protested at her words. She frowned and focused on filling her lungs.

Starlight smiled, “What? Am I not good enough?”

Cadence laughed, “You know what I mean. It’s just not normal for her to be late.” She looked out the window. It wasn’t normal for her to not tell her either.

Starlight frowned, “Yes, I do suppose you’re right. Though with the map sending them off to friendship missions I’m not too surprised.”

Cadence nodded, “Though I’d thought she’d have more time since her school is off for the week.”

Starlight’s face followed her frown, “Hmm, yeah. That’s right.”

Cadence shook her head. Ponyville was quite exotic. She wasn’t too worried, her fellow alicorn had seen quite a bit. She was sure if anything happened her friend would be able to take care of it.

She watched as Starlight lit her horn and the crystal shards again rose up and formed into a life-sized dummy. Its glossy eyes staring her in the face. Instead of fear though, she merely groaned.

Starlight gave her an understanding smile, “I know but if you rest for too long your magic won’t be pushed hard enough to grow!”

“Bleh,” was the only response the alicorn could muster. Though she lifted herself up from the window and faced the dummy, “What am I doing?”

Starlight gave her a thoughtful look, “Let’s try a crystal sword.”

Cadence nodded and took a step with only one of her hoofs. She lit her horn and focused her magic into the ground below. She pulled on it and it stretched as if it was taffy. Slowly, but surely, it formed into a light blue sword. The hilt remained stuck in the ground, however. She took in a heavy breath and collapsed on the floor. She sucked in air as fast as she let it out. Starlight took a step forward to help but she shook her head. Slowly she got her hooves under her. Then with the same pace, she grasped the hilt with her teeth. Channeling a bit more magic, she separated the hilt from the floor and fully extended her legs. She emptied her lungs and spun forward with an attack that some of the guards had shown her. The result was a decapitated dummy.

She smiled with the blade in her mouth and looked at Starlight. She returned the smile and lit her own horn. The floor under her shimmered as it also extended upwards. Though it formed into a small dagger. Starlight released her magic with a huff, the small dagger failing to the ground like a singular domino. It levitated upwards in the unicorn’s magical grasp and was launched into the flank of the crystal dummy.

“See?” She said with a huff, “Even in your tired state you are able to form a large sword! I can only summon a dagger and I’m not so tired!”

Cadence smiled and let the sword drop from her mouth, letting it clatter to the ground, “What’s next?”

“How about the simple blockades?”

“Waves?”

Starlight shrugged and lit her horn, “Sure!” She launched a sparkling projectile at the alicorn. It landed on her shoulder, sending an electrical jolt through her pink coat and a yelp through her mouth.

“Eek! Hey!” The alicorn shrieked. Though she gave the unicorn a competitive smile, “Oh it's on now!”

Starlight frowned, not expecting this but sent another sparkling bolt her direction.

“No pony hits me with a cheap shot and gets away with it,” Cadence thought as she went for her magic again. The ground in front of her jumped upward as if it was made of a liquid. It jumped from her two o’clock and went to her 11 o’clock as a wave would. Yet, it didn’t splash on her left side but became part of the floor again. Starlight sent another, but Cadence summoned another wave to block it.

She smiled, determination filling her soul. Starlight’s face was incredulous. Though she continued to fire her sparkling projectiles, taking a few steps back as she did so.

“I thought you were tired!” Her exclamation fell on deaf ears as Cadence was focusing on something else.

Cadence slowly advanced towards the unicorn, blocking as she went. Though she felt the floor with her magic just around Starlight. She made it rise around her friend’s legs and made it wrap around her fetlocks. Once in place, she made it solidify and the unicorn’s steps stopped.

“Cadence?” Starlight asked warily.

Though Cadence was right next to Starlight at this point. Her horn was already was lit, so she summoned a sparkling projectile of her own. She guided it into Starlight’s shoulder where it disappeared with a small pop.

“Eeek!” Starlight shrieked as a small charge traveled through her coat.

Cadence smiled triumphantly, “That was a cheap shot.” Her voice wasn’t filled with anger, but playful competition.

Starlight’s face filled with relief, “Oh good. I thought you were mad at me.”

Cadence smiled and focused on Starlight’s hooves and again commanded the floor to release her. Though she noticed that it took more energy the longer it took. Though she was able to release her before she again noticed her lungs demanded air.

Starlight watched her heavy breathing and gave her a confused glance, “You blocked like, 15 shots. Then did a small crystal prison on me. You didn’t show any sign of tiredness till now. What happened? Is it harder to release the prison?”

Cadence responded when her lungs allowed her to, “No, I don’t think so. I just, forgot I was tired…”

“Huh? How do you forget you’re tired?”

Cadence chuckled, “I don’t know. But I was so determined to shock you that, it just, well, became irrelevant.”

Starlight laughed, “Goodness, Celestia was right! This magic really did come naturally to you. You started out—”

“Sounding constipated?”

Any other words Starlight had died in her laughter.

Cadence chuckled herself, thinking back to when she started out. She had been just staring at the floor grunting. Starlight was the first to make the floor move. She frowned, remembering combing through the books Shining had found. No, the ones Flurry had found.

She had been playing in the throne room when she destroyed a portion of the wall. In the crater was a small space of black crystal. Celestia had helped remove the dark crystal, only to find books describing the magic to make the crystal.

It was a long-lost art that very few ponies were able to master. When Sombra had come to power, it seemed he got rid of the rest of the Crystal users. Somehow, Celestia suggested that she try to learn it. Twilight had been beside herself, but was stuck in a planning meeting that had been planned months in advance.

She looked at Starlight who was trying to do the, “wave block,” the book had called it. The ground jumped a bit, rising a few centimeters off the ground. It was puny in comparison to her own waves. Though the experience had made her smile.

Starlight was first, but it seemed that it was easier for herself to manipulate the crystal. Though her magical stores were not like the unicorns. Hers was much smaller and took a bit longer to regenerate. Only if she had exercised her magic more, she might have been able to hold it longer. Though, why did she forget she was tired?

“Okay. I think it’s time for lunch.” Starlight said, letting out her held breath.

Cadence smiled, “Agreed. Do you want to join me, Shining, and Flurry? We should have plenty.”

Starlight smiled, “As good as that sounds, I do want to taste the culture if you will. I don’t get to go to the Crystal Empire often so I would love to see what’s out there!”

Cadence chuckled, “It's quite different that’s for sure.” She walked to the window and motioned for her to follow, “See that building over there?” She said, pointing to a large blue building in the distance, “That’s Growling Crystal. They’ve got quite an option of delicacies that do have a decent kick. Over there,” She pointed to another building, this one flat, “That’s Flattened Growths. While the name sounds odd, they’ve got some hay burgers that Twilight is very fond of.”

Starlight nodded, “Awesome. I’ll definitely check those out. Though, I’m just going to follow my nose.”

“It's one of the best ways!” Cadence said with a smile, “When do you want to meet back together?”

“How about, a half hour or so after mid-day?”

Cadence nodded, “Sounds good. Have fun out there! Also, beware of the crystalized treats. Those are meant for dragons. Spike to be specific.”

“Really? That’s really cool!” Starlight said, and the two headed out of the room gently closing the door behind them.

Cadence turned back and made sure the sign was still up.

Do not enter! Ancient magic is being practiced. Please knock first!

She then said her goodbyes to Starlight and joined Flurry and Shining in the mess hall to catch up and enjoy some lunch. She surprised the two by making crystal silverware.

“Wow! That’s incredible! A day and a half and you already can craft like the ancient times!” Shining said, watching their foal move the objects around, seemingly mesmerized.

Cadence chuckled, “Yes. Though it’s quite tiring at the moment but I hope to improve.”

Shining nodded, “Things take time to master. Though I’m sure it won’t take too much time.”

“Thanks hun, though I think it's time to eat.” She said with a smile.

“Ha, alright,” He turned to the foal, who was now parading her new fork through the air, “What do you want to eat?”

The words perked her attention, and she materialized next to her mother still clutching the light blue fork.

Fluttershy felt another bump go through her as she sat on the train. Their ride in the black wagon ended at Rainbow falls to which they had transferred to the train.

A few ponies had asked her about Noah and why they were here. Though they didn’t ask too many questions when she told them she was on a friendship mission. The little square had gone yellow when a foal had asked where she was going. Though she had just responded with, “Wherever the map needs me to.”

That seemed to satisfy the foal without her telling her destination, which she still didn’t know where she was going. Though the foal had kept her mind busy by asking all sorts of questions.

What was her favorite animal?

Do lots of things happen in Ponyville?

What’s the scariest moment you’ve ever had?

The list seemed to go on and on. Though that really didn’t bother her. She was willing to open up and talk since she was able to move on her own. That and the further the conversation stayed away from the purpose of her travels the better.

Eventually, the foal and her mother got off at a station. Though the destination wasn’t truly known to her, a small town was within view.

The train ride continued in silence however, only a few more ponies on the train.

The weather outside began to become snowy and it was as if some pony had forgotten some snow one day and was trying to make up for it. Though, it seemed to get worse the further the train continued.

Eventually, the train stopped, shortly after the speaker spoke its tired words, “Crystal empire. If this is your exit, please disembark now. Also, please be wary of the snow. The empire has expanded its reach to the station, but some snow and ice can still get through this far out.”

The Crystal Empire? What were they doing here? Her thoughts were mixing around in her head as she followed Noah off the train, formulating ideas of why they were there. She watched him talk to some of the ponies that also got off at this stop. His pleasant conversations seemed to hide any of his true personality. He even helped steady the elderly pony with his magic when they hit an ice patch. She too helped a little foal who was uncomfortable on the slippery object. His mother too loaded with bags and such to offer a hoof. As the group reached the empire and passed through some guards they separated into differing groups. The mother and foal heading to the hotels, the elderly pony to the market, but Noah seemed to be heading right for the castle.

Starlight was enjoying herself. A bit too much in fact. She had already had a decent-sized lunch and had a sweet delicacy floating next to her. A bite-sized chunk was missing from it while she was deciding whether she liked it.

Her tongue immediately said yes, though the texture took a moment for equal effect. She guessed it was the sugar crystals that hadn’t dissolved quite yet. Though when it did, she took another bite and waited for another moment in heaven.

She passed another shop and couldn’t resist buying another sweet, this one of a frozen kind. It was blocky in nature but had spiraling colors that seemed to move towards the top. She took a bite and was hit with a sensation of colors and tastes. All in a decent harmony that prodded her to take another bite.

She mixed the two sweets and found the combination wasn’t as good as them separately, so she focused on her popsicle first. Or was it an ice cream bar? She didn’t know nor care.

She continued to walk down the market and noticed the time. She’d better start heading back. It would be a decent ten minutes before she’d reach the castle again. She frowned as she found her cold treat to be gone. Though she found small writing on the stick.

Edible stick! Please do not throw away!

She gave the stick a wary glance, remembering Cadence’s warning. She shrugged and gently bit down. It snapped and she was left with a sugary chunk of blue raspberry flavored crystal. She let it dissolve in her mouth and found the stick to be gone quite quickly.

She turned back to her floating pastry and was surprised to see a familiar pegasus almost hidden by her treat. She lowered it and saw indeed a pink-haired pegasus walking with a much darker unicorn. His suit-like attire followed a strict black and red palette.

“Hey Fluttershy!” She called out but regretted it when she saw the pony nearly jump out of her skin.

She teleported over and when the pegasus saw who had called her, she calmed down.

“Goodness Starlight. You scared me.” The timid pegasus said gently.

“Sorry!” The unicorn said, “I completely forgot about your timidness. Not that there is anything wrong with that.”

Fluttershy merely smiled, “It’s alright. Though, how are you doing with Cadence and the crystal magic?”

“Crystal magic?” The unicorn following Fluttershy asked curiously. His voice was mellow and was comfortable to listen to.

She turned to him, “Yep. Cadence found an ancient text that teaches ponies about a nearly forgotten magic that is natural to the Empire.”

“Yeah, I’m familiar with it,” The pony said, “Though the technique was lost when Sombra took over.”

Starlight gave him an impressed look, “Wow! You’re quite informed!”

Noah gave her a smile, “Knowledge is power right?”

“You got that right,” She turned to Fluttershy, “Who’s your friend?”

She paused for a moment, “His name is Todd. He’s here to help out with a friendship mission.”

“What? A friendship mission here at the Crystal Empire? Ooh, I’m jealous!”

“Why?”

“Look!” She said, floating her pastry near, “This food is amazing! The crystal ponies’ culture is awesome and don’t get me started on the trinkets!” The unicorn had added some pep in her step which made it look like she was almost bouncing. “I’d be overjoyed to be sent here! It sounds like fun!” Now the pony was bouncing similarly to the pink party pony, though after a few bounces she instantly regretted it. She paused groaning.

“You okay?” Fluttershy asked walking back to her.

“Ugh, I don’t know how Pinkie does it,” Starlight muttered feeling her insides twitch, “Yeah, I’m good.” She gently started to walk again as the nausea passed.

“Too much to eat?” The pegasus asked in her normally quiet voice.

Starlight laughed, “Yeah. I guess I couldn’t choose just one place to eat at.” Then she paused, “Wait, how did you know?”

The pegasus gave her a confused look, “It happens to my critter friends all the time. They eat way too much and then get sick when they run around. I try to portion out their food but they sometimes find more in the forest.”

“Oh, that makes sense.” Starlight said, feeling very transparent, “Well, where are you heading?”

Fluttershy paused, then gave her another confused look, “Uh, Starlight? The map summoned you and me to the mission. Twilight said that she sent a letter ahead, did you not get it?”

Starlight shook her head, “No. I haven’t gotten a letter from her at all.” She looked at her Cutie mark, “I also didn’t feel the map’s summons but if it’s me and you, then let’s do it!” She looked at Todd, “What’s he here to help with?”

“He knows a place that has a bit of contention. It might be a good place to look for the problem.”

“Where?”

Fluttershy pointed to the castle ahead with her wing, “The castle, right?”

Todd nodded, “Yes, last I was there, there was a heated contention in the kitchen. It seemed to grow to the point where Cadence had to be called to fix it.”

Starlight nodded, “Okay, why did the map call us then? Was it a pet problem that magically got pulled into the kitchen to destroy the pots?”

“I’m not sure why the map called you two.” The other unicorn said flatly behind her.

“I know! That’s the fun part! You have no idea what’s going to happen till it hits you right in the face!!” She dramatically motioned her pastry in a sort of sword slicing action, then took another bite.

Then a low grumble accompanied them walking. Starlight turned to her friend and saw she was blushing bright red.

“Sorry, I didn’t get much to eat when I got called.” She apologized in her special quiet way.

Starlight smiled and summoned another pastry she had been saving in her pocket dimension. She floated it over to Fluttershy who looked at her with concern.

“No problem! I’ve got a spare. Though I’d let it melt in your mouth before you swallow.” Starlight said with a big smile.

The pegasus left it as she looked at Todd, “Go ahead. I was able to eat plenty.”

Fluttershy gave Starlight a warm smile and accepted the pastry with her wing. She continued walking while looking at it but didn’t quite take a bite.

“Well?” Starlight asked, before taking another bite.

“What is it?” Fluttershy gently asked, curiosity in her voice matching her volume.

Starlight paused, then shrugged. She swallowed then said, “I’m not sure but it’s delicious.”

Fluttershy smiled, slowly took a bite, and took Starlight’s advice. Though after a few seconds her face lit up.

“See? Delicious.”

Fluttershy merely nodded and took another bite.

Cadence was back in the room she and Starlight had been practicing. Her stomach was now satisfied, and she felt much better after an hour's nap. Though, she had been waiting for Starlight for about fifteen minutes.

Though she wasn’t worried. Outsiders found the culture and treats quite a spectacle. She was sure the pony had lost track of time. She also didn’t mind pushing the practice a bit. Her mind groaned with the thoughts of moving crystal again.

Though it stopped when she felt a tug on her magic. She went to the window and pushed it open. She scanned the air for the source.

“Ah, there it is,” She thought as a little green whisp of magic came into view. She took a step back and allowed the wisp to enter the window. She felt her magic swell as the wisp curled together in a ball. Then, with a small pop, it turned into a scroll. She caught it with her magic and paused. In front of the scroll was Twilight’s wax seal. A dark purple background with her cutie mark stamped out in its colors. It was a magic trick she wanted to mimic though crystal traditions had stopped her.

Though now she was staring at the words on either side of the seal.

Open immediately!

It was in hastily written font with a bright red color.

She blinked and opened the scroll. It was Twilight’s horn writing for sure, but it was written with great haste.

Dear Princess Cadence,

The past day has revealed quite a few events and details to me and my friends. I will go into detail with the second page. Though it is imperative that you know about Fluttershy.

She’s been corrupted.

She apparently has been an electromagical creation by the hooves of Noah. He’s a tan unicorn that had a black and red attire. He was last seen with a black amulet with a small red gem inside. The gem was shattered last I saw him but he may have replaced it. He used Fluttershy to steal magic from Celestia and tried to do the same with Luna, Spike, and me. Though we are unsure why he did so.

We conclude that he is after Alicorn magic since he attacked us mainly. Which leads me to you. We don’t know if he will be after your magic since you are an Alicorn. Though it’s only been about a day since we’ve found out, he used a portal to escape and could be anywhere in Equestria. We don’t know if he will come or not but better safe than sorry.

If he or Fluttershy shows up, be wary of her hair. Yes, her hair. It seems to be able to move and extend far past her scalp. If it catches you, it will glow blue and the process to steal your magic will occur. It’s a little more complicated than that but it is described in more detail on the second page.

Do not let that happen! We do not know what his end game is.

Please reply to this letter to know he hasn’t already gotten you. If you do not reply I will come myself with my friends.

The letter ended without a signature though she could tell from the writing it was Twilight. She felt her face scrunch up in a frown. Though she fished the other page and read through it carefully.

Her thoughts only became more befuddled.

Fluttershy. A timid and shy pegasus was able to best three Alicorns almost at the same time? She had shields, swords, hoof blades, moving hair, was able to capture ponies with something called containment protocol, had strength that could rival Applejack, and had speed that could rival Rainbow Dash.

Was this the same pony she was accustomed to? The nature-loving pegasus that got terrified if her shadow was in front of her?

She again read through the pages and saw something else.

She was magic-proof! The alicorn frowned in annoyance and frustration. How the hay was she going to defend herself?

She took a deep breath, “Okay. Relax. You’ve got to think straight.”

Starlight was here with her and was sure to have some good ideas. That and she had her new crystal magic to try. The pegasus may be immune to magic, but she could probably grow crystal around her, right?

She nodded and hoped that she wouldn’t have the opportunity to try. She found herself though still trying to think of a way to stop her corrupted friend without actually hurting her. Not that she probably could anyway.

She could go for Noah. While a powerful unicorn, she and Starlight might be able to overpower him. Though she’d have to remove Fluttershy for that to work. Twilight had mentioned the machine within her seemed to protect him at powerful efficiency.

The crystal prison! That technique was able to envelop its opponents in a crystal and seal them from outside magical attacks and could take quite the beating before it let its victim out. It also kept them alive, unlike the crystal coffin. Cadence felt herself reviewing the spell in her mind. She had studied it in great detail in hopes to master it.

She found that there was a spell similar to it that likely stemmed off from this technique but this wasn’t just a bolt of magic. This was actively using magic to form a prison. She hoped that it would be able to work even with the mare’s new magic immunity.

Okay, she had a plan. A barebones one that Starlight could help her with. She closed her eyes and summoned a scroll from her pocket. She hastily wrote a reply and walked to the window to send it, but the scroll didn’t ignite as she completely lost focus on her spell.

With Twilight’s warning, she was now super aware of the color pink and yellow. She now saw them everywhere. Buildings, different ponies, and various shops. Though approaching her castle was a group of three ponies.

Starlight was one of them, seemingly oblivious to the situation.

A tan unicorn, matching Twilight’s description to the letter, accompanied them.

The Element of Kindness was also approaching the castle. She seemingly looked normal and if she didn’t receive Twilight’s warning, she wouldn’t have known nothing was amiss.

She found herself staring but snapped back her head when she saw the pegasus look up.

Her reply fell to the ground now forgotten. The crystal shards in her flank, however, were not.

“Ow…” She muttered as she pulled them off with her magic. She guessed that Noah would use Starlight to lead them right to her. Then she’d be a sitting duck.

What if she went to them instead? She could use her new magic to melt through the castle, appearing above them. That might give her an advantage since she doubted that anypony would suspect she would do such a thing.

She took a nervous breath, “Okay. Just melt through the floor and trap Fluttershy. Then, send her a good distance away. Then I can fight Noah. If I can take him down Fluttershy may not be an issue anymore. I hope.”

Wait, what about Starlight? She would surely be upset with her friend being trapped. Her eyes fell on Twilight’s letter. She scooped it up in her magic and rushed out the door. She hoped that Starlight was a fast reader.

“Well, I was supposed to be with the Princess about a half-hour ago.” Starlight replied to Fluttershy’s question, “I could probably take you to her. We were going to meet to continue the magic.”

Fluttershy nodded with a smile, “That’s okay. I don’t want to come over and not say hello! But if she is busy, I’d understand.”

“Nah it’ll be okay. We’ve been really doing well with the magic so a little—”

Starlight stopped when she saw Fluttershy’s head snap upwards. She looked upwards at the bottom of the castle. There was a hole forming in the roof.

“Wha?” Was all she was able to say before the pink Princess fell through the hole. She was holding a scroll with a very determined look on her face. Her face tightened more as Starlight felt familiar magic emit from the pink alicorn. Her horn beginning to spark with power.

It was crystal magic! What was she doing? She watched the Princess drop, her form in a full dive. Her hair fluttering wildly in the process.

Starlight jumped as a sharp crack shattered the air. She looked at Fluttershy only to find her with crystals growing on her hooves. The crack had happened because the pony had pulled one of her trapped legs with enough force to break the blue material. Though even as she watched, tendrils of crystal wrapped themselves around her. Eventually, the entire floor rose up as a sentient blob encasing her in what looked to be a Crystal prison. She read about the spell in the books Cadence had found and was surprised to see it in action. Though her marvel was overshadowed by anger and confusion. She whipped her head upwards in time to see Cadence flare her wings. Her velocity slowed but she landed close with enough force to make the ground crack. The force also cracked the base of the prison, causing it to go up a few inches. Cadence then took the opportunity to spin around buck the prison. Her glowing hooves collided and with a sharp, ping, Fluttershy was sent outside the boundaries of the castle. Starlight didn’t watch the chunk fall to the ground though. She knew her friend would be alright due to the nature of the spell. Though she wasn’t very happy.

“What the hay is wrong with you?!” She shouted at the Alicorn mere hoof lengths from her, “That was my friend you know!!” She took a step forward, careful to balance on the cracks around her.

“Read this,” Cadence said in reply, shoving the now unfurled scroll in her face.

She growled and pushed it away, “No! Yo—”

“Read it!!” Cadence shouted, her alicorn voice tinting her voice with the powerful command. She didn’t use the full voice but didn’t need to. Starlight grumbled and lifted the scroll. She would like to keep her hearing.

Cadence on the other hoof turned towards Todd, “Drop your façade, Noah. You want my magic so bad? Come and get it!” Her words were accompanied by a bolt of magic, “I won’t let you get away with what you did to the Element of Kindness!”

The bolt was easily deflected by a black shield, however, though the alicorn charged forward. The other unicorn sent other bolts of magic but were blocked by Cadence’s waves of crystal. She summoned a crystal blade from the ground and got close enough to Noah to swing at him. The unicorn dodged, then summoned a magical blade to block another strike.

By this time Starlight had read Twilight’s warning and skimmed through the rest of the letter. She chuckled and sent the paper into her pocket dimension. She turned towards Todd with an evil glare, “So, You’re Noah huh?” She summoned her magic and let it thread into the surrounding area, giving off an eerie glow. Small pebbles and crystal splinters also began to float in this field of magic, “Let’s see what you’re made of!” She let a powerful beam of magic loose at Noah. Cadence ducked out of the way, allowing a clear path to the unicorn. Though it was blocked by a black shield. She frowned, feeling the magic barrier, and began to attune her magic to the shield. It began to turn blue as she felt it thread through. Though she felt the connection disappear as something blocked her magic. She let it fade and saw a yellow pegasus standing in the way, seemingly unharmed.

Her eyes were naturally wide and seemed to stare through her soul, exposing everything that she had ever done. She watched the pony take a defensive stance and stare at her.

Was this really Fluttershy?

Cadence growled at the appearance of the Element. Normally she’d be happy to talk to the timid pony. Yet, this time she was not able to talk back. She took in a breath and channeled energy into the crystal. It ate it and began to grow according to her will. She shaped it into a circle around the yellow pony and snapped it upwards to create a dome. The shimmering dome appearing in a few seconds. Once that was done, she charged forward.

She had made the walls of the dome several inches thick hoping it would hold to the pegasus’s increased strength. She waved her sword again, following tedious lessons from Shining that she was now grateful for. Lessons seemed to play themselves as she ducked and weaved around attacks, pushing her sword through any opening she could. Though she was reaching for her magic this time, pulling again at the magical spells she had just recently learned.

Small tendrils of crystal began to grow around Noah’s hooves and Cadence directed them to wrap around the unicorn’s legs. If he couldn’t move this would be an easy fight. Though her attempts resulted in the crystals fragmenting upon touching the unicorn. The pieces showing a black change in color, if slight.

“You’re not the only one to know crystal manipulation,” Noah said flatly and swung his sword. She blocked it and retaliated, only to have to step back to avoid another hit. Light blue energy whizzed by her ear, racing towards Noah. Though it was blocked with a shield, she took the opportunity to stab at his shoulder. The shield still blocked her sword, however, and she again dodged another blow. Her flank hit the dome she had made, and she had to dive to the left to avoid another swipe from Noah.

She glanced towards the dome she had made, seeing Fluttershy smash against the dome’s walls. She frowned, realizing she might not have a lot of time. So, she stomped her hoof down and summoned a shield of her own. It was a simple shield that resembled her husband’s cutie mark.

Though her attention was diverted to the dome again, as Fluttershy smashed the wall to bits, filling the air with sharp splinters. Luckily, she didn’t break out towards her and Noah, but rather towards the heart. The pieces bouncing harmlessly off the crystal object.

Cadence growled and quickened her attacks, wanting to get in as much as she could before Fluttershy could cover him. Though she faltered when Noah started to glow blue and red. She turned to Starlight, who seemed to have him in a magical grasp. In her mouth was a crystal weapon of her own, a small crystal dagger. She was taking slow steps towards Noah, seemingly putting much of her focus into holding Noah. Cadence quickly turned back to Noah and swung again, only for Noah’s blade to defend him. Though she spun her shield around her and smacked the magic sword as hard as she could. It shattered to bits and she quickly swung her blue sword. It was intercepted by a small crystal dagger that Noah pulled from the ground, narrowly saving his neck. She growled and accepted the stalemate as the two blades locked together. She pushed on the blade, feeling the unicorn’s strength waiver.

She smiled, “I have you now…”

Noah returned the smile, “Do you?”

The question caught her off guard since she was obviously stronger, well, at least physically. Her alicorn strength akin to an Earth pony’s. She braced her hooves against her sword and began to win the tug of war. Why was he so confident? Then it hit her.

Where was Fluttershy?

“The heart!” Starlight cried, and the blue glow surrounding Noah vanished. Cadence dared a looked behind her to see Fluttershy rushing towards the heart. Though Starlight disappeared with a small pop. Fluttershy slid to the left evading the appearing Starlight. Her attempt to tackle the pony catching air. She disappeared with another pop and appeared near the heart. She reached for the relic, presumably to take it away for safekeeping, but was yanked backward by Fluttershy’s pink hair that had already been next to her.

“Na! No!” Starlight said, again disappearing. She appeared a little bit away to the left, charged, and magically threw her dagger at Fluttershy. She jumped and disappeared.

Her dagger flew so close to Fluttershy that it narrowly missed her eye making the pegasus, pause as she was reaching for the relic. Though the blade was caught in her hair and redirected at the Crystal heart. Starlight appeared in that same area, grabbed the heart, and disappeared again taking the blade with her.

Fluttershy paused and looked around, then her vision seemed to lock as she stared off into the distance. A ring around her middle opened up to reveal another ring that was made up of several different types of boxes. Wires and other tiny boxes accompanied the bigger ones. Though visibility was removed as they began to spin, and then with a whirling pop, her form shrunk into nothing. The only thing that was left was a very familiar flash of light.

“She can teleport?!” Cadence thought before a sharp crack returned her attention to the unicorn she was facing. Her blade was beginning to crack as it turned to a black crystal. She frowned as it shattered, but she pushed herself out of harm's way with her wings. She lifted her shield as a torrent of spells were sent her way. Each leaving a thud on her shield. Though she realized what the spells were for as her shield cracked and began to change color.

It shattered leaving her with chunks of blue and black crystal. She threw them at Noah and summoned another blade. She jumped into the air as Noah deflected the projectiles and tried to slam down on the pony. Though the unicorn hastily teleported at the last second, leaving the ground in his place. Her sword sunk right into the ground leaving only the hilt visible. She growled and left it, summoning a new one in its place. She turned back towards the now visible unicorn and charged forward, using her wings to give her speed.

Her attack was parried but she moved it faster than it could be corrupted and attacked again. She reached out to the floor and summoned another blade, allowing her attacks to be simultaneous. She summoned more, standing a safe distance away. She remained wary though, she didn’t want a spell to end their battle. Yet, the unicorn seemed able to deflect all the attacks and even managed to destroy a few. Though she was rewarded when a sword nicked his ear.

She smiled but frowned when she saw multiple floating blades start to deflect her attacks.

“Finally.” He said and looked behind her.

She paused and looked behind her, allowing her magic to maintain the attack.

Starlight was tangled in a mess of pink hair and left to struggle in the air. Her previously summoned dagger was now in her leg, skimming the star’s corner a bit. The entrance wound left a trail of blood that dripped to the floor. Cadence also saw her face, revealing exactly how much pain she was in.

Though what worried her the most, was the crystal heart that was on Fluttershy’s back. It was held in place by four prongs that seemed to come from her back. Despite it seemingly coming out of her leg’s attachment points, they moved just fine. She was in a battle stance with her wings flared outwards.

Noah’s smile only widened, “Now. One wrong move and the Crystal heart shatters.”

Cadence froze, “You’d condemn a civilization to ice and snow?” The blades froze in their paths.

Noah shrugged, “I do not care if it is covered in a hundred feet of solid ice. It will not affect the thing I’m after.”

“Halt!” Cadence heard her husband shout. At that cue, she saw the royal guard land around the castle’s perimeter. They hoisted spears and aimed them in their direction.

“No! Wait!” She shouted, her alicorn voice coming out. She looked at Shining and pointed towards the Crystal heart, now in the grip of Fluttershy, “If we don’t listen, he’ll destroy the heart!”

The guards all shot the mare angry looks. Though it was Shining who spoke, “Fluttershy? Why do you threaten the safety of this Empire?”

Cadence sharply shook her head, “Not Fluttershy. Flutterbyte. He corrupted her and is in control.” She said, pointing an accusing hoof at the unicorn, not in front of her.

“I do not care what you call her but yes. She is correct. Now, if you do not give me what I want then you’ll have to worry about your precious Empire buried.” Noah said threateningly.

Cadence frowned. Could Fluttershy muster the strength to shatter the heart? Her foal had done it, though that was a case of crazy baby magic. She looked towards the dome that had trapped Fluttershy in. Its hole show casing the strength of Flutterbyte, Fluttershy’s evil twin.

“Okay. I yield. What do you want me to do?” Cadence asked, allowing her blades to melt into the floor.

“We are going to the throne room.” Came the short reply, “Though, if any pony tries anything. She will shatter the heart. She does not have to worry about the cold like you all do.”

“I promise to follow your wishes as long as you replace the heart. We can’t have it removed from the pedestal for long.” Cadence pledged, watching the blades return to Fluttershy’s wings. If it was uncomfortable, the staring eyes did not show it.

“There will be no need for that,” Noah said.

Fluttershy, as if on a silent cue, reached over and put a few hairs on the pedestal. One on the top, one on the bottom. The heart on her back began to glow while the whole apparatus followed suit.

Cadence frowned at the sight. How had she been able to interface with the Heart’s home? Enough to still have it in her grasp yet still do its job. She turned back towards Noah and gave him a wary glare. He was obviously a well-educated opponent. She would have to be incredibly careful.

“Lead the way, Princess. Just know that she doesn’t have to hear me to break the heart.” Noah said with an evil grin as he tapped the gem in his necklace.

Cadence gave him a dark look, then looked at her husband, “Keep this area sanctioned off, I don’t want any more surprises.” He gave her a quick nod.

Cadence then led the alicorn through the crystal hallways and to the throne room. It was a spacious if straightforward room. It was decorated with large windows but had most of the decoration at the throne. A nest of crystals protected the back of the chair with a few large crystals stealing most of the spotlight. The simple, yet comfortable chair was a simple black with an embroidered white edge.

“Here we are,” Cadence said flatly, not caring to give her voice emotion. Noah nodded and stepped forward. His horn glowed but changed to a black glow as she watched. Green auras popped around the unicorn’s horn as he focused. Black aura seemed to leak from his eyes before her own.

Dark alicorn magic? How?!

Cadence watched the black bolt fly to the tallest crystal behind the throne. Cadence frowned as the shadow revealed the underground staircase draped in shadow.

She looked down, then at the unicorn, “Are you going to the bottom?”

Noah nodded and walked to the staircase.

“May I?” She asked, extending her wings and lighting her horn.

Noah shook his head and began to walk down the stairs, “No.”

“Okay? Then what am I doing?”

“Following,” Noah said which caused the alicorn to frown, her facial features seemingly becoming more affected by gravity. Though she jumped to the stairs, landing next to the unicorn, and followed him down.

Starlight was crying, though not audibly. Simple tears were running down her hair-covered cheeks as waves of pain swept through her. It being caused by the crystal dagger embedded into her back leg, going right through her muscles and going a decent way into the bone beneath.

She swallowed, her sense of touch concentrated on the injured leg as her blood leaked from the wound. It wasn’t bleeding as badly as before as it had started to heal. Though it wasn’t healing as well as it needed to. That and she needed some medical attention.

Though her attempts to light her horn were blocked by the hair wrapped around the projection from her forehead. She twitched as a fresh wave of pain flowed through her. She blinked as more tears came to her eyes. She had tried to get away from Fluttershy’s hair but moving only caused her pain beyond anything she had felt. She could only hold her position in the air. Thankfully there was something holding her up so she just went limp. This helped the pain a bit but didn’t make it go away.

She frowned thinking about what exactly had happened. She had thrown her blade then teleported to the heart. She grabbed it and teleported away. She knew that the heart could be removed for about two minutes before the shield went down. She didn’t know that her knife had been aboard the teleport. She just warped out with all thoughts evaporated. She grimaced and managed to get the heart in her grip and found the melee weapon in her leg. She then heard a pop behind her and Fluttershy was there! Right next to her!

Her shock was able to give her power over her pain and managed to teleport again. This time she teleported to Cadence’s bedroom. She tried to get her breath but Fluttershy appeared with a pop again! This time her horn was entangled with the magic-proof hair. Her pain was only escalated as she was trapped. She then felt the pegasus teleport and she was at the base of the castle again. Noah took Cadence away and now she could only wait for Noah before anything could be done about her wound.

She twitched again. Though this pain wave lasted longer as she was lowered. She instantly began to complain, her pain causing her to try to stop her movements. She tried to say words but they disappeared in garbled grunts and gasps.

“Stop! You’re going to hurt yourself more!”

Fluttershy’s voice?

“Fluttershy?” Starlight asked, looking up at the pegasus as she was now on the floor. Bright green eyes met hers. Her eyes were bleary with tears of pain.

She nodded, “Yes. I think I can patch you up. It let me heal Applejack and I think it’s letting me heal you now.”

“What?”

“Just hold still.” She said slowly, her words conveying an uncertain command, “Please don’t teleport away. I really don’t want to have this, thing, chase you down to kill you…”

“Okay…” She said. What was the thing she was talking about? She let the thought fade as she felt something attach to the back of her neck, just at the base of her skull. Immediately, she felt something touch her magic, then, her pain vanished. She sighed in relief and felt her body relax.

“That’s better…” Starlight said, craning her neck to look at her flank. Though she was surprised to see Fluttershy with two navy blue legs. They were covered in small little boxes that shifted around in an unknown pattern. Hairs from her head seemed to clean up the wound, pulling away clotted blood while pulsing blue. The boxes stopped moving, and three prongs extended from her leg. They went to the blade stuck in her side and held the wound open with gentle pressure. Starlight could now see the pink flesh underneath, but it was immediately covered by flowing blood. More hairs came down somehow stopped the bleeding with pulsing energy and a puff of smoke.

Cauterization maybe? Shouldn’t she feel that? Then again there was a blade in her leg which should be causing her great pain. Though, it had stopped.

The blade was then gripped by the hair and was pulled out. That she did feel, but didn’t feel the pain she was expecting. She just felt the blade resist the motion since it was stuck in her bone, though it gave after a moment or two. It was placed on the floor and Starlight was able to see a triangular indent in a white material that she assumed was her bone. How was she so relaxed? She felt her curiosity rise about the device on the back of her neck. She was definitely interested but she did not dare even touch it.

She instead watched the box extend along another prong and fill the dent with a white fluid. It hardened and remained a slightly different color. The prong retracted to let more hair and prongs in. With a whirr they moved around the wound in pre-planned paths, each object not hitting another. She watched as a thin transparent layer was created below the prongs covering the base of the wound. Her amazement only grew as she watched her muscles be reknitted together. Tiny little bundles seemed to be created by the moving devices. Nerves came next rebuilt while tiny little tubes were created from the leg and connected blood vessels together. Her sense of touch was fascinated as she could feel the layers build and grow. She couldn’t move them it seemed but wasn’t disappointed. The wound’s depth shrunk as the prongs finished the muscles and remaining vessels. Over the top came a thin layer of lilac-colored skin.

The prongs were retracted back into the leg and a large rectangular device was deployed from the leg. It reminded her of an envelope. This envelope emitted a blue glow as Fluttershy put the device close to her now closed wound. The device began to hum as she slowly moved the device down. She shivered as she felt tiny little snowflakes stick to her skin. Or, at least she thought it was snowflakes. When she looked at the wound it was covered in a clear crystalline patch.

“Okay, so that’s a Precautionary wound patch. It’ll protect your injury for a while, but it will come off on its own. Just so you know, it may be a bit uncomfortable since it's on a primary moving part. Though that will only last for a few days. Aside from that, movement should be normal.” She paused, “Any questions?”

Starlight paused admiring the patch. Though she could see her skin through the patch. It was whole. The only issue was the missing part of her cutie mark and fur but she was sure that would grow back, “Yeah, how did you do that?”

The pony put her navy-colored hooves together, “I’m not sure. I just let the MMO do its thing. Though something about printing new muscles, reconnecting blood vessels with temporary templates, reconnecting nerves, and cutie mark energy. Though again, I’m really not sure…”

“Printing?” Starlight gave the mare a smile, “You can, ‘print,’ muscles?”

“I guess?” The pegasus responded, her face unsure.

“Hmm, I meant that more of a joke. Printing is usually a spell to copy writing to a scroll but you can actually print muscles?”

The pegasus looked shy, “I don’t know Starlight. It just told me it was, ‘printing new muscles.’ I don’t know what that means.”

Starlight looked at her flank again, “Well whatever it is, I thank you. Though are you okay? With this change and all?”

Fluttershy frowned, “I’m really not sure. I think I’m okay? I’ve just been this way for as long as I can remember.” She paused, “I just didn’t know it.”

Starlight kept the silence for a moment, pondering what it would feel like to suddenly find out you’re made up of metal and other foreign parts. What would she say? Act? Think?

“Any other questions?” Fluttershy asked, though her voice sounded hopeful…

Starlight frowned, taking the hint, “What’s Noah’s plan? Do you know?”

Fluttershy frowned, “I don’t know. All I know is I’m the King in his game of chess.”

“The King? Not the Queen?”

The pegasus chuckled, “Weird, I know.” She paused, looking into space. Then her eyes widened, “Wait! Something to do with the al—” She stopped short, seemingly choking on air, “co—” was all she got out as she stiffened, and half fell to the floor.

“Wait! What? Al-what?”

Though she did not answer. Instead, she looked up, her eyes now red, and stared blankly at Starlight. They blinked yellow twice and her head swiveled around to look at the castle above her. Then, without a word, removed the heart from her back and placed it on the pedestal. Its glow not being interrupted.

Then, Starlight felt the pegasus’s hair recede and return to her head. Starlight watched the pony as she headed to the castle’s entrance and thought about chasing her. Though she decided against it, and let the pony disappear into the castle. The guards around them unsure of what they should do.

Once she was sure the pony couldn’t see her, she immediately pulled a scroll from her pocket and hastily wrote.

She’s here. Come to the castle’s base as soon as you can!

With that, she rolled it up and sent it to Spike. He’d get it to Twilight and she hoped the group would be able to help take care of Noah and his strings on Fluttershy. She herself then sat down and lit her horn. If she and Twilight could connect teleporting energies then they could teleport the whole group here. She extended her energy out, careful to avoid the castle. Twilight would feel it. She just had to wait.

Cadence’s legs felt very much like gelatin when she reached the bottom of the stairs. She looked upwards and hoped that the unicorn would allow her to fly back up.

She did not want to walk back up to them.

Though at the bottom was a small room with a small door. She saw it move to the other side of their location, taunting them to try and open it. Twilight had told her of her adventures down in the depths of the castle. She knew she needed to use pure magic to get the door to open correctly but did Noah know that?

She lit her horn and reached for the dark magic Celestia had taught her. She had given her a strong warning as the magic was quite corruptive. Though since she lived in the Empire, she could find remnants of the dark king. So, she was shallowly versed in the magic. Though when it came to larger objects, she normally called on Celestia to help shatter the black crystals.

“No. That won’t be necessary.” Noah said, staring at the floor at the bottom of the stairs, “Do not use your magic without my permission. You know what will happen if you do.”

Cadence swallowed and banished the magic from her mind, “Sorry.” She stated.

Though Noah didn’t seem to take her words, rather, he lit his own horn in the same magic she was told not to use. Though instead of the door, he directed it at the floor.

With a crack, the floor cracked and slid away, revealing more stairs; much to Cadence’s dismay. Though she was delighted to see the stairs only went one floor down into a similar room as above.

Though unlike the room above it tapered at one side and morphed into a long hallway. The dark crystal seemed to stretch on forever till it was too small for her to fit into. Cadence gave it a wary look.

Noah however lit his horn, red this time, and directed some of his energy towards the gaping tunnel. The air shimmered and seemed to fluctuate till the hallway looked how it should. This time she could actually see the end.

“The problem with dark magic is it’s easy to detect its use if you are versed in its ways.” Celestia’s voice echoed in her mind, “Though at that point it will corrupt your mind if you aren’t equally balanced with lighter forms of magic.” Cadence had received that answer when she asked Celestia for some dark magic lessons. She had wanted to make sure that any hidden dark magic could be erased. Though Celestia only taught her a little, just enough to recognize it sent at her.

She followed Noah as he walked into the hallway. Was he experienced enough in the dark arts to see the effects Celestia was talking about? She looked about the taller hallway. It was lined along the walls with half-hidden pillars with plain tops anchored into the ceiling. Though they were hidden, they still ate up most of the hallway, barely letting the ponies walk through side by side.

“Get in cover,” Noah said sternly and ducked behind a pillar to his right. She mimicked his motions and dove left.

She gave Noah a look, trying to understand what exactly they were doing. Though the thoughts only became more urgent as she heard the clinking of several hundred crystals, light tapping against one another. The air furthermore reverberated with growling.

She felt her skin go pale with her mind wandering. What exactly was making that noise? She scanned her mind for anything, but it could be anything from the crystal empire. Many creatures had crystal growths on them that could make the sound filling her ears. She started to inch forward to get a glimpse when she saw Noah vigorously shake his head. She retreated with a frown. She then looked at the ceiling, an idea forming in her head.

She again looked at Noah and pointed at her horn. Noah frowned and didn’t respond immediately. Then he nodded, giving her a stern look and pointing at his necklace.

She nodded. She wasn’t going to attack him anyway. The pony had shown some prowess and it was with the assistance of Starlight she was able to get the upper hoof. She instead directed her crystal magic to the ceiling, and carefully molded it into a mirror. Then, ever so slowly, pushed it downwards and gave it a slight tilt. Then, the mirror suddenly turned a dark purple as whatever was guarding the way forward reflected in its surface.

It was two wolf-like creatures. It heavily reminded her of a Timber wolf, only this one was made up of pure crystal. Lines of tiny toothpick-like crystals made up the creature's cloak and hung limply. Though it moved with every movement the creature made. Which in turn created the sound that she was so used to. Her eyes fell on the creature’s maw and found it was filled with razor-sharp crystal appendages. She wouldn’t call the jagged edges teeth, but rather, daggers. She very dearly did not want to alert the creatures of their presence.

The familiar sound of sniffing filled the air. She watched tensely as the wolves slowly advanced towards their position.

Noah caught her attention and made an imaginary sphere with his hooves. He gave her a questioning glance.

Cadence frowned and looked at the mirror again. They were frighteningly close. She raised both her forelegs and gave a glance at each of them before resting her gaze on the unicorn. He looked at the mirror and gave his left leg a bounce.

She again lit her horn and turned to the mirror. She assumed that the unicorn wanted her to trap one of the creatures using a Crystal prison. She gently filled her lungs and focused her magic on the left wolf in the mirror. She gently summoned the crystal vines to wrap around the back legs. Though, before the crystal was even able to grow, the wolves barked and jumped forward with a growl. She abandoned all stealth and quickly ensnarled the creature in the blue crystal. The concentration made her eyes close, however, and she opened them to see the other creature mid lunge. She could see into the creature’s maw and gently moved her head away from the spikes that had narrowly missed her. She gave the creature an inquisitive look before looking at Noah. The creature was hovering in the air, suspended by the unicorn’s magic. Then, with a sharp, crack, the wolf fragmented then shattered. The pieces reduced to sugar-like portions.

A snarl made her tense into a battle stance. The wolf she had captured was wiggling through the prison-like it was made up of hardened gelatin. Though Noah shattered it with his magic before it could get free.

What was that spell? It was familiar, very familiar for some reason.

“What was that spell?” She asked, pushing some of the crystal dust around.

Noah shrugged, “It did not have a name in the transcripts I found but it disassembles magical crystal dolls.”

Cadence paused, “Wait. Like the crystal magic dolls? Those were dolls?”

Noah nodded, “Yes. They are masked a bit with dark magic but they are still just dolls.”

Cadence nodded, “Alright. Then I should be able to help if any more come. I’m familiar with that spell.”

Noah nodded and continued down the hallway.

Cadence followed and was tempted to try a technique that allowed her senses to travel along crystal. Though she thought about the wolves’ reaction to her magic. The creature had immediately rushed her. So, it was safe to assume to the creatures could feel her crystal magic. Is that why Noah told her not to use her magic?

Noah again slid behind a pillar. Cadence followed suit, narrowly avoiding a dozen crystal spines that were sent her way. She pulled one out of her hair and admired the dark semi-translucent object. So, they were dealing with wolves that had the skins of porcupines. Great.

“I think they know we are here,” Noah said as the pillars were pelted with dozens of spines.

Cadence nodded, and created another mirror in the ceiling. Three wolves were attacking this time.

Two were in the back, continuing to send volleys of crystals while one was slinking forward.

“Can you make a wall and separate them?” Noah asked carelessly.

Cadence frowned and reached for her magic again. She was half tempted to just surround herself with the crystal and leave Noah to the wolves. But she knew that even if he was overwhelmed, he could have Flutterbyte destroy the heart. And that’s if he couldn’t take on the three attackers all on his own. Was Noah’s defeat worth the potential lives of the Crystal Empire? She frowned, she just couldn’t gamble her subjects like that. She just didn’t know what he could do.

So she focused her magic behind the advancing wolf and ripped up a flat wall behind it. It was immediately covered with cracks as the spines covered its surface. It held though.

“Done!” She said with difficulty. She was feeling the effects of manipulating the crystal magic.

Noah nodded and peeked out with a glowing horn. The wolf froze, then after a few moments, was reduced to sugar cubes.

Cadence looked at what remained of the doll. Thinking back to what the transcripts had talked about them. They were essentially sculptures that were given the ability to move through crystal magic. Though it was only possible with physical touch to dismantle or create them. It seemed that unicorns were able to extend that manipulation through their magic, if they were able to master the manipulation at all.

Her thoughts shattered as the wall she had created also shattered. Two wolves leaped through the mist and debris at the two ponies. The one going for Noah froze in its place, enveloped in a red glow.

Cadence, however, stared into the unblinking eyes. It seemed death stared her in the face as she was able to admire the razor-sharp teeth. Her entire body tensed, and she felt a surge of energy come from her being. Her face tightened as she felt her body move on its own.

She didn’t let the wolf land from its charge but rather charged herself. With a war cry leaving her, she planted her horn in the wolf’s chest, lifting the two several meters into the air. It didn’t make a sound of pain nor make any indication that it could in fact feel pain. Rather, it swung a paw at her as she let magic flow through her horn. The wolf doll began to crack even as the paw hit her neck. Though it shattered on contact, the wolf following suit moments later. She landed on the ground, her face a determined look. She then sneezed as some of the dust fell off of her horn and entered her lungs.

She shook her head and frowned, “Great. Got magical doll bits up my nose…”

Noah didn’t say anything but rather continued. Cadence followed as well. Her curiosity peaked when she saw the hallway continue. Every now and again Noah would stop her to use dark magic on the floor. She assumed that he was disarming traps or such. Though she was getting curious about exactly how large the castle actually was. Or were they below the castle in unknown halls and such? Perhaps another dimension? She watched the hallway become wider only to shrink again further down. She felt her insides squirm. Something did not feel right. Why would the hallway widen only to shrink again?

She gazed around the room as the two ponies walked into it. There were no adjacent hallways. No crystal wolves, or any other sort of magical doll. The floor was solid, and it didn’t give beneath her hooves. So, it wasn’t a pressure plate. Cadence frowned as her body screamed at her in fear.

Her fears were suddenly revealed as she felt the floor shake. She felt instinct take hold and she lifted Noah with her magic and jumped back. The motion narrowly allowing her to avoid the spires growing out of the floor. She released the unicorn and looked towards the floor, she could feel something moving beneath the surface.

“Below us!!” She shouted and flared her wings. Her magic was unsettled, it felt odd and different. Yet, it felt more connected to her being, filling her with renewed energy.

Noah gave the alicorn an angry look, but it faded when the floor shattered just ahead of the spires. Then, with a low thud, a large golem jumped from the shattered floor. It was like the wolves they had previously encountered, it was a deep shade of purple. Though it was holding an immense black club that seemed to have more spikes than quills on a porcupine. Its crystalline depths swallowing all light it touched. The golem wasn’t much different, its purple depths also pulling in light. This material was more transparent, yet the black crystal walls not giving it much effect. It landed next to the two ponies, causing large cracks to scatter along the surface.

The golem was silent. Its etched face was unmoving as it turned its whole head to face the two intruders. Its arm lifting the club in an obvious motion. Cadence frowned and felt her magic weaving into the doll dispersion spell that Noah had used earlier.

The two ponies jumped back as the club hit the spot they were moments ago. The spines on the club shattering and causing a wave of crystal shards to head in their direction. It was blocked by magical shields while the shards bounced harmlessly off the golem.

“Don’t waste your magic. It's way too big. Head back into the hallway.” Noah said tapping twice on his necklace.

Cadence felt the magic protesting its sudden stop, but her horror was in the forefront of her mind, “What did I do? Why would—”

“Your kingdom will be fine. I’m just calling her here,” He paused as the golem again brought its weapon down onto the floor. It shattered, leaving a large chunk of the floor devastated. He continued, “Though just because she is here, doesn’t mean I can’t destroy the heart.”

Cadence pulled the building spell back into her body, much to her body’s protest, then followed the unicorn. She wanted to fight the unicorn’s words but there was so much that she didn’t know about Electromagical devices. She saw a pegasus teleport, moving hair, and a strength to shatter crystal. From a formally shy pony. She had heard that the pony originally had great strength from Twilight. Though, whatever had happened to the pony was not natural. So how could she counter Noah’s words?

She dodged a blow from the sentient statue and followed Noah into the much smaller hallway. The golem was not able to follow, its size much too large for the hallway. Rather, it tried to bash in the supporting walls. Its efforts slowly widening the hallway.

The two ponies retreated further into the hallway, hiding behind the pillars as they did before. Cadence merely watched as she waited for Fluttershy to come. She was curious about what the pegasus was going to do, especially against such an opponent. Though her hopes or expectations were not high as she watched a large chunk of the ceiling come loose and clatter to the ground. The golem stopped its pounding and attempted to grab the piece of the fallen roof. It did so with little difficulty. Then it pulled it out and sent it back in as if it was bowling. Which was kind of true she recognized as she watched the chunk bounce off the pillars. It stopped a little bit down the hallway, creating little clouds of shattered crystal as it went.

She returned her attention to golem as it had stopped its attempts at getting into the hallway. Rather, it returned to its hole and smashed the ground. It shattered into large, jagged chunks of crystal. It then grabbed a few and returned to the hallway. Cadence and Noah had to make them as small as possible behind the pillars to avoid the bouncing projectiles. Cadence made the mistake of leaning on the pillar when it was struck. It had sent a shockwave through her that made her insides jolt. It was a mistake she would not make again.

Though amid the sound of crystal on crystal she heard the familiar sound of flapping wings. It was quite fast. She turned to the entrance and saw the yellow pegasus come into view. Noah caught her attention with fast, sharp signals, but they were not aimed at her.

Rather, Fluttershy was the recipient. Cadence watched the pony make a, “X,” with his legs and then pointed at the golem still throwing projectiles. Cadence watched the pony’s eyes turn red in response. Then, her side opened. She watched a whole section of the pony’s side slid away to reveal a glowing blue aura that had tiny ridges. From those tiny ridges came a tiny little spear, just the length of the pony’s supposed ribcage. It then extended with a small twang to form into a very familiar lance.

Though she didn’t get a chance to look at it as it was sent the golem’s way. In a blink of an eye, the golem’s head shattered as the lance went through it. Though it didn’t seem to deter the creature at all. It didn’t even pause throwing another chunk of crystal. Cadence hastily withdrew behind the pillar. But heard the crash sounding much, much farther than she expected. She popped back out to see the pegasus’s wings with glowing green crystals embedded in between the feathers. The shield Twilight had mentioned blossomed into existence.

The golem dropped its ammunition and another club grew from its hand, its previous one forgotten. It raised it as Fluttershy charged forward, her face showing a blank expression devoid of fear. Something the Princess was not accustomed to.

Though she heard another crack, and watched the golem’s arm fall off in a myriad of cracks and splinters. The club it had been holding clattering to the ground as well, sending parts of its spiny nature in many directions. Though she wasn’t worried about the shards, she was more curious of Fluttershy’s actions. Her charge ended with a jump that landed her on the golem’s chest. She then crouched and leapt off, completing a backflip before landing on all fours.

From where the pegasus had landed, were four little circles, all pink in color. They seemed to be made of crystal as well. The shield bubbled forward and extended over Fluttershy. Then, quite suddenly, the golem disappeared in a flash of light as the little circles seemed to explode. The shockwave and debris bouncing harmlessly off the translucent shield. Though she noticed that the sound had been sorely muffled. She mainly felt the explosion from her hooves as the shockwave traveled beneath them.

She watched the shield dissipate, letting a multitude of smells and heat wash over her. The hallway didn’t have much in it, so the debris cloud settled quickly. What remained of the golem was an artistic design of spikes and chunks in the opposing wall and hallway. Some parts were massive, others the width of a hair. It gave the walls a sort of organic appearance and she cursed her mind as she subconsciously tried to find a face in the uneven wreckage.

“Beautiful,” Noah said, and continued down the hallway.

Cadence couldn’t find her voice box as she followed the unicorn. Though she couldn’t help but jump as the lance from earlier flew back to Fluttershy of its own accord. She noticed that the lance had been in the remnants of the golem’s arm. It was probably the reason the arm exploded earlier. The floating lance then shrunk and was accepted back into the pegasus’s ribcage. Once whole again, the pony jumped forward and lead the group through the wreaked hallway. Cadence followed meekly, admiring the massive chunks the golem had been reduced to. Some were spears the length of her body. Others were merely haphazard cubes of crystal bigger than her.

Though the remnants quickly cleared as they continued down the hallway. Though, the hallway was again filled with clicking crystal as crystal snakes fell from the pillars above, just in front of them. They were huge dolls, seemingly able to snack on a pony only to want more.

Though they only got to move for a moment as Fluttershy raised a hoof towards them. Her whole leg seemed to emit a ghostly blue aura, then sent it forward. Almost immediately the green shield was placed in front of them, blocking their path further. Though, for a good reason.

The snakes suddenly shot backward, hit by a light blue aura traveling at intense speeds. The crystal snakes simply shattered on the spot, their remains shot into adjacent walls. Some pieces managed to stick into the walls but most shattered further as they couldn’t handle the speed of impact. The shield dissipated after a few moments, the attackers now thoroughly gone.

Cadence felt her mouth go dry. What was that? She gave the pegasus another look. What had Noah done to Fluttershy? Would she be able to see the gentle pony again?

“Not much farther I believe,” Noah said, stepping forward. Fluttershy followed suit and Cadence noticed that the heart was no longer on the pony’s back.

She hesitantly followed, tempted to turn tail and run back the way they came. Though she remembered the unicorn’s warning. Even if she were to run, she would most defiantly be caught. Starlight’s experience told her that. After that, her kingdom would suffer. She was sure everypony could evacuate before the kingdom was buried but only more problems would spawn. Ponies would lose almost everything they had and knew. Where would they go?

She just couldn’t risk it.

She instead continued down the hallway, though stopped as Noah paused. He looked to the right side of the continuing hallway and lit his horn in the dark magic. The wall fizzled and revealed more stairs. Cadence merely frowned. Though these stairs were only a single set, leading into a small, circular room.

In the wall opposite of the stairs was a floating crystal.

It was small, just big enough to fit in an amulet of some kind. It was red but the light seemed to get lost in the gem’s depths. Making it seem much more ominous than it really should. Though it was also in several hundred bits, floating in the air. Yet, even broken, it still made her uneasy.

“Yes! I was correct in my research!” Noah said, stepping forward. Though he paused and again lit his horn in the evil magic. He closed his eyes and the floor seemed to glow with a black aura, black lightning dancing in certain areas. After a few moments, the floor returned to a normal black brilliance she was used to. It was then he stepped off the stairs and got close to the gem. After a few moments of gawking the unicorn summoned a magic chalk and started to scribbled rings of magical signs and runes. Cadence was lost after the first ring but it looked like a funnel for magic. She could see hints of an amplifying array, but the rest made little to no sense to her eyes.

She was hesitant to ask and was content to remain silent in case she said something that offended her captor. She instead watched with interest, giving Fluttershy an occasional glance. Though she thought about the injured unicorn way above them. Was she okay? Fluttershy was down here so she was sure that her husband and the guards could help.

While she was pondering, Noah finished the major rings around the gem. Each set of rings seemed intrinsically connected to two smaller circles. They were just the distance apart for a pony to place both their hooves in without any strain. Cadence frowned as she suppressed her question and watched Noah start another ring. Though this was much simpler. Just a single ring with a little bit of mystic writing along the inner side. A large M was drawn that was it. She looked at this one with renewed interest. What was that for? She’d never seen anything like it.

“Come on down you two. We will have a guest shortly.” Noah said, making the two ponies come off the staircase. Cadence did so with no hurry, her curiosity, fear, and anger growing. She stood next to the yellow pegasus who was still staring into lands unknown. But she looked at Noah as he spoke.

“Be ready. He may come kicking and screaming. He can not escape this room, understand?”

Fluttershy nodded and took a fighting stance. Cadence also took a stance of her own, ready to summon a crystal blade at a moment’s notice.

“Stand down Princess, you will need to save your strength. Fluttershy will be plenty.” Noah said, then drew a line across the letter in the simple ring.

Cadence did what she was told, for the sake of her kingdom. Though, she watched the unicorn draw a horizontal line through the ring. It began to glow with a familiar magical glow. Then, where the line and the center of the letter connected, grew a familiar black crystal. It rose from the ground, growing in size and stature. Her expression tightened; what was Noah doing?

The crystal emitted a vortex of black shadow, seemingly real enough to touch. It solidified together till it was just above the crystal. Then, a single green eye opened in the cloud of another worldly essence. The eye was leaking a purple aura and was accompanied by a very familiar red horn that filled her with dread.

The cloud melted away to reveal the evil King. Though the dark unicorn was not facing her, she could still see the side of him. His cloak covered his cutie mark with flowing red silk that sported a fluffy white trim. The pure white was only broken by specks of black along the whole thing. A metal neck piece covered almost the bottom portion of his neck, leaving only a small section remaining. Around his head was a simple crown with symmetric horns on either side and a winged spike that followed the orientation of his horn. His mane was like a shadow, flowing to and fro in a random pattern. His short tail followed the same patterns, but her attention was on his teeth.

Sharp fangs filled the smile as the ancient king spoke, “Did you summon me with ignorance? Or perhaps, foolishness?”

Noah chuckled, “Purpose actually. One doesn’t fall upon your spell by chance. It took me years to find it and more to understand it.”

“Oh? And you are sure you know the purpose of this spell?” Sombra said, his voice flowing like a dark miasma, but also a like a thick blanket. Though that was broken when the king realized where he was.

“How dare you break into my castle and attempt to steal my things.” The king said, his dark voice somehow getting darker with anger.

Noah laughed, however, completely at ease around the powerful king, “The castle is not yours anymore. It belongs to her.” He pointed a hoof at Cadence who frowned in disapproval.

“You brought him back?! Why?!” Cadence demanded, staring at Noah, “He’s a bigger problem than the frozen North!” She wanted to ask how the unicorn had brought him back but bit her tongue. She had more important matters to attend to. She looked at Fluttershy’s defensive position but remembered what Noah had told her. Would she really be able to stop King Sombra? The golem was one thing. Though Sombra seemed to be a whole other level.

The King also looked at the pegasus, “Do you want to fight me, little bird?” Fluttershy did not respond, but rather stood as still as a statue.

Noah spoke, breaking the silence, “Contain Sombra please.”

“It’s King—” Sombra said, in retaliation, but was stopped short by Fluttershy’s hair whirling into motion. It was able to wrap around his horn before the unicorn could react thanks to Noah’s words. The hair then slammed him against the wall as it began to completely entangle him.

“What’s this?” The king muttered, attempting to get free. Though his movements jerked when the hair began to glow with a blue energy. The king grunted and began to move around more furiously. Though after a few minutes, the king was enveloped in a pure black energy and Cadence thought he had turned to shadow. Though she watched the pony shrink into the same kind of orb that Twilight had described.

“So that’s containment protocol…” She thought, watching Fluttershy’s chest open to reveal pipes twisting in unknown patterns. Part of the patterns was adorned with a simple plate. The center had a glowing white circle and she could see indents along the rim of it. The orb was placed in one of the indents, the chest was closed, and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

Cadence gulped, hoping that she didn’t have to be contained. She doubted she’d last long, since the powerful dark unicorn had only lasted a few minutes. She found herself staring at Fluttershy, who was now staring off into the distance again, oblivious to her looks. Though she sprung into motion when Noah spoke.

“Now, please contain Cadence.”

“Hey—wait!” She said, even as the hairs wrapped around her. She was way too close to do any avoidance, “What did I do wrong?” She reached for her crystal magic but felt the connection cut from her as the hair wrapped around her horn.

“Nothing. Your kingdom will be fine as you’ve behaved. I just need your magic.” Noah replied, watching the process.

Cadence stiffened her magic according to Twilight’s directions and felt the forewarned pull. She gasped after the first tug and spoke rapidly, “Can’t I just use my magic for you?” She grimaced as her magic was tugged on again.

“You can not use the magic I need.”

“Then why do you need my magic?” Another tug, causing her sentence to end abruptly.

“Because your magic can do the magic I need it to.”

That confused her. It was her magic, right? Shouldn’t she be able to use her magic in any way Noah needed to?

“I really do not want to wait around,” Noah said carelessly, “So please do relax or I will do good on my threats.”

“But Fluttershy is down here. How can you harm them?”

“Electromagical devices are new to this kingdom, new to you. How do you know the safety of the heart when you have no idea what Fluttershy can do?”

She frowned, resisting yet another tug on her magic. This time it almost got her and she had to reel it in. Was the heart indeed in danger? Noah had confirmed her fears of her ignorance. She had very little idea of what the yellow pegasus could do.

“Fine.” She muttered and loosened her magic. Her anxious feelings seemingly slowing time down before the next pull. She almost became impatient.

When the tug came, it pulled her magic out of its little bubble. She instinctively tried to pull it back but found the resistance to be too strong. Though it wasn’t ripped out of her, rather, it was wrapped around her. Her vision suddenly went an unbreaking blue as if somepony had put a blue floodlamp in her face. The color continued, but her sense of touch seemed to shrink as she lost the feeling in her limbs. She could still feel that she was floating, and now moving in the air.

She felt something wrap partly around her and suddenly she felt her limbs return. She was still floating though this time she could still feel her legs and wings. She was also able to look around even if all she could see was darkness. Despite this, she knew she was in a tube of some kind. It was as if she could feel the walls around her without being able to see them.

She did hear voices though, but they were too far off for her to make out any words. She continued along the tube and slowly heard the sounds form into words.

“Where. Is. My, magic!” King Sombra roared from somewhere in front of her. She tensed, feeling that she was going right towards him. Light suddenly filled her vision as a hole opened up in front of her. She gently floated through and was placed gently on her hooves. The floor was black but if she looked closer she could see tiny squares making up the surface. A blue square of light flew by her along the floor. Catching her curiosity as it traveled along random, but straight paths. She also saw more colors dancing around and found that she was in a massive room that was a pure cube.

“Where is it!!”

Cadence turned towards the sound and saw Sombra cornering the yellow pegasus against the wall. She saw her mouth move but wasn’t able to discern any words. She wasn’t surprised though, Fluttershy’s voice did not carry very far. So, she flared her wings and flew over. She landed next to the King and shoved him back, stepping protectively over the quivering pegasus. She did notice a few blue lines hovering around her leg but dismissed it when Sombra growled.

“You’re here too?” He scoffed, “Did she take your magic as well?”

Cadence frowned and reached for her magic. She felt it, but it was just barely out of reach.

“I guess,” She looked back at the still quivering pegasus. Though she was hiding her head at the moment, “Though that doesn’t matter right now. She’s being controlled by Noah. I don’t blame her for her actions as they are not her own.”

“Not her own? You expect me to believe that she is not of her own will? When she has no such magic infecting her?!”

“A lot has happened since you’ve been around,” Cadence said letting the venom into her voice, “She’s under control by electromagical devices.” She paused. She wished Twilight had said more about that in her letter. She had simply said the devices used electricity to mimic magical powers. She didn’t know much else.

“Ha!” The King’s voice carried exasperation, “I’ve been gone for far too long. You’ve come and taken my empire! My empire! A puny little bird!”

“Puny?!”

“Yes,” The King confirmed with hostility, “A puny little bird allowed herself to be subjugated by a rat! Which led to where we are!”

“Oh please!” Cadence retorted, “This Kingdom has flourished under my rule. Ponies are happy! Not slaves!”

“Exactly my point! This Empire was supposed to be the beginning! Now it is wasted on such pathetic pursuits.”

“Pathetic?! You call ponies being happy being pathetic?”

“The feelings of others do not matter in my eyes. They are nothing more than tools to get what I want.”

“Why you!” Cadence shouted and jumped forward fully intending to nail the unicorn’s horn into his skull.

Sombra jumped back though, and smiled, “Ha! Even without your magic, you are pathetic. Pathetic!!” He shouted, taunting her even more.

Her eyes twitched, “Oh really! You have to use the strength of others to get what you want. That’s pathetic!” She was still shouting and quite frankly didn’t care.

“Ha! To get those to—” Sombra said but was cut off.

“Enough!” Fluttershy’s voice echoed through the cube. Her shout seemed to permeate the walls and cause them to shudder, once.

Then several chains snapped up from the floor. It wrapped around Cadence’s middle and formed into a large restraint. Surprise barely had time to register on her face as more chains sprung up from the floor and restrained every one of her limbs. Where the chains coiled together, appeared whole restraints rather than chains. Her wings, legs, and body were simply unable to move as the chains were pulled taut. All she could do was swish her tail and blink. Sombra was similarly restrained and had eyes wide in shock.

“Oh my gosh…” Fluttershy’s voice seemed to recede into her mouth, becoming even quieter, “I’m so sorry!” Her exclamation came out as a simple whisper. The chains and restraints changed color as they vaporized. She looked at the floor, watching the powder fade into the ground. Cadence then turned to Fluttershy as she curled into a tighter ball and hid her head. She frowned when she saw the pony quivering.

“Pathetic,” Sombra stated, “So much power and such a fragile heart.”

Cadence gave him an angry snort and trotted over to the crying pegasus. She laid down next to her and stroked her hair, “Don’t worry. Twilight told me what happened, so I don’t blame any of this on you.”

“But I—” Fluttershy coughed, “Made those restraints! Made them somehow! What else can I do? Who else will I hurt…” She receded back into her ball.

Cadence smiled, “Starlight is a strong unicorn. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“She is.”

“Hmm?”

“The MMO let me heal her.” Her voice was quieter than usual and had had very little emotion.

“The MMO?” Cadence asked, recalling something vague Twilight had said.

Fluttershy merely shrugged and didn’t respond.

Cadence frowned. Fluttershy’s predicament was something she had never seen before. How could she respond?

“Well, you healed her, did you not?”

The pony nodded so slightly that she barely moved. Cadence was only aware of the movement because of her bouncing hair.

“Well, that means you helped her! Saved her even!”

“I’m the one who put the blade in her leg in the first place! Right when she grabbed the heart I—” Fluttershy’s dulled voice choked off as she continued to cry in a tight ball.

She frowned, gently stroking the pink hair, “No.”

Fluttershy jumped upwards, exposing a tear-stained face, “Yes! I felt each—”

“No,” Cadence said again, placing a hoof on the pony’s mouth, “It was Flutterbyte.”

Confusion filled the face, “Flutter, bite?”

Cadence nodded, “Your friends didn’t like saying that you were hurting them, hurting others, or doing things that were bad. They knew something was controlling you, so they named that something Flutterbyte.” She paused with a small smile, “With a y, not an I.”

Fluttershy didn’t respond.

“So it wasn’t you that hurt Starlight. It was Flutterbyte. While it was you that healed her.”

Fluttershy chuckled, “That was Pinkie’s idea huh?”

Cadence chuckled, “Probably.” She watched the pony’s expression lift, “Now, where are we?”

Fluttershy frowned, “I’m not sure…” She looked around, “I think you guys are in my head.”

Cadence gave the pony an incredulous look, “Your head?”

Fluttershy nodded, “Yeah. Right now I can talk with you and interact with you. Though, when I hit this,” She pointed to the lines around her leg. Now Cadence saw words hovering around the pegasus’s leg. She was pointing at, Share view.

“When Celestia was in here, I tapped that. After I felt my body like I, normally, do and I was able to talk to Celestia with my internal voice,” she paused, “If you can call me normal…”

Cadence frowned, “I’m sure we’ll be able to return you to normal!”

Fluttershy’s demeanor drooped, “I don’t know… I’ve been this way for a long time. Since I was a philly I guess.”

Cadence frowned, “What do you mean?”

“Just that,” Fluttershy said dully.

Cadence frowned, seeing that her friend was kept in the dark as much as she was. She took in a breath and tried to imagine what it would feel like to be in her hooves. Though, try as she could she simply couldn’t. Trapping ponies in your mind? Sentient hair? Crazy healing abilities to counter other equally deadly abilities? How could she imagine?

“As much as I would love to let this, ‘therapy,’ session continue,” Sombra said dully, “I need my magic back. I intend to wipe that smile off that rat’s face.”

Cadence shot him a dark look, “Stop. I do not want to deal with you.” Though she expected a response, she didn’t get one. Though she knew why.

The floor beneath her and Sombra was glowing. It was bright enough to send red rays of light out and into the surrounding space.

“Oh no! Not again!” Fluttershy cried, voice saturated with concern.

Cadence jumped up and attempted to avoid the glowing floor but found that she could not. It remained under her, wherever she went. She tried to fly upwards but spikes shot up from the floor and surrounded her. She felt an invisible force halt her movements and was brought down to the floor. Though not into the floor, just hovering a meter above it. She tried to use her wings to move her body but she wasn’t able to. She merely looked around her prison and saw a similar cage surrounding Sombra. Each set of spikes in perfect symmetry.

Though there was a bright glowing orb above Sombra. It crackled with a mysterious energy. Cadence’s mind ran in her skull. Twilight had warned her about the containment protocol’s ability to steal magic. Wasn’t this the process?

She watched Fluttershy run over to her and push her hooves against the spikes. Though, red fire blocked her and she disappeared behind it. It started to turn pink, but her attention was ripped from her as she heard Sombra scream. He was thrashing around in the air and she shivered, hoping that she could escape before it was her turn.

“Cadence!” She heard Fluttershy’s voice and turned to it. Through the fire was Fluttershy’s form. Around her were pink flames, that parted for her. Her hoof was extended out but it seemed that she couldn’t pass the spikes.

Cadence reached out and found she was able to reach her hoof easily and she tried to pull herself to the pegasus. Though, she saw on her hoof lines of blue appearing. They took sharp turns and ended in dots. It spread upwards till it was just above her fetlock. She felt Fluttershy also pull her away but their combined efforts did nothing to move her from her spiky prison.

Her attention was brought upwards as the glowing orb moved above her in a blink of an eye. She gave it a wary glance and tried to pull harder. Though it crackled with energy and shot a bolt into her.

Her magical energy shattered. Her physical body screamed in pain as shards of her magical energy were pulled out of her, tearing metaphysical holes in her body. She shivered as her lungs recovered from her screams. She found herself on the floor, the spikes gone and the flat ground back in place.

She watched the orb hover over to Fluttershy, who had been separated from her. She weakly tried to speak but her words died in her throat as the orb shot two bolts into her friend.

Though she didn’t even flinch.

“Huh?” Was all she could muster. Though the pegasus didn’t pause in her movements. Rather, she rushed over, and helped the Princess into a sitting position.

“Are you okay?” She asked, her voice louder now with concern.

Cadence shrugged, “Not sure. I think I will be?”

Fluttershy frowned, “I’m sorry. I tried to help but I was blocked by something.”

“Fire?”

She shook her head in response, “No. I mean, I don’t think so. It didn’t feel like fire.”

“It looked like it.”

Fluttershy nodded but her response was cut off by another pony.

“What did you do?” King Sombra’s voice was thin, covering a dark anger that threatened to engulf even Cadence.

Fluttershy took a step back, though she seemed frozen in response.

Cadence groaned and forced herself to her hooves. She stood as defiantly as she could though her limbs complained.

“It wasn’t her,” She said, pulling force into her words, “As I said before. She is under control.”

“I do not care. She stole a part of my magic! I will take it back even if I have to go through you.” The King replied, eyeing the yellow mare behind her.

Cadence frowned. King Sombra was powerful even if he was weakened like she was. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to fight him. Without magic would be even more of a problem since she was poor with hoof-to-hoof. That and she wasn’t sure the timid pegasus would find the will to fight. She was on her own. And she was only left with words.

“Look, we can’t just force the magic out of her,” Cadence said, keeping a small amount of force in her voice, “We’re in her head remember?”

Sombra frowned, “How do you know?”

“I don’t. We only have to go off Fluttershy’s words.”

“And you expect me to believe her?” Sombra said, taking a defiant step forward.

She frowned. She couldn’t fight him and he knew it, “She’s not my enemy. Noah is. He’s controlling her!”

“Really? I did not sense any mind control magic. Nor do I sense it here, in her mind. Do you really think I would fall for this ruse?” Sombra growled and spoke more darkly, “Now move. Unless you want to face me.” His threat stood aloof like an executioner’s axe as he started to walk towards her.

She shook her head, “Fine, if it's proof you want. Proof you’ll get. Noah wouldn’t want us to know his plans right?”

Sombra paused.

Cadence smiled, “Gotcha. Please Fluttershy know his plan!”

She turned her head ever so slightly to Fluttershy, “Can you tell us his plan?”

Fluttershy whimpered, “I don’t know it!”

“Then that clears it,” Sombra said and continued his steps.

“Wa-wait! He has the Alicorn Amulet. Well, I do but he made me take it!” Fluttershy sputtered desperately.

Sombra’s movements stopped cold, “The Alicorn Amulet?”

Fluttershy nodded quickly.

Cadence’s legs were screaming at her to sit down but she ignored their complaints. She wasn’t going to let her guard down. Though, she continued to watch Sombra who stood pondering unknown thoughts.

“Fortunately, for you that does make sense why he raided my castle,” Sombra said, most of the anger out of his voice.

Cadence bit her tongue. She wanted to say it was hers and Shinning’s castle. Though that wasn’t the time. She did not want to provoke the evil unicorn. She also wanted to ask why the Alicorn amulet was connected to the Crystal Empire’s castle. Was it made there a thousand years ago?

Sombra looked up, “Fine. I will hold my attack on the pegasus. Despite her stealing part of my magic… What is it you want to do then?”

Cadence folded her wings and sat down. Her limbs screamed with relief as she adopted a pose of neutrality. One of discussion and not one of battle. She was relieved Sombra did the same.

“Well, I say that Noah is the main target. Without him, I’m sure that Fluttershy would be released.” She wasn’t positive about that but it made sense in her mind.

“A truce then?”

Cadence nodded, feeling Fluttershy sit down next to her. She gave her a glance and extended her wing over her.

Sombra adopted a thinking pose, “Fine. I can agree with this only until Noah is dead or under my control. Then, I will reclaim my throne.”

Cadence nodded expecting the answer, “That’s fine.”

Sombra nodded with content, “Alright, you seem to understand the situation better than I do. What should I know?”

“Well, I’m mostly in the dark as well but I’ll tell you what I know,” Cadence said, then launched into an explanation of what Twilight had told her. Or at least what she could remember. She did leave out the group was the Elements of Harmony. His defeat had happened before he could find out about the elements, or at least she believed so.

Sombra nodded at the information, “Alright, what about the natural power I sense in her? It's strong and makes the shadows want to flee.”

“I’m not sure what you are talking about, though she does have the ability to power up when her friends are nearby.”

Sombra nodded, “Then it will not be useful at this time.”

Cadence nodded. She would love to have the power of the Elements of Harmony. Though she doubted that her fellow alicorn could call on their power when one of the bearers were corrupted.

“Then I do suppose that I will be the stronger power and shall spear the head of the attack. Do you know of any way to trap your pegasus friend?”

Cadence looked at Fluttershy and nodded, “Yes. Though it won’t hold for very long. A minute at best. Seconds at worst.”

“What is it?”

Cadence frowned, “I assume that you’re familiar with the Crystal Prison?”

Sombra’s eyes widened, “You found the transcripts?”

Cadence merely nodded, “It’s been a long time since you last attacked.” She wasn’t going to dare reveal that she had a foal.

Sombra gave her a knowing glance but didn’t pursue the subject, “Yes, I’m familiar with the technique. If you trap Fluttershy then I can dispose of Noah quite easily.”

“He was able to dispel my crystal magic pretty well so it may not be as easy as you’d think.”

Sombra nodded, “The warning is welcome, though, crystals aren’t my only attack option.”

Cadence nodded, “Yes, but I’ve just learned the technique and am not that fast. It may be a second before I can fully trap her.”

“It does not matter. Trap her legs and that’s all I’ll need.”

“Her hair?”

Sombra frowned, giving the pegasus an annoyed glance, “Ah, yes. Then you’ll have to charge the prison then release it. Are you familiar with that concept?”

Cadence nodded. She’d just store enough energy to create the prison, then feed it all at once. The crystal then will snap into position. She just couldn’t get distracted otherwise the technique wouldn’t work.

“Yes, though you’ll need to distract Noah. He’s going to notice me charging my magic.” Cadence replied, looking at her horn.

Sombra nodded, “I don’t think that will be a problem.”

“Alright. I’ll trap Fluttershy and that will be your cue to attack.”

“Understood,” Sombra said, her expression unreadable, “Then we have a plan. Just remember, when Noah is defeated, it will be your turn.”

Cadence nodded, “I look forward to the challenge.”

Sombra laughed, “It will not be a challenge for me to take my castle back from this puny bird.”

Cadence frowned and was about to retort when she felt Fluttershy slowly sink to the floor. She looked at her and found she was clutching her temples as if to ward a headache away.

“Fluttershy? What’s wrong?” Cadence asked gently. Though she stopped when she saw lines appearing around the pony’s face. Fluttershy shuddered and used one hoof to tap the Share view floating around her foreleg. She then suddenly went limp with her eyes being partly covered by a box of blue lines that looked like glasses. Only the lens was a single brick. She could still see the seeing orbs, yet they seemed to be looking into a world of their own.

She was about to ask again when she saw a line draw out a rectangle in the air just behind Sombra. Even as the unicorn turned to look at what the Princess was looking at, it filled with color. In the rectangle, she was able to see Noah and the spell he had made on the floor.

“Fluttershy? What happened?”

She didn’t respond.

She tried again, “Fluttershy?”

This time she responded, “I’m here. Though I’m talking in my head now.”

“Your head?” Sombra asked, a small inkling of incredulousness creeping into his dark voice.

“Yes. I think.”

“Are we seeing through your eyes?” Cadence asked, looking at the floating colors.

“Charge, here, and here with Containment sections two and three.” Noah’s voice also came from the rectangle.

“I think so?” Fluttershy said. Though she could see the pony’s lips moving to form the words. Though she was supposedly talking in her head. Were they really in the pegasus’s mind?

“What is he doing?” Sombra suddenly demanded.

Fluttershy’s reply was timid, “I don’t, know.”

Cadence didn’t respond, but rather, studied Fluttershy’s view. She saw the pegasus seem to take a few steps then place her hooves in two circles. The screen showed her placement of hooves in the direct center of the circles. Then, the left leg gained a swirling blue energy and the left gained a similar black energy.

“Oh, my…” Fluttershy said gently, “I have a horn.”

Cadence didn’t respond, she was too busy feeling her magic swell. It was still out of her reach, yet, it felt as if she was using it.

“She’s using my magic…” Sombra said darkly.

“No. It’s Noah using her to use your magic. Mine as well.” Cadence corrected, allowing her voice to gain a few levels of volume.

“It does not matter.” Came the curt reply.

Cadence didn’t answer back but again focused on the image. It was now showing the gem from earlier. Every single line that Noah had created was glowing with blue and black auras. Though it looked like the lines couldn’t contain the power and energy. Misty versions of the energies floating around the lines, obscuring them a bit. Though the lines suddenly floated upwards and into the broken gem. It glowed with a dull white and the pieces started to come together.

“Impossible…” Sombra said in utter disbelief.

“What?” Cadence asked, but didn’t get a reply. So, she watched the gem become whole. Its dark, never-ending appearance now not as strong. Though it was still not see-through, despite it looking like it might. She felt her body shudder, still feeling the uneasiness shaking her soul.

“How?” Sombra asked no one in particular, his dark façade replaced with incredulousness.

Cadence’s mind made a sudden link, “Don’t come out talking about the gem. We can’t let him know that we were planning anything. If you have knowledge of the gem’s repair, then he may know we were able to talk.”

Sombra was about to reply but was interrupted by the words from the screen.

“Release Containment sections two and three,” Noah said through the floating rectangle.

Cadence suddenly felt the floor behind her disappear and felt gravity pull her down. She glimpsed a similar hole swallow up Sombra. She also noted, with some sense of incredulousness, that Fluttershy was floating; unaffected by the sudden pit. Though her sight was blocked by a pure black. Her body’s feelings suddenly shrunk back into oblivion. She did feel that she was floating again, then her magic was pulled from her like a comfy blanket and returned to her mind. She blinked, feeling her senses coming back to her.

She was back in the room with Noah and Fluttershy. She blinked again as Noah took a few steps forward.

“How did you reassemble the gem?” Sombra asked, surprising Cadence by sounding impressed. She was suddenly worried about their plan.

Noah chuckled, holding the now completed gem in his magical grasp, “You weren’t very good at working with others now, were you? All you needed was another to perform the crystal magic. Then you would’ve been able to complete your goals.”

“And what do you think my goals are?” Sombra said, getting close to his face. Though the unicorn did not even flinch nor back down.

Cadence got the hint and began to charge her magic. Fluttershy slowly turned her head to the to alicorn to make her magic barely stutter.

Fluttershy had a blue crystal horn on her head. She could see into this crystal appendage. Wires and other tiny boxes were in the center. The wires then shed their outer skins to become silver rods embedded in the inside of the crystal. Though it did not breach the outside.

Cadence swallowed, remembering what Fluttershy had said. What exactly had happened to her?

Though she let her magic build while Noah spoke.

“What your goals were. It does not matter what they are now.”

“What do you mean?” Sombra asked warily.

Noah just gave him a look.

Cadence frowned and felt her magic reach to where it was needed. She immediately let it loose, causing the crystal under Fluttershy to shoot upwards. When it stopped moving, the pegasus was encased in a semi-transparent crystal. Her movements froze as if she was gently lifted in the air and frozen. Though her expression did not show any emotion.

“I mean your demise,” Sombra said, lighting his horn.

Though, the dark unicorn faltered when the other began to laugh.

A sudden crash filled the small room as Fluttershy’s prison shattered. Cadence started to shield herself but found the prison had broken into large chunks rather than deadly projectiles.

Fluttershy bounded over the mess and charged Sombra. Though she didn’t get far.

Sombra snarled and spun to face the threat, not to be taken off guard a second time. This time he stomped his hoof and a spire of black crystal erupted from the floor, directly below the pegasus.

The spire pierced the underside of Fluttershy’s left shoulder, tearing the whole limbs upwards. The spire force was enough to break the joint and nearly tear off the leg. The other side holding together if barely. Though, aside from the occasional zap and pop, there was no noise from the pegasus. Cadence could only see her leg more than 90 degrees in a direction that it was not meant to go.

Sombra, eyes wide, took a step back, “What, are you?”

Fluttershy did not respond, yet her hair rushed in his direction. Sombra conjured a magic shield in an attempt to block it but found the hair going right through. It rammed him and again sent him into the wall.

“You see? I do not care what you try to do. You will fail.” Noah said, looking at Sombra peeling himself off the wall.

“Ugh, then an alliance?” Sombra said, “I’m sure you would be able to use my power.”

Cadence gritted her teeth, that little traitor! Though her words were cut off before she could even speak.

“No. You do not have a habit of working well with others.” Noah replied simply.

“So be it,” Sombra said as he turned to shadow. The cloud then rushed to the stairs and suddenly shifted back into a pony. With a cry of complaint, the pony hit the stairs at the speed the cloud had been moving.

“What’s this?” Sombra asked, examining his hoof in disbelief.

“Hmm, I guess I could explain. Simply, I have control of your magic. You can try to morph into your shadow form but I can pull you right out.”

“You do not control my magic,” Sombra said defiantly.

“Is that so?” He turned to the yellow pegasus, “Trap one of his hooves with his crystal magic. Not much.”

Fluttershy didn’t move, but Cadence saw the blue crystal on her head glow with a dark gruesome black. Then, Sombra’s characteristic crystals began to grow around the King’s left hoof. He didn’t try to stop it, but was entranced by the growth.

“See? You are outmatched in every way. So, you have no more use to me. And since you may wreak havoc that may get in my way, you are more than worthless. Fluttershy, eliminate Sombra.”

Sombra’s eyes tightened as the crystals surrounding his hoof melted back into the floor. Fluttershy’s head swiveled to the King and she jumped forward, tearing her broken leg clean off. It remained stuck on the crystal, sparking and popping. Small boxes and other electrical devices visible, as well as a thick golden band. Though her movements seemed to be unaffected as she closed the gap between her and Sombra.

Sombra quickly morphed into his shadow and jumped away from the stairs. When he was forced out of it, he was on all fours, but reared up and slammed the ground. It rumbled in response and a wall of black crystal separated him and the pegasus. He turned towards Noah with a hateful expression but looked back at the wall as it shattered. Fluttershy’s hair had shattered the wall, letting her get close. Despite missing one of her legs, she placed a front leg on Sombra’s chest. There was a thud and Sombra was again sent into the wall. Though, this time the wall shattered with the impact. A spider web of cracks surrounding the King as he fell from the wall with a shallow grunt.

“You think that will kill me? You do not have the power necessary to do so.” Sombra said with a weakness that did not match his words. Cadence saw that several crystal shards had pierced the King’s skin. Though, they did not bleed.

“Fluttershy could finish you in an instant. Though, that would also kill me and Cadence.”

Cadence frowned and turned to Noah. She launched a bolt of energy at him, but a pink wave of hair blocked it. She turned to the pegasus with surprise. She was looking at her as well, though red eyes stared back at her. Two triangles surrounded her pupil. Barely offset on a vertical sense.

They were not eyes to Cadence. Regardless of their position on the face.

“Strike two Cadence. I would not make another move if you care for your subjects.” Noah said casually.

Cadence frowned and extinguished her horn.

“Coward,” Sombra muttered. Though his attention was back on Fluttershy in a second. She had begun to advance again, taking slow steps towards the injured unicorn.

Though the pony easily got up and growled. Lines of crystals appeared on the ground, sprouting little spires as they did so. Fluttershy began to jump and weave as the lines sprouted much larger spires. Her missing leg did not seem to affect her in the slightest. Cadence watched with fascination, curious about how the pegasus was keeping her balance so well.

Other spires erupted from the ground, not following the lines. Regardless of where they came from, the pegasus avoided every single one. She tucked into a roll next to Sombra to avoid a spire, then came out of it with a mighty buck. Sombra was sent into the wall once more. Though this time, he stayed in the wall since the hole could now support him.

With an unnatural motion, Fluttershy swiveled up from her back hooves and sprouted a blue blade from her remaining leg. With a single, swift motion, she planted it into Sombra’s forehead. His crown was split into two pieces and fell to the floor with a small clatter. Silence followed for a few seconds as Sombra’s form when limp. Fluttershy pulled her leg back, the blade gone, and settled back onto her legs, again staring into another world.

Sombra’s form fell to the ground with a thud. Though Cadence saw what she wasn’t expecting. From the wound came nothing. She wasn’t too well versed in biology, but she was certain the skull contained a very important organ. Not a pure blackness that she now saw. The eyes suddenly faded into dark black orbs that reminded her of rabbit eyes. It looked very odd on a pony.

“Tying yourself to shadow for immortality,” Noah scoffed, “Such an inefficient method. A fool would have to give you a second chance to continue your twisted reality.” He turned to Fluttershy who was again staring off into some other world, “Repair mode.”

Fluttershy blinked and her eyes turned into a light blue octagon surrounding her pupils. She then stepped back to her missing leg. With a cracking sound, she separated it from the crystal trapping it. Then, her hair lifted it to the gaping hole in her shoulder.

It was surrounding by jagged metal plates that were yellow on one side and the metal grey on the other. Various wires and tubes were revealed along with several supporting beams. Various boxes and other curious-looking devices disappeared as the leg was brought close. A multitude of hairs entered the gap and seemed to shift as the ends did some unknown tasks. The hairs then withdrew and the broken yellow plates began to glow a light blue. Without a sound, it shifted, as if it was made of clay, connecting itself to its severed edges. When the glow disappeared, the yellow was unbroken once more.

Cadence was dumbstruck. She had just seen what appeared to be the Element of Kindness kick the King Sombra’s flank. Then just reattach a severed leg as if it was nothing. How was she made of metal, yet still able to move so organically? She had been around her and her friends. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Yet, even after Twilight’s letter, she wasn’t prepared to accept Fluttershy was made of metal!

“Let’s go back up,” Noah said and started for the stairs as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Cadence didn’t say a word as she followed the unicorn. Fluttershy quietly followed as well, the extra set hoof steps the only clue of her presence.

Powers do not come with warnings

Author's Note

I'm back! :twilightblush:
Oh my goodness I've had so many curve balls thrown my way in the past few months. :ajbemused: But bruised faces aside, I've finished this chapter, and a few others :raritywink: Though I did find that the chapter was almost 30 000 words again. I didn't get any input on the length of the other chapter but I feel that most wouldn't like that. So, I split up the chapter into two smaller ones, which I will post together and see how that's taken. Feedback is welcome :pinkiehappy: Otherwise, enjoy!

*/ I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is magic nor any the characters contain therein. They belong to Hasbro and their respective companies./*

Powers do not come with warnings

Twilight was staring at a small sand hourglass, watching the sand slowly empty from the top. It was her small, but effective, 15-minute timer. She’d use it for practicing spells, reading books, taking a leisure shower, and various other activities. 15 minutes was a very common timer for ponies to use. Though now she was using to delay her teleport to Princess Cadence. Merely 13 minutes and 40 seconds ago she had sent her sister-in-law an important letter.

The letter had been sent to tell the other alicorn of Fluttershy’s fate. The letter also had instructions to send another letter to tell Twilight that she was okay. Though since Spike’s fire mail was almost instantaneous, she must either be taking her sweet time, or was caught already.

14 minutes.

She felt herself swallow. Then she looked up at Celestia who gave her a reassuring smile. Though she herself was tense. Stiff muscles and slightly open wings seemed to be radiating anxious but battle-ready aura. Other than that, she and her sister were as still as stone.

Twilight felt her mind wandering again. Though this time in anger. If Noah had forced Fluttershy to hurt her sister-in-law, she was unsure of what she was going to do. She forced her anger into a frown but felt more anger than could fit on her face. Who gave Noah the right to control her friend!? Any pony for that matter? Just when it seemed her thoughts would make her scream, Spike belched out magical smoke that turned into a small piece of paper. Spike offered it forward to Twilight. She grasped it with her magic, feeling relief flood into her mind. Though it was short-lived. Just as a flower trying to bloom in a snowstorm.

The paper crinkled slightly as Twilight narrowly avoided crushing it in pure anger. It was a note saying for her to rush to the empire. No signature. No call sign or stamp.

From her beneath her anger, she felt the power rise into her being, just like the time she faced Noah at the portal. She held it back, remembering how the last time she had used it, Rainbow and Rarity had lost their magical abilities for a short time. She wasn’t sure if it was truly her fault, but the facts seemed to line up too well. She wasn’t going to risk it.

So, she teleported herself to where she fought Tirek so long ago. A small, deserted field covered with cracks that Nature was slowly reclaiming. She allowed the building energy to flood into her senses where it seemed to negate any bodily discomfort. She took a look at her leg, noticing that she was, in fact, glowing. She also noticed that a large amount of energy had been dispelled from her form. All directions had not been spared. Was that the cause for the momentary glitch with her friend’s abilities?

Though the thought was shoved away, replaced with the mental image of where she had just been. She didn’t have time to reflect on it at the moment. She winked herself there, feeling no pressure on her magic in the process. The group seemed slightly taken aback at her sudden reappearance though they recovered quickly. She placed a magical hoof on each of the ponies in the room and reached her mind over to the empire. Though she paused in the effect. She could feel Starlight’s magic in a sort of combined teleporting spell. She would just have to connect her energy to hers and they would both handle the spell. Twilight considered it, though she could feel the near-infinite power flowing through her. No sense in tiring out Starlight when she could easily handle the spell. So, she located the source of the energy and let the spell fly. The spell took a second to take effect, leaving an even larger flash in its wake. When it disappeared, the group was under the Crystal Empire’s castle.

Twilight spun around, letting her glowing eyes rest on Starlight, “Where is she?” She said, failing to clear all the anger from her voice.

Starlight had had her eyes closed, so the sudden words made the unicorn jump, “What!” She opened her eyes to see the glowing alicorn and took a hesitant step back, “Uh, Twilight? You, okay?”

Celestia nodded firmly, “Yes, she is alright. Though was it you that sent that request?”

Starlight nodded stiffly, unable to take her eyes off the purple alicorn, “Yes. Fluttershy and Noah are here. He took Cadence to the throne room, then Fluttershy just left. I assume to join them,” She reported, still staring.

“You assume?” Rainbow asked hotly, “What do you mean?”

Starlight broke her gaze and gave the pegasus a hot look, “I couldn’t follow her!” She turned her whole body to face the flying pegasus, “I had to choose between sending that letter and getting you all here or following her. I’d doubt Flutterbyte would just let me send out teleporting spells. Though had I known that Twilight could just teleport every pony here then I would have confirmed her whereabouts.”

“You have one too.” Applejack said gently, pointing towards Starlight’s flank. Next to the star on her cutie mark was a small reflective patch.

Starlight returned the look, “Yeah. Though you have it on your chest, what happened?”

“I got stabbed in the heart. Apparently, Fluttershy took it out and fixed it. Then put it back in,” Applejack’s face matched Starlight’s crazed expression, “You?”

“Just got stabbed by a crystal dagger,” Starlight said meekly, “Nothing too special.”

“Where did Noah go again? Do you know?” Twilight asked suddenly, breaking the flow. She took a step forward to pull the attention to herself.

Starlight responded with another step back before she responded with words, “Uh, he asked Cadence to take him to the throne room. Otherwise, he’d break the crystal heart. Though it seems fine now.”

Twilight nodded, but paused when Glyph spoke, “Can I take a look? It may still be able to be remotely destroyed.”

“How? Shining has already scrubbed the area for any magic other than its own magic,” Starlight asked the new pony. Though if she showed any distrust, she hid it well.

“Crystals can be fabricated in ways to hold charges. Those charges can in turn hold small programs along tiny pathways of varying electrical resistance. Those pathways can become tiny computers. Those computers can handle the detonation of an explosive from a remote location. Those explosives could be crystals camouflaged like the gem.” She paused, realizing what she was saying, “Noah could have placed crystal bombs on the heart. Which he can detonate from pretty much anywhere in the empire.”

Starlight gave the pegasus a strange look, “And you can find these bombs and remove them? If they are present?”

Glyph nodded.

Twilight turned to the part mechanical pony, “You stay with Starlight, make sure the heart is okay. Every pony else will come with me to the throne room. If we need to, we can split up to cover more ground.”

Before the group could respond, Twilight again reached for her teleportation spell. With a flash, she teleported the group to the throne. Her magic didn’t drop like she normally felt it would, though she didn’t care at the moment. Though she did care about the massive hole in the floor. She quickly grabbed her now-falling friends and hovered for a moment in the air. Her friends were talking to her, though she didn’t hear them. She was remembering back when Celestia had given her the task of securing the crystal heart. This was the very same castle. The very same hole. Why would Noah be following Sombra’s architecture?

She frowned, remembering the stairs. Then she snorted and glided down the hole, pulling her friends with her. The spiraling staircase trying to pull her attention away in a mesmerizing pattern. Though she ignored it. Her mind was too full of plans and actions she could take to take down Noah. For hurting her friend, for controlling her every move, and for destroying her life! She growled as darker plans formed into her mind. She was almost to the bottom of the stairs at that point, though her formulation of plans was brought to an abrupt halt when something smacked her in the face. A hoof to be precise.

The sudden impact made her lose her grip on her magic and was sent into the stairs next to her. She landed with a thud on the expertly crafted steps, though she had felt worse impacts before. She whirled around to face Applejack, who had smacked her in the first place.

“What the hay was that for!?” She barked, watching the pony recoil slightly.

“Cause you weren’t listening!” Applejack replied, the concern on her face passing right through Twilight.

“Well, I am now!” Twilight said with a huff. She looked behind the earth pony to make sure everypony else was okay. It seemed they were, the ones with wings hoving in the air. The ones lacking wings were standing behind Applejack.

“We need to stop,” Applejack said gently.

“Why!?” She said, bearing over her friend in the air.

“You have to stop that, power thingy. It’s not—”

“AJ!” Twilight snapped, “This, power thingy, was the only thing that came close to saving our friend! Now you are telling me to stop using it! Why?!” Something in her mind seemed to click and tried to breach the surface of her mind. Though it drowned in her anger.

“Can ‘ah get some help?” She said, aiming her words behind her.

Twilight felt her frown deepen, though allowed her friends to respond. They were her friends after all.

Rarity didn’t respond, but rather faced the wall. Her horn glowed as she focused the magic into the crystal. It shimmered and glowed, then became a near-perfect mirror. She tried to pull on it, but the mirror remained in the wall. Pinkie stepped forward and gave the wall a good hit. It cracked, and Rarity was able to pull a small chunk of the mirror from the wall. It hovered over to Twilight and remained motionless in the air.

Twilight’s world seemed to freeze in place. She was looking into the mirror, yet, she didn’t see herself reflected back at her. At least, not her entirely. Her eyes were no longer obscured with a white glow but with visible iris and pupils. Though the pupil was unchanged, her iris was a dark shade of purple that seemed to be sharing the space with a red color. The whites of her eyes were now a very light blue that still carried a light glow. Around her eyes was a dark purple, almost black, that seemed to eat at the purple inhabiting her coat. It had spread almost across her entire face. The nebula mane and tail she was told about was now filled with a purple night sky, very few splotches of pink breaking the color here and there. She twitched in suppressed fear and quickly landed next to the mirror Rarity had created. Its larger frame giving her a bigger picture.

Twilight’s mind was sent to her book that was linked to Canterlot High. To the passage where Sunset described the her in that universe. Where she had gotten a hold of equestrian magic and transformed into something that the group called Midnight Sparkle.

In the mirror, she could see a nearly perfect copy of the description coming to life in her face. Just pony-like and without the floating blue, “glasses.”

She flinched at the mirror and felt herself fall into a sitting position so suddenly that she nearly fell off the stairs. Though a golden glow steadied her and kept her on the crystalline steps. She closed her eyes and felt the power in her body. This new power seemed to come from nowhere. Though she now knew that it came from darkness. How had it gotten into her? She didn’t know. She just now needed it to go back to wherever it had come from.

She focused on it and pulled on it, trying to pull it back into herself. Surprisingly, it went without complaint. The first tug was all that was needed before the magic hastily retreated back into her body. Where it went, she wasn’t sure. She just knew it was somewhere inside her. She shivered, feeling very worried.

Though the sudden cold from her emotions flittered when her friends embraced her in a hug.

“See?” Applejack said gently, “I saw that your face was changing and tried to get your attention.”

“We all did,” Pinkie said with a smile, “It was like you couldn’t hear us.”

“I hope I didn’t hurt you too badly,” the orange earth pony said with a sad smile.

Twilight felt her jaw and shook her head, “Honestly, I didn’t even feel it. I just was really surprised. That’s what made me lose grip on my magic,” She said giving the pony another hug, “Thanks! I really didn’t know what was happening.”

“Indeed. Though I hope to clarify that soon,” Luna said calmly.

“Though we need to get to our friend quickly,” Celestia said, looking down at the bottom of the steps, “I’d recommend not using that magic unless you need to, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight nodded, not wanting to turn into a nightmare. Fluttershy’s predicament was enough. A crazed alicorn with near-infinite power? She did not what to burden her friends with that.

With that thought, she lifted her friends up and went gently to the room at the bottom of the stairs. She did feel her magic drain this time, though it was an insignificant amount. She let her mind ponder that in the background and focused her attention on the door sliding around the room. It seemed it couldn’t decide on which pony to run away from but settled going in circles around the wall.

“Twilight,” Celestia’s voice pulled her attention to the base of the stairs, “Was this hole here the first time you were here?”

Twilight frowned and followed the alicorn’s pointing hoof. At the base of the stairs, where the floor ought to be, was another hole that continued the stairs. It was only a single floor down, but it was definitely not there the first time she was here. Regardless, Rainbow dashed through and looked around.

“It's fine!” She called up, “Just another room that leads to a long hallway.”

Twilight smiled at Rainbow’s actions but gave her a frown when she saw her, “Rainbow! We are in a place that could be filled with dark traps. You can’t just go rushing through!”

“Ha,” Rainbow said, giving her chest a thump, “I’ll outrun anything that’s thrown at me.”

“Not true,” Luna said darkly, “This place reeks with dark magic. You would be caught before you even knew.”

Rainbow’s smile turned to a frown as she nodded.

“Though I think that they had been defused…” Celestia said with her eyes closed, “I can feel their spells etched into the walls, yet, they had no power. No triggers.”

“I guess Noah has been down here then,” Rarity said, looking down the long hallway, “Is it safe to continue?”

Celestia nodded and led the group forward, “Yes, but do not run. If we are quiet, we may get the jump on our target.”

Twilight followed with a frown at the ominous pillars on each side of the hallway. It was forcing them to constrict their group, till they were two lines. The lines paused when they found a pile of purple sugar-like on the floor.

“Bah,” Luna said with disgust, “I’ve always hated dolls.”

“Dolls?” Rarity asked, looking at the pile with interest, “Why?”

The Princess answered as the group continued, “Not dolls as the young plaything. But rather like a magic golem, but made of crystal. It was a skill of the crystal empire that was widespread before Sombra took over. Though, I never felt comfortable around them.” Luna’s voice was low, but the group had a lot of experience when it came to quiet ponies, “That pile was the result of destroying a golem in the crystal magic way. Though I myself do not know it. Sombra took over before we could even ask for lessons.”

Twilight listened to the story, remembering just how old the two alicorns actually were. Would she get to that age? Probably.

“What happened here?” Pinkie asked gently, looking at the two pillars ahead of them.

It was as if somepony decided to place toothpicks into the pillar. So dense to make a solid surface. A small blue crystal wall blocked the way forward, rather, the remains of one. Hundreds of little crystal toothpicks littered the ground. More purple sugar littered the area, mixing well with the little spines.

“Hang on,” Rarity said, brushing an area clear of the debris. Her efforts cleared several light blue circles. They were about the size of a hoof.

“Oooh!” Pinkie whispered and stepped into one of the circles.

“Pinkie! That could be a trap!” Twilight hissed, but her mentor shook her head.

“No. These circles are purified. Whatever happened here, seemed to cleanse whatever dark magic was stored in these crystals.” Celestia said, looking at the floor with interest.

“Hang on, there’s more,” Applejack said, brushing more debris away. More circles dotted the floor in the direction of the wall.

“Wait,” Rarity said, “Pinkie, can you place your left hoof here? And your right here?” She asked, motioning to each circle. Pinkie nodded and placed her hoofs in the circles. She then was directed to the same with her back hooves.

“Now,” Rarity spoke, “Step forward, but only step in the circles.”

Pinkie frowned but did as she was asked. The circles were a bit far apart, forcing the earth pony to lunge forward.

“I do think that somepony was fighting here,” Rarity said. Twilight could almost see a detective’s hat on her head, “I think that the pony here lunged forward, then head-butted on of those, golems Luna mentioned.”

Twilight nodded, “I agree. It’s because the debris seems to originate at this point, right?” She pointed to the end of the circles.

Rarity nodded, “Yes my dear friend.”

Twilight frowned, “Though we aren’t sure who did it though?”

Rarity shook her head, “I’m pretty sure it was Cadence. See the distance between the circles? If these imprints were caused by hooves, then they are too far apart for a normal pony. Though, an alicorn stance is a much better candidate.”

Twilight frowned. Why was Cadence fighting? Was she okay?

“Good deduction,” Luna praised, giving the two appraising looks, “Though I think that we should continue. The further we delay getting to Fluttershy, the worse Noah could do is corrupt her more, right?”

Twilight frowned, “I don’t think we should.”

Luna gave her a confused look.

“Well, think about it,” Twilight began, “Noah obviously knows this place better than we do. That is based on his ability to disarm the traps and know about the hidden doorways. We are at a large disadvantage. Not to mention that we were already at a disadvantage before. Now, we have very little room to dodge any attacks, and we’d have to worry about the dark magic being reactivated.”

Celestia nodded, “Agreed, while having Fluttershy in a confined space may be better for us, it’s much too big of a risk for us as well.”

“What do you propose then?” Luna asked.

“Well, we could wait for him to come out?” Twilight offered.

“Darling, we don’t know if the stairs are the only way out. The extra stairs were hidden; the door to the crystal heart was hidden, and we simply don’t know if there are any more exits.” Rarity said, waving her hoof in her elegant fashion.

Celestia nodded, “Agreed, though I may be able to help with that.” She paused and lit her horn. Then, she closed her eyes and her face took on concentration.

Luna nodded, “The dark magic is naturally repelled by my sister’s alicorn magic. Using that repelling action she can feel along the walls. Hopefully, she can use it to sense any hidden doors or compartments.”

Twilight nodded, and the group waited for Celestia to finish.

The Alicorn let out a deep breath before opening her eyes, “This hallway magically seems to go on forever. Though I think that’s a diversion as there is a smaller hallway on the right wall.”

“Can you tell if they are down there?” Twilight asked hesitantly.

Celestia shook her head, “No, it seems to be a hole in the wall with camouflaging spells etched into it. It’s safe to assume that they were down there. If they still are? I’m unsure.”

“Did you see anything that could resemble an exit?” Rarity asked.

Another shake of the head, “No. This hallway is enchanted to look like it goes on forever, though it stops in a small room. I couldn’t feel anything inside, but I could sense magic extending the hallway.”

“Like those cartoons?” Pinkie asked eagerly.

Celestia nodded with a smile, “Yes.”

“Oh, I want to try the magical hallway!”

“Maybe later,” Applejack replied, “Let’s get Fluttershy back first.”

Pinkie’s enthusiasm faded a touch, “Right! First our friend, then the hallway!”

Celestia looked at Rarity, “There doesn’t seem to be any other exits that I can see,” She looked back at Twilight, “What is your plan?”

Twilight smiled, “If we have everypony wait at the top of the stairs, we may be able to overwhelm Noah with numbers.”

Celestia nodded, looking down the hallway.

“It is worth a try, let us move quickly,” Luna said, taking to the air.

The ponies with wings nodded and Twilight lifted the rest of her friends into the air as well. The group quickly flew through the blackened crystal hallway, till they reached the stairs. Their movement didn’t even pause as they merely threaded the needle.

“You go get the guards at the Heart, I shall go and get some patrols from the castle,” Celestia said, hovering in the air.

Luna nodded, “I shall assist. I shall take left?” Celestia nodded as the two alicorns took separate directions.

Twilight nodded as well and warped the remaining group to the heart close by. There she saw Glyph hovering near the heart, trapped in a blue glow. Though the pegasus didn’t look like she minded it. She had the green goggles on again and was gently prodding the crystal heart.

“Hey, Twilight! Did you find Fluttershy?” Starlight asked, her horn glowing.

Twilight shook her head, “No, but we found where she might be. We have a plan though,”

“What’s the plan then?” Her brother suddenly asked, jolting her attention to him. She smiled, admiring the pony’s armor.

“Can you get all the available guards to the throne room? We are going to ambush Noah.” Twilight asked, moving her gaze to the pony’s face.

Shining Armor nodded, “Right away.” He then rushed off, calling orders and ponies over. Sound of hooves quickly filled the space beneath the castle.

A few guards remained to keep any curious spectators at bay. They were slowly gathering together. Though they did little with the guards offering what little explanations they could.

A shark crack suddenly hit Twilight’s ears. She whipped her head to the crystal heart to see Glyph holding a large blue chunk of crystal.

“Glyph!” She shouted but was cut off by Starlight.

“Don’t worry Twilight, she’s just remov—” Starlight said but was cut off by Glyph’s sudden shouting.

“Throw me!!”

“What?” Starlight gave her an odd look.

“Throw me!! There!! Hard, NOW!!” Glyph commanded, pointing her biological hoof away from the heart.

Starlight obliged and sent the pony flying in the direction she directed. Glyph pulled up from the launch and landed into a moving cartwheel. Halfway through the motion, she threw the chunk of crystal high into the air. Her momentum from Starlight allowing her to throw it into open-air rather than into the castle.

Twilight watched the chunk of mineral fly into the air, then it flashed for a second. A sudden and ear-shattering boom replaced the quiet as the crystal exploded with enough force to demolish a house. Glyph sunk to the floor with relief then got up and flew back to the heart.

“What, was that.” Applejack asked, too surprised to add any form of questioning tone.

Glyph motion to a similar chunk of crystal on the floor next to the heart, “That was a crystal bomb. Pure energy, frozen into a crystal-like lattice. Break one part of this lattice and the whole thing breaks down, releasing all the energy at once.”

“Kaboom!” Pinkie said, expressing the explosion in a full-body reenactment.

Starlight gave the dormant chunk a wary glance, “We found them pretty quickly. Glyph was able to remove that one without a hitch, though I’m really worried about it just laying on the floor.”

“It’ll be fine,” Glyph reassured her, picking up the piece with her metal leg, “The other one was more affected by the heart and was a tad unstable. Taking it off weakened its structure, leading it to explode.”

“Is it affected by magic?” Twilight asked, eyeing the blue chunk.

Glyph nodded, “Yes, it can be set off by magic. Honestly, you’d just have to blast it.”

“Right, but can you hold it with magic?”

“Oh, gotcha. Yes, it won’t blow up.”

“May I?” Twilight asked, lighting her horn. Glyph nodded and held out the crystal chunk. It levitated into the air and floated towards the Alicorn, “We may be able to use this.”

“In what way?” Glyph asked, but was interrupted by a guard rushing over.

“What happened?” The guard asked gruffly, “Is there an attack?”

Glyph shook her head, “No, at least not yet. Though I was able to separate the heart from any bombs, so it will be safe.”

The guard looked uneasy, but Twilight spoke before the pony could talk.

“Don’t worry. We’ll explain everything the best we can after we’ve dealt with Noah.”

The guard nodded, keeping the uneasy look on their face. Though he didn’t ask any other questions and ran back to his position.

“Can I teleport with this thing?” Twilight asked, gesturing to the crystal.

Glyph nodded, “Yes. Just don’t hit it with electricity or too hard of kinetic energy and it ought to be fine.”

Twilight nodded and warped the group into the throne room. Shining was already there with the two alicorns and a large number of guards. Many of whom were looking at the dark pit that they’ve never seen before.

“What now Twilight?” Shining asked, stepping forward. He looked at the chunk of crystal floating in his sister’s magical grip, “I take that you recused the crystal heart?”

Glyph nodded.

Twilight also looked at Glyph, “Can you make this thing explode from a distance? On command?”

Glyph nodded, “Yes, easily. Though it would still be able to detonate from its original source.”

“Huh?”

“Uh,” Glyph paused, “If Flutterbyte placed the bombs, then she’d still be able to detonate them. I can still rig them, but I can’t change her ability to detonate them.”

She gave the crystal bomb a new look, “So it could go off at any moment.”

Glyph’s face fell, “Yes. Technically yes.”

Twilight spread her wings, “Okay, follow me. Let’s rig this thing before it explodes. Shining?” She turned to her older brother, “Can you get every guard around that hole? Just out of sight from below. I’ll explain what I’m planning after we plant this, thing.” She said, giving the crystal a small bump.

Shining nodded, and directed his guard to and fro. Twilight Then flew to the hole and flew a few floors down.

“Okay,” She said, motioning to the wall, “Let's put it here.”

Glyph nodded, “Okay, give me the crystal. Then can you make a hole big enough for it with your magic?”

Twilight nodded and gently gave her the object. She then pushed her magic into the wall, and pulled it back out. On its return trip though, it ripped out a small chunk of crystal. Glyph nodded and flew over to the chunk. She gently placed the crystal bomb inside and Twilight watched her pull a metal square from her metal leg. Then, she gently placed the square on the blue crystal.

“Is it good?” Twilight asked, eager to get far away from the potential energy device.

“Yes, but hold on,” Glyph replied, and deploy her knife from her leg. Then, with gentle movements, she cut a large piece off the crystal chunk Twilight was still holding. It remained in her magic though, but Twilight saw what the pegasus wanted.

Gently, she took the cut piece away and replaced the section of the wall. It wasn’t perfectly hidden, but it was much more hidden than without that piece of the wall. Twilight maintained her grip on the remaining piece of the wall, not wanting to leave a part of the wall behind. Rather, she placed it in her pocket and flew with Glyph back to the top. Once there, she explained her plan quickly.

Cadence was walking back through the hallways. It was a brisk pace, not too fast not too slow. Though it wasn’t her normal walk so she could feel her legs complaining. That and she was still recovering from the experience from the containment protocol. So, her walk was not as elegant as she wanted, much to her dismay.

Though the thought faded in her mind. Was that really needed right now? She was an obedient prisoner at the moment. She needed to get away! She frowned, giving the pegasus behind her a look. The pony returned it with a soulless stare. Noah had had the pony store the now completed gem in Fluttershy’s chest. Somehow, she could change what was under that chest plate of hers. Instead of pipes and a glowing core, was several different sections decorated as such. Though, Cadence saw a very familiar six-pronged star. Despite her gaze, the center of the star had extended outward, exposing a long cylinder with several compartments. The gem had been placed in one, and then the cylinder had been retrieved. With another hiss, the chest became whole once more.

Cadence had seen the further most compartment contain the Alicorn Amulet. Though she didn’t dare say anything, nor show any reaction to the powerful jewelry. She did not want Noah knowing that she knew about it through Fluttershy. If he did find out, what would he do to her? Fluttershy was at the complete mercy of Noah. Cadence frowned further and felt her wings twitch.

The ground tinkled as the spines parted along the ground for them. Though, she noticed that they had been moved. Exposing several blue circles on the ground. Where did those come from?

“Is there anyone else in these halls?” Noah said, stopping and looking at Fluttershy.

The pony blinked before responding, “No. The hallway ahead is empty.”

“The stairs?”

The reply took a second, “Stairs are empty.” Cadence’s insides shuddered as she listened to the pony’s monotone voice. It was empty, soulless. Not like the pony she knew, despite seeing a perfect copy of the Element of Kindness.

“We advance quietly,” Noah said quietly, “It seems your people have decided to come against my will after all. I hope we do not see them in the throne room. For the sake of your kingdom.”

Cadence’s heart was a flutter. What was Shining doing!? He was going to put the entire kingdom at risk!

“But,” She stammered, “What about those dolls? Maybe there are more? What makes you so sure it was my people?”

Noah gave her a cold stare, “There are no other magical traps, dolls, or anything of such left. Unless you are saying that the shards moved themselves.” The unicorn continued forward, and the others followed.

What was she going to do? Cadence frowned, and looked upwards, what was her husband doing?! Her safety was not worth the safety of the entire kingdom! She half expected to climb up the stairs to see her kingdom buried in snow as thick as homes. She sighed, realizing that all she could do was hope. Hope that maybe Fluttershy moved them when she flew down here in the first place.

She was at the stairs at this point, and every cell in her body seemed to complain at the prospect walking back up the stairs. It was hard enough going down! Though she just filled her lungs and focused on putting one hoof in front of the other. Her vision was filled with stairs till the point where her mind seemed to fill. Her numb mind almost ran into Noah near the top of the stairs. They were merely three flights down. She looked up, feeling her lungs becoming infinitely empty again. She didn’t see anypony, nor any creature. Which did fill her with some relief. Though she recounted when she heard Noah speak through her tired ears.

“Is there any pony up there?” Noah said, directing his words at Fluttershy

Much to Cadence’s horror, she nodded, “Yes.”

“How many?”

“29.”

“It seems that your husband indeed defied what I said,” Noah said, turning to the pink alicorn, “Strike three.” He tapped on his amulet and held his hoof there. It glowed red for a second, then faded back to normal.

Though any thoughts she would have had, didn’t happen as a large explosion filled the tube that they were in. They were protected from the shockwave from the staircase above them, but it cracked and began to fall. It bounced off a green shield and then fell into the abyss to the left of them. The shield vanished, but so did the view above them. A thick cloud of dust and unknown materials blocked the view with a grey, smoke-like cloud.

Cadence’s nose twitched as a strong burnt smell struck her face. The earlier slap from the shockwave seemed to wake her up, though she still didn’t know what to do.

Something brushed against her magic. It was familiar and was like an extended hoof. It was Twilight’s magic in a sort of teleportation spell. She gave the two ponies next to her a glance, then grasped the magic with her own. Twilight would have a plan to save Fluttershy. It was her friend after all. She saw Fluttershy’s hair flare up before a magical energy pulled her form into the space between spaces. Once she emerged, she was next to the hole. Only above the large smoke-like cloud. She glanced around, and saw a large among of guards crouching around the square hole in the ground. They all had their spears at the ready and seemed to be waiting.

Twilight was flying above the cloud, moving the cloud slightly, though not enough to make it clear. She was wearing a set of goggle-like glasses that were made of green material. Though, where the section of the glasses that would hold the glasses on the face, were merely flat pieces of plastic. Several blinking lights broke the color here and there. She was very curious about them but resolved to ask later. She was also tempted to ask how the pony had gotten here. Though she rather looked to the pony next to her, a pony with a metal wing and leg, but the pony shook her head and put a hoof to her lips. Cadence frowned and nodded, crouching down like the rest of the ponies were.

Twilight was carefully flapping her wings above the dust cloud trapped in the tube below her. It still moved around her but she was careful to keep it intact. The bomb had gone off sooner than planned, but its purpose was just to disrupt any pony up through the hole. Which it was doing so it was fine.

Well, except for her at the moment. She could still see thanks to Glyph. Glyph had given her green goggles after they had planted the bomb. She had originally planned to use magic to scout out where Noah and Fluttershy would be, but Glyph said her goggles would allow her to see through the cloud in a way.

The pegasus had been correct. In the black and grey vision she was currently seeing, she could see a bright white silhouette of two ponies making their way up the stairs. Once the two ponies had nearly reached the top, she fired a beam of magic at the silhouette with a horn.

It lashed out in a black beam in her vision, but as expected, splashed outwards as it was blocked by a magic shield.

“Noah!!” She shouted, filling the room with her volume, “I wasn’t done with you!” The beam of magic had disturbed the cloud a bit, but still not enough to clear it.

“I wasn’t done with you either,” A reply came back through the cloud, “Though I see that you have reinforcements this time, trying to make sure you don’t lose?”

Anger jumped to her skin again, but she pushed it back. She didn’t want her new form to emerge because she lost her grip on her anger, “Your point?” She replied letting the anger tinge her voice. She made sure her magic was still connected to Celestia, for the millionth time.

“Let’s see how effective you are,” Came the confident reply. The silhouettes were almost out of the tube, despite still being in the cloud of dust.

“Let's,” she said simply, and sent Celestia the magical que she had prepared, “Just not with my friend…” She added darkly.

The stairs suddenly glowed beneath the cloud, being activated in a spell that would send the unicorn forward. The air also crackled as the hole in the ground refilled itself, becoming a solid floor once more. Well, mostly, if her idea worked.

Though she didn’t check, she’d have to assume and rely on the others to pull her away if things got too sticky. A magical sword shimmered into existence next to her, and she landed next to Noah with a thud, clearing the air in a single movement.

She shouted, her vision turning to normal, and swung her sword. Which, as expected, was blocked by a summoned black sword. She locked the two blades and pushed forward, getting close to the unicorn. At that point she unlocked and attacked again, watching the floating black blade parry her attacks. She emptied her lungs and summoned a few more, which was countered by the unicorn summoning a few more of his own. Twilight felt her lips frown but continued her attacks, and made sure to stay close.

During her roll, she managed to get a look at Fluttershy and smiled at her success.

Fluttershy was stuck in the floor at the moment. Or, buried in the magically disappearing and reappearing floor anyway. She had Celestia stand by the trigger to return the floor to normal on her que to trap her corrupted friend.

She ducked under a blow and unleashed a volley of her own. The trick was to trap Fluttershy’s legs and hopefully trap her. At which Rarity and Glyph would stop any hair movements or those magmatic extenders. Starlight would be on standby, just in case Twilight needed protection from Noah’s magic or a shot from Flutterbyte.

She summoned another sword and sent it into motion, careful to stay in the unicorn’s face. He looked annoyed at this and maintained his defense with the swords he had summoned. She had to stay close to discourage Flutterbyte from taking a shot at her. If she did, then it may hit Noah. Or, at least that was her logic.

She took a look at Noah’s swords, and confirmed that he wasn’t going to summon anymore. She let herself grin a little, then shouted, “Now!” It was a simple que, but effective nonetheless.

Her magic swelled as she entered her Harmony form with the rest of her friends. The guards around them all jumped forward, brandishing their crystal spears. Though, Twilight saw Fluttershy extend her wings in the corner of her eye, and saw a green shield blossom in front of her.

Well, not really.

As Twilight and Noah continued to slice and block hoof attacks, Twilight noticed the green shield was hovering around Noah like a protective little frisbee. It was whirling around him, protecting him from the guards and an occasional attack from her.

She watched Noah's horn ignite and she tightly rolled to avoid the shot. Midway through her roll, she saw Rainbow above her. Though she was barred from putting restraints on Noah by another shield.

Well, that was Plan A out the window. Though she could still do plan C. She took a breath after her roll and summoned her brother’s sword from her pocket. It was a family artifact, passed down several generations. So, it wasn’t new to her. She even got a chance to wield it here and there. Shining even gave her a few lessons on how to wield the sharp blade.

So she continued to attack with her magical blades but attempted to stab with the metal one when she got a chance. The metal blade she held on by her hooves since the grip was designed to allow hoof magic to grip it tighter. So she had fun bouncing the sword between her hooves as she attacked.

After a swipe with her front, she’d place it on the ground to spin around it and grab it with her back hoof. Then, with another tight spin, she’d buck at Noah with the sword secured on the side of her hoof. When it got blocked, she let fly, only to catch it with her front hoof and attack with a back flip, narrowly missing the evading unicorn. She was constantly fighting the unicorn’s magic trying to abduct the blade from her, though Twilight’s magic had the advantage since it was already flowing through the blade.

She allowed her magic to defend her from an attack from behind, then attacked with an overhead slice, letting her magic choose where to send the other magical blades. Each one was either dodged or evaded, but Twilight stopped her magic from defending her for a moment as she ducked, tightly avoiding a black sword. Though, she was smiling, despite losing a few hairs, because she was in a crouched position. She lifted her chest up with her back legs, aiming the sword she had on her front hoof, and quickly extended her back legs. The motion quickly propelled her forward, sending the sword flying towards Noah’s shoulder.

It was narrowly parried, making it miss just barely. Though Twilight was expecting that.

She let the sword go, and let her momentum crash into Noah, knocking him upwards and off his front legs. Twilight then used her wings to continue the motion until Noah was flat on his back. Twilight grinned and summoned another, larger, magical blade and again aimed for the shoulder. It struck a magical shield. She frowned, and leaned into the blade, applying more pressure.

She felt Noah’s back legs attempt to buck her underside but smiled as it collided with a magical shield of her own. Though the action caused her shield to flash around her, highlighting her coat in a bright pink wave.

“Yield!!” She shouted, her face forming a half-grin.

Noah didn’t reply, but a sharp movement caused her to glance at Fluttershy.

Her front right leg was still stuck in the floor, with a metal snowflake similar to the top of Glyph’s removed leg. Yet, another, much more polygon leg was raised and pointed at her. It expanded into the DPM Glyph had made. It glowed blue and Twilight could see into the now pure white barrel.

Though she didn’t worry as she saw a light blue shield conjured between her and the weapon. It fired anyway, but splashed harmlessly against the blue shield.

Twilight smiled, noting to thank Starlight later. She took another deep breath, feeling her magical swords still fighting Noah’s magic swords. She grunted and tried to push the sword harder. She also summoned more swords to attack. However, despite the guards' attacks continuing, the little green disk seemed to move around fast enough to block everything. She was able to catch it growing and expanding to block more than one shot at times, but she allowed her magic to keep up the attack.

Her muscles complained as she felt the blade jump up and down. The sword had pierced the shield, just wasn’t able to get through since the shield still held onto the sides of the sword.

A sudden crash and a multitude of cracking made her pause and look at the shield Starlight was protecting her with. Though the sight made her frown.

It was nearly shattered, reforming, but the sheer number of cracks had shown how close the blast had gotten through. Though her worry dissolved as she felt her brother’s magic meld with Starlight’s shield, making it a deep shade of purple. She smiled and returned to her sword’s weave. Shining’s shield was strong enough to protect all of Canterlot. She would have time.

So she made a tiny tweak in her sword’s spell and made it shed its outer layer, like a fat caterpillar. The action separated her sword from the shield and allowed her to propel the sword into the unicorn’s shoulder.

Noah grimaced in response, his face showing a great deal of pain. His magical swords fading as the pain forced only one to remain.

“You are hurt, and will now stand no chance against my magic, “Twilight said darkly, standing over him like an axe, “This is your final chance. Yield!”

The unicorn slowly shook his head.

Twilight frowned and supplemented more power to her swords, causing them to glow brighter. She aimed four at each joint, leaving one to defend, “So be it.” She said and was about to send the swords towards their destinations. When she was hit with a pure shockwave that was similar to the Star pulse back in Noah’s place in Canterlot. Though this was strong enough to send her into the wall and leave an imprint. Furthermore, it had shattered a combined shield spell. Twilight blinked, feeling her personal shield spell wavering as it absorbed the impact of her hitting the sharp walls of the decorative pillars.

She blinked, watching Noah lean over and send a bolt of dark magic, not at her like she was expecting, but at the groaning Starlight. The previous shockwave gave the unicorn no chance to react, so the bolt hit her directly on her side. Starlight’s body tightened, and she put a hoof to her throat. A few gasping noises emanated from her till it stopped entirely. Her face showed shock and pure panic as the unicorn was unable to fill her lungs.

“Starlight!” She exclaimed and rushed over. A dark aura was floating around the unicorn’s throat so she extended her magic and engulfed it. She knew that it was dark magic, and also knew how to fight it. But found it quite strong. Complex layers of magic coupled with interlocking spell threads made the spell near impervious to her touch. But Starlight caught Twilight’s eyes and she the panic in the unicorn’s eyes and doubled her efforts. She could hear Luna’s magic as, assumingly, she attacked Noah. Though Twilight wasn’t truly paying attention, instead her entire focus was on the hostile magic in her friend’s body, attacking it with everything she had.

“Here, Twilight, allow me,” Celestia’s voice gently commanded, “Put pressure on Noah. With Fluttershy stuck, Glyph may be able to cleanse her.”

Twilight retreated and allowed Celestia’s magic to take over. She turned to Noah, only to find him in a green bubble. She scowled, watching Luna’s fruitless attempts to break it.

Noah was on his hooves at this point though only three as he cradled the one she had stabbed. He did some sort of motioning signal with his head and the back of the bubble dissolved. The unicorn’s horn glowed in a familiar dark and green conglomeration as the guards and her friends began to hover in the air, twitching in pain.

“How many can you save Twilight?” Noah taunted, his voice betraying only a little pain.

She didn’t respond. Though a sudden crack brought her attention to her corrupted friend. The pegasus’s extra leg had disappeared, and the shoulder was now properly attached to the leg in the floor. The sound was the leg slowly lifting up a section of the floor she was stuck in, freeing the leg in the process. She scowled, watching the pegasus’s slow efforts to free herself. How? How did the pegasus have the strength to break crystal? With very little leverage? Where was the strength coming from?

She turned to Noah, feeling her anger rise again. He did that to her. Whatever changes the pegasus suffered from was his doing. Now, he was showing the ability to channel dark magic, something that she thought only Alicorns were capable of. How was he able to use it?

And now her other friends were suffering at his hoofs as well. The anger that came with that thought smashed all the premade barriers against it and a searing heat filled her mind and body. Her Harmony form vanished, and she felt panic rise as the other power began to fill her body. She tried to stop it, but it was far too late.

It lit up every cell in her body with power that washed away her tiredness once more. Her hair became weightless and she felt it hover in the air. She also became aware that she was glowing. Though she swept it away, desperately pulling the sudden power back into her. This time it complained as it hadn’t spread throughout her body at that point, but it obliged after a moment. Unlike last time, she felt exhausted and almost collapsed on the ground. She felt her magic was unaffected, but her body seemed to scream at her. It felt that she had just eaten something that was just past the expiration date. Though the feeling wasn’t restricted to her stomach, instead it seemed to travel through her blood vessels. Making waves of discomfort ride through her.

“What,” Noah started, but had to pause, “Did you do? How?” His horn was no longer lit, and her friends were on the ground slowly getting their hooves beneath them. They were also out of their Harmony forms. Though it had looked like they had been bucked in the gut.

The room was suddenly filled with crackling as the floor above the massive tube cracked and fell, taking Fluttershy into darkness. Twilight attempted to jump forward, though her body protested and she fell flat on the floor. What happened? She had reeled in the energy before without all these side effects!

She remained in the position as the yellow pegasus flew out of the hole and landed next to the incapacitated alicorn. Her eyes were unnaturally wide, and her hair was beginning to move towards her.

“No,” Noah’s sudden voice made the pegasus’s movement freeze. Twilight could feel Celestia’s magic quickly pull her away even as Fluttershy turned to Noah.

“Return us to base.” Noah finished, his voice showing tiredness and pain.

Fluttershy blinked and straightened her stance. Her wings extended and a ring around her barrel sunk inwards and into a hidden compartment. A new ring was visible with several boxes with unknown func—

“Twilight!!” Cadence’s nearly screeching voice snapped her thoughts, “She’s about to teleport!”

Twilight’s brain seemed to zap her body and she forgot her sluggishness for a second. Her horn lit up and was next to the pegasus with a flash. She wrapped her friend in a tight hug and looked the pony in the face.

“No you don’t,” Twilight said, “I’m going with you, and I will make sure to come back after I’ve found Noah’s base!”

Fluttershy merely blinked in response, then shrunk out of her grasp and disappeared in a flash of light. The sudden lack of support made the alicorn fall to the ground with a thud of confusion.

How had the pegasus teleported on her own? Twilight had expanded her magical energy, so any teleportation would have pulled her along for the ride. She frowned and stubbornly pushed herself to a sitting position. She lit her horn and closed her eyes, searching for any teleportation residue she could use to reactivate the spell.

Yet, there was none.

Nothing at all! Nothing that indicated anypony had ever teleported beside her own recent teleportation.

This time she voiced her thoughts, “How?! She teleported and didn’t leave a signature?! Wait,” She paused as her mind caught up to what she was saying, “She can teleport!?”

Starlight nodded, “Apparently. Learned that the hard way.” Her voice was soaked with annoyance.

“That’s teleportation using electricity to manipulate quantum forces rather than magic. You’d need a special tool to detect the signature it creates,” Glyph added, tiredness emanating from her voice.

“Do you—” Twilight started to ask but was cut off.

“No, I do not. It’s not very easy to carry around.”

Twilight let her head smack into the floor, “Oh come on…” She could feel her anger again rising to her thoughts. What could she have done?

Maybe had the other Alicorns help with taking Noah down?

No, Celestia had the floor trigger. That and they couldn’t engage without invoking a stronger response from Flutterbyte. Once she had restrained Noah, they would have helped restrain Fluttershy, their strength combined with hers and Applejack’s more than enough strength to restrain her.

She shouted, letting out her frustration into the floor through a swift hit of her front legs. She felt the cracks brush against her head as the floor couldn’t handle the hit. She groaned, feeling regret as her leg started to throb.

She sighed and lit her horn again. She still felt sluggish, but she used her magic to repair the floor anyway.

The room she had grown quite familiar with suddenly appeared into view with a small pop in her ears. Her thoughts turn to sadness as she confirmed that she was in the room with the harness. The room’s shelves with known and unknown materials. Fluttershy sighed expecting to be ordered into the harness again.

Action denied.

“Healing mode,” Noah said and pointing to his injured shoulder.

Fluttershy felt herself blink, and the now-familiar feeling of her legs disappearing into her shoulders only for new ones to come out. This time, the medical legs came out and did their job on Noah’s wound. She saw the would highlight in green and felt the prongs emerge from her hooves and hold the wound open. Her hair seemed to cauterize the broken vessels from her leg puling away hardened blood. The broken bone was filled with a hardening white substance and then the muscles and nerves were printed. Just how it had done on Starlight’s wound.

She stared idly at the words, Printing muscles. It would change to nerves or other names she didn’t recognize now and again. Though she wasn’t really paying attention. She was thinking about what had happened mere minutes ago.

She was bitter that Twilight’s plan had been foiled when it seemed tantalizingly close to fruition. She got reminded again that she wasn’t allowed to move as she tried to sigh. Though the words weren’t really bothering her anymore. She had heard it so much that it would merely bounce off her ears.

Printing new skin layers…

Fluttershy was glad Noah didn’t have her contain Twilight, but why? Twilight looked pitifully weak at that point and probably wouldn’t have stood much of a chance. She frowned, watching the last of Twilight’s efforts disappear on Noah’s shoulder.

Noah had her collect the Alicorn amulet, use Sombra’s and Cadence’s magic to repair a crystal only for her to rip her leg off to defeat Sombra. She shuddered at the thought.

Action denied.

That had hurt. A lot. Nothing in her life could compare to how much that had hurt. Though she was delighted to find that she could—

She was just about to say repair herself. She paused, wondering if that was the correct terminology.

“Teleport us to the rendezvous point,” Noah then said abruptly and Fluttershy felt the feeling around her barrel disappear in a ring shape. She did feel something inside spin for the fourth time and her vision suddenly changed to where they had left the wagon. She saw the green square appear in her vision again as they were approached by the ponies they had left to defend the wagon. Her body was suddenly given back to her, and she almost fell over.

“Sorry!” She quickly said, “I’m still not used to teleportation quite yet.” The other ponies gave her an odd look.

“But you’ve been teleported before right? With Twilight and others?”

Fluttershy was about to respond, but Noah stepped over her words, “Unicorn teleportation and Electro magical teleportation are two different things. Different but same in nature.”

The ponies shrugged and took Noah’s words. The group then boarded the wagon and it began to move with little sound besides the crunching of little stones under the wheels.

Fluttershy frowned and sighed, feeling confident her quiet voice wouldn’t be able to reach the others.

She felt her mind wandering back to the depths of the crystal castle, to where she ripped her leg off to defeat Sombra.

Would it be proper to say that she healed herself? Or that she repaired herself?

She let her expression become flat as she let the blank landscape take her mind’s eye.

Did it matter?

Cadence was feeling better as she sat in the now broken throne room. There were a few dents in the wall but the biggest issue was the massive hole in the floor just in front of the throne. Though she wasn’t too worried about it. The throne was mainly a place for her to be easily reached. Not really for her to lavish and enjoy.

Though she was listening to Twilight recounting what she and her friends had learned about Fluttershy’s new abilities and nature. She had been slightly informed about them but to hear what had happened in Canterlot first hoof was another thing entirely.

Fluttershy able to withstand three alicorns? Crazy.

Taking Spike? Creepy.

Having Noah then take her away through a magical portal? Annoying.

She did see that Twilight was holding back some information due to her experience with diplomacy. Though Twilight wouldn’t have a reason to withhold it without a good reason. So, she decided not to push on it.

“So yeah,” Twilight said with an awkward smile, “You’re all caught up with the madness.”

Cadence chuckled, “Madness indeed. Though I can confirm that Flutterbyte theory. Fluttershy is still in there and I was able to talk with her when I was in containment protocol.”

“Would you mind sharing your experience?” Luna asked.

Cadence felt her head nod as she mentally compiled what had happened, “Sure! I’ll start from the beginning,” She turned to Starlight, “Starlight and I were working on the crystal magic stuff when we broke for lunch.”

“Wait, one sec,” Twilight interrupted, suddenly perked up, “How’s that going!?”

Cadence smiled knowing Twilight’s eagerness in magic. Though Celestia gave the other alicorn a gentle smile, “Later Twilight.”

The alicorn took a deep breath and released it, and Cadence could see that Twilight was holding back anger. Deep analyzing eyes, little hairs in her mane going astray, and a tightly controlled voice that years of experience could identify. She smiled, realizing the reason why Twilight had asked.

“It’s okay,” She said meeting Celestia’s eyes, the other nodded and Cadence returned her gaze to Twilight, “It’s been going really well! Starlight says I’m a natural, but I still am far away from doing the advanced stuff in the books.”

Starlight laughed, “Ha, your much closer than you think!” She paused, igniting her horn. The floor below her started to glow, and a small crystal dagger rose from the seemingly malleable floor. Starlight released the air in her lungs with a gasp and the dagger stayed upright, the hilt still attached to the floor.

“Ugh,” Starlight groaned, taking a few breaths before motioning to the blade, “That’s the best I’ve been able to do.”

Twilight quickly walked over and crouched to admire the blade, “Fascinating! Its pure crystal, not magic, nor does it contain the magical residue such an operation would leave,” She turned to Cadence, “Oh I’m so jealous! But what about you?” She turned to Starlight, “You said she was a natural right?”

Both Starlight and Cadence nodded. Cadence then lit her horn and took in a breath, “Though I may not be able to do too much since I’m still quite drained after being contained.”

“That’s fine,” Came the eager reply.

Cadence nodded and focused on her magic, closing her eyes in the process as her magic started to complain. She frowned, slowly pushing the floor in front of her into the sword that she had summoned quite a few times. This time was different, as she could feel the anger around her like pancakes being smothered in a foal’s servings of syrup. It was thick, hot to her mental touch. It didn’t cause pain, however, so she continued to feed the crystal in the shape of a sword. The floor accepted the energy and grew how she wanted it. Though, she was so focused on the spell that the hilt separated from the floor before she got a grip on it. It clattered to the floor with a faint crystalline ping. She opened her eyes to admire her handiwork, then noticed that the blade was different.

It was a bright ruby red, with its glow nearly stopping light from passing through. It looked like the ice she took out of the freezer when she defrosted it a couple of weeks ago.

“Uh,” Starlight asked, staring at the blade, “That’s new…”

“Wait what?” Twilight asked, also looking at the blade on the floor.

“Yeah, normally it’s a translucent blue,” Cadence stated and touched the hilt to pick it up. Immediately she yanked it back, while choking back a scream with a coughing gasp, “Ahh! Celestia’s celestial pancakes!!”

“You okay?” Twilight’s concerned voice reached her ears, but she was too busy trying to cool her hoof down to respond immediately.

When her frantic attempts to blow on her hoof finally worked, she looked at her sister-in-law, “Yeah, I’ll live. But do not touch that!” She stated sharply, “It's as hot as a fire, no, hotter.” She looked back at her hoof, seeing the contact had left a blackened mark. It was tender, but she was used to walking lightly on her hooves. So hopefully wouldn’t be an issue.

“Huh?” Starlight asked, “Hot? What did you do?”

“Nothing different,” Cadence replied looking at the blade. It was now smoking slightly, so she gently wrapped her magic around it. Thankfully it wasn’t able to burn her, and she was able to lift it up. It left a black mark on the ground though and sizzled slightly when she rose it up. From there, she rotated it, only to find that it was identical to the blue ones she had previously created. Same sharp blade, plain crossguard, and a flattened handle that ended in the gem-like pommel. It was the same as the blue one. Only red and searing hot. So hot in fact that the air around it shimmered like the top of a campfire.

“You didn’t mean to create that?” Starlight asked, walking over to the blade, “Did you do the normal fabrication method?”

Cadence nodded, “Yes! Feeding it energy along with the pathways for it to grow. I did everything normal, just, different I guess…” She replied, giving the unicorn a confused look.

Starlight returned the look and studied the sword.

“Can you make another?” Twilight asked, “That way we can see if it’s the environment or something. Maybe the crystal composition?”

“Maybe…” Cadence replied, and again focused her energy into the ground. This time was harder, as her energy was waning, but she managed to create a sword. Though this one was the blue sword she had grown familiar with.

“That looks normal,” Starlight said, giving the blue blade a touch, “And it's not hot.”

“But I didn’t do anything different!” Cadence complained, “I can’t just make crystal objects that burn ponies to a crisp!” She complained, showing the group her injured hoof, then froze eyes wide, “I made Flurry a fork for lunch. What if it turns red and she puts it in her mouth?!” Her mind was not happy with the image that brought. She twitched in response.

“Are you sure you did nothing different?” Celestia asked, taking a closer look at the red blade, then at the blue.

Cadence nodded furiously.

“Hmmm,” Celestia replied, lost in thought.

“Perhaps it's not something you did, rather something that you felt,” Luna added, looking the alicorn in the eye, “What did you feel when you were making the blade?”

Cadence frowned, putting two and two together, “Well that might be it,” She looked up, “I felt anger in the room as thick as syrup. I could feel that it was warm, but definitely not as hot as that blade!” She exclaimed, pointing to the red crystal.

“Did you feel angry?”

“Eh, not really. Upset for sure from what I learned about Fluttershy. Though it felt the anger was around me, not in me.”

“Hmm,” Celestia hummed gently, “Maybe the crystal magic is able to channel emotional energies and trap them in crystal. Making the growths gain special attributes.”

“Yes,” Luna replied, “Though I do not remember anything like that when we visited the crystal ponies. We saw them make red crystal into ornaments for us to wear, remember?”

Celestia nodded, looking at the blade, “Indeed. It was definitely not hot to the touch, quite the opposite actually.” She looked towards Cadence, “You may have a special gift when it comes to this crystal manipulation.”

Cadence chuckled, “You knew that, didn’t you? That’s why you pressed me to try it?”

Celestia smiled, “I did not think this,” She motioned to the blade, “Would happen, but you can naturally draw strength from magically attuned crystals right? I thought it would be a good match for you. Though I underestimated how much.”

Cadence put on her thinking face. It was true that she could get power from the crystal heart by merely looking at it. She had never questioned it since she was an alicorn. She was able to feel the magic all around her, expanding outwards from the heart as it protected the Empire. She also knew she could feel emotions pretty well and use that to gauge her actions and responses. Did the crystal manipulation combine the two abilities together? Or did she just stumble upon an undiscovered manipulation tactic?

“Though that mystery will have to be unraveled at another time, for now, note the power of the emotions around you before you make any crystal structures.” Celestia requested, smiling as she did so.

Cadence nodded. Seeing the hint of praise in the alicorn’s voice. It made her heart skip a beat. She wasn’t very strong with magic, so seeing a sudden powerful gift sprout in her was amazing. Though, everything came with a risk. She looked at the blade. The theory was that it was made of crystal filled with anger. Pure and hot. To the point where the blade reflected that. She’d just have to be careful whenever she made silverware again. She didn’t want to make something that would hurt her precious foal.

Celestia chuckled, now the anger was out of the room, “Celestia’s celestial pancakes?” She asked, a large smile on her face.

Cadence smiled, looking away, “What? They’re good.”

Celestia chuckled again but looked towards her sister.

“Though I feel it is time we found out what happened to you,” Luna said taking a seat with a smile as well, “I’m quite curious what Noah was doing in the hidden depths of the castle.”

Cadence nodded, feeling the memories return to her, “Yeah, I feel you need to hear them as well.” She paused looking at the red-hot blade. She frowned and placed it gingerly on the ground. It hissed for a second as the ground quickly heated up. Though it didn’t spread enough for her to feel it when she sat down, so she continued.

“Okay, from the top. Starlight and I were working on the crystal manipulation when we decided to break for lunch. Starlight was delayed but I received your letter when she was coming back. With that information in hoof, I saw Starlight with Fluttershy and decided to sneak attack them to try and gain the upper hoof. It worked and the crystal manipulation worked on Fluttershy, despite her magical immunization.”

“That’s good to know,” Twilight said, “I’ll have to learn that later.”

“It’s a lot harder than it looks!” Starlight replied, giving the alicorn a smile.

“Agreed,” Cadence said with a smile, “Though I had to fight with another user.”

“Noah knows it?” Twilight exclaimed, “I’ve got to learn it fast.”

“Eh, I was talking about another pony but yes. Though Noah seems to know it to a certain degree. Mostly, his experience seems to mostly be eliminating existing structures. But he can do it to a certain extent.”

Twilight merely nodded.

“Though Fluttershy was still able to free herself and was going for the heart, Starlight tried to help keep it away from her by teleporting it away but that’s when we found out she could teleport.”

“Though, may I add, she was able to teleport right next to me. So, I think she could either see or sense my teleportation’s path and use it to get to me.” Starlight added.

“Wait,” Applejack interjected, “Is this where you got stabbed?”

Starlight nodded, “I used the blade to make her flinch by throwing it directly in front of her eyes,” She grimaced, “But I guess she caught it and threw it at me when I teleported. The pain stopped me from teleporting a bunch but I was able to teleport another time. Though this time she teleported next to me and ensnared me with her hair.”

Cadence nodded, “I guess that’s the point when Fluttershy reappeared next to the heart’s pedestal, holding the thing on her back. It was,” she paused, realizing how weird it sounded, “attached to her back by some sort of claw or hooks that were coming from her back. And when she touched the pedestal with her hair, she was able to have the heart continue its job.”

“Really?” Twilight asked, turning to the pony with a metal wing.

“Hmmm,” the pony responded, “I’m not too surprised, the EMDs are able to channel energies on varying levels. Electricity, heat, cutie mark magic, and with some being able to channel magic as well.”

“Sorry,” Cadence said awkwardly, “I’m afraid I don’t know you.”

The pony smiled and waved her metal leg in a greeting, “No problem, I’m Glyph. The pony who made the things that are in Fluttershy. Only to have them stolen and put into her.”

Cadence cocked an eyebrow, looking at Twilight, who returned the gesture with a nod. Cadence nodded in return and looked at Glyph, “Well, if Twilight and her friends trust you, that’s enough for me.”

Glyph smiled, “Great! Feel free to ask me any questions.”

Cadence nodded, “I shall. Though I will continue first,” She paused regathering her thoughts, “After that, Noah threatened to destroy the heart, and since she had already been able to destroy the crystal I made, I decided to oblige. He then had me go to the throne room.”

“That’s when I got healed by Fluttershy,” Starlight added quickly.

Cadence nodded, “I suppose, though he seemed capable of wielding that dark alicorn magic that Celestia warned me about.”

Celestia nodded, “Troubling, though it's not the first time I’ve heard of a unicorn able to channel such energy.”

Cadence frowned, “Troubling indeed. But Noah used that magic to get into the same staircase that leads to the crystal heart's original hiding place. Once below, he opened a hidden passageway that leads to a very long hallway.”

Rarity nodded, “Yes, we saw that, though we saw signs of a battle?”

Cadence nodded, “Yes, we were attacked by some crystal dolls.”

“Dolls?”

“Yes, though not in the foal’s plaything. No, this is a crystal manipulation that creates a sort of magic golem made from pure crystal. You can then give it thoughts and essentially a mind of its own.”

“Like a program?” Glyph asked, seemingly in thought. Though the blank stares made the pony snap out of it, “Well, it’s a sort of script for the computer to follow. Say you want it to pick up a ball and place it on the table. Simplified, the script would be: Pick up ball, lift to table, set on table, release ball. Kinda like that.”

Cadence nodded, “That’s pretty much it as well, just with your thoughts. It’s more of cloning your thoughts and placing them into the crystal. Though I’m not totally sure of the tactics since I haven’t quite gotten that far in the transcripts we found. But from what I understand, yes.”

Glyph nodded in satisfaction, “Cool.”

Cadence returned the nod, “Though we didn’t just run into dolls. There were many other traps. Saw blades, hidden pit traps, spikes, all the classic traps. Though Noah was able to deactivate most of them. That was until we ran into another massive doll that we had to retreat from. It was then that Noah called Fluttershy down and she took down the doll by herself! She stuck with us until we got to another little room with a gem in the center.”

“Hold on,” Starlight said, with an urgent look, “When Fluttershy healed me, I was able to talk with her. She told me, with great urgency that Noah had gotten something. She got cut off though. All she was able to saw was Alicorn, but there were some other words.”

“Well, we know he’s after alicorn magic. Maybe she meant Celestia’s magic?” Pinkie offered.

Cadence shook her head, “No, she was going to say, Alicorn amulet.”

Twilight and the others gave the alicorn startled looks.

Cadence merely nodded and held up her hoof, “Yes, I’ll get to explaining how I know in a moment. But there is also another revelation that may shock you more.”

The group now showed curious looks, but Cadence noticed, worry? In the faces of Luna and Celestia? Though she glossed over it, continuing her tale.

“Noah then started to draw magical circles around the gem. Though I should say that this gem was shattered into about a ba-jillion bits. It was only recognizable as a gem as it was hovering in the air. The circles Noah was drawing seemed to be some sort of funnel for magic. Though it would be later revealed to be a spell to repair the gem. Once he had finished, he drew another circle with a simple M in the center. He then drew a line through it and it summoned a single black crystal and a black cloud. That cloud turned into King Sombra.”

“What?!” The group audibly voiced their surprise.

“Wait, didn’t we blow him to bits when we fought him when the empire first appeared?” Rainbow asked.

Cadence nodded, “We did. Through Noah, I found he had bound himself to shadows to give him a sort of fake immortality. He could just be revived at any time.”

“Wait,” Applejack stated, “If he got revived shouldn’t we be more worried?”

Cadence shook her head, calming the nerves of the group. She was curious to see what crystal would be made if she could feel nervousness, but she pocketed the thought for later.

“He was quickly contained by Fluttershy. I was then contained and brought to a cube-like room.” Cadence said, spreading her hooves around, “It was massive. But in this room, I saw Fluttershy and King Sombra. At first, Sombra was very controlling and attempted to force Fluttershy to give back our magic. Though I don’t feel that she took it in the first place.”

Celestia nodded, “Agreed. When I was contained, I could feel my magic was nearby,”

“But couldn’t use it right?” Cadence finished and got a nod in return, “Sombra I guess mistook that as her taking his magic. Though he continued and Fluttershy trapped us in chains.”

“Chains?” Pinkie said, “Our Fluttershy?”

“I don’t think it was on purpose,” Cadence responded, “Nor do I mean physically. Sombra and I were arguing, and she shouted for us to stop. Then chains appeared from the ground and restrained us. Fluttershy was immediately sorry and seemed to recoil like a foal desperately sorry about something. And that caused the chains to disappear. I was able to comfort her but it was about that time Sombra and I got contained.”

“With the cage of spikes and glowing golden orb?” Celestia asked, seeming to shiver at the thought.

Cadence nodded, “Yeah. Though Fluttershy was able to reach me and tried to pull me away. I think that it was because the orb went after Sombra first. Though her attempts were unsuccessful.”

Celestia nodded, “She tried freeing me as well, though it was too quick for her to stop it.”

Cadence nodded, “Well, after we both got our magic taken we were let go and our magic was then used to fix the gem that was in that room. We then got released, but not before Me and Sombra were able to make a plan to take down Noah. Fluttershy was also able to tell me that Noah had her steal the Alicorn Amulet.”

Twilight frowned with anger, “Ugh, after all the time we put into hiding it?”

“I would double-check Twilight,” Celestia suggested, “You said you put a fake?”

Twilight nodded, her face showing annoyance, “Yeah, but it was Fluttershy’s idea and she was the one who put it into action.”

Celestia frowned, “She wouldn’t tell us he had gotten the amulet if she had known there was a fake, and he had the fake.”

Twilight nodded.

Cadence sighed, “That’s annoying, but at least we don’t have to deal with Sombra. He got taken out by Fluttershy pretty easily. She was actually able to emulate his magic, even controlling the spells he tried to cast. Like his shadow form? She was able to pull him out of it!”

Twilight chuckled, “Wish I could have seen it.” The group around her agreed.

“Eh, I don’t know Twilight,” Cadence replied, “She had to tear off her own leg since Sombra stabbed her with a spire of crystal. That didn’t seem to affect her. She didn’t even cry out!”

Glyph frowned, “No, I’m sure she felt it. Remember back when you first met me? When I tried to override her program? Well, it would cause feedback in one of the programs and it seemed to be hurting her, even though I was only messing with the programs in the computer. So, I’m sure she felt it.”

Cadence frowned, feeling the anger around her grow thick again, “Well that puts a new spin on it.” She swallowed her anger and continued, “She was able to repair herself though, after killing Sombra anyway.”

Twilight blinked, and paused, then continued, “Did you happen to see the wound?”

Cadence frowned, “Yeah, but I wasn’t expecting it. It was like Sombra was an empty shell. All I could see was a shadow in the pony’s head, even though he got stabbed between the eyes.”

Twilight blinked.

“Uh, Cadence darling?” Rarity asked, “I do think Twilight meant Fluttershy.”

“Oh,” Cadence smiled awkwardly, “Well I remember a lot of metal-looking parts. Honestly, it really surprised me. Her skin was yellow on one side and a metallic shine on the other.” She paused for a second, “The wound seemed to reveal metal insides. I saw a little gold, perhaps a blue glow? Not a big one, just noticeable, I think? Though I didn’t see any blood or any evidence of bleeding. Just pieces of metal and multicolored strings.”

Twilight seemed to deflate with the rest of her friends, “So she’s metal all the way through?”

“Wait, you said her leg was torn off right? We know that’s made of metal already. Perhaps beneath it is, uh, pony?” Glyph offered.

Though Cadence shook her head, “Not just her leg came off. It was more of her shoulder, that was attached to her leg.”

“Oh,” Glyph’s hope seemed to pop before her, “Never mind I guess.”

“How!?” Pinkie suddenly blurted, “She’s so squishy! I’m sure that her animal friends wouldn’t want to lay on solid metal!”

Twilight took in a breath, “I don’t know Pinkie, but Cadence saw it first hoof. It’s hard to dispute that.”

“Well, I think I can explain that,” Glyph said, staring at the floor, “Cutie mark energy is able to thread through pretty much anything it's put into. Take my prosthetic for example,” She said lifting the metal leg, “Because I’ve had it for so long, my cutie mark energy has had time to go through it and make tiny root-like pathways. This makes a sort of cushion or spring that gives the material more give without sacrificing much strength. Here, give my leg a squeeze.”

The group then took turns giving the pony’s leg a squeeze. When it was her turn, Cadence found the metal did in fact, give. Just barely though, just like an organic front leg would. Not nearly as much, but noticeably so.

“Fascinating,” Twilight whispered.

Glyph nodded, “Indeed. The cutie mark magic will try to mimic the original limb the best it can. Now, there are factors such as complexity, moving parts, or the length of time the magic has been able to sink it. But since she’s had it for so long, I’m sure that the magic has had plenty of time to make the metal mimic living flesh. Kind of anyway. Add that to the fact she didn’t know it wasn’t her real legs, so the magic would probably sink into the metal even faster.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, looking at Glyph’s face.

“Well,” She paused, “I’ve found that the magic is able to go through inorganic replacements faster if the pony wasn’t able to see it, or remember that it was replaced in the first place.” She paused again, “Say a pony were to get an artificial heart right?”

The purple alicorn nodded.

“Then the magic would seep into it and make it sort of malleable, while keeping the material’s durability to cutting or scraps. But since the pony wasn’t able to see it, it would happen a lot faster than say a front leg replacement,” She finished with her leg raised.

Twilight nodded, “That makes sense. Though could it be the heart is towards the center of one’s magic? More than a leg?”

Glyph’s face turned to a thoughtful one, “Eh, maybe but I’ve also seen the same effect of back legs vs front legs. Say the front ones taking more time than the back in this situation. The only thing different is the amount of interaction they had with it. You are always are able to see your front legs, not always your back. That’s what brought me to that conclusion. I’ve also got some scans to back up that as well.”

Twilight nodded, but it was Cadence was the one to talk, “So Fluttershy didn’t realize that she had metal legs because she thought they weren’t metal?”

Glyph nodded, “Essentially yes. Then her magic would be able to go through it faster and make it more believable.”

Cadence frowned, “Sure, but wouldn’t she notice if she got a cut? Or a scrape?”

“Come to think of it,” Rainbow said, “I can’t remember a time that she had gotten a cut or scrape.”

“Really?”

Rainbow shrugged, “I may be wrong, but she didn’t like any activities that could injure her.”

Cadence nodded. Fluttershy probably wouldn’t be the type of pony to put herself in a situation to get hurt like that.

“Not even a bruise?” Cadence tried, refusing to believe that with all her animals she never got a bruise.

Rainbow shrugged, “Yeah, maybe. Though I don’t remember anything different from them.”

The other nodded, adding to pegasus’s words.

“What about the time Fluttershy got sick with Swamp fever?” Celestia asked, “She said in her letter she had orange spots appear on her coat?”

Twilight nodded, “Yeah, that’s right! She also was extremely tired, along with those orange spots.”

Celestia turned to Glyph, “Can such an organism do that to a machine or computer?”

The pony shook her head, “No. Even if a microorganism could connect to a computer, it wouldn’t be able to speak the computer’s language. So, it wouldn’t be able to infect it at all.”

“Then how did she get sick? If she’s fully machine she wouldn’t be able to get those spots right?” Twilight asked in a hopeful voice.

Glyph frowned and stared off in thought, “Then there has to be something organic left in her for the Swamp fever to affect. Though I’m not totally sure about the spots. My only guess is that her mind is so connected to the computer that when she got sick, the computer tried to mimic what the organism was doing to her since she thought her body was organic. Though I’m not a hundred percent certain. That also means her coat and skin can change color.”

“So we could change her back?” Rarity asked hopefully.

“I suppose, though there has to be enough left. She also has to have at least front legs as a prosthetic since we know those are full metal.” She frowned, “Honestly though, if what Cadence saw what she said she saw, I am not sure we could. Well, we could potentially but Fluttershy is so attuned to her metal form that she can feel pain through it, so it might be detrimental.” She smashed her metal leg on the ground, leaving a small dent, yet her face didn’t change in emotion, “I can’t even feel pain and I’ve had this leg for years now! I can only feel that it's dented through its touch sensors. And even then, vaguely. I have visually check to make sure.”

“Yeah, she can feel pain and feel very well. She’s gotten scared of a leaf landing on her back,” Rainbow replied, looking off into the distance.

Glyph stared at her metal prosthetic in jealousy, “That would be nice. It’s taken years for me to learn how to feel with my prosthetics. Even then, I can barely discern against the stones in a waterbed. Much smaller and I can’t tell.”

“Well, the fact that you can feel through a metal object is still amazing!” Cadence commented, “That’s still quite good!”

Glyph nodded with a smile, “Most definitely, though I feel we’ve been sidetracked. What happened after Fluttershy defeated Sombra?”

“Hold on a sec,” Applejack said, seeming to catch on the last phrase, “We are just going to gloss over the fact our timid friend was able to defeat King Sombra?!”

Twilight frowned and looked down, “After fighting the other Princesses and me, I’m not terribly surprised.”

Applejack frowned and nodded, “Yeah…”

“She also was able to channel his magic, rendering most of his spells worthless,” Cadence added, “It really wasn’t a fair fight.”

Applejack shrugged, “It’s just not right. Timid Fluttershy being changed into some, fighting, machine? Under control by somepony else?”

The group nodded in silent agreement.

“I agree. Though she’s still in that, machine,” Cadence paused, seeing how odd it was to say a pony was made of metal, “I was able to talk to her.”

Applejack smiled, “I’m glad she’s in there. Though how do we get her out?”

Glyph shook her head, “No, I don’t think that’s the correct term. She’s already in her body. We need to get the programs that are controlling her out, then she’d be back to normal.”

“Normal as she could be knowing that she’s some sort of mechanical creature that can’t make up its mind between hurting and healing.” Starlight said sadly.

The group remained silent for a few moments, as each contemplated their friend’s situation. Cadence was frowning, wondering when she should continue her recounting. She swallowed and figured it would be best to wrap it up quickly.

“So,” She paused, dragging out the word, “After Sombra was eliminated, Noah took the gem and we went back through the hallway. Fluttershy was somehow able to see everypony at the top of the stairs, even was able to count them. We got up the stairs and then I accepted Twilight’s teleportation link and you know the rest.”

Twilight nodded, her expression still holding some of the sadness, but was changing to determination as she watched, “Okay, so Fluttershy still has quite a few abilities that we don’t know about. So, we are going to have to be careful about our plans.”

Celestia nodded, “Agreed, though we know that Noah took a gem from Sombra’s previous castle, has acquired the alicorn amulet, and has a portion of my magic, Cadence’s magic, and King Sombra’s magic. Does that combination ring anything with you Twilight?”

Twilight slowly shook her head, “No. The only thing I can think of is gathering alicorn magic and other sources of powerful magic to become magically stronger. Though I’m not sure about the amulet…”

“Could that be a medium of sorts?” Starlight offered, “Alicorn magic is super powerful, right? So maybe he wants to contain it into something else?”

“But the alicorn corrupts its user right?” Rarity asked, “Why would you want all your power resting on something that would eventually corrupt you?”

“Cause you’re already corrupted?” Rainbow offered, getting a few ponies to smile.

Luna frowned, and turned to Cadence, “What was the nature of the gem you saw? Color, grade, type, anything helps. Sombra would not hold a gem under so much security if he didn’t have other plans for it. Especially if I know what gem it was.”

Celestia nodded, face quite serious, “Yes sister. If you are correct, we have a big problem on our hooves.”

Twilight frowned but kept quiet, the others following suit.

Cadence then frowned and thought about the gem, “Well, the gem was red and seemed to be able to swallow light. It was shattered but I can confirm that it was restored and placed in, uh, somewhere in Fluttershy’s chest cavity.”

The group accepted her words with odd stares that mimicked her own feelings when she saw Fluttershy’s chest open up.

“Yeah, but the weird thing was that the gem seemed, to frighten me. Not in the sense of like a haunted house, but more of the feeling of dread a mouse may feel when there is a predator nearby.”

Celestia’s frown darkened, “That sounds like the gem for sure. Though we have to be certain,” She turned to her sister, “Would you help me?”

Luna nodded and the two walked over to Cadence, standing on either side of her. She might have been scared by having the two princesses on either side, but she knew them and felt the opposite.

“Alright, just think about the first time you saw the gem, we’ll take care of the rest,” Luna said, igniting her horn and touched Cadence’s. Celestia did the same, and the Princesses’ eyes seemed to glow. Cadence cleared her mind, then thought about the time she saw the gem. She also noticed Twilight ever curious look as she seemed to desperately want to ask about the spell.

“Focus Cadence,” Celestia said with a smile.

Cadence chuckled, then closed her eyes. She delved into her memory and recalled the gem. How it looked, how it got repaired, and how uneasy the gem made her feel even when it was broken.

“That’s a serious problem,” Celestia stated, pulling away with her sister, then gave her sister a look.

“What’s the problem?” Cadence asked, feeling anxious now.

Celestia didn’t respond, but Luna spoke, “Sister they have the right to know. We can’t make proper plans without telling the full situation.”

Celestia earnestly nodded, “Yes, but we’ve been keeping this under wraps for over eleven hundred years! We can’t just let the Populus know about it.”

“Know about what?” Twilight asked hesitantly.

“The alicorn amulet’s secrets,” Luna said flatly.

“Well that’s really not a secret,” Rarity said with a frown, “It’s a powerful magical artifact that gives the user power but corrupts them in the process.”

Luna nodded, “Yes, but that is only a fraction of its secret. A small one at that.”

“A fraction?”

Luna nodded, but didn’t respond despite the barrage of looks she was getting. Rather she turned to her sister, “The secret may already have been revealed in some way since Noah was able to pinpoint the gem’s location, even after a thousand years of time eroding the lines of history.”

Celestia nodded, “I want to tell them, but not everypony we meet. This secret has been kept for far too long for us to just let it out to everypony.”

“Agreed.” Luna turned to the group with a serious expression, “What we are about to tell you all is a secret that has been kept for over eleven hundred years and is not to be repeated to any pony. Do you all understand?”

The group hesitantly nodded as the weight of her words sunk in. Cadence frowned, looking around the throne room, and was trying to think of a better place to discuss such important matters. Though Luna seemed to have a plan.

“Hold still please,” Luna requested as she took a seat. Her eyes closed, then her starry hair swirled around her into a sphere, obscuring her from view. Then, the starry bubble expanded, slowly engulfing anything, and everypony it touched. Though the group trusted Luna but couldn’t help twitch when the bubble engulfed them. When it reaches her, the hair seemed to feel like gelatin. Weird, starry gelatin. Though the feeling only lasted as the bubble went around her, and eventually engulfed her. She blinked as she found herself in a completely new space.

It was like she was standing on a nebula. The throne room was completely replaced with a blue background that was filled with different stars and swirling colors. She took in the new area with awe as the stars seemed to twinkle on their own accord.

“Where are we?” The words escaped her mouth as she continued to look around.

Luna chuckled as she was now visible, “I have a small pocket dimension in my hair. It's quite useful.”

Cadence’s expression of awe seemed to twitch as she took in the full hit of her words, “Well.”

Luna smiled, but then dropped it as Celestia spoke, “Yes, this is a place where we are able to talk freely, and without fear of anypony eavesdropping in purpose or accident.”

“One question though,” Cadence said awkwardly, “What happens to the throne room?”

“Nothing,” Luna replied with a knowing smile, “To everypony outside it’s a magical bubble that has taken the appearance of a galaxy.”

Cadence nodded in relief. It was already going to be a pain to fix the massive hole in the floor.

“But here we shall reveal the Amulets true origins,” Luna said flatly, “To answer thy statement from earlier,” She turned to Rarity, “The amulet does give power, but it doesn’t corrupt the user. The curse that I placed on it does.”

“You cursed it?” Twilight asked, mimicking the confusion and concern on every pony’s face, “Why?”

“To answer that, we need to go a little farther back in history,” Celestia said with a smile. Luna nodded as her sister continued, “Back when me and my sister were young, back when even Starswirl was young, back to war.”

“War?”

Luna nodded, “War. Though not the war between differing races.”

Twilight frowned and was about to speak when Celestia cut her off, “You will not find mentions of this war in any book or transcription of any kind. Sister and I made sure of that.”

“You wiped a historical event off from time?” Twilight asked, aghast.

“Yes,” Celestia nodded her face grim, “Though we are not without our reasons, and I trust that you will trust our reasoning and keep the secret, or this conversation is over.”

Twilight blinked in Celestia’s words but nodded. The others following suit. Cadence frowned, understanding the reasoning behind the princesses. Though she had kept little things from her subjects, she had never hidden such a big event from such a big populus.

“Now this war was not pleasant, straining everypony.” Celestia said, her eyes in another memory, “Our enemy was a family of ponies who were addicted with the power of Dark magic. The practices of this dark magic were their traditions and were willing to sacrifice others to fulfill its gruesome requirements. They called themselves the Eye of Calamity and sought to become a storm that could destroy all in its path. Even to other dimensions, we later found out.”

Cadence felt anger rise to her chest. She was glad she didn’t have to deal with that.

“This was about the time where Celestia and I became Alicorns and were able to control the Moon and Sun,” Luna continued, “We were still learning of the alicorns’ new type of magic, something that Starswirl helped us out a lot.”

“That must have been fun!” Twilight chirped.

Celestia nodded, “Yes, though it was prepared for battle.”

“Oh,” Twilight said in a small voice.

Celestia nodded, “Indeed. Our power would turn the tides on this family that was slowly becoming a nation. They wanted to be able to practice their dark ways without any restrictions from our leaders and sought to bring them down. That was a bitter war until me and my sister came.”

“Indeed,” Luna said, a small smile coming to her lips, “It was liberating to be the spear front of turning the war. Our power, while chaotic at first, was able to naturally fight against the dark magic the others were using.”

“You may be curious why I sent you to the crystal empire when King Sombra returned, rather going myself,” Celestia said, turning to Twilight.

Twilight nodded slowly, “It was a test, right?”

Celestia nodded, “But you wouldn’t have been without backup. If things started to go poorly, I would have been ready to assist. The cold is easily bearable when I can show my true magic. Though since my magic has a natural opposition to Sombra’s dark magic, it might have arisen questions as to why I know how to dispel them so easily. Such curious questions could be the start of the unraveling of a thousand years of holding the secret. Ponies are quite curious creatures. So, I laid in wait, watching.”

Twilight gave her mentor a questioning look, “You mean you were watching from outside the Empire when Sombra originally attacked?”

Celestia merely smiled, “Though, with every opposition, creatures learn and adapt. The Calamity was no different. They foraged an amulet that was able to counteract my, and my sister’s, power with ease.”

“The Alicorn Amulet?” Pinkie asked.

Luna nodded, “Yes. It gets its name not because it was made with an alicorn’s power, but it steals alicorn magic and gives it to its user. Stagnant energy is left by our presence, or from us directly. When it was brought into battle for the first time, we could feel our power begin to fade, and that turned the tides of battle alone.”

Celestia nodded, “The Amulet itself nearly lost us the war, as Luna and I would just be giving the other side power to fight us with. Thereby negating us being in the battle in the first place.”

“So the amulet could just absorb your attacks and send it back?” Twilight asked, but Celestia shook her head.

“No, not exactly. If we were to gather our alicorn energy around our us to strengthen our attack,” She paused lifting her hoof. Then a hardened glow appeared around it, obscuring the hoof in a golden glow, “It could absorb the energy like that. But weaved into any sort of spell then no. Even a simple beam attack wasn’t able to be absorbed. But the amulet was constantly able to absorb our power, even at a larger range.”

“So any attack me and my sister could employ would be blocked using a shield made from our own energy,” Luna said and closed her eyes. A few stars seemed to collect around Cadence’s eyes, small winking lights in her vision. She also noticed everypony had the same stars around them as well.

“I am about to share to share with you a memory,” Luna said, closing her eyes, “From this, you shall experience it that way I did. The day I cursed the amulet.”

Cadence nodded, and the stars shone brighter around her face till all she could see was white. The bright white started to break as she saw the white shift into flurries of snow. She was seeing through Luna’s eyes, her blue snout visible in her vision. Though she could also tell that she was wearing a battle helmet. Though she didn’t just have to see the nose piece to see that it was there. She could also feel the armor as if she was wearing it. She shifted her body a bit and felt disorientation when the feeling didn’t shift with her. She was currently sitting, though she felt she was walking with armor in a bitter snowstorm. She smiled, this was a very interesting spell, she could almost feel Twilight’s questions—

“Do thou feel it?” Celestia’s voice was strong but hardened with battle. Nothing like it was now.

“Aye,” This was Luna’s voice now. Though it felt weird to feel like she was talking in another’s voice, “It must be close.”

Luna turned to her right, and she was able to see Celestia in elaborate gold armor, a large halberd hooked to her side. The armor clinked as the alicorn nodded. Luna then looked forward in the snowstorm, only to see darkness in the storm’s flakes. Though, as the storm lightened a bit, the shadows turned to ponies as hundreds came into view.

Forbidden History

Author's Note

Here's the other chapter, part two from the previous one. Hope you all enjoy! :pinkiehappy:

Error. Duplicate message found at line 7:
I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is magic nor the characters contained within. They belong to Hasbro and their respective companies.
Possible duplicate, delete?
/keep
Message has been kept.

Forbidden History

Luna’s breath caught in her throat as she saw the incoming horde of enemies. She frowned, feeling the power drain on her from the new charm the Calamity had created. It infuriated her. Whenever she then fought with her power, she felt like she was fighting a mirror, a perfect copy of herself and power. She must have snorted or otherwise shown her anger because her sister gave her a gentle reprimand.

“Anger forewarns misjudgment. Be wary, not foolish.”

Luna nodded, and took a deep breath to calm herself. She looked behind her to confirm the other troops were still behind her, not that the thundering hoof steps didn’t, but it reassured her nerves. But also caused them to flare as well. She had to be careful. The enemy could use her magic against them, which saddened her. Though she was the only one who could protect them against many magic spells the enemy would use. Regardless of how much better her sister was than she was, that didn’t matter. Her job was to zip to and fro and eliminate ponies that could use such spells. She just had to be careful not to get too close to the amulet. Or she’d lose power far too quickly.

Though she stopped at their captain’s command, bringing to rest the crunching of snow. The Captain’s horn glowed, and his magically enhanced voice rang out, “Eye Of Calamity! Your steps are no more! As this is a much as thou shall get.”

The response came with equal strength, “You must prove that.” Battle cries ensued from ahead of them, along with hundreds of hooves through the snow. Her voice joined the others as her allies returned the call. The alicorn voices echoing back even as the two groups collided.

Clashing of metal and shouts immediately filled the air as ponies fought with swords or iron-clad hooves and heads. Magic spells zipped through the air as they were sent after targets. Most were blocked by specially placed unicorns who were holding magical shields. Though that also made them targets for the enemy unicorn’s spells. A swarm of chaotic green energy seemed to leap out towards the allies from a few enemy unicorns. Though a golden glow shattered them into submission as her sister took care of them.

Though that meant Luna now had a target. She originally had been sticking with her sword for battle, restricting her magic the best she could. That way the pony with the Alicorn Amulet wouldn’t get nearly as much energy. But that meant she couldn’t use her magic. Though they had prepared for that. She flared her wings and dashed into the air. She snapped her wings halfway and dove forward. Her target was a group of concealed unicorns that still were glowing with dark magic. She didn’t slow down on impact, but let her enchanted boots take the brunt of the fall. It took it greedily, making the impact feel as she had just jumped rather than fall from the sky.

The boots glowed once, then shot back the energy in a radius around her. The group was thrown off their hooves, and she was left with several easy to deal with targets. Which was quick work with her sword. Though she was now in a group of enemies that were all brandishing swords and other types of weapons. She smiled and prayed that she’d remember the grueling training she’d done.

An axe was thrown her way, and let the blade hit her armored front leg, causing it to bounce. Mid bounce, she spun and gave it a kick sending it into an unlucky pony’s cranium. She didn’t have time to pause, as the clearing she had been in, was no longer unoccupied. She pushed, shoved, and sliced around. Taking only a few seconds to identify a course of action.

A sword came towards her neck, and she ducked and spun around on her hooves. She extended her wings as she did so, and her wings blades did short work of the knees of the ponies around her. She made sure to note the number of clangs she heard, as that meant those were higher-ranking ponies with armor. She heard 6 pings, each in a different position around her.

Magic spells were sent her way, though she didn’t flinch as she let them hit her armor. It flashed every time, leaving only a black crystal to appear on her armor. It would then dissolve and fall to the ground as she moved around, leaving her armor as it had been. Though Luna knew that the armor was enchanted, and would have to be recharged to keep its effects. So she unlocked her magic for a moment to allow it to seep into her armor. She also felt a large portion get sucked away towards the new charm that was in play. She growled as she sent another pony flying and relocked her magic. She’d have to be more careful with hits hitting her armor. So she spun quickly, using her wings blades and keen eyes to attack and block at all angles. Though she found herself having to stop after a minute. Mid spin she saw another volley of dark magic get launched and blocked by her sister’s magic. So she launched herself at the group and repeated the process she had done before.

She took another breath, carefully noting twitches, actions, and differing colors of light as she weaved in and out of the enemy troops. The ponies were no match for her alicorn strength, and those who were magically enhanced that did pose a physical threat, were able to do little about her agility. She smiled as her armor absorbed another blow. Her armor was custom-made, custom enchanted, and was suited very well. It took well over an hour to put on, but followed her every movement, letting her weave almost like a snake. Though she let her focus drop and somepony managed to get a hoof into her hoof steps.

She tripped and found herself on her back, covered in ponies holding her down. One smaller pony was able to get above her and attempted to drive a sword into her throat. She stared at the blade, and the moment it would strike her neck armor, she sharply twisted her neck. The action made the sword bury itself into the ground neck to her, leaving her with only a bruise. She smiled and unlocked her magic. She quickly weaved it into a pulse and sent it outwards. It shot ponies away and recharged her armor. Then, she locked it again only to be bombarded once more as never-ending troops closed the gap. A frown was mixing with her expression of determination, but she let it fade. She had to focus.

Then, another axe was hurled towards her. She timed catching the handle and spun to let the momentum fade. Mid spin, she saw another volley of dark magic. So she stopped her spin, left the axe in an enemy, and jumped upwards to take the group out. She landed and was again assaulted by hordes of enemies. Though this time she was close enough to the back that she had to deal with hounds made of dark magic. Their growls emanating from scratchy throats of straw or whatever the calamity could get their grubby little hooves on. Luna barely paid them much attention. The spells holding them together were meant for strength not speed. She’d just have to keep moving. So she did.

But the creatures didn’t attack, and after she had sent a pony flying, she realized that she was in a large circle of enemies. Though they weren’t attacking her. Nor were they sending spells. She stood ready, her blade clenched so hard her jaw complained. What were they planning?

Her attention snapped as she felt a massive magic rushing towards her. She spun around to face it, only to see a massive black appendage that she could only describe as a dragon’s claw rushing at her. The cloud-like nature gave away its magical background. Though the strength worried her, and she instinctively reached for the magic to make a shield. The glowing blue shield shimmered with several hundred hexagons.

Though the claw crashed through it. Her mind screaming in pain as the magical feedback snapped back at her. She growled, her voice now unobstructed as the sword had been knocked out of her mouth. She snarled, whisked her sword back to her, and relocked her magic.

Or at least tried to.

Her sword wasn’t able to reach her as the claw lifted her up into the air. Then threw her faster enough to surpass any speed she had been able to get when flying. Her ears complained as they were flattened against her head by the wind. Though that was the least of her worries. She was heading right for her allies, and she was now a projectile.

She called out a warning as she struggled to control her trajectory. The ponies heard her, and managed to move out of the way. Luna was also able to maneuver herself to land on her side, allowing her armor to take the blow. A large dirt streak marked her landing as snow and bits of dirt were flung into the air.

Luna merely laid there, breathing in and out. A few of her allies asked about her condition with she responded with a nod. She let her magic recharge her armor before sealing it away again. Her stores were starting to diminish, but not by a large factor. Her lungs were still complaining as she filled them, and her nose reported dirt and other natural objects in her nose. Her nose wrinkled and she snorted to clear it. She then huffed and threw herself up and looked around. She had been thrown towards the front of the army, and her sister was nearby. She rushed to her sister’s side, only to see her glowing with a golden aura as she defended herself from a smaller pony. It was only a unicorn, but he seemed to be able to block Celestia’s magic attacks with ease. Blows from Celestia’s halberd were either blocked or avoided, regardless of how fast or heavy the blows were. Luna frowned as she also saw her sister had taken cuts and bruises that were plainly visible on her now damaged armor.

She felt her breathing increase as she saw her allies began to fall around her in the oncoming tide of enemies. Showing exactly how outmatched the group was.

“Sister!” She called out and got closer to her sister. A few ponies blocked her and attempted to spear her but she flung them away with a few hoof swings. She didn’t have her sword, which was problematic. Her allies were also feeling the sting of the enemies’ swords and magical attacks.

“We need to retreat! Their forces are beginning to overwhelm us!” Luna said, now close to her sister.

“They will only chase us down and slaughter us like a wolf to rabbits,” Her captain replied, knocking down an enemy warrior, then narrowly blocking a magical bolt.

Celestia glanced at Luna, and the two nodded, “Then we shall hold them back far enough to get back to the capsule. With the amulet, Sister and I are the only ones able to hold our ground.”

The captain frowned, “I will hold with ye. It is my duty.”

Luna frowned as she watched Celestia block another attack, but she found herself locked at the blade of her weapon. Luna jumped forward and was able to separate the blades by giving the enemy a solid kick to the face. The pony stumbled back and Celestia dispatched the pony with a quick movement of her blade. Though the next pony seemed to be devoid of fear and Luna knew exactly why.

There was an amulet on the Unicorn’s neck. The alicorn-like shape was fully visible. Though it was so uncovered that she could see the back panel, its black crystalline depths the likely storage for the stolen alicorn power. It had four spikes. Two jutted out from behind the triangle, just below. Then, two curved outwards from the top, stopping just before the inanimate unicorn.

Though its front gem made her insides squirm in primal fear. Why? She had no idea. She just knew the amulet was a severe problem for her and her allies. When Luna or Celestia was around, it would power up the pony wearing that amulet, forgoing their alicorn advantage.

She gritted her teeth as she heard the captain begin to sound the retreat. She hated to be backed into a corner, but it couldn’t be helped. The amulet plus the near full force of the enemy troops was way too much for her company to bear.

“Luna, unlock your magic so you may be able to contend with the amulet with me. We mustn't let any magic past our gaze. For the sake of our allies.” Celestia asked, knocking a pony to the snow.

“Yes, dear sister,” Luna said, and unlocked her magic, almost immediately feeling the amulet’s pull on it. She tightened her face and requested a sword from one of the retreating ponies. The pony nodded and gave the sword to her. It was heavier than her own and wasn’t magically attuned to her either, but it was better to block a sword with a sword than a dagger.

“I shall take left!” Celestia shouted, and lit her horn.

“Then I shall take the right. No pony passes!” Luna cried and lit her horn.

“No pony passes!” Her sister called, and the two alicorns created an energy barrier behind them, sealing them away from their allies, but also preventing the enemies from getting through either. Now for the tricky part.

The barrier would be able to hold the group except for the alicorn amulet user. The user could easily smash the barrier at any time, provided he didn’t get intercepted by the Sisters’ magic first. They would both have to throw their magic at the user’s in hopes to falter it enough so it wouldn’t break the barrier.

A glowing black and green ball of energy suddenly formed above the group, shrouding an impressive amount in darkness.

“Luna!” Celestia called and sent her magic towards it.

Luna nodded and mimicked her sister’s magic while blocking and attacking with the blade in her mouth. Though it was difficult, their captain was able to stand his ground and defend the two alicorns quite well.

Luna groaned as her magic was brushed aside like a fly to a tail, and the ball of energy continued on its path. Its path ended as it collided with the Two sisters’ barrier, causing a massive flash of magic dust to fill her vision. It was temporary, but it added hundreds of thousands of sparkles to the floating snowflakes. Distracting, but not harmful.

Luna continued to control her breathing as she looked at Celestia. The snow around her had speckles of red discoloration as her armor seemed to leak. Though Luna knew what it was, and was glad she hadn’t received the same punishment. Celestia was stronger physically than she was while she was more agile and specialized.

Though the pony in front of her didn’t seem to have either characteristics. Nor did they have wings. Just an amulet that stole power. A thief. That’s what the pony was. Nothing more.

Yet, the thief was quite an obstacle to deal with. Their magic was severely hindered and was still draining fast. He had to go.

Luna merely frowned as she continued to push back the enemies, now aided by her magic. Though she was losing spirits as she watched the thief use their power to summon another massive ball of magic. Their original barrier had held, if barley. It probably wouldn’t stand for another attack. Though Luna stood ready and lit her horn.

Though their captain suddenly raced forward, sword held at the ready, and spear latched to his side. His normally loud voice now silent as he rushed forward and disappeared in a sudden cloud of smoke.

“Take care of the troops Luna. Let me and Walter take care of the amulet.” Celestia said quietly, her horn glowing.

Luna looked at the ball of energy that was amassing energy even as she watched, then emptied her lungs. She flared her magic and threw everything she had at the enemy ponies in front of them. Spells, swords, wing blades, her hooves, everything was used to knock ponies down and around. Though a sudden glow drew her attention to the smoke cloud. It had parted, leaving the captain exposed. Though the pony glowed a golden hue as he sparked with dark magic.

A familiar war cry exited the pony’s mouth, despite the sword, and made a vicious upper slice. The unicorn had a frown on their face as they easily dodged the blade, but the frown only grew when the Captain’s spear narrowly missed their neck.

“No more!” Walter shouted, and gave the spear a violent twist. The action revealed that the spear had caught the amulet’s neckpiece, and was ripped off the pony’s neck, breaking the spear in the process.

The pony barely had time to snarl as the ball of magic above them shattered, raining unstable magic down on the enemy troops before all coming down in a mighty boom.

Luna instinctively brought up a shield to block the blast and was relieved to feel the debris and excess energy fly past her. Though when the dust cleared, she saw Walter still shielded and in a blocking fashion. Her sister was like-wise shielded but half fell to the ground as her magic continued to drain. The enemies that had been around the thief were scattered or evaporated. More troops started to fill the gap but they had a few precious minutes.

Luna watched Walter contend with the pony, only to see the thief drive a small knife into the ponies chest, through the metal armor as if it were cheese. Luna felt her eyes go wide as the knife thrust upwards, leaving a killing blow. Luna felt tears well in her eyes as she charged forward.

“Walter!” Celestia shouted, but her efforts to get up were denied as her legs refused to get beneath her.

Luna however was speeding towards the thief, wings unfurled and horn lit. She watched her dear friend fall over lifeless as she dug her back legs in the dirt, to slow her down for battle.

“Luna! Don’t!” She heard her sister shout, but she wasn’t listening. Her full attention was on the battle in front of her. The weight of the sword, her fatigue, her strength, and her magic were all melding into a single thought.

Revenge.

She dispatched a few sword blows to which was met with the dagger. They traded a few blows before she found an opening for her magic. She filled the opening with a magic blast full of her anger. Though the pony merely lifted their leg and blocked the sparking bolt. Luna barely had time to widen her eyes as she saw dark magic sparking around the pony’s leg. Now it was barreling towards her with a green and black aura. Luna attempted to block with the sharp end of her sword, as to deter the pony from the attack or risk amputation. Though neither happened. Instead, the leg shattered the sword, leaving no visible damage, and continued into the side of her helmet.

Immediately she felt her armor’s enchantments stretch as they absorbed the blow. But it was too much, and the force continued into her face. Her head was sent flying, pulling her body with it. Unfortunately, she was knocked sideways, and not upwards. So she felt the ground as she skidded along it, not unlike a skipping stone on a lake. Each crater making her feel like a violently discarded doll as she bounced and tumbled. Her landing was even worse as she rolled along the ground, filling every imaginable spot with dirt and snow. When she finally skidded to a stop, all she could do was cough and breathe.

Her wing was broken and maybe a rib. Her body complained everywhere, reporting bruises and broken skin as her armor was dented out of its near-perfect state. She twitched, noting that, she might change color with the amount of bruising she felt.

With a sharp gasp, she pushed herself up, and magically removed her helmet. The dirt and mud now falling from her soiled hair. She was glad the experience didn’t part her with her horn. That would have really soiled her future. She’d deal with a body full of bruises any day as long as she was able to use her magic.

If there was going to be another day, she remarked, slowly looking back towards Celestia. Though the upturned ground blocked a good portion of her view. Luna sighed, and slowly got up.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow,” She whimpered as she managed to get into a sitting position. She felt tears of pain that began to blur her vision and she silently screamed. Though the scream was silenced as she heard an explosion that crashed into her like a moving brick wall. She turned to the explosion, seeing fiery golden magic and dark magic clashing in the air. A similarly colored light show then appeared as stray bits of magic were sent in all directions.

“Celestia!” Luna cried and tried to rush over, but her back legs refused to move. The result was her face planting into the snow-covered ground. The soft mush still causing her body to scream out of pain.

Though her front leg reported a much harder surface, and consequently, more pain. She struggled to her sitting position and gently wiped the snow away from the hard object. The cold was comforting, but the comfort was overwhelmed by what she saw.

Laying in front of her was the alicorn amulet. Its black and red color scheme was diluted with brown muck but it was still undeniably the amulet. She swallowed and eagerly picked it up, only to throw it away nearly screaming in pain.

The amulet landed on a small floor, and she looked at her hooves. They were sparking with dark magic, and she could feel the magic biting at her own, trying to do something to her. Though she had only held onto it for a short time so her magic was able to completely dispel the intruding energy.

She took a deep breath and levitated the amulet over to her. Well, she more or less played hot potato with it as it struck her magic with pain every time she touched it. Though she finally managed to get next to her, and she pondered what she should do.

She didn’t want to put it on. Putting her hooves on it managed to sting her with dark magic. What would it do if it was around her neck? Choke her?

She frowned as she saw enemies now coming closer to her location. She wouldn’t have much time left. Though she couldn’t just leave it there! This amulet was the reason for their near defeat! She had to do something with it even if it meant her life.

She steeled herself, ignoring the many complaints her bruises were giving her, and charged her hooves with magic. She could booby trap it. Set it to magically explode when a pony wore it. She couldn’t destroy the amulet, she didn’t have the time nor the strength to overwhelm its defenses. Or she could enchant the necklace to tighten when a pony wore it?

The enemies were getting closer and that made her brain start to panic. She instinctively reached for her magic again, filling her body with energy. She could feel the amulet still pulling on her energy, and it made her angrier than it should have.

Why did it think it could absorb her energy! It didn’t belong to the cursed thing! Though that sparked an idea in her mind.

“If you want my magic so bad, then have it!” She shouted, and placed both hooves on the amulet. She channeled her half-hazard curse into her hooves, then felt it get pulled into the jewelry. Though, the curse didn’t hold but rather dissipated and vanished in her magic’s eye. Luna’s panic only swelled as she could now throw a snowball and hit an enemy. Furthermore, the amulet had attached itself to her magic stores and was sucking her dry like a mythical mosquito.

Her breathing became even more labored as she found it hard to form any sort of thought. Panic was welled up inside of her, and she struggled to remove the amulet from her hooves. Any efforts were thwarted as she felt dark magic travel up her legs, stilling her movements.

The enemies were next to her now, but rather than attacking, they formed a circle around her, smiles on their lips.

Luna resisted a convulsion, knowing the reason for the enemy’s behavior. She was a goner. All that was left of her magic was a tiny pocket that she was desperately burying in the depths of her mind. Yet, the amulet ripped and tore, exposing nearly every hiding spot she could conjure up.

If the amulet was able to pull all the magic from her, it would only strengthen the next pony who’d wear it even more! She would then be a sitting duck. They’d capture her to charge the alicorn amulet whenever it was needed. Whenever they needed to go against her sister.

The amulet again tore into her mind, exposing her final hiding place in her mind. The amulet’s magic taking a monstrous face made up of dark magic as it tore through memories to find her. It grinned wickedly and its mere presence seemed to pull her magic away from her grasp.

Panic. Dread. That’s all she could feel as she stared at the magical manifestation’s eyes, with memories floating around her. Though it was not very distracting from the panic that was filling her soul.

Though even as she fought desperately to pull back her magic, something clicked. Her panic snapped into a form of magic that she’d never felt before. No, only felt when she raised the moon. But more as an energy she felt from the moon.

It welled inside her like a torrent of energy that whirled around in her form, charging her muscles and vaporizing the pain of the bruises. It felt awfully familiar, just not in a good way.

It was dark magic, just like the magic that was assaulting her mind. Starswirled had cautioned her about the dark side of magic and its corruptive touch. Yet even though the wizard had shown her it, so she’d be able to recognize it, this felt different. It felt like it was coming from her. Not the amulet, yet, she could see it coming from the piece as well.

Her mind screamed at her not to confuse itself with sudden power. She needed to act, and now. She grabbed the supposed dark magic and channeled it into the amulet, subconsciously weaving a curse that bit into the material of the amulet and held fast. Yet, she channeled more energy into the curse, weaving it as a loom would to string. Ease.

She found herself yelling as excess magic blasted outwards from her hooves, creating a shockwave that cleared the area around her with a blast of magical lightning and sheer force. Black crystals pierced the ground around her, as more energy was ripped from the amulet. Then, she and the amulet separated explosively, and Luna found herself once more on the ground with labored breathing.

This time she was able to get up easier. She found herself shivering, not from the cold, but from the sheer amount of magic she had just channeled. It had felt like she had expelled all of her magic twice, and yet, still had more to give. Not much though, as she felt exhaustion nipping at her from all angles, especially her eyes. Never had she felt so tired before in her life. Yet, she forced herself to look at the amulet with magic in her eyes.

It had worked. She could now very clearly see the curse she had placed on the amulet. Though the complexity surprised her, for it wasn’t the choking necklace or the explosive trap she had thought of before. But rather, it was a phycological shift. A shift that would cause the wearer to harm their friends, family, or anypony that would stand up to them. Furthermore, the necklace now had a signature lock, a lock only the wearer could remove. She stared at the amulet, seeing the curse radiating with dark magic. Looking around her, she could see the crystals also radiating with dark power. The ground, and a few unmoving enemies still sparked occasionally with sooty purple energy. How had she been able to wield the dark magic so well?

She stared at her hooves, seeing, and feeling, dark magic fading from them. Yet, it didn’t feel like true dark magic. It felt like a copy. Or an imitation. It just didn’t have the hatred or darkness that seemed to exist within the very nature of the energy. The energy she had created was the same in every other way.

A sudden war cry startled her, making her flinch to dodge out of the way of a hasty mace swing. She pulled her dagger from her armor piece on her front leg. The handle was a bit bent out of shape from the beating it had received earlier, but it would still do its duty. She levitated it and made it dance in front of her. The enemy she was contending with threw attack after attack at her, seemingly trying to push her away from the amulet with a lot of simple attacks. She frowned, looking down at the amulet. The curse was intact, should she just leave it? Hope they would not be able to sense the curse and try to remove it?

Her body was now losing the sense of exhaustion, as her flight or fight response flooded her veins with adrenaline. She’d have to risk it. She was in no shape to fight off many ponies at once. She’d just have to hope the curse would deter anypony from using the amulet.

So, she slowly backed up from the relenting attacks, putting distance between her and the amulet. Her opponent smiled and continued their attacks, the heavy mace doing work against Luna’s dagger. Finally, the dagger broke along the handle and blade, leaving Luna with two pieces. She frowned, as her opponent paused. She then threw the broken bits at them and started to run off. She had another dagger, but she’d slowly be overwhelmed. She turned her attention to the light show that marked the location of her sister, and ran for it as fast as she was able. Her broken wing throbbed at her movements but she held it fast to her side the best she could. She also removed bits of broken armor to run full speed, but her magic did short work of the fastenings and she made it to her sister in little time. Though she was surprised by what she saw.

Celestia was glowing, hair ablaze and bright glowing eyes seemed murderous as she launched blazing projectiles of magic. The heat burning the mud to darkened dirt. The area around the battle had no snow but was scuffed and blackened.

“Sister!” She called and rushed to her side.

“Luna!” Celestia replied, turning to her sister. Though it was a bit discomforting to see the flaming hair and glowing eyes looking at her, she returned the smile as she drew close.

“How hast this battle continued? The amulet is not with that foe!” Luna asked quickly, turning to the nearly unmarked unicorn.

“He has remnants of our power,” Celestia said darkly, “He must have another crystal to hold our magic. Though, now we may strike true, and avenge Walter.”

Luna frowned, looking into her sister’s eyes, expecting to see anger like she thought she saw before, but rather saw determination, and sadness in the alicorn’s glowing eyes. She turned to the thief of their magic, as Celestia blocked a black magic bolt, “Sister, I fear that I may be a burden. I have no magic to fight.”

Celestia frowned.

“We need to go! Lest Walter’s life be for naught!”

“The amulet? We can not just leave it.” Celestia said, heavily swinging her halberd to block a bolt of magic.

“We must!” Luna cried, looking her sister dead in the eye, trying to convey a silent message with her eyes alone.

The blazing eyes twitched as Luna noticed she could, in fact, see the iris and pupil of the alicorn, just faded among the glowing white. Celestia blocked a few more attacks then nodded with a frown.

“We are not leaving without his body,” She said, determination filling her voice.

“But how?” Luna cried, “Look at the armies that re-amassed to fight! We can’t take them all on!”

“We don’t need to,” Celestia said, “Will thou help me in my charge?”

Luna bit her lip, “Aye sister, but I fear for us both.”

“Fear has its place, let it make you think. Not react. Now, I shall part the enemies for thou to get Walter. Does your horn still levitate?”

Luna nodded, “Aye.”

“Then the plan is set,” Celestia said and dashed forward with Luna following close by. Luna pulled out her last dagger from her remaining armor and made it dance in front of her while Celestia seemed to command fiery magic. The flaming light show and spinning halberd easily pushed back the regrouping ponies and for those that did not heed Celestia’s attack, were turned to ash. The blackened armor falling the ground, malforming the glowing pieces of metal in the process. The ground became even more black as Celestia continued to blast her new magic around with little heed of where it went. Luna pushed the awe from her mind as she focused her magic forward. As quickly as she could she wrapped her magic around the fallen comrade the two had cherished dearly. She also noted that there was a small patch of untouched grass where he lay, but also pushed that from her mind. She quickly whisked him to her and began to retreat. Celestia stayed hot on her tail, blasting enemies with magic and sent more flying. Their forms becoming comets to rain back to the battlefield.

Luna frowned at Celestia’s new power. Where had that come from? Where had her own magic come from? She frowned, feeling worry knot itself in her gut, next to the fatigue that was poisoning her movements. Making her legs shake to near collapse. She’d ask Starswirled later. For now, she continued, and eventually felt her magic fizzle to the point where she placed Walter on her back to keep going.

Her dagger fell from her grasp and was lost as her magic refused to cooperate. She then felt her front leg seize up and she tripped, falling once more into the ground. Though this time she was picked up by her sister’s magic as she continued forward. Her hair was no longer ablaze, and her glowing eyes were not nearly as bright. Though her hair still retained stripes of red that faded before her eyes.

Luna cursed her weakness as she floated along in a surprisingly warm levitation spell, and found relief in her soul as the capsule came into view. The capsule was a magical device that connected two points of space. Much like a teleportation spell, this was more like a collapsible portal. Magic flashed between floating parts that looked like a dissembled bowl that was upside down. Two small pieces levitated in the center, undaunted by the oncoming sea of enemy ponies.

Celestia ran under the floating pieces and placed her load next to her, “Sister! Are you able to help open it?” Celestia shouted, panic welling in her voice. And rightfully so. For the rest of the enemy army had been able to re-amass together and was bearing on them like a guillotine.

Luna closed one eye and focused her will to her horn again, and felt it spark feebly. She then guided the magic to one of the floating pieces next to her. It glowed blue, while the one Celestia was working with glowed gold.

“1, 2, 3!” Celestia counted, and Luna activated the rune as her sister did. The magic lightning seemed to spark faster until it filled her ears with noise. Then, her vision spun and shifted as she felt the nothingness of the space between spaces. Then, she was in a dirt clearing that was clear of battle but had a peaceful forest nearby. With birds chirping in her ears, Luna felt herself nearly get thrown out of the capsule as Celestia cleared the area. She then wrapped her magic around the floating pieces and her magic glowed as she activated the capsule to close.

It sparked once, then the floating pieces snapped together, forming a small upside-down bowl on the ground. Its runes and other magical markings growing black as the glow disappeared. Regardless, Luna didn’t let her guard down and pulled the spare sword from Walter’s armor. She fashioned it between her jaws and stared at the clearing, being gentle on her aching body. Celestia did the same, but armed herself with her halberd, and took a stance with a glowing horn.

The clinking of metal signaled her allied troops doing the same as they mimicked their motions. Then, the clearing became still. Luna kept shaking the fatigue from her mind as it bit into her mind, breaking her focus. Though, still, nothing happened.

Luna had one of her front legs lifted as it refused to work with her mind but focused her full attention on the small clearing. She breathed in, and out, listening to the air rushing through the holes in the sword’s hilt.

Then, after a solid tend minutes, Celestia relaxed and her weapon fell to the ground, “We got away…”

“Thank the stars…” Luna breathed, gently dropping her friend’s sword on the ground. She then let herself drop to the ground, the dirt feeling quite comfortable.

The capsule had an emergency feature that would collapse the structure and detonate the other side. It was effective at keeping enemies from using the structure or learning how to make it. Though it would still leave a magical signature that would allow an experienced user to determine the exit point. And would be easy to make a mass teleportation. Though the signature became useless after ten minutes.

“What did you do to the amulet?” Celestia asked as she let the exhaustion flood into her voice.

“I managed to curse it…” Luna said weakly.

“A curse? How? It’s full of dark magic that repels our own alicorn magic with vigor.”

Luna did not reply, her vision slowly fading as the adrenaline left her body. Exhaustion seemed to leap forward and seize her mind with both hooves. She began to collapse but shook her head weakly as she struggled to stay on her hooves.

“Sister?!” Celestia’s voice sounded really far away and Luna found she barely understood the meaning behind her tone. She blinked as she felt Celestia’s hooves steady her own.

“I shall…” She paused, “Inform you later…” She then promptly passed out.

Cadence swallowed as the memory faded from her mind. She looked towards Luna who opened her eyes with a frown.

“Wow.” Twilight said, being the first to talk, “You wiped a whole war from history, even when you two were an integral part of it?”

Celestia nodded, “Yes. The alicorn amulet was far too powerful for anypony to try and repair to gain dominion over everypony else. We thought it best to simply wipe it from history.”

“Wait, repair it?” Pinkie asked, “It looked different in the thing Luna showed us, but broken?”

Luna shook her head, “Yes, I showed you the complete form of the alicorn amulet. After my curse laid waste to the Eye of Calamity.”

“I kinda feel bad for those ponies. Being burnt to a crisp doesn’t sound like a good way to go.” Pinkie said with an exaggerated frown.

Both Celestia and Luna had dark looks on their faces as Luna responded, “Do not give them mercy. They do not deserve it in any regard.”

“We called them the Eye of Calamity, yet, it was such a misgiving name. Their sins and wrongdoings were far greater. Everything bad that you can think of, they did in higher levels.”

Luna nodded, the dark look still on her face, “They even sacrificed our troops and allies to their dark magic rituals. We were only able to set their very souls free after we defeated them. Some were stuck in a state of torture for years before we were able to set them free.”

“Wow.” Pinkie said, “I take back my statement.”

Cadence frowned, seeing that the princesses were holding back more vivid details of the Eye of Calamity’s deeds, no she could feel the dark memories emanating from the two alicorns. She frowned, taking the princesses’ word.

“Okay, but you said the Alicorn amulet had been broken?” Twilight asked, pulling the group’s attention back to the topic at hoof.

“In a sense yes,” Celestia replied, “But to answer your even earlier question, we erased this war from history because we thought it the best way to erase the amulet’s true power. The curse is no secret, which is good. Though if some pony were to know that it had even greater power, a power that could topple every alicorn in a single swoop, then we’d have much greater problems. A problem I fear that Noah is trying to resurrect.”

“Indeed,” Luna added, and turned to the group, “So, after I curse it, we waited. The curse did its job, and soon the wielder of the amulet was using its reserve power to destroy their very allies.”

“For as big as the Eye of Calamity was, it took three days for the entire society to be reduced to only a few ponies.”

“Three days?” Rarity exclaimed, “My goodness, then we got lucky with Trixie! She’d have wiped us out!”

“Not necessarily,” Luna said, shaking her head, “The amulet uses one’s darkness to influence them. The Eye wanted death and destruction, among other things, while Trixie wanted power and revenge. She got that, and the amulet continued to push her. Would she never get to the point that the Eye got to? Probably not since she only had a fraction of the original amulet and curse.”

“A fraction of the curse?” Twilight asked wide-eyed, “That was only a fraction?”

Luna nodded, face stern.

“The curse did its job, and with the help of ally scouts, we were able to choose the right time to attack the Eye and retrieve the amulet. Which at that point only the amulet wielder remained.”

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but Luna cut her off with a smile, “The amulet is only able to store so much alicorn magic before its power effects are essentially negated. So, in order to counter that, Celestia and I stayed on the night of the raid.”

“It was the hardest thing. To send in our allies against a force that could withstand the magic of alicorns. It did not help that we could then feel the amulet’s power pulling our magic away when they brought it back in a small box.” Celestia said, the worry from past days showing on her face, “Many lives were still lost, however.”

“But the raid was successful, and we got possession of the amulet. The war ended that night and everyone was praised as a hero. Though we had to deal with the amulet,” Luna said, turning to her sister, “We couldn’t destroy it, the material it was made of proved too resilient. The best we could do was to forcibly remove the back crystal portion that was the main reservoir of alicorn magic. That is why it looks whole to you, but broken to us.”

The group nodded.

“Though it still had the curse, as well as the ability to steal our magic. It couldn’t store it, but it could steal magic and give it to the wielder. But we were able to splice into the amulet’s enchantment and break it up into several pieces. Once separated we found we could remove the enchantment, bits at a time. Though only so much.”

Celestia frowned, “Indeed. The enchantment was intertwined together with unknown dark magic that even to this day we don’t understand. But the effects allowed the enchantment to, simply put, pull itself back together.”

“So you couldn’t destroy the spell’s medium, nor could you fully remove the enchantment because another spell tried to forcibly hold it together?” Twilight asked, though her eyes were not staring into the realm her body was in.

Celestia nodded, “To a sense yes. Though we didn’t fully understand it. We still don’t. But we were able to break up the enchantment enough for us to seal it in chunks of crystal. Twelve of them in fact.”

“What happened to them?” Applejack asked, looking curious.

“I took care of six of them, while my sister took care of the other six. I also secured the location of the back of the amulet. Though, there was, complications.”

“Do not sugar coat it sister,” Luna said with a sad smile, “After my corruption and the damage to the castle, many of the gems were lost to looters and time. For example, I did keep a few of my gems in other creature’s care. Though after a thousand years, it's fully lost to history.”

Celestia nodded sadly, “Though it is not too bad. Because of this, no creature knows where all the gems are,” She paused, “I allowed a few of the gems to go and get, ‘lost,’ among gem traders and other trade routes. Though I can confirm the location of the amulet’s back and a few of the gems.”

“Where?” Twilight asked gently, “If we can round them up we might be able to bait Noah into a trap!”

Celestia nodded slightly, “While yes, that could work, we’d be risking him assembling the amulet with easy haste. You merely have to break the gems to restore the amulet. While my sister and I made sure the gems were durable, everything has a breaking point.”

“So let me get this straight,” Rainbow suddenly perked up face in a tight with frustration, “The alicorn amulet is actually broken. Its true power has been sealed in gems that, if broken, restore the amulet to its original butt-kicking status?”

Celestia nodded firmly, “A blunt way of putting it, but yes. You are correct Rainbow Dash.”

“And we do not know where quite a few of the gems are?” Rarity asked, “But how did Sombra get a hold of one of the gems?”

“That was the result of a raid Sombra did,” Luna said, annoyance climbing into her voice, “He stole one of the gems I was in charge of, seemingly knowing its true purpose through reasons we know not. Regardless, during the scuffle between him and I, a clash of dark magic and alicorn magic made the gem brittle, and the enchantment stagnant. So, when the gem shattered, the enchantment stayed broken along the bits.”

“Why didn’t you do that with the rest of the gems? Break them and scatter them to the wind?” Rarity asked.

“It was hard to figure out exactly what had caused the enchantment to freeze. Sombra was able to get away with the fragments and was one of the reasons we had to take him on in his castle. Which led to the banishment of the crystal empire,” Luna explained, “Though we did try to replicate the same situations that had caused the enchantment’s sudden shift in nature. Though that only furthered my corruption…”

“What do you mean?” It was Twilight asking this time.

“Dark magic has potent corruptive abilities Twilight, even from the purest of hearts.” Luna said, “Emotions play a critical role in how effective dark magic is on its target. I,” She paused, “Wasn’t in the best of emotional states…”

Celestia nodded and extended a wing over her sister. The stars around them seemed to thrum in response, “Yes, but that is behind us now. Now, we must focus on the future and not on past mistakes. Both yours and mine.”

Luna nodded, but didn’t reply.

Cadence swallowed, and tried to continue the conversation, she didn’t want to get pulled into another emotional mess, “Though that gem had been restored, using King Sombra’s and my magic. Maybe that could give us a clue?”

Celestia nodded, still somber, “Yes, though Flutterbyte had my magic as well. She might have used that as well,” She looked at Cadence thoughtfully, “Did Fluttershy say anything about channeling my magic?”

Cadence shook her head sadly, “No, I do not think she did.”

Celestia frowned.

“I don’t think that’s the big problem here though,” Glyph said suddenly, “It doesn’t matter how the gem was reconstructed or how the enchantment was frozen right? I think the biggest question is how did Noah know about the broken gem, the amulet’s true purpose, and how to track down the two pieces even though a very select few ponies knew the locations?”

The room seemed to be stung with silence.

Glyph nodded, “It seems that you all agree with me. Or at least see my concern,” a pause, “Though I have a proposal as well. Let’s go back to the amulet’s enchantment being separated into pieces. When the gems were broken, the pieces were gravitated towards themselves right?”

“Hmm, I don’t think gravitated is the right word,” Luna said gently, “I was more of two ponies on two clouds pulling themselves together with a rope. They were pulling each other, not just one side.”

Glyph nodded, “That rules out the amulet trying to pull the enchantment back.”

“Indeed. We did try to seal the amulet in hopes that it would stop the healing of the enchantment. Yet, our efforts did not work.”

Glyph shrugged, “Not working is only seeing a side of a problem. You can’t always see the face of a problem that contains the solution. Often it’s the other faces that you see that help guide you to the solution. Though I think that one of the pieces to the puzzle is quantum mechanics. The enchantment thing makes me think of quantum entanglement.”

“Say what now? Quantum, entanglement?” Luna said with a blank stare. Cadence also felt her mind skip a few syllables.

Celestia frowned, “I do think that is possible. Though I do not think we’ve truly discovered the connections between magic and Quantum mechanics. It is still a relatively new field of study. A fascinating one but still new. Say, for example, teleportation uses a portion of quantum mechanics but in what way? We know it works, and we can explain it enough to teach others to do so, but the nitty-gritty details? That’s still up for debate!”

“Uh, Princess?” Applejack asked with a smile.

“Yes?” Celestia asked taken a little aback.

“You were going to pull a Twilight.”

“And we’d be stuck listening for an hour about something we do not know about,” Rainbow added.

Celestia chuckled, but Cadence saw the purple alicorn blush with a frown, “It’s really interesting you know…” She muttered. Causing the group to chuckle in response.

“Indeed, though why do you bring it up, Glyph?”

“Because I think that’s how he’s tracking the pieces down. See, every dimension…” She paused, her face lighting up in a eureka, “I’ll have to save that thought.” She noted aloud, then continued.

“Every dimensional pull or interaction leaves a hoof print, so to speak, that can be tracked if you have the right tools.”

“Like how you can track a unicorn’s teleportation?” Starlight asked.

Glyph nodded.

“But signals like that fade over time, how is the amulet’s pieces still resonating with their signatures?”

“Cause the signals are repeating,” Glyph said with a smile, “A teleportation is a quick spell that disrupts spacetime for an insignificant amount of time. Bam, done. Yet, the enchantment is constantly trying to pull itself together, so constantly making those traces.”

Starlight nodded, “I suppose that makes sense.”

“Well it’s the only thing I can think of that would explain Noah’s ability to track down artifacts lost to time.”

Another group nod. Cadence smiled, trying her best to follow what the group was going, though she suspected that she wasn’t the only one having problems following along.

“Glyph,” Luna said suddenly, “Your thought for another time, what was it?”

The pegasus looked confused for a second, then her face lit up, “Oh right. We can confirm Fluttershy has the dimension connectors I described earlier, right?”

“Indeed. It allows her to change legs on a whim. An odd, creepy, and very handy ability if you ask me,” Rarity replied, looking at her own leg.

“Well, if we can trace those dimension connectors, we might be able to remotely access the computer connected to her mind. Potentially freeing her from wherever she might be held.”

“That’s a great idea!” Twilight said, “Though I suspect we need to be near her when she switches legs?”

Glyph sheepishly smiled, “Yep. You got it. Though not fully. Those connectors are almost always active. We would just need to be near her. Just, real, close.”

“How close?”

She extended her wing outwards, “About a wing length. Though,” She added hastily in the crazed looks that she received, “I can make a device that can scan for those traces from a much larger range. But will have to be in range for a longer time. And I will only get a fragment of the trace.”

“What will the range be then?” Twilight asked, hopeful.

“I can’t say exactly, but I would say if you could see her, you could scan her. You’d just have to point it at her.”

“That’s a relief…” Twilight said, echoing the collective sigh, “Though if we were able to get that close, could we go with the first method?”

Glyph seemed to weigh the options with movements of her head, “Yes and no. Technically yes, but you’d have to hold that position for a certain time, and from what I’ve of Flutterbyte’s abilities I don’t think that’s a good idea. Especially since Noah is still after alicorn magic.”

“What for? I thought he was after the amulet?” Rainbow asked, confusion filling her face, “I mean I know it’s powerful and all, it just seems the amulet is more so?”

Cadence nodded, “Yes, but it is fueled by alicorn magic. He may be trying to get reserve magic?”

Celestia and Rainbow nodded, but Celestia added to her words, “Indeed. I agree. But there is another fact I have to give. When we defeated the Eye of Calamity, we found transcripts detailing plans to link the amulet to Limbo.”

“Limbo?!” The group seemed to resonate with each other.

Luna nodded, “Yes, though it seemed like the transcripts were talking about a creature and not the place. We couldn’t find much more detailing the creature’s abilities. We just know the power of the alicorn amulet and that this connection was supposed to make the amulet’s ability stronger. Any other info seemed to be locked in the minds of the ponies that made the amulet. Minds that long since have ceased.”

Silence filled with fear seemed to penetrate the room, so thick, that Cadence could feel it through her coat. Outside, and inside.

“So, you're saying, that the amulet that can overpower all the alicorns at the same time,” Starlight said incredulously, “Has another upgrade?”

Celestia nodded darkly, “Yes. Though we do not know if Noah knows about the potential augmentation or has the ability to do so. But, since he was able to find the gem and the amulet, it’s a possibility.”

The group nodded once more.

“So,” Cadence said, breaking the silence, “What’s the plan?”

The silence remained a little longer, then Celestia spoke, “We must be certain of Noah’s plan. I do not want to reveal the locations of the gems if I do not have to. But I shall be certain of their locations by the end of the week.”

Luna frowned, “What about the ones under my care? They are certain to be hidden under generations of time, tradition, and even thievery.”

“The dream world perhaps?” Pinkie suggested, “You know what they look like so if somepony is fantasizing about them, you might be able to see its location?”

Luna nodded, “A good suggestion that I shall use. Thank you.” The pink pony smiled.

Twilight nodded and turned to Glyph, “Can I help you make those quantum tracers?”

Glyph nodded, “Sure! It’ll make things go by faster.”

“What about those who have no idea what a quantum mechanic is?” Rainbow asked, asking the lingering question.

“I think it would be good to keep an eye and ear out. Look around, use your contacts to find ponies or creatures that have ancient gems that are near impervious. It might be able to narrow down our search for the missing gems,” Celestia replied, “And if we do encounter Fluttershy what shall be our plan?”

Rarity frowned, “Unfortunately if we are separated we would likely be not much of a blockade to Flutterbyte’s abilities…”

“Until we have a viable method to fight her, I’m not sure if any one of us could even hold her down.” Applejack said sadly, “I knew she had a hidden strength, pushing boulders and wrestling bears and such, but this is a whole ‘nother level.”

Twilight suddenly lit up, “Wait! Fluttershy is a Bearer of the Elements of Harmony, which was able to cleanse chaos magic. Could the elements revert Fluttershy back to what she was?”

Celestia frowned, and looked around at the stars around her, “Theoretically yes. However, I do not say we try.”

“Why?!” Twilight complained but got a stern look from Luna.

“I have to agree with my sister. Have you ever wondered why very few ponies knew the location of the Tree of Harmony?”

“Well,” Twilight paused, “I suppose that it was to keep it away from enemies trying to destroy them. Or hurt the Tree.”

“You are half correct,” Celestia replied, “Originally, my sister and I wanted to try to split the powers of the elements, to try and curve the hostility between species. Though, a few did not want that to happen. Those few managed to sneak into the castle and steal a single element of harmony. That night the element of magic turned pure black.”

“Black?” Twilight asked, voice sounding distant.

“Others have described it as black as evil,” Luna said, letting her words speak for themselves.

“And on that night, using the Element as a guide, they found the Tree of Harmony. They attempted to use the element to gain control of the tree’s power. To use it for how it ought to be used. Yet, the tree seemed to have other wishes.” Celestia spoke somberly.

Luna nodded, “Since my sister and I were connected to the elements, we were able to find the imposters before they actually did anything to the tree. We got there in time to see them place the element in the tree’s center, which caused tendrils of magic to seize them. They vaporized before our very eyes.”

Twilight seemed to have a face of dread plastered to her face, inhibiting her ability to speak.

“Soo the elements killed them?” Cadence asked, feeling as if something wasn’t quite right with that, “That doesn’t make a ton of sense. We’ve never seen the tree kill anything, only fix and heal.”

“Through the Elements of Harmony,” Celestia said, “It seems that when the wielders are involved then things are totally fine. Though there could also have been dark secrets the ponies that night were holding. Plans of untold evil that had soiled their minds to the brink of insanity. Maybe keeping them alive was not good for everypony else. Perhaps they were murders that deserved every second of vaporization! We simply do not know…”

“All we know is that the element turned black and was placed on the tree. Then, the ponies quickly were no more. So we built our new castle nearby and used that as an excuse to keep prying eyes away.” Luna finished, watching the concerned faces the others had.

“So, we shouldn’t use the Elements.” Rainbow said plainly, “So, any other ideas?”

“Well, plan A is going to try to get the dimension trace Fluttershy leaves behind and try to remote into the computer that is controlling her. Plan B? Maybe trying to get her to hold still long enough for us to get a direct link to the computer?”

“Which is her eye, right?” Pinkie asked, her voice portraying full awkwardness.

“Her eye?” Cadence exclaimed, “That’s got to hurt though, right? We don’t want to hurt her if we don’t have to.”

Glyph nodded with the rest of the group, “Accessing the port doesn’t seem to cause her harm.”

“Lightning does though,” Rainbow said, “Could we use that same method we did at Canterlot? I know it’ll hurt, but she’d a pegasus, she’s got a bit of resistance. We almost were able to save her!”

Glyph shook her head, “That worked because there wasn’t a big enough buffer to handle the amount of electricity I pumped into her. A normal lightning bolt wouldn’t affect her internals per my design,” She paused, “Trust me, I know. That and I’d doubt that Noah would allow such an impurity to remain. Fluttershy’s systems could be upgraded to handle such excessive amps and volts.”

Rainbow frowned, “Yeah, I suppose that makes sense.”

“Besides Rainbow,” Rarity said accusingly, “Would you want to shock your friend with a thunder cloud?”

Rainbow scoffed, “I’d shock myself a hundred times over to save my friend. Even if I have to zap her. I’ve seen her get zapped before, it wouldn’t kill her you know.”

Rarity frowned, “I suppose…”

The group landed in silence again, and Cadence once again felt the need to break the silence, “So we are going to confirm the locations of the gems that we know about,” She pointed to Celestia, “Make a, Quantum Tracer,” She pointed at Glyph and Twilight, “The others are going to look out for Fluttershy and try to find gems that are impervious, and ancient. What should they do if they find one?”

“Contact me or my sister,” Celestia said, “We’ll be able to tell if it’s the gem or not.”

“Great. Once the tracers are done, we set up around the gems we find and get the traces on Fluttershy. Then, Glyph does her thing, and bam. Fluttershy saved.” She paused, “Right?”

The group nodded with differing rates, each showing how the predicament affected them. Cadence sighed, they’d get over the mourning soon. They just needed to see a path to look towards. Though she could still see why they were so stuck.

Fluttershy. A timid pegasus turned crazed robot in a mere day or two.

She emptied her lungs, pushing the depression away, “And I’ll look in the archives. Crystals are the empire’s thing. Maybe I could find some magic, or crystal technique that could help us find the gems?”

Luna nodded, “I think that would be productive. Let us know if you need or want help.” Luna said, giving a subtle look towards the other ponies.

“I’ll take all the help I can get!” Cadence said, standing up, “I’ll meet you in the library when you all are ready.” She then paused, looking at the stars around her, “Uh, Luna?”

“Last thing,” Luna said, “Twilight, we require a word with you and your friends. Cadence?” Luna turned to her, “Will you take Starlight to the Library?”

Cadence nodded and smiled. The Elements of Harmony never seemed to get rest. She smiled, neither did a Princess.

The stars and nebulas shifted in their spots in the sky as the bubble that had encased them slowly shrunk back to Luna’s head. The throne room became visible again, reminding Cadence about the massive hole in the ground.

She stared at it for a good moment, “Later! I shall deal with it later! Library! Here I come!” She turned and started for the doors, giving the group a smile as she left. Starlight followed close by, leaving the doors to close behind them.

“What do you suppose dark secrets they are discussing now?” Starlight said with a little sarcasm.

“Oh I bet the darkest,” Cadence said with a laugh, “Though it’s probably Elements of Harmony stuff.”

“Then why did Glyph stay?”

Cadence paused, but her hooves kept moving, “Uh, I do not know. Maybe they needed her advice? She made most of the stuff that Noah put in Fluttershy right?”

“I suppose,” Starlight said, following the alicorn down the hallway, “But Twilight’s going to be upset when she learns she is going to have to wait to learn the Crystal manipulation.”

Cadence grinned, imagining Twilight’s face, “That might be a good thing you know,” She replied giving the pony a look, “She would probably blow us out of the water.”

Starlight pondered that for a moment, “Yeah, probably.”

“Yeah she picks up on that sort of thing pretty well,” Cadence added, seeing the library doors come into view, “You do to you know.”

Starlight nodded, “Ah yes, my letter opener will be quite useful at this time.”

Cadence chuckled, “I don’t know, a pencil can be lethal in the right hooves.”

Starlight shrugged, “Eh. I do suppose.”

Cadence smiled, pushing open the doors to the library, “Well, you ready to scour the books again?”

“New library, same methods. Let’s do it!” Starlight cheered, trying to boost her spirits before the sheer number of words brushed it away.

Cadence smiled and the two looked at the directory for an idea of where to start. A book of crystals sounded promising. So, she flew over, picked it up, and opened the front page.

A crystal is a piece of material that has geometric faces naturally forming within the crystal’s symmetrical planes. Depending on the material, molecular bonds, and geometric formations determines the qualities of the crystal. Such qualities can be used for magic, decoration, jewelry, and so much more.

Cadence frowned. She knew that. She lived in a castle made of the stuff for a few years now. She had hoped to find a table of contents on the first few pages, only to remind herself that most of the books did not have one.

“I swear on Celestia's cutie mark that I’m going to go through every single book here and place a table of contents in each one!” She frowned again, realizing that she had said that too, only for the vow to slowly fade to silence. Her frown continued as she settled down to read the book that she had probably already read. Starlight doing the same next to her. They exchanged knowing looks, then returned to their pages.

New Skills. New needs.

Author's Note

:twilightblush: I'm back!
Sorry about the long wait. It's been a little rough around the edges, to put it simply. :fluttershyouch: Regardless, here's the new chapter! Hope y'all enjoy! :pinkiehappy:

As a side note. I'm not sure if I'm really staying true to the characters as I go along. It seems I may be straying a bit... Anypony notice that? Or is it just me? :twilightsmile:
As always: I do not own My Little Pony Friendship is magic or the characters within. They belong to Hasbro and their respective companies.

New Skills. New needs.

Twilight was in the middle of a large clearing. Her friends and the Princesses were next to her, watching the area around them.

It was a peaceful area. A large grass field with lush green grass that invited her to come and lay down. She was half tempted to ask Pinkie if she had the equipment for a nice picnic. A nice picnic surrounded by trees was very tempting when it wasn’t in the Everfree. Small mushrooms mingled with flowers as wildlife scurried about. It was a peaceful site and that’s what confused Twilight.

Celestia said that they were going to her and her sister’s old training grounds. A ground where they could use their magic freely, without hurting any creature.

This was certainly not a place where massive magic could be released without hurting some creature.

“Well, what do you think?” Celestia asked with a smile.

“Uh,” Twilight asked, trying to figure out how to respond, “It’s, great?”

Celestia laughed, “I see the spell is still working. Which is good.”

“Indeed. If Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic, can not see it, then it is in good shape, even after all these years,” Luna said with a smile.

“Huh?” Twilight asked, looking at her friends to get similar responses.

The two alicorns merely smiled and lit their horns. After a moment, the air in the middle of the clearing seemed to shimmer, shifting the look of the things behind it. Like a dirty window, just cleaned with the wrong cleaner. Though the distortion also wavered, creating a mesmerizing pattern to look at.

“Come,” Celestia said, and began to walk to the distortion. The group followed, and Twilight noticed with awe that the white alicorn disappeared through the distortion as if she was walking through a portal. Excitement built in her as she realized what it was. It was a dimensional pocket! A pocket hidden for generations that served as a training ground for the Princesses.

Why the Princess needed such a training ground, she was unsure since she hadn’t seen the two do too much in the way of battle. Though after seeing the alicorn of the sun defend herself with a halberd, she supposed that there was a side of the Princess that she didn’t know. A fierce warrior softened by a century of peace and harmony.

Though it was her turn to walk into the distortion. She paused, not in fear, but curiosity. She had walked into a portal before, a portal that took her to an alternate reality. This was different, she thought and wanted to learn more. She cautiously stuck her hoof into the swimming air, watching it disappear into the air, completely and utterly. She smiled, feeling curious, and trying to feel the magic that hid it so well.

“Come Twilight, we waste too much time,” Luna said with a smile. Then she too disappeared into the hidden entrance.

“Wheee!” Pinkie shouted as she bounded head first into it, vanishing in a blink of an eye.

Twilight frowned, fighting herself about satisfying her curiosity, or hurrying and joining the others. She watched Applejack and Rainbow enter the field and let go of her curiosity. Now was the time to act. After all, the Princesses wouldn’t mass teleport them here without a reason.

Her vision wavered for a moment, but she was used to that. From walking into portals and teleporting, such an event was a common denominator. Though she wasn’t expecting what she saw on the other side. Soft sand filled her hooves as she stepped into the new environment. It was not hot, but rather a bit cold. The air around them was musty, like a room that had not been aired out for, far, far, too long. Though it was still. No air moved the sand nor the little dust that there was. She frowned, seeing a vast desert expand outwards. It looked like a desert just before sunset, just without the sunset. No appealing colors danced along the sand but a cool blue seemed to permeate throughout. Twilight took another step, and saw huge mounds of sand that looked to be the remains of craters before the sand filled them back in. Though that didn’t capture her attention.

It was the glass.

Parts of the desert seemed to be turned to glass at random intervals. Lines of it carved the desert into meaningless sections, or large craters seemed frozen in time as glass reached towards the heavens in tiny, frozen spindles. Large chunks of the stuff also lay undisturbed in the sand, clear as a window.

She picked up one of the pieces with her magic and lifted it close. The edges of the glass seemed to be infected with granules of sand that hadn’t been turned entirely into glass, and she could see the warped edges were slightly burned. Though the center of the glass blob was so clear that she had no problem looking into it. She turned it around a bit and saw the light reflect on the top face. She looked up and saw the sun. Yet, it was muted. Like the air was filled with smoke enough to dull its glow. Yet, it wasn’t. She could just look at the sun for some reason. Its glaring light a mere annoyance if she stared at it.

“What is this place?” Twilight asked, still staring at the celestial object.

“This,” Celestia said, turning to her student, “Is our training grounds.”

“This ground has been used since my sister and I were in that battle with Calamity. Though we have since removed its location from history.”

“Wait,” Applejack said, “No one knows about this here desert?”

“Nope,” Luna said shaking her head, “Though it wasn’t a desert at its beginning.”

Twilight frowned and joined her friends in a questioning look.

“Simply, this entire,” Celestia paused, “Desert, is surrounded by a simple barrier that will teleport you to the other side unless you know how to get through. Making it seem that it’s not even there. So over time, it has faded from maps and minds. Though if Twilight wanted to calculate the circumference of our planet, she’d get a different result if she measure through where this training grounds were rather than elsewhere.”

“So you isolated a stretch of land from everypony?” Twilight asked, “Making a land that essentially is invisible without the right eyes.”

“Correct. There are even trading routes that run through here from time to time. They have no idea. And that makes it a perfect place for us to practice our abilities,” Luna said, looking at Twilight.

“What abilities? You’re alicorns, that’s not much of a secret!” Pinkie said with a smile.

Luna smiled, “You are familiar with the morphing that I was able to do when I tried to keep you away from the Elements, when we first met?”

The group nodded.

“That is what I’m talking about. The same with how Celestia was able to make a contained black hole at Canterlot just a day ago. They are a mere glimpse of our true power.”

Celestia was walking away from the group while Luna talked, but when Luna had concluded speaking, she turned and faced the group. She flared her wings and began to glow.

“Stand back everypony,” Celestia shouted even though she was a distance away.

The glow began to increase in intensity, and Twilight could see red flames flickering around her. They increased in intensity and seemed to flicker in more random patterns. Celestia’s hair caught fire and color melted away before a black line. Twilight blinked, the heat drying out her eyes as she would next to a campfire. Yet, this was much hotter. She could only imagine the temperature at the center of the fireball that was now obscuring Celestia. Though it didn’t for long. With a quick thoom, it launched itself outwards, quickly dissipating to a wall of heat that hit the group like a slap in the face.

Twilight coughed, trying to clear her lungs of the super-heated air it had been subjected to. Though froze when she saw Celestia walking towards them.

The center of the blast had been turned into one of the glass craters she had seen earlier, only it was glowing white with heat. The towering columns of glass slowly fell to the spindles she saw earlier. The direct center was blackened, despite the glowing material underneath. Celestia herself was also glowing. Her coat remained unchanged as it emitted a gentle glow and her cutie mark was now a single hue of bright orange. Though her hair was now made of fire, its normal self-conscious movements were now quicker and reminded Twilight of a billowing bonfire caught in a sudden gust of wind. Celestia’s adornments were glowing, but not from magic, but from the heat they were emitting. They seemed to be molten, yet she could still see the purple gem in the neck as well as in the crown on her head. The metals were quite nearly pure white, just a hint of orange tinged the edges.

Her eyes were also pure white. Though Twilight could still see what she was focusing on since her pupils were brighter than the rest of the eye. She couldn’t say the same about the iris. It was lost in the alicorn’s eye. Tiny little flames took over her eyelashes, slowly dancing in the absence of wind.

The group remained silent as Celestia walked over, glass circles marking where she had walked. Though they disappeared as she walked along. However, Twilight could still feel the heat emanating from her mentor as she stopped near the group.

“This is my power form,” Celestia said, looking at the group, “A form born of fire and plasma. A kin to the very sun itself. This form draws power from the sun, and I would exhaust myself if I were to use this form during the night. But during the day I may use it however I please.”

The group uttered a collective, “Wow…” Though Twilight took a step closer to her mentor. The glowing eyes focused on her and a small smile formed on her lips.

“Ask away,” Celestia said reading the alicorn’s mind.

“Does it hurt?” Twilight asked eagerly.

Celestia shook her head, making the bonfire on her head shudder in response.

“What kind of power output do you get to your magic? Or is it restrained just to physical strength and abilities? Ooh! Are you immune to fire? Could you just go to the dragon lands and walk on lava? Could you make more lava? Though, why does it occur? Is it because you’re an alicorn? Will I suddenly erupt into flames?!?” Twilight said, pausing in her questions, only to realize, no pony had stopped her.

Celestia smiled, “In order: my magic gets a very large boost of energy. During the day I can’t really exhaust myself while using my magic. It recharges much faster than usual, allowing me to use exhausting magic in bursts. I can do more magically exhausting tasks quicker than I would if I wasn’t using my power form. My physical strength gets a boost but not as much as my magic. I’d say I’m more flexible if anything. Yes, I’m immune to fire and can walk on lava.” She paused picking up some of the sand with her magic. Though, instead of a golden glow, it was a fiery orange that seemed to flicker around the sand trapped within it. Though the sand was now also glowing, being melted together in magic’s grip.

“Wow!” Twilight said, getting as close as she dared to the floating of glass, “What spell are you using?”

It floated away a bit, “Be careful my student. I’m using a mere levitation spell.”

Twilight looked up at the alicorn with shock.

Celestia nodded, and Twilight noticed the fiery orange glow also around her mentor’s horn, “My magic gains another characteristic. Any magic I produce becomes searing hot. To not accidentally hurt things I have to constantly think about turning down the heat. If I don’t, they burn. No matter the object. Though it can be useful in making glass, or as you asked, lava.”

“What about steel? Could you melt it?” Glyph asked her face seemingly in awe.

Celestia nodded, “Yes, easily. I can even melt uranium.”

Glyph’s eyes got wide.

“Though not without thinking about it. I do have to put in some concentration to get it to melt.”

“Are you hot?” Twilight asked.

“No,” Celestia said, turning to her again, “I am warm to the touch. Like one of those heat packs you have to boil to reset.”

“What about your regalia?” Rarity asked, pointing to the molten adornments, “Why are they so hot then?”

Celestia laughed, “Oh! I just like the look of them molten. Since I don’t have to worry about heat, I figured, why not?”

“But doesn’t it hurt the metal? Won’t such drastic heat ruin its structure? Look? And overall cut?”

Celestia smiled, pointing to the tiny purple gems, “See these gems? They have an enchantment inscribed on their facets that hold the peytral and crown in their shape. These,” She said, lifting her hoof caps, “They don’t have that big of a fight against gravity since they are pretty snug on my hooves. So, they have a much simpler enchantment on the metal itself.”

“What if something hits them?! Won’t it get damaged?” Rarity asked, genuinely concerned, “Take the sand for example! It's probably making all sorts of terrible dents underneath!!”

Celestia frowned and looked at the bottom of one of her shoes, though the glowing surface was too bright to reveal any dents. Celestia frowned, “Honestly I’ve never thought about it too much. If it becomes dented I just heat it up and reform it. I don’t need to entire my full form to use some of my powers.”

“Like at Canterlot,” Twilight replied, “You weren’t on fire. Just had those, runes all along you.”

Celestia nodded, “Indeed. It’s a spell Starswirled helped me develop. It essentially turns on and off the magic state in rapid succession. It allows me to use my powers sparingly, without the whole fireball. I can’t use the full powers and it is a tad harder to move since my magic is constantly switching between states. Though over the years it has been easier to master.”

“So that’s why you didn’t use that form when you were attacked at Canterlot by the Changelings,” Glyph said, face thoughtful, “There was no way for you to change forms without casualties.”

Celestia nodded, “Agreed. Though that’s not the full reason. I underestimated her strength gained from Shining Armor’s love for Cadence. I did not feel the need to even use a small portion of my power.”

“Though there is another reason,” Luna said quietly.

Celestia nodded, “Strength of others invites others to get stronger,” She turned to the group, “If my power form was common knowledge, our enemies would prepare for it. Growing stronger in turn. Over time they would be able to counter sister’s and my powers, just like the Eye of Calamity. And just like then, Equestria would suffer. So, we hide it for our final trump card.”

“Though with every power there is always a drawback,” Luna said, making the fiery alicorn turn to her, “The alicorn power form is corruptive. Or, at least it responds heavily to the emotions of the user. It is one of the reasons I turned into Nightmare Moon. Her form is similar to my power form.”

“So,” Twilight asked, remembering what she saw in the Crystal Empire. Her dark mane and dark glowing eyes seemed to pierce into her soul, “That’s what happened in that staircase?” She looked at her friends, looking for comfort. They gave it with smiles, and Pinkie even tackled her in a hug, though Twilight remained standing, used to sudden hugs at that point.

“We won’t let you turn into a nightmare!” The pink earth pony exclaimed.

The others responded in kind.

“I’m sure the support of your friends will make this path easier,” Luna said with a sad smile, “Though even they will not be able to fight such power if it fully emerges not under your control.”

Celestia sent her fiery hair into motion with a nod, “Indeed. Your friends were able to pull you out of it before it completely consumed you, but they will not always be able to do so. You must learn to control it.”

“That’s why you brought me here, right?” Twilight asked, looking around. Despite her friends cheering her on, she felt terribly worried. She had just learned she had a powerful ability locked in her new alicorn body. An ability that could potentially turn her into a Nightmare. Just like Rarity and Luna. She frowned, remembering the amount of power that was available to her when she was in her power form.

Endless.

What would happen if she turned into a Nightmare? Would Equestria even survive?!

“Why didn’t you warn me? If this power is so corruptive, shouldn’t I know about it when I became an Alicorn?” Twilight asked, feeling her face fill with worry.

Celestia smiled, and sat close to Twilight, extending a wing over her. The layers of feathers reminded her of flowing lava. Hues of white, yellow, orange, and red took turns among the layers but only when the wings were extended.

“I understand why you may be hesitant. But there is a reason why we kept it from you.”

“That is?” Twilight asked, her anxiety making her impatient.

Celestia didn’t respond. Instead, she turned to the glowing glass that was still in her grip. It tightened together in a ball and began to glow brighter. It shrunk a bit, and Twilight immediately recognized what it was.

Plasma.

The now searing hot fourth state of matter vanished as Celestia’s magic sent it away. It was still trackable, if barley, as it hurdled across the sands. Its path stopped as gravity pulled it down, and a large explosion blossomed where it landed, searing the ground into another glass crater. It was much smaller than the one that was still cooling, but still much larger than a large school’s cafeteria.

Twilight swallowed as she watched the molten crater move because of gravity, slowly falling into a shape it would hold till something broke it.

“Power Twilight,” Celestia said in a grim voice, “Power is naturally corruptive unless you have the necessary tools to fight that corruption. Kindness, humility, and generosity are a few of the tools you will need.”

“The Elements?” Twilight asked, finding her voice box.

“Not quite. Though you are on the right track,” Celestia said, adopting a sitting position, “I am not referring to the Elements themselves, but about what they can represent. Kindness, generosity, loyalty, honesty, and laughter make the magic of friendship. Though that’s not the only thing they are used for. They can become the pillars of a greater society, family, and more. They will also lead you on the path to peace with contentions and roadblocks.”

“However,” Luna said in a dark voice, “Had you have known about your power form in its dormant state, you may have sought it out when times required more strength than you could provide. Instead of going to your friends and allies. You may have sought out the power in greater force, only giving you frustration in return. Then, if you did manage to force it out, you may have relied on it. Then it would have consumed you. Just as it consumed me.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked amid the silence of her friends.

“My corruption began soon after the battle I showed you. That evil magic I felt, that copy? That was a hint of my power form’s abilities. I unlocked it as you had Twilight, under a great need. Though, I wasn’t able to summon it like my sister could. Her power form came naturally, and she found she could call it to herself whenever the need arouse. I grew jealous of this, again pushing myself to reach that control that she had gotten. I could not reach it. So, I turned to darker methods…”

Celestia’s head hung low at this, and Twilight was about to ask her if she was okay when Luna continued.

“I went to dark magic to force my power form into being, since I had felt dark magic the first time I had summoned it. It,” She paused, “Worked. I was able to find the area in my soul where the magic resided and call it when I needed it to. Though it wasn’t without its side effects…”

Celestia chuckled, sending her hair into a fit, “Besides sending the whole castle to the dream world?”

A smile tugged at Luna’s lips, “Aye. That was not intended.”

“Huh?” Pinkie asked, “How did you put the whole castle to sleep without knowing it?”

Celestia’s smile only grew as she pondered previous memories, “You saw the fireball that spawned when I summoned my power form?”

The group nodded.

“That’s what happens whenever I truly bring it to being. I can mitigate that by using that half-form Starswirled helped me develop. Or have Luna shield me. Though Luna’s power form spawns a different type of effect. It puts any creature in a large radius in a sleep only Luna can wake them from.”

Luna groaned, “I had to go to every single room in the castle to make sure every pony was freed from their forced slumber. The tops of the towers, to the dungeons below. I also had to check every house near the castle just to be sure.”

The group chuckled, causing Luna to smile.

“Aye, you laugh. But it took most of the night and a good section of the morning to do.”

“So Twilight’s ability knocks out magic?” Glyph suddenly asked, her face thoughtful.

Celestia smiled, “I would guess so. Though its effects seem only to last for a short time. Though judging on how the magic floor in the Crystal Empire’s throne room collapsed, I assume that’s not limiting to ponies.”

“So when I enter my power form, I disrupt nearby magic? In ponies and spells?” Twilight asked, also sitting down. The sand felt sharper than it ought to have, but it wasn’t painful.

Celestia nodded, “Yes. Though I feel we are straying a bit. Would you like to continue Luna?”

Luna’s face turned into a deeper frown as the memories filled her mind, “Like I said, the power form increases the negative emotions you feel. And I infected myself with dark magic getting it unlocked. While I was training with the power form, I could only feel my jealousy for my sister’s power and her fame grow and grow. I found myself getting more and more frustrated!!” She growled, stomping her hoof. She took in a breath and let it go, “Though I have learned now that such a position takes a lot more than I originally thought. She has her duties and fame, and I have mine. I was just too blind to see it. Too emotional distraught to want to see it.” She paused again, her face showed sadness and regret.

“I should have done something about it. I could—” Celestia said, her fiery hair now dimming with her sadness.

“Stop,” Luna said in a gentle command, “That is that past. We have Twilight and her friends to thank for our reunion and for helping us fix old tensions. But, I got so emotionally distraught that I decided to fight my sister for her position and take over as the ruler of all of Equestria. Finally ridding the land of that, ‘precious light’ that I had become to hate. So, one night I had enough, and confronted Celestia about it.”

“That’s what Twilight saw with that odd potion right?” Rainbow said, her wings keeping her in the air, “The one Zecora gave her when Discord’s plants attacked?”

Luna nodded, “Indeed. My power form is able to reflect the abilities and powers of those around me, allowing me to use it to an extent. Just as I did with the dark magic in the Alicorn amulet. I figured that even if Celestia used her power form I’d be able to get the upper hoof. Though, I didn’t plan for something to happen.”

Twilight bit her tongue stopping a question from coming out. She assumed that Luna used the power form when they were fighting Flutterbyte and Noah. Though it had looked different than Nightmare moon had. Was it a half form like Celestia? Or was it another form Luna had? She herself already had her harmony form, were there two more forms she’d have to worry about? She strangled the stream of questions into submission, allowing Luna to finish.

“In order to use my power form effectively, the moon needs to be shining. Otherwise, I’d exhaust myself as I did in Canterlot yesterday. That is why I created an eclipse. But while I called upon my power form, the dark magic I had infected myself with resurfaced, and took hold of my magic. It whispered tales of power as it manipulated my magic and body,” Twilight frowned as she saw the dark alicorn tear up, “I listened to that ghastly voice, allowed it to take my magic! Turning me into the Nightmare Moon Equestria knows too well.”

“It’s a great image for Nightmare Night!” Pinkie said with a smile.

“Aye,” Luna said returning the smile, “It is indeed. Though this dark magic did increase my power, it turned me into a Nightmare, bent on turning the Equestria into a sunless hole that I’d govern.” She took a shaky breath, “To think I would have succeeded if it weren’t for you all using the Elements to purify that cursed voice in my mind. Though, it left a permanent mark.” She turned to her cutie mark, pointing to the dark sky that lay behind the moon.

“That’s not part of your cutie mark?” Rainbow asked in incredulousness, confusion, and surprise.

Luna shook her head, “No. It is a reminder. A reminder that I am more susceptible to dark magic than most. Though, with the help of my sister, I have trained in the ways to purify its dark touch. My sister can even purify it herself without the use of the elements.”

Celestia nodded with a small smile, “After the banishing, I remised. I was convinced that the dark magic she had used was the reason she had such a change of heart. Though, as time went on, I realized that it wasn’t just that.” Celestia took a turn to pause in regret, “But I was convinced back then. So I used my power form to counteract the dark magic. I got it to the point where it naturally opposes the dark magic and prevents it from corrupting my mind. It can, though only if I let it. Now, it's so ingrained in my magic that I do not have to be in my power form to distill the dark magic into regular magic. It is why I am able to use the dark magic so effectively.”

Luna nodded, “The ability was helpful. Recall how you all didn’t see me for a while after you released me?” The group nodded, “The dark magic was still a part of me, and Celestia was helping me be rid of it. Though my actions still haunt me, I won’t randomly change into the Nightmare you fought so long ago.”

Rarity nodded, “That is good! Not to mention, that if you do, we will be there to stop it!”

Luna nodded with a smile, “Thank you all a thousand times over! But, that is why we didn’t reveal it to you Twilight. We were afraid that in your quest to unlock your own power form, that you’d fall into the same pit as I had.”

“Exactly. Since even Starswirled wasn’t able to unlock it with his magical abilities, we assumed that only dark magic could do so. Though we do not truly know. It did not take long for Luna to submit to the darkness after she unlocked her true form.”

“And if I knew about my power form and a threat to Equestria would make itself known, then I may have driven myself to the darkness in trying to unlock it.” Twilight finished, feeling things click into place.

Celestia nodded, “Yes. It is the same with Princess Cadence. I must ask you to also keep it a secret from her as well. Until she herself unlocks it as well.”

Twilight frowned, “But how will I be able to know?”

Celestia smiled, “You’ll know. For example, when you were doing that entrance exam so long ago? I found hints of alicorn magic in your magical outburst. Powerful energy that I only recognized in my own power form. It was small, undeveloped but I did not want you to grow along dark paths to harness it. It may have been a reason the Element of Magic chose you. You have a powerful ability to harness magic in ways few can, regardless of their source.”

“Is that why you chose to give her all your Alicorn magic? Despite no pony before being able to handle that energy?” Applejack asked, “It was because you knew her power form could handle it?”

Celestia smiled, “Not quite. Twilight hadn’t unlocked her Alicorn Power form at that moment. She—”

“Alicorn Power form?” Pinkie interrupted looking frustrated, “That name doesn’t seem to fit,” Her face turned thoughtful, “I’ll come up with a better name for you… It may take me a while though.”

Celestia smiled at the interjection, “That would be nice. Though try to make it a noun, if you can.”

“Sure!” Pinkie said enthusiastically, then settled into a thinking pose that would exist in a statue garden.

The burning alicorn’s smile only increased, “Twilight hadn’t unlocked the form at that point, yet, because she was the Element of magic I knew she’d be able to control it. Though, you are mistaken to think that Twilight was the only one able to hold that much energy. Any pony could, their bodies would just change to that of an Alicorn, but they wouldn’t be able to use the alicorn magic in their bodies. Sure, it may charge their natural abilities such as unicorn magic, strength, and flight but if some pony had my magic they wouldn’t be able to invoke my power form. Very few creatures are able to use the magic of others to their advantage.”

“Like Tireck?” Rainbow said with a frown.

“Indeed,” Luna said, mimicking the frown, “Though, we were not aware whether or not he could use our power forms if he had our magic. It was simply not a risk we could take!”

“But if the power forms have such a corruptive side effect, why didn’t you warn me? If I had three different alicorns magic, thereby three power forms, wouldn’t it have affected me in multitudes more?!” Twilight said glad no such event had happened.

The glowing eyes disappeared for a moment as she shook her head, “No, Twilight Sparkle. The corruptive effects come into effect when the form is active, and since you nor Cadance hadn’t unlocked your form yet, Luna and I were confident that the forms would remain dormant in you.”

“But I was able to battle Tireck, who had all the magic in Equestria, to an impasse!! You’re telling me that the forms didn’t surface during our battle?” Twilight asked in disbelief.

Celestia nodded, “Yes Twilight.”

Twilight remained in shock and stood there flabbergasted as she calculated exactly how much power her mentor had. Then an idea emerged in her mind, “Wait. Tireck. He stole Fluttershy’s magic! Could we do that? Maybe weaken her to a point where we could save her?”

Celestia frowned with the sudden change of thought, but pondered it for a moment, “I’m not so sure Twilight. Remember Starlight’s spell? She was without her cutie mark for a while.”

Twilight nodded, “But we had other cuite marks during that time!”

“Though she has a point,” Rarity said with a frown, “Starlight hit us with a spell remember? Flutterbyte’s magic proof.”

Twilight frowned.

“Besides,” Glyph said, “If we remove her cuite mark, and she has a Cutie mark generator, that may shut her down. Which might be good, but if there is anything biological left then it may die. It could be risky!”

“Hmm, I’m not so sure. Wasn’t all of our cutie marks removed when Tireck stole our magic? Fluttershy didn’t just fall over. She was still able to walk and run!” Applejack replied.

Twilight nodded, “That’s what I mean. It won’t kill her, but it may put her in a weakened state long enough for us to do something! And if we can’t, we can just release the cuite mark and it will go right back!”

“What about her magic resilience?” Luna asked, “If I remember from your letters, it was a spell that removed your cuite marks. Tireck’s ability also stems from magic. If she is indeed magic proof, then that plan won’t work.”

Twilight frowned, realizing their logic. She mentally crossed it out in her mind. Though she’d keep the idea around, perhaps she could learn the spell from Starlight so if the opportunity arose, she’d be able to pounce.

“But for your final question: Why does it occur?” Celestia said, breaking Twilight’s focus, “That is for you to figure out. From our own experiences, we found that it was discovered, or unlocked when we were under emotional strain, mainly anger. Though, through that, we discovered that the power form will also enhance any emotions you feel during the transformation. So, be wary of transforming when you are angry. You will only get angrier. Even after you release the magic. Though with less negative emotions, it doesn’t seem to stick as well.”

“So if I feel negative going in, I’ll only get more negative when I get out? But if I go in positive I’ll come out neutral?”

Celestia frowned, “Mostly. If I enter my form angry, then when I come out I will be angrier. Though if I were to enter, determined or happy, then I’d feel whatever emotions I was feeling while I exited.”

“Huh? Why does that happen?”

Luna shrugged, “We do not know. Starswirled suggested that negative emotions leave a bigger imprint on our memories than positive ones. Anger sticks with you more than joy. Most of the time. And since the power form is merely enhancing our bodies, it could be increasing what we take in as well. Emotions, natural magic, and other sensory inputs. Though we do not know enough to say for certain.”

“Why?”

“It is not a form we use often,” Celestia replied, “After Luna’s corruption, I only used my power form here. To make sure that if the time arose I’d be able to wield it effectively.”

“You must sharpen your blade lest it be dull when thou requires it,” Luna said simply.

“So, I have to figure out how to enter my, ‘power form,’ so I can use it effectively?” Twilight asked.

Celestia shook her head, “No, so you may control when it calls. You do not want to hurt anypony because you enter your power form accidentally.”

“Ugh! I really need to make a new name for that!!” Pinkie said in frustration, “It sounds so boring! Ultimate form! Cliché. Supercharged! Adjective. Puissance! Maybe, but I need more! Potentiale virtute! Long. パワー! Hmmmmmm…”

The group smiled with understanding.

Twilight sighed, “How did you unlock your power form?” Turning to Celestia.

Celestia frowned, her hair seemed to grow brighter at the question, “When a dear friend of mine was killed before me.”

“Walter?”

Celestia nodded, and Twilight noted that her hair was flowing a tad faster than before, “And I can’t unlock it like Luna, right?”

“Unless you want to spend 1000 years on a celestial object, I wouldn’t recommend it,” Luna said with a grin.

“Then how will I be able to unlock it?” Twilight asked with worry and confusion, “I have to find it alone, right?”

Celestia shook her head, her mane and tail dimming, “No. In this task, you may ask your friends for help. Though I do not know how much help they can be with this. Though, if they can, they are allowed to. Just note this is uncharted territory. There could be risks.”

Twilight frowned and looked at her friends, including Glyph and excluding their timid friend. Should she have them help? And risk them getting hurt?”

They must have read her mind cause Applejack smiled and responded, “Look sugarcube, we here are no stranger to danger. And if it involves our friend then you better believe we’d be helping out.”

“Believe it!” Rainbow said with a grin, taking off in the air with a smile.

“Whatever we can do darling,” Rarity replied, a warm complexion on her face.

“Obtinuit eam! Er, you got it!” Pinkie said with a bounce, pause, bounce.

Glyph nodded, “Sure! My harness might be able to help.”

Twilight smiled, “Thanks girls!” Though her heart was heavy when she didn’t hear Fluttershy reply in kind.

Celestia nodded, her fiery complexion slowly fading back to the normal Celestia the group had gotten to know, “Alright, with that out of the way. I do request Twilight that you do not use the power form unless you need to, or when you are here training. We do need to keep a tight lid on things for now.”

Twilight and the group nodded.

“Great. Now, you and Glyph go work on those Quantum Tracers. Everypony else should help Cadence and Starlight in the library.” Celestia said with a smile, then held out her hoove, “Twilight, I’ll give you the key to the door in this dimension. From her hoof grew glowing lines of golden light arranged in an ancient text in glowing circles. Her cuite mark seemed to lay in the center of the arrangement, but Twilight wasn’t too concerned about that. Her cuite mark was a common star shape.

“That’s Starswirled’s writing!!” Twilight said in awe, “How old is this?!” She said raising her hoof as well, though her’s went to her face with awe and excitement, but one hoof separated from her face to get close to Celestia’s.

“Told you,” Luna said with a smile, pulling another smile from Celestia.

Twilight blushed but copied the key. Purple glowing lines appeared to mimic the golden ones in a perfect recreation.

Twilight admired the key, floating in her grasp but looked through it to Celestia as she spoke.

“To open the dimensional barrier near you, turn that key counterclockwise about 90 degrees. Be sure to turn it back when you enter to stop any stray magic from exiting.”

“Stray magic?”

Celestia chuckled, “Twilight. We are in a training ground that is meant for us to unleash our true potential. Explosions are quite common. If you create an explosion on the open door, then it will spawn where you entered.”

Twilight frowned, thinking about the nice little clearing they had entered from bursting into flames.

“Exactly,” Celestia said with a chuckle, “Now, to exit, you create a door by turning the key clockwise 90 degrees. Though, again, you have to be at the edge of the barrier to do so.”

“How do you tell?”

Celestia got up and walked past the group. After she had gotten past them, she suddenly disappeared. Or, at least her front did.

Her back legs took a few steps back and the rest of the alicorn reappeared.

“The barrier is linked to the other side, just like how it is on the outside. Though, if you get close to it, you’ll feel pressure around you. Here, come here.”

Twilight nodded, pulled the key into her magic, and walked to Celestia. Once there, she allowed her mentor’s magic to lift her hoof forward, and indeed felt an invisible pressure surround the limb. It was like she was underwater and quite far down. The pressure she’d feel on her barrel was now on her front leg. She moved her limb in and out of the zone, feeling the pressure come and go.

“Try to make an exit door,” Celestia challenged with a smile.

Twilight nodded, summoning the key to her outstretched hoof. It appeared instantly, and when it had fully assembled, she twisted it by rotating her leg a little to the right. The key glowed a bit brighter, and the air in front of them shimmered, just as it had when they had entered.

“Well done Twilight,” Celestia said before disappearing through the shimmering mirage.

Twilight smiled and pulled the key back, then followed her mentor out. The group also followed with Luna taking the rear.

Twilight summoned the key again once every pony had exited and returned the key to its starting position. The shimmering air vanished, leaving the clearing undisturbed as before.

Twilight smiled and stepped forward to satisfy her curiosity. She walked over to where the air had been and cautiously stepped through it. She was traversing an entire desert in a single step! She smiled and returned to the group with an awkward smile.

“Soon, you’ll be able to use the key without summoning it, though for now, you’ll need to summon the spell key,” Celestia said with a smile, “Do try to hide it though, we don’t want anypony getting curious. “There are already too many rumors about this area,” Her smile took that of an annoyed pony but quickly faded, “Now, let us return to the Crystal Empire. We have a plan to set into motion.”

The group nodded as the alicorns’ horns began to glow. Then, with a large flash of golden blue light tinged purple, the group disappeared as the teleportation spell whisked them to the Crystal Empire’s throne room.

Twilight smiled as pulled the magic from her horn and looked at Glyph, “So we get to do some quantum mechanics!?”

Glyph nodded, mimicking Twilight’s smile.

Twilight grinned, showing pearly whites. She rarely had an opportunity to work on the sciences with another. Especially quantum mechanics. Though she wasn’t going to drag on this experience. She had to work fast, and effectively. The quicker the tracers were done the quicker they could try to rescue their friend.

Though as the group was heading to the door of the throne room, there was a little knock on the other side. It was quick and seemed to betray urgency and excitement.

Celestia opened the door with her magic, revealing Cadence and Starlight with eager looks on their faces. A few books levitated in their grasp, surrounded by their respective colors.

“I think we may have found one! Maybe two!” Cadence said eagerly.

“Really?” Celestia responded.

“Yeah! This book,” Cadence said, lifting up an informational guide on crystals, “Mentioned the Facet Jewel heist where a large shipment of gems was stolen and lost at sea!”

“And this book mentioned the heist in more detail! It stated that among the jewels there were two that were gifted to the Crystal Empire but the entire boat was seized by pirates. The ship unfortunately sank during the battle, letting the gems and precious cargo to the bottom of the ocean.” Starlight said, lifting one of her books.

Cadence nodded, “And among a history book I found a recovery mission to retrieve as many gems as they could since it was worth a lot. They were unsure if the pirates had gotten everything due to the nature of the security on the ship. After several years of the recovery effort, and the few years it took to get it started, they managed to retrieve the ship and about 39% of its original cargo. Among that cargo was one of the gems Luna had gifted the Empire. Though by then, the Empire had already vanished because of Sombra’s curse.”

“Wait how did the book know about that? The empire was already gone, right?” Twilight asked.

“I’ve had the library updated a bit so the ancient knowledge could be easily tied with the modern ones,” Cadence said with a smile, “But the book said Luna didn’t want the gem back but instead gifted it to a localized jousting competition in honor of Crystal Empire’s jousting.”

“Yes,” Luna said, “I do remember that, though I didn’t think it would still be around since my absence. Does it still have competitors?”

It was Starlight who nodded this time, raising the final book, “Yes! The competitions only meet every now and again since the sport is not as popular as it was, but the main prize is a large gem trophy!” The book hovered close to her face as she read a passage aloud, “The first place trophy is often the reason behind competitors’ reasons to win. While it can’t be sold, it is a wonder of gem crafting and rather stands as a boasting right to whomever wins. Older than everypony who has ever laid eyes on it, it was originally crafted by coating a gem in pure crystallized glass. Every year, before it got too big, the winner would add a layer with their jousting emblem embedded in the glass. Forever framing their victory for all to see!”

The book snapped shut with a small puff of dust that made Starlight sneeze, breaking her train of thought. Though, after a moment of pause, she resumed, “Older than anypony that has laid eyes on it! That’s got to be the gem!”

Luna nodded, “If it is the same jousting competition then it is. The gem is yellow if that helps.”

Starlight frowned, “The trophy is coated in frosted-like glass so the center is unseeable. That’s not including all the emblems that have been placed in there as well.”

Luna nodded, “I guess, but I believe I could recognize the base. Do thou have a picture I could examine?”

The book was magically reopened, pages flipping as Starlight returned her gaze to the book. After a moment she nodded, turning the pages to the dark alicorn to show a full-page picture.

It was a large orb of sorts that had almost every color imaginable in its depths as well as on its surface. They didn’t generally blend well if you looked at the whole thing. Though, you could find individual emblems standing among the colors. The base of the trophy was quite simple, looking like a wide medieval torch. It’s black metal shining gently in the camera’s flash. On top, was a similar material that looked like a pot of a kettle. Though a tad spikier and a tiny jousting pony on top.

Luna’s face lit up at the picture, and she got closer, “Yes! That is it! I’m astounded it has been around for so long!!”

“Nice find girls!” Twilight said with a smile, “But you said you may have found two?”

Starlight nodded, “Remember Tempest? Since she was the head of the Storm King’s fleets, which included pirates, we may be able to see what happened to those gems as such a heist would probably be recorded in their history!”

“That’s if the pirates kept history…” Twilight said with a frown.

Cadence smiled, “That’s why we said, maybe. We can’t be certain but that’s definitely a lead.”

Celestia nodded, “I can get in touch with Fizzlepop, and inquire about the pirates in question.”

Cadence nodded, “That would be wonderful!”

Luna nodded as well, “Indeed, though there are still quite a few to find,” She paused, her face scrunching up a bit, “Twilight?”

The purple alicorn frowned, “Yes?”

“The memories bring up some rather unpleasant memories on how I tricked the dragons into taking one of the gems. For, safekeeping, I told myself.” She sighed, looking at her hair, “Lost all my hair that day. I guess even my pocket dimension can’t handle too much fire…”

“Hmm,” Twilight said, understanding, “I’ll have Spike get in touch with Ember. Though if it is with them, it’ll be quite painful to search for it. They have an awful lot of gems. Though it could have been eaten at this point…”

Luna shook her head, whatever memory she was experiencing leaving her eyes as she turned to Twilight, “Nay. The gems, while brittle under certain circumstances, are nearly impervious to the dragon’s eating habits. It is also able to take a, dip, in lava. If my memory serves me correctly, then it ought to still be in the lands. My question was more about trading. If the dragons ever used the jewels to trade, it may be in another trading loop we would have to search through.”

Twilight nodded, “I suppose. I’ll be sure to ask Spike.”

Luna nodded.

Celestia gave her sister a glance, “Do you remember anything else?”

Luna shook her head, “Not anything of any use. I remember giving one of the gems to a trader in exchange for, something. I do not recall. However, it's been far too long and the trader had no such markings as the ones I’ve seen today. It could be anywhere.”

Celestia nodded, “Indeed. Trading has sped up quite a deal in your absence. Now it's done generally with bits.”

Luna nodded, “A change that took some getting used to I assure you.”

Celestia smiled, “Yes, I do remember. You traded a silver comb for a near-flawless diamond.”

“Whaa?” Rarity said in shock.

Luna frowned, “Back in my time such a price was fair. Diamonds were not that hard to refine and were quite common. It seems that years of mining and searching have changed that.”

“Silver comb?” Twilight asked, though she figured she knew the answer.

Luna sighed, “Silver is the only metal that can hold the enchantment allowing me to comb my hair. It is not a process we take often, though it is a process we must do from time to time.”

“We?” Celestia said with a smile.

Luna blushed, “Gah! Stop it with your flustering words!”

Her sister smiled, “Alright, well I do believe we all have jobs to do.”

“Uh,” Rarity said with a frown, “Not all of us.”

Celestia shook her head, “Despite the new changes, the jobs remain the same. I do encourage you all to take to the library and use your sources to find any relic like gems.”

“Oh, I could talk to Daring Do!” Rainbow said with a smile.

Luna paused, “I do not believe I gave the gems to anypony who could have put them in those temples. The inhabitants of those lands long ago wished to be apart from our kingdom. Gifts were not exchanged on their wishes.”

“What about Somnambula? Surely her people may have an idea or two?” Pinkie said with a bounce.

Luna nodded, considering the idea, “It may be worth asking. Though I was talking about the jungle areas of Equestria. But do ask our daring friend Rainbowdash, it could lead to insightful knowledge.”

Rainbow nodded.

“Alright, I suppose I have a few contacts I could get in touch with,” Rarity said, then sighed with relief, “For a second there, I was worried about not having an excuse to not attend the Sparkling Boutique tomorrow.”

“Whaaa?!” Pinkie said dramatically, with a hint of sarcasm, “Rarity doesn’t want to go to a Boutique?”

Rarity frowned, hiding a small smile, “Oh hush. I would love to go, though I do think our present situation is much more important.”

“I’m just kidding Rarity! Of course I understand why you wouldn’t go—” Pinkie started, but Celestia interrupted.

“Hold on. The boutique in Canterlot?”

Rarity nodded slowly.

“Hmm,” Celestia said with a frown, “It’s the extensive clothing showcase correct? Once a year thing?”

“Why yes! I didn’t realize you were into fashion Celestia!” Rarity said with a gleaming smile.

Celestia returned it awkwardly, “Unfortunately I am not. Rather, I do recall my sister and I talking to the original managers of the gathering. Back then it was called the, Splendidus coetus ec gemma or something similar…” She paused with an awkward smile at the blinking eyes, “I know. The language back then was different than ours. But it meant Dazzling gathering of gems. It was held every year in honor of how many gems there were in lands we lived in. But they needed a precious gem that they could use to disqualify gems that didn’t meet the minimum requirements for the contest. We offered one of the amulet’s gems since the gem was super high quality and the family was very careful with such items. They accepted the gem and used it as a staple of how gems ought to be. It deterred competition from trying to put in any gem to gain the prize. The contest and gathering grew to be quite a tradition, even when gems became more and more obsolete in the trading world. As time continued to move, they started to add clothing to the mix to keep the tradition going. Soon, the trend caught and they changed the name to the Sparkling Boutique. Though they still pull gems from all over Equestria to show off. As far as I’m aware, the gems are still shown in the honor of the tradition.”

“Indeed,” Rarity said with a look of remembrance, “Though it is such a small part of the event now. Did you want me to go and retrieve it?”

Celestia shook her head, “No. I do not believe trying to pull all of the gems containing the Amulet’s true power would be wise. We don’t truly know what Noah’s plan is. If we pull all the gems, we make it very easy to collect them. We saw what Fluttershy under the control of Noah could do. By keeping them separated, we give ourselves time to act. Though if we can verify the locations of the missing ones, we can use that to bait Noah into action. Which we could use as leverage against our situation.”

“So I attend, looking for Fluttershy?” Rarity said with a tilt of her head.

The alicorn nodded.

The unicorn smiled hesitantly, “Though, what do I do if she does show up?”

Celestia looked to Twilight, “If it’s possible, you’ll use those Quantum Tracers Glyph and Twilight will make. Do you think that you’ll be able to make at least one by tomorrow?”

Glyph frowned, “Kinda. The device is easy, I think. Though powering it on such short notice will be the problem.”

“Could you use the cuite mark energy?” Twilight asked with thought.

Glyph nodded, “Yeah, though I don’t have a tiny reactor, lugging such a power source will be very noticeable.”

Twilight frowned as the gears in her head turned and started to pump out ideas. Ideas turned to sketches. Those would have to be refined if she wanted to use them, “I’ve got a few ideas,” She said, “Rarity, I think you’ll want to come with us. You may have to modify your dress design.”

“It won’t be a problem,” Rarity said with confidence, “Anything for a friend.”

“Great! We’ll just teleport over to Canterlot since we don’t have that much time. We’ll pick up Spike and head to Glyph’s place.” Twilight said, igniting her horn.

Celestia nodded, igniting her own horn, “I too must be off before day’s end. I am still behind on the schedule of things.” Her mood darkened a tad, “Oh they are not going to be happy I missed four meetings.” She shook her head in annoyance, “It will have to be taken care of on a later date. I wish you all well on your travels and activities. Please. Write if you find anything or need a question answered. Just recall that we are dealing with very sensitive matters, please keep it to yourselves as much as possible.”

The group nodded in unison.

“Good.” Celestia said turning to Twilight, “My sister and I are going to Canterlot as well. Shall we do a group teleportation?”

Twilight nodded, “Sounds good to me!”

“Hang on a sec,” Applejack said, looking at Twilight, though she knew the question she was going to ask, “Hey Twi? Could you let ma family on the farm know where I am? I don’t think we will be home till late.”

Twilight nodded, “Yeah, I think I can do that.”

Applejack’s face filled with relief, “Thanks Twi.”

The alicorn nodded.

“Okie Dokie! The books aren’t going to read themselves!” Pinkie said energetically, “And I think I hear the thesaurus calling me.”

“Thesaurus? Why do you need a thesaurus?” Rainbow asked with an odd look.

Pinkie frowned, “I’ve got to think of a better name than, ‘Alicorn power form.’ It’s so lame!!”

Rainbow matched her frown, “Aren’t you supposed to be helping us find the missing gems?”

Pinkie nodded with a smile, “Of course!! You can read two books at the same time, right?”

Rainbow let her head droop a bit, “If you could, I’d be reading a Daring do book at the same time…”

“Wait, you don’t do that? I’d really recommend it!” Pinkie said with her energy.

Rainbow rolled her eyes with a smile, “Sure, I’ll try it some time.”

“You just need to visit a special pond first,” Pinkie said walking out the door.

“Okay,” Rainbow replied nonchalantly, then paused as her brain interpreted what was said, “Wait. No. No, we are not doing that again!” Rainbow said, going after her.

“Kidding!!” Pinkie’s voice came from down the hallway, “Uh, which way is the library again?”

“This way!” Cadence called, motioning to the other side of the hallway, “I’ll lead you all there.”

“Good luck my little ponies,” Celestia said, igniting her horn, “To Canterlot then?” She said directing the words at Twilight.

Twilight nodded, barely able to contain her excitement about working with Quantum mechanics, “Let's go to the throne room. Spike ought to be close by.”

Celestia smiled as the group vanished in a flash of multicolored light.

Fluttershy felt like her eyelids were tied to anvils. Not painful, just it felt like they could close at any second. Her limbs felt like lead and, with the past few day’s events, she wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what they were made of. She lifted a foreleg for the thousandth time. Looking at it with intense scrutiny for any reason it would be made of metal. Though, she didn’t see anything. She could squish it, move it, and could recall several cuts from animals, tree branches, or even rocks!

She paused for a moment. Had she ever used a band-aid before? She frowned, of course she had. She had gotten numerous scrapes in learning to fly. Painful and definitely organic scrapes. Sure, she was young at that point but wasn’t she made this way when she was a philly?

The massive walls of the city where Noah’s mansion stood came into view. They were still a bit off, but at the speed the wagon was going it wouldn’t be long now. Fluttershy frowned, frustrated. Not only at her situation but how her exhaustion had prevented her from pinpointing her location. She could see the crystal mountains around her, but that was an entire mountain range to look through.

“It's better than nothing…” She thought as the gate of the walls loomed closer. If by some chance she could talk to her friends she’d have something to give to them. She frowned but quickly forced it into an awkward smile. She didn’t want to alarm anypony that she was upset. Their mission had gone well! At least Noah’s mission. And to the ponies he knew, that’s what she was supposed to feel as well.

The wagon slowed as it approached the gates, light but piercing squeaks sounded from the wagon as it did so, making the hairs along her body raise a bit as she flattened her ears.

Her coat! She had a coat! Tiny little hairs that covered most of her body. What were they made out of? Metal as well? If that was the case, then why was it soft? Her feathers? She had lost a few here and there. Were they irreplaceable? Or would she have to go into a shop and buy more as they fell out?

She frowned at that thought, wondering the implications of such a requirement. She was then tempted to pull out a feather and look at it with more detail than she would have before. Were they razor-sharp? Sharp enough to be thrown like a throwing star from an enemy ninja in Spike’s comics? A small chuckle emanated from her lips. She would have to stop reading those things.

Though her thoughts paused as the wagon came to a halt where they had began. Just in front of the mansion she had been taken to in the first place. Though, now she had an excuse to look at it in more detail.

It was black and red. Though that didn’t quite come as a surprise. Though it was heavily damaged in some areas and others looked modernly repaired. Despite the modern look, it did feel to be more of a castle. She felt her head tilt as she saw both mansion and castle depending on how she looked. She saw high walls like a castle, but a multitude of windows adorned by angled roofs like a mansion. There was no large gate or walls, but if the walls were painted differently, it would be very easy to see a castle. Though besides the odd differences between castle and mansion it was a very simply adorned building. Lights stood guard for darkness. Their large forms seemed ready to tackle even the darkness of night without a challenge. Though, that was the only thing out of the ordinary. She could see a lot of windows. Some windows had curtains. Others had large secondary windows made of wood that could swing in and out to cover up the clear window underneath. It looked quite nice.

Though it didn’t feel that way. There seemed to be a bad vibe coming from the building the longer she stared. The black seemed to get darker in her mind, more fluid and ready to reach out and grab her. She shivered as she looked away, but a sudden blue line raced across her vision outlining everything in a 3D mesh. Every nook and cranny of the mansion, including rooms she could see within windows, the pony walking up to them with a smaller foal on her back, the road, even the hummingbird feeding of some of the flowers hanging from the window sill above. It faded quickly though, returning her vision to normal. Though a few words danced in front of her screen for a moment or two.

No threats detected.

Had she done that? How?

Though she had no time to recollect her memories as the pony with her foal had gotten close enough to be noticed by Noah.

He gave her a knowing, annoyed look, “Yes?”

The mare’s friendly look turned sheepish, “Uh, I was hoping you could fix my son’s leg? Or are you too, busy…” The mare looked away with sadness, then sighed, “Um, never mind. I’ll see what I can do, at home…”

Fluttershy frowned. She was able to fix her own leg after it was ripped off, surely she could help the foal!

“Uh, wait!” Fluttershy said, jumping from the cushions of the wagon and landing next to Noah. The little square suddenly turned yellow, making her pause. Though she wasn’t going to be the element of kindness if she wasn’t going to try to help. Especially if it was a foal!!

“Uh, could I take a look at it?” She timidly said, “If you don’t mind that!” She mentally shook her head. There she went again. Of course she wasn’t going to mind! She asked! She hid her frown under her smile as she mentally cursed her shyness.

The mare lit up with joy, “Yes! Please do!” She quickly added and walked closer. There she turned and knelt to let the foal off her back. He looked worried and looked at his mother for comfort.

The mare smiled and gently pushed the bent foreleg forward offering it towards Fluttershy.

Fluttershy mentally gulped and sat down next to the foal and mare, gently accepting the foal’s leg. She held it up as much as she could having it still attached to the foal. It was a simple leg it seemed. A simple metal cylinder that connected to another cylinder with a joint of sorts. Though the section that she would call her cannon bone was bent and she could see into the leg between the broken sheets of metal. Beneath she saw a few multicolored wires, and if she tilted the prosthetic a certain way she could see crystal pieces at the bottom. She bet if she somehow removed the hoof she could see those crystals in better detail.

Fluttershy then felt a bit of panic. She had no idea how to fix herself, let alone another pony’s prosthetic limbs. She took a breath, realizing that she had called herself a prosthetic. Which, at this point, is what she could call herself.

“How did this happen?” She asked, trying to figure out what to do.

“He likes to jump from things,” The mare said with a disapproving smile that had hints of understanding, mirth, and sadness, “He jumped from the stairs again. It’s something he did often when he was younger you see. At first we wanted to stop said behavior, but we instead worked with him to take a little at a time. To take it safely. We banned jumping from the top of the stairs, but four steps were okay in our book.”

“Was that before he got the prosthetic?” Fluttershy asked gently, looking at the leg rather than the mare’s eyes. She didn’t want to show she had no idea what she was doing.

Though she could still see the mare’s head in the edge of her vision as she nodded, “Yes, and we’ve tried to get him to stop it. Though it was a favorite activity! And while he’s normally pretty good about it, he tends to forget when he gets excited.”

The foal looked even more worried, but now Fluttershy could see sadness in his eyes.

“Today was his birthday you see. And the first thing he did was jump down the stairs in delight, shattering his front leg,” She sighed with a sad air, “His birthday party is in an hour. Though he can’t walk, we were going to make do with what we could. I’m sure his old chair is around the attic somewhere. Though,” She said hopeful, “If you can fix it. I’d be happy to pay you! Or, something else if needed. You probably don’t need money…”

Fluttershy smiled, though it didn’t mimic the internal screaming she was hearing. Great. The foal’s birthday experience was held in her hooves. Hooves that she only yesterday discovered could heal, switch forms, and smash stones with ease. Now what?

She shook such thoughts out as she shook her head, “No, that won’t be necessary,” She looked the foal in the eyes, not in a dead stare but a happy one, “Happy birthday little one!”

The foal smiled, if a bit. Though she could tell his eyes were still on his broken leg attached to his shoulder.

She took a breath and thought for a moment. How could she fix the leg? She fixed hers with ease! And she ripped it clean off! Well, the computer did anyway. Wait. The computer had also fixed her leg, right? She hadn’t. So, she just had to ask the computer to fix the foal’s leg, right?

But she had a problem. She couldn’t boot the MMO. Which was the only way she knew to communicate with the computer. Was there another way to interact with the computer? The memory of trying to find Spike after he had been captured flowed into her mind. She suppressed a twitch. Though, it had been very picky about what she had said. What could she say now to repair the leg? What had happened with hers?

“It's okay if you can’t,” The mare said with a knowing look on her face, “I’m sure I can jerry-rig something.”

“Wait!” Fluttershy said, holding to the broken leg. She had to do something! She couldn’t just leave the foal’s leg broken on his birthday! She closed her left eye, putting her hoof to her head, “Just give me a moment, please?”

The mare nodded, “Of course!” Her reply was hopeful.

She thought back to when the computer pulled off her leg to rush after Sombra. It had hurt, and then she had found herself putting a blade to Sombra’s head. Though, she shook off that excruciating memory. She was trying to remember what had happened when the computer repaired her leg. Had it said something? Then it clicked.

It hadn’t. Noah had.

He had said, “Repair mode.” Then she felt the pain from her throbbing shoulder cease as her hair reattached her leg to her utter relief and amazement. Could she ask the computer to enter repair mode? She took another breath as she pondered what she ought to say.

“Enter Repair mode?” She asked the recesses of her mind, ever so quietly.

Checking for permissions…

She felt her insides fill with joy and wonder. But also with despair and fear.

No current permissions prohibiting access to, ‘Repair mode.’ Access granted.

Entering Repair mode…

…

She then saw a, Normal mode, appear in tiny print along the top left of her vision. It went down, quickly disappearing as it went. Though it was replaced by, Healing mode, then Battle mode, then it stopped on Repair mode and quietly disappeared.

“Wow!” the foal suddenly cried, “You can change your eyes?!” Fluttershy blushed with a smile. Now she was in the right mode, she thought, she could fix the foal’s leg, right?

She then opened her left eye, and focused both orbs on the broken metal in front of her. The leg was surrounded in a light blue rectangle that was interrupted by a bright line going through the top. It only took a second, then the square turned red in her vision with words hovering above it in red.

Broken. Repair?

She looked at the words and paused. She was tempted to nod, but would the computer know that? It hadn’t reacted to anything else but her voice.

So she stared at the words and replied, “Yes.”

Beginning diagnostic for repair…

Booting MMO_Library for blueprint identification for prosthetic reconstruction.

Library has been successfully opened! Using scan data to look for a match…

…

The blue square now had constant lines running from the top to the bottom. Next to the words, she saw in her vision, she also saw hundreds of tiny images flashing in place as it seemed to go through a cycle. Though, after a few seconds, it remained an empty rectangle that flashed red.

Error. There are no matching blueprints in Library. Attempting to use existing blueprints to repair…

…

Fluttershy frowned at the words and continued to watch the little dots taking turns in disappearing and reappearing.

“Is something wrong?” The mare asked with worry.

Fluttershy looked up and smiled, “I don’t think so,” She paused trying to figure out how to word it, “My Computer doesn’t recognize his prosthetic.”

“So it can’t be fixed…” The mare said with a frown, sitting down.

“I, uh…” The words died in her throat. She didn’t know what was going on. What could she say? Though as she looked at the depressed mare another blue rectangle appeared around her metal leg. A single bright line went through it, illuminating the leg as it had with the foals. Though it too turned red and had the word, Broken, above it.

She was about to comment when more words appeared in her vision, replacing the flittering images.

Error. Combination of blueprints was unsuccessful. Rerouting repair to the MMO for completion.

Booting MMO in separate image…

Fluttershy felt very odd. The strings between her mind and body she had normalized with, at least mostly. Though now she felt them shift and pull on her mind. Their pulling led to a box outside of her mind, though she could feel thoughts and energy flowing between her and the box. It felt like someone had taken a piece of her mind and extended it outside of it. Though, it also made her realize that her mind was in a much bigger box. With so much outside of it! Was this her mind? The computer?

Boot successful.

Beginning diagnostics for repair…

The mare was speaking at this point, disrupting her thoughts, “It’s okay Fluttershy. It’s not really on spec of what Noah would build. I was barely able to afford my leg, and I need to work. I can work on his—”

“Hold on,” Fluttershy said curtly, trying to understand how she was feeling while watching the foal’s leg get covered in a grid-like pattern. It then separated from the leg and hovered nearby. It was a perfect copy, bent and all. Though, more words were appearing next to it. Words like cover, power supply cable, Cuite mark feeling matrix were connected to something in the leg. The crystals were connected to the Cuite mark feeling matrix at the bottom of the leg. Though, a few question marks appeared at the top of the leg where it connected to the foal’s shoulder.

“Can you fix it?” The mare said, not with impatience, but confusion and hope.

“I think?” The yellow pegasus said, feeling her head tilt at the words, “You said you made it yourself right?”

The mare nodded, “Yeah, though things like the Cuite mark matrix and the connector are like my leg. I was hoping to buy the other parts later on.”

Fluttershy felt her vision snap to the mare’s prosthetic leg where the red words vanished. The rectangle pulsed with lines again, and words appeared next to it.

Searching MMO library…

She barely had time to frown as the words changed and a large image appeared next to it. It was like the leg was made out of wires, and she could see the internals of the leg. They too were made up of wires, but she could make out boxes, wires, and other devices that eluded her knowledge. But it was identical to the mare’s prosthetic.

Blueprint match found! Prosthetic_BacklegL_V3. Substituting unknown parts to complete parts list for virtual repair…

The snowflake piece she had seen on her new blocky legs was pulled from the floating image next to the mare’s leg and then placed where the foal’s leg connected to his shoulder. She could still see its outline though, even as the piece moved with the foal’s nervous movements. The floating version of the leg also got a large snowflake-like piece on the top. The question mark previously marking that location now read: Universal Snowflake adapter.

Beginning virtual repair…

Starting Virtual Reversal…

Fluttershy then watched the entire foal get covered in a grid that aligned itself to his legs, face, even his ears. Then, it separated from the foal and shrunk down to the size of a cherry. It floated over to the floating grid of the broken foal’s leg and was accompanied by a staircase that wrote itself into being. She watched the little foal jump from the stairs, then freeze just before the leg touched the holographic ground the stairs were on. It then continued in slow motion, though lines appeared from the leg and reached outwards to connect to raising numbers. The little show stopped when the leg had fully bent, then she watched it in reverse, though this time the holographic leg floating next to the little diorama seemed to bend itself back into shape.

She looked towards the foal’s actual leg hoping it too was being fixed. Though to her dismay, it did not. “Patience,” She told herself. It was the MMO helping her this time and she trusted it.

So she continued to watch the glowing lines that were taking up a large portion of her vision now. Though now the little show the MMO had created had vanished, leaving the now unbent leg left in her vision.

Sections of the metal plating surrounding the leg floated off, despite not taking a chunk of the leg with it. It looked as if it had been cut off, despite no blades or cutting apparatus in sight. Though new lines appeared, taking shapes of cylinders, little boxes with gears on the end, more gears, a thick spring, and several other shapes she couldn’t put into words. Though when she focused on the shapes, little names appeared next to them. There were motors, active servo motor, main structural support rod, suspension spring, and cuite mark sensory crystals.

Each near-invisible shape hovered into the leg, and became connected by several lines to the top snowflake that she assumed were wires. She was half right. As she looked at the lines, she saw some were wires, others were: Cuite magic pathways. It struck her with curiosity, even as she watched the internals of the holographic leg get filled with a spiderweb-like material, only it was more like a sponge with differing sizes of holes. Hundreds of connections to the existing housing of the leg.

She watched the pieces of the leg that were removed, get replaced. Then it spun, and words appeared above the floating piece.

Virtual repair completed. Beginning repair.

Synchronizing magmatic extenders…

Done.

Preheating foundry and sending instructions to Part manufacturing…

Reserving materials for assembly…

She had to hold her face in a blank stare as she focused on the leg. The stuff that was going to fix the leg, was coming out of her?! Where in her was this stuff being made? Surely she’d feel parts moving around inside her!

Yet, she didn’t. Even as she focused on her insides, trying to feel any sort of sensory input that would suggest a part manufacturer, whatever that was, she couldn’t feel anything out of the ordinary. Was this normal for her and she just never knew about it? Though her efforts were diverted as she saw the shapes reappear next to the leg again. The motors, support rod, and the spring were all there. Though, there were little bars next to them this time. Accompanying the little bars were percentages. Each shape had a 0% at the moment, but she watched the motor’s bar fill with a 20% suddenly replacing the 0.

She stared at the bar, finding words appearing in the center of her vision.

Plastic injection for motor case cooling…

89%

100%

Case has been ejected, prepping for final injection.

She turned away and looked at another bar labeled: Suspension spring.

Awaiting foundry to reach 1668 Celsius…

The words took her breath away. Somewhere, inside her, was something that was well over 3000 Fahrenheit. Surprise filled her mind as she tried to understand how she knew how to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit. She wasn’t even sure what Celsius was!! She felt her breath start to quicken, but she quickly wrapped her thoughts around the feeling and popped it. She took a glance at the little square in her vision, it was still yellow, to her dismay. She didn’t need it to change color even more.

Though her anxiety was now at the forefront of her mind. But she could manage. If barley…

Parts have nearly reached completion. Beginning next step…

She suddenly felt several of the invisible magnetic limbs reach out and attach to the top part of the foal’s leg.

“Wait!” She said instinctively, feeling the limbs reach inside and start to push and pull on something.

Repair operation paused.

She turned to the mare who hadn’t moved a muscle, “I think I can fix it.”

The mare lit up and cut off the words Fluttershy could feel forming in her mouth, “Oh thank you!!” The mare’s expression fell, and she hastily apologized, “Oh, I’m sorry. What were you going to say?”

The pegasus shy smiled, it was common for her to get cut off, not as common as before though, “But I think I need to detach the leg to do so.” She finished.

The mare nodded, “That shouldn’t be a problem, I can go home real quick and get the tool.”

Though Fluttershy shook her head, “It’s okay.”

The mare gave her an odd look but nodded.

Fluttershy, still feeling the invisible limbs attached to the foal’s leg, then contemplated how to resume the repair. Could she just ask it to resume?

“Resume?” She asked, but felt her head seemed to fill with pressure that strained the strings she felt between her mind and body. It faded quickly though.

Void.exe already in operation.

“Huh?” She thought, now feeling worry build in her chest, though she tried again.

“Resume, repair?”

Resuming repair…

“Oh thank goodness,” She thought, feeling the worry topple like an unstable ginger bread house.

The invisible limbs were now in motion again, pulling on something in the foal’s shoulder. That something clicked, and several pink hairs pulled the leg off and away.

The foal didn’t react too much, the worry on his face only multiplied as he looked towards his mother.

The mare smiled, “Don’t you worry. She’s going to fix up your leg right up!” Her words were optimistic, and the amount of optimism made her worry about failing, the emotions creating pressure in her chest. Creating a monster of a whirlpool that threatened to break her emotional hold. If she broke down, she’d surely make that little yellow square turn red and end the entire thing in the blink of an eye.

Requesting Medical legs Left and Right…

Request denied by Void.exe.

Routing request through image.

Request granted.

Deploying Medical legs…

Fluttershy felt both her legs straighten and go numb. Then, with the two ponies watching, her legs were pulled into her shoulders. Fluttershy merely smiled awkwardly, as she remained sitting, with two glowing holes where her legs ought to be.

Though it wasn’t long before the medical legs emerged from her shoulders and she got her feeling returned. Despite the feeling of being covered in tiny little boxes. Though as she looked back at the two ponies watching, she saw an expression that she was not expecting, nor used to.

Awe.

It stood on the faces of the ponies like a chipped hoof at the salon. It made her smile twitch as she struggled to control her emotions. Again, she was back with Photofinish so long ago. What Noah had told her was true. They really did adore her here. Though it seemed the ponies here had more control than the others in Ponyville.

“You can change your legs for different purposes?” The mare asked, the awe leaking from her face into her voice.

The foal turned to her mother, “Can I have a leg like that?”

“I’m not sure hun, remember what Fluttershy did for us all now.” The mare said, causing the foal to frown.

Fluttershy desperately wanted to ask what she had done. Though she knew that it was going to be a foolish question to ask. So, she instead turned her attention to the leg now hovering in front of her. She was using the invisible limbs to bend the metal back into place. It moved silently, but quickly. When it had finished, a few hairs reached up and sparked as it cut the outer layer of metal. Then, it floated off and revealed the mostly empty interior of the leg. Fluttershy merely blinked as the hairs removed wires and other components and held them close, floating in the air. Fluttershy then felt her side open, and several hairs reaching into her chest cavity. When they withdrew, she saw the now solid components she had seen in her vision just a few minutes ago. Each component was moved towards the leg and hovered nearby. Though the spiderweb-like object was also present, just in several cylindrical pieces. The new and old components were placed in this spider web, now being protected by its frame. Fluttershy felt her legs reach up and several little hooks emerged from her hoof.

Internalizing cuitemarkmagic_Fluttershy…

Done.

Gathering cuite mark energy for crystal creation.

Fluttershy then felt her other leg reach up and felt the impulse to go to the foal’s face. She pulled her leg back, finding she had the ability to do so. What was her leg going to do?

“Just hold still for a second or two for me, okay?” She asked gently, and when the foal nodded she allowed her leg to continue its path. It simply rested her hoof on the foal’s forehead. It then began to hum and glow.

“Hey, that tickles!” The foal said, squirming.

“Hold still,” his mother said, holding the foal still, “You want your leg fixed don’t you?”

The foal nodded, making Fluttershy’s medical leg bob a bit, but she gave the foal a smile and returned her gaze to the leg. Her other leg was now using the prongs on it to spread lines of crystal along the spiderweb object and the piece of metal she had cut off. It was very thin lines of topaz-like crystal. She watched her hair connect the other components while the crystal was being placed. Motors received wires on certain ports, while they got welded into the web frame. Other metal dowels created joints among the webbed pieces and Fluttershy curiously watched the invisible limbs move the webbed portions, making it seem like a moving leg! She blinked and realized that’s the shape it was taking. With more sparks, the original leg’s components were taken out and placed into the new joint. Though when completed, it looked much like a snake, being able to twist and turn in off angles and orientations. It was placed in the center of the web-like structure, now looking more and more like a frame of a leg. It hooked to the bottom of the leg and was surrounded by more topaz-like crystal. It was similar to the crystal she had originally seen at the bottom of the broken leg. Though this was a different color. The spring came next, settling next to the motors and just barely fitting among the parts. The top of the spring was then connected to the bottom part of the snowflake adapter and it was then attached to the top edge of the web and sparks from her hair sealed it together.

Internal construction completed.

Fluttershy then watched her hair take the cut metal from before and cut it into more parts. Then, with a fizzling sound, it attached those broken pieces back to the frame, completing the metal leg look. The remaining pieces that were in the leg were taken into her side, disappearing in the blue glow.

Marking materials for recycling.

Construction complete. Transferring updated software…

Several hairs then went to the foal and went inside the pony’s joint. The foal twitched at this but held still.

Internal snowflake adapter reporting damage. Assessing…

Minimum damage received. Repairing…

Fluttershy felt her hair push and pull things inside the foal’s shoulder. If it hurt, the foal didn’t show anything to indicate it did. But the feelings of her hair pushing and pulling ended after a minute.

Inner adapter repaired. Color preference is required to finish.

She then removed her leg from the foal’s forehead and heard it begin to whine. It then straightened, and the top half and bottom of her hoof separated, allowing the inner portion of her leg to be revealed. From it, came a thick rectangle that had several vents on the end, encompassed by the metal plates on top and bottom. It was attached via a small arm that extended out from inside her leg. Fluttershy gave the device an odd look, watching it twitch up and down when she moved her leg.

Then nothing happened. Though Fluttershy somehow knew why. She turned to the foal with a smile, “So, what color would you like?”

The foal’s face curled into an innocent grin, “Yellow! With black stripes!”

“Are you sure about that?” The mother said, with a roll of her eyes.

“Yeah! It can always be changed later, right!?”

The mother sighed with a smile, “He’s talking about cautionary tape. That kind of color scheme.”

The foal looked about ready to fly, despite him being an earth pony. Fluttershy smiled, watching words fill her vision.

“Cation!” paint scheme selected. Energizing leg for paint application…

Several hairs touched the top and bottom of the leg, and Fluttershy could physically feel energy coursing through the prosthetic. It almost felt like it was a part of her. She could feel the motors and sensors, and she could even feel the sides of the metal case like skin. Slowly, the fact she could feel motors vanished to simply the possibility to move the leg. The structures and metal beams inside dissolved into what her leg felt like.

It felt like a normal leg. Despite the fact she knew it wasn’t normal. Her actual leg, the one with the rectangle coming out of her hoof, then went close and started to hiss. A colored mist flowed from it, coating the air around the leg in a yellow cloud. It would then change to black and back to yellow every now and again. But she could feel the mist be drawn to the metal object. It clung to it, coating it in a bright yellow paint with black stripes towards the bottom.

It reminded her of construction colors. Or, at least a cautionary sign.

Prosthetic has been completed. Returning…

Fluttershy felt the magnetic limbs then float the leg back to the owner. She moved the leg back into the shoulder joint and felt it click into place with a small hiss. The foal looked elated but was also slightly confused. He lifted it up and moved it immediately. Though he gently placed it down on the stones as if it was tender. She was about to ask what was wrong when the foal shouted for joy and started to bounce circles around his mother. Though the mother looked concerned and attempted to stop the bouncing foal.

“Wait! You are going to break it! Remember what I told you!” She said sternly.

The foal frowned and looked at his mother with a little bit of shame, “Don’t bounce on it repeatedly…”

“Actually, you should be able to just fine. It seems you got an upgrade,” Noah said, making Fluttershy jump.

The mare paled, “How much will that cost?”

“Nothing,” The unicorn said with a smile, “Anything Fluttershy does is a gift.”

The expression on the mare’s face melted Fluttershy’s heart. She couldn’t help but smile as the mare’s brain had trouble taking that in.

“You sure? What about the trouble I caused? What about the materials? And the cost of fabrication! You have to remake all those parts you just used!!” The mare said, insisting. She reached up into her mane and pulled a small little pouch out. Fluttershy knew exactly what that was. A bit pouch.

“No, really. Don’t worry about it,” Fluttershy said with a smile, feeling the medical legs return to normal.

“Are you sure?” The mare asked, “That stuff can’t be cheap to remake!”

Noah chuckled, “Yes, making them with normal means can be quite expensive. Though Fluttershy has the ability to create each part from scratch.”

“Scratch?” The mare said with incredulousness.

Noah nodded.

Though silence occurred for a few seconds, with Fluttershy unsure about what to say. She was still staring at the words, “broken” in her vision hovering near the mother’s back leg. Could she fix that as well?

So she mustered up her courage and spoke, “uh, I can fix your back leg for you as well, if you want?”

The mare smiled awkwardly, “No it's okay.”

Fluttershy smiled. She knew that tone. When somepony did want something but didn’t want to burden the other party, “It really wouldn’t be a bother!” She said cheerfully.

The mare pinched her lips together, “You sure? I’ve been trying to figure it out for weeks. Not sure why it feels so, off…”

“I can try at least!” Fluttershy said with a chipper.

“If you want to. Just don’t tire yourself out.” She said with a small smile.

Fluttershy nodded and replied yes to her head in the words hovering above the mother’s leg. The square fragmented and vanished. Then she felt several hairs reach over and wrap around each joint in the leg. More magnetic limbs reached out and connected to certain points in the leg. With a few clicks, each section of the leg moved. Once it stopped moving, it didn’t seem to change. What did she do?

Nominal values reset to match opposing leg. Comfort and usability are now optimal.

The mare also had a curious look to her, “What did you do? It's so much better!”

Noah nodded, “She adjusted the nominal values of the leg’s resting position.”

The mare looked embarrassed, “Oh it was that simple?”

Fluttershy nodded with a smile, still not understanding what had happened.

“Wait, are you fixing prosthetics?” a sudden pony asked.

Noah frowned, but Fluttershy smiled.

“Yeah, did you need something fixed?” Fluttershy said. She personally didn’t want any attention but the ponies here saw her as some sort of idol. If she didn’t act generously, would that make the square change colors? Were they expecting something else? She doubted it with the first reaction she had with the mother.

The pony smiled. A large grin that made her squirm. Not because the smile had malicious intent or flashed sharp teeth, but because of the joy and expectation that was placed on her.

“My ear has completely lost functionality, can you fix it?” The pony asked walking forward. Fluttershy looked at the pony’s ear where the appendage was highlighted in a large blue square that soon had Broken hovering over it. Though this time it was easily recognized as, C.E.C or Configurable Ear Cover. She felt several hairs reach into the pony’s ear and mess around with things.

Corrupted software detected. Update required.

Up to date software found in internal memory banks. Updating device, please do not disconnect…

…

Fluttershy felt odd. Here she could, in essence, feel energy flowing through her hair. She wasn’t sure if it was magic, or energy similar to when she contained Cadence or Celestia. But she could feel something going through.

Update completed. Realigning cuite mark preferences…

Cuite mark preferences have been realigned. Rebooting device…

The pony twitched at that, and she was about to apologize when the pony’s face lit up with glee, “You fixed it! You fixed my hearing!!”

Fluttershy smiled, but it melted when she noticed that it had gotten others’ attention. Within seconds she was surrounded by talking ponies, all sporting some sort of broken indicator in her vision.

An older mare was next to her in a moment, the light blue rectangle was around her pelvis, “Can you fix my pelvis? My right socket seems a tad bit higher than my left!”

A young stallion with an eye closed, his face said it all as the broken symbol hovered over his closed eye lid.

Another mare looked at her with hope, “My hoof is nearly ground down, can it be repaired?” The blue rectangle moved with her steps, following the broken hoof.

Another rectangle marked a nose or a face.

Another marked something inside another pony’s barrel.

A broken chest.

An out-of-beat pace maker.

A malfunctioning heart.

She simply couldn’t look around without seeing a broken rectangle on somepony’s form. It simply wasn’t possible. Blue covered her vision, voices filled her ears, and anxiety filled her heart. She felt her breathing quicken but felt her insides pause as Noah spoke.

“She can’t repair everything you throw at her. Please, we will have to set up another time, and set up an order.” He said, causing the entire atmosphere to darken.

“Well, when do you have enough time to do it!? No pony else can!!” One indignant pony said, rallying the energy behind him.

Though Noah didn’t seem to flinch at the question, nor at the apparent annoyance that was projected at him. Rather he took a step forward, and spoke calmly but didn’t bother to hide the edge, “I understand that such inconveniences can get very cumbersome over a long time. Though, before Fluttershy finished her training and conversion methods, fixing them was much more cumbersome. Though just because she is here, doesn’t mean you get to pester her with requests and expect her to answer them all!”

The pony started to speak but was cut off.

“Just because she was able, and willing, to heal and fix a few ponies’ issues doesn’t mean she will fix everything.”

The older mare stepped forward, her back legs seemed to protest by stepping uneasily, “I just need my socket to be realigned! A simple centimeter will do! How hard is that!”

Noah sighed, “A lot harder than you imagine. First off, I’d have to try and get at it. Which would involve surgery, months of recovery. And that’s if you just need realignment! If it is because of a cracked frame, perhaps mishappened joints, etc. I would have to take that into account for every job I take! It's not as easy as Fluttershy since she allowed me to connect the computer directly to her. She has all the tools to do it easily!”

“Then why—”

“Because we just got back from a retrieval mission. Let's not choke her with needs that do not immediately need to be addressed!” Noah said, again cutting the pony off.

Fluttershy watched in silence as Noah seemed to defend her. Though she wasn’t sure if the unicorn was actually defending her. If she could easily fix the problems, shouldn’t she? Maybe earlier in life, she would have let Noah continue, but she didn’t feel right just sitting by and not helping those who needed it especially if she had the tools to do so. It also felt good to assist when she could. It helped fill a hole in her heart ever since this identity crisis appeared on her face.

“Hold on,” Fluttershy said, surprised at her voice cutting through the conversation like a knife through water, “Uh, it's really not a big deal. I’d be happy to help where I can!” She put a smile on her face, even though she was reminded that her smile was probably metal as well. Or whatever she was made of.

No. There was still hope! She knew that her legs were definitely made of metal, but that didn’t mean her entire body was! She knew her eyes, legs, and probably her wings. She didn’t know how much of her insides were made up of inorganic material but she could find that out later. Celestia saw normal eye lids, so she couldn’t be fully metal, right?

The thought brought some hope to her face in the form of an honest smile. She might not have full control of what she did, but some would never change. Her kind nature. It helped her feel better when she felt she had dealt all her cards. And now she had no cards, only they weren’t dealt by her.

Noah’s frown was still on his face. It faded every second though as he relented, “Fine, you may fix them. But do not allow material storage to fall below 40%.”

Fluttershy nodded slowly, watching a small bar appear on the rightmost side of her vision. It was very thin and tall. It was white, and seemed half of the way full. A small red line appeared inside the bar, just near the top of the filled portion. Next to it, was 45%.

Noah then took a step back and sat down, motioning to the gathered crowd.

Fluttershy felt her heart skip a beat as she felt eyes fall onto her. Though, she steeled herself. She had to act as Noah told her, or she might not be able to heal the damage she’d be forced to cause. So, she opened her mouth and said in as much of a cheerful tone she could.

“Who’s first?”

The first pony smiled and Fluttershy said yes to the little blue square in her vision. Words appeared around the hips of the older mare, words describing an incorrect alignment or something of that sort. She then felt the invisible limbs wrap around the mare’s pelvis and shift either side up and down. The mare exclaimed at this, not with pain but surprise and relief.

“Oh! That’s much better thank you!” The mare said kindly.

Fluttershy smiled, feeling the magnetic limbs still holding to the artificial bones, “Though I’m not quite done.”

The mare gave her a confused look but held still. Fluttershy was experiencing the feeling of crushing something. It was a very odd sensation, her not being able to crush things in like a hand or clawed appendage. But she’d only seen that type of crushing when the individual was mad, this type of crushing seemed to be methodical and with purpose. She closed her eyes, wanting to understand why the crushing action. And without the distraction of sight, she felt she came to a conclusion. The magnetic limbs were attached to the ends of either leg, where a ball existed for the purpose of a ball and socket joint. Though even as she focused on the feeling, she felt imperfections along the ball. The crushing actions seemed to stretch and pull those imperfections into a near-perfect sphere. The process took a minute or two though, but it was then the limbs pulled away.

The mare gave Fluttershy a surprised look, and took a few steps, “You fixed the grinding feeling. It feels soo much better to walk! How did you do that?”

Fluttershy was about to try her best to answer, but Noah beat her to it, “We do not have time to explain every little fix. Just know Fluttershy has every tool she needs to fix you. Let’s not waste more time by explaining every little thing.”

Fluttershy accepted the explanation. She in reality didn’t have any idea what she was doing. She could infer what was happening since she could feel it happening. Though, even as she felt hair and those invisible limbs repair a broken nose, she pondered what those invisible limbs were called. She remembered Noah had talked about something called a magmatic extender. Was that what she was feeling messing with the internal bits of somepony’s artificial nose?

She watched as something inside her created a new hoof for some pony else. The old one spun off, and Fluttershy screwed the new one on. The pony took a few steps and offered her a joyful thanks. Fluttershy smiled and accepted it with a gentle nod.

Though the next pony walked forward and Fluttershy noticed that the blue square was inside the pony’s stomach area. After she said yes to the square, she found out that’s what needed fixing. The pony’s stomach. Fluttershy frowned at that, remembering how Noah had told her she had every single one of the city’s inhabitants’ prosthetics. That only further condemned her to be made out of metal in her mind. Though she quickly removed her frown and allowed the computer to diagnose what was the matter with the pony’s stomach. Apparently, some tubing had been knocked out of position. Fluttershy didn’t want to know the events that caused such a malfunction, nor how had the pony been eating but sat down as the computer summoned the medical legs.

It then asked her to ask the pony to open their mouth, and when they did several strands of hair went down the pony’s throat. Fluttershy grimaced and apologized but the other pony smiled awkwardly and shrugged.

“Ith muth be-er tha ser-gery…” The pony stated the best they could with an open mouth.

Fluttershy nodded but was more engrossed in what she saw. The pony was now made up of a frame, much like how she saw Applejack when she was healing her. Though this time the vision was aimed at the stomach, and there were many more lines, giving her more insight on what she saw. She could vividly see the internal organs surrounding the mechanical stomach. Small intestine, liver, gall bladder, and even the, she paused. There was another box in the pony’s abdomen wrapped in the pony’s small intestine. She focused her vision on it and saw, power shell, floating next to it. She was curious about that but wasn’t what the computer was focused on. Instead, it was the actual stomach that seemed to be outlined in brighter lines than everything else.

It was an odd-looking device. It looked like a tiny barrel, just more rounded in shape and the boards making up the shape were going horizontal rather than vertical. Though, she couldn’t also say that it was vertical since the barrel was on its side inside the pony. Several large tubes were connected to various connectors with, unknown purpose, together. The broken tubing the computer had diagnosed was the largest tube, the one that split up like a tree’s roots from Top to bottom of the device. The smaller branching of tubing was wrapped around the device, each having a special port to plug into.

Warning! Incorrect material for Digestor Distributor. Product will have to be replaced or internally coated for full repair.

Fluttershy paused for a few seconds, then realized the computer was waiting for her to answer. She frowned and looked at the pony.

Though she spoke in her mind first, hoping the computer would respond, What will it take for it to be replaced?

…

0.5 total material storage will be consumed. Mild Invasive surgery will be required.

Fluttershy frowned, the pony had already expressed their concern for surgery, What about the, uh, other option?

Internally coating the damaged tubing with a ceramic adhesive will repair functionality. Warning! This solution is only short-term. It is recommended to replace the tubing entirely since it is made out of the wrong material for this application.

Fluttershy realized she still had the frown on her face, though this time she didn’t dissolve it in another emotion, “So, I’ve got two options,” She said directing the words at the pony in front of her, “I can fix your stomach with surgery now or a temporary fix that will need surgery later.” Fluttershy looked at the pony’s face that had several different emotions plastered in various places. Fear in the eyes, nervously locked jaw, and a paling skin akin to anxiety. All emotions she knew too painfully well.

Though the emotions eventually boiled down into painful acceptance. With a garbled voice she got a question, “Will I be able to eat properly?”

Fluttershy slowly nodded. If she fixed the pony’s stomach, then they ought to be able to eat normally, right? Or at least as normally as such a pony would.

“I think so,” She responded gently.

The pony took a few seconds to respond, “Can you do it then?”

Fluttershy nodded with a gentle smile. She then told the computer to go with the surgery but got an unexpected response.

Routing to MMO for completion.

MMO is requesting control for operation. Allow MMO control?

Fluttershy nodded and felt her limbs move on their own. Though, now, it didn’t wasn’t abnormal for her anymore. The thought saddened her.

Though she didn’t let the emotion form into a frown on her face but watched with renewed interest as she felt her neck open up. A small little disk was taken out of a bottom slot in the exposed panel and her hair then transported it to the pony’s neck.

Dampening cuite mark network…

The pony’s face went a little slack. Fear erupted on the pony’s for a moment before Fluttershy spoke calm words to reassure both her and the other pony’s feelings.

“Hey, it's alright! You’ll be just fine!” The words were reassuring but did little to calm the worry in her heart. She had healed Applejack with surgery but surgery was still surgery. Done by her hoof! She was no doctor! She knew about little critters and certain procedures to heal certain things but she never did them. The most she ever did was watch Dr. Fauna operate only a few times. Now here she was watching a computer, implemented into her mind, prepare a pony for said surgery.

Initiating anti-microbial field…

Fluttershy’s wings tingled for just a second, a feeling she had missed earlier. Then she was directed to gently push the pony onto their side, where a mask came from her neck and was placed on the pony’s muzzle.

“Just relax, okay? I’ll fix you right up!” Her words seemed to work on the pony, as their face calmed down. Though she wasn’t sure if that was because the thing on her neck was suppressing any feelings, or that her words were working. Her right leg shifted some boxes around on its surface, then emitted two round brushes that began to spin. Gently, she applied the brushes to the pony’s side just to the side of the ribs. A dark orange foam was generated at the spot, and she felt her legs cover nearly the entire side of the pony’s ribs and a good few centimeters from them. It discolored the pony’s blue coat making it a darker brown. She hoped that would come out in a bath.

Primary disinfection complete. Starting operation…

Fluttershy felt her breath catch in her throat as she saw a familiar blade appear on her leg. Though it was identical to the one she used to stab her orange color friend, it was smaller and of a different shape. Instead of wrapping around her hoof, it emerged from one of the small boxes on her leg. It was now like a butter knife. A razor-sharp one that felt more like a scalpel more than anything.

Her hair seemed to come alive again and floated at the ready next to the ribs. Each strand glowing a slight blue. Fluttershy struggled to stay composed as she watched the light blue construct slip into the pony’s flesh, right next to the ribs! It didn’t cut too terribly deep, but deep enough to give her anxiety. It was almost like it the pony’s skin wasn’t there, which made her gut clench even more. If she wanted to use it as a weapon, it would be deadly effective. And it being a part of her made her gut turn itself into knots.

So she tried to focus on her hair. Which was flurrying around her blade, poking at the pony’s flesh as the blade went along. Each poke emitting a small poof of smoke. Fluttershy expected a lot more bleeding but assumed whatever her hair was doing was stopping the bleeding before it started even for a cut this deep. Her mane seemed to perk up, and she noticed that a crowd had started to settle around her. She blinked, and focused her vision on her leg. Her shyness wanted her to sink into the ground to get away. Though she couldn’t when she was cutting open a pony.

Warning! Anti-Microbial active! Please do not let others get too close!

“Um,” Fluttershy stated, noticing a crowd had gathered around her. Her voice felt stuck in her throat as she tried to figure out what to say, “Could I get some room p-please?” The crowd immediately backed up with several apologies.

“Thanks!” Fluttershy said with a smile. Then felt the MMO redirect her attention to the blue coat. A medium-sized incision had now been made, only about the width of her hoof. Once the hairs had finished spawning puffs of smoke, she felt a larger box on her leg shift its way down till it was next to her hoof. It clicked a bit and opened on its side. From it extended a scissor lift connected to a small square.

This square seemed to only be on an outline of a square though. Its interior was empty but sparked to life after a moment. It filled in with blue energy seemed solid and not at the same time. Its surface reminded her of a gentle ocean with its colors. Though it was a brighter blue than an ocean; its gentle movements made it look like the familiar liquid. Though Fluttershy recognized it as the same blue glow from the side of her chest, where the lace had first come out.

The square extended out a bit on the scissor lift a bit, then retracted back to its original position. She watched the leg push down the stomach a bit, allowing enough room for the little square to be slipped into the incision. Fluttershy merely blinked at the sensory input her eyes were giving her, though blinked again as her vision changed to the lined version. Through it, she saw the organs and such outlined in white lines, she also noticed the little square outlined as well. Carefully, it slid beneath the ribs and soon was adjacent to the damaged prosthetic.

Dimensional connector in position. Beginning removal of damaged components.

Fluttershy watched her hair now reach over to her leg, where another box opened up to another blue glow. The hair went inside, and then Fluttershy saw the pink lines show up on the inside of the pony! From the little square! She watched the pink lines slide along the pony’s organs till they reached the artificial stomach. The lines that made up her hair fiddled with the lines that made up the artificial stomach, slowly pulling away the broken tubing.

Component removal in progress… Appropriate components in storage for repair.

Great. She could now store components in addition to making them. Where was all this stuff being stored? Surely she didn’t have enough room inside her for all this! What about her organs? The thought paused there. Were they just smaller than everyponys’? Surly that didn’t make sense.

She continued to watch the hair do its thing, trying to numb the chaotic thoughts and felt the invisible limbs get in the action as well. She felt them attach to little metal rings that seemed to spin as the limbs manipulated them. Once they spun off the tubing came loose on one end.

Flushing…

She was curious about what the system was doing now. She didn’t see anything happening but did notice the stomach moving a bit. It was more or less vibrating. Or was it? She couldn’t truly tell that through the lines, but she felt it was moving slightly. Maybe internally?

Flushing complete. Removing component…

She then watched the pink lines pull some of the tubes out of the device and funnel them into the little square coming from her hoof. She looked to the blue glowing box on her leg, expecting for them to come out from there, but they didn’t follow the pink strands out.

Component removal complete. Component marked for recycling.

Issuing replacement…

Fluttershy then watched with mild curiosity as another tube emerged from the little square. The pink lines grabbed them and put them into place. The invisible limbs reached out and tightened what she felt were the little rings.

Air removal in progress. Done. Running cycle to verify proper connections…

Fluttershy watched the little strands of hair go on the opposite side of the stomach, making a few lines fade as they did so, and interface with the other side. It felt odd at that point, she could feel it. Not completely though. She couldn’t feel the stomach as if it was her own leg. But she could feel the device as if it was one of her own organs, only, outside of her body. It was a very odd and chilling sensation.

Cycle has completed run. System is working optimally. Repair complete.

Removing EMDs.

EMDs? She had heard that before. Was it talking about her hair? The out-of-body feeling vanished though as the hairs began to move again. Quickly, they were withdrawn back to her head through the little square. Once out, they began to pulse blue and began to steam a bit. It worried her, but even as she focused on them she got a sudden reassurance.

Disinfection in process…

While the glowing hairs were stationary, the little square was retrieved and returned to its box. The other glowing box also dimmed as more boxes shifted around to allow the prongs to reach her hooves. These prongs she had seen a few times now, however weird it was or felt. They quickly started into motion, buzzing around doing their unknown task of reknitting the skin. It was the same process she had seen with Applejack and Starlight so she didn’t pay it too much attention.

Though she was still fascinated by how the skin and muscles were reconnected together. It took a bit longer than healing Starlight but had the same results nonetheless.

Operation has been completed. Printing precautionary wound patch…

Fluttershy watched her leg deploy the thing rectangles that deployed the light crystalline patch. It was gently applied to where the cut was made and soon, that was all that was left.

Removing Cutie mark suppression…

The pink strands removed the little disk and mask from the pony and placed them back in her neck. It then closed with a click.

Done. Prosthetics have been repaired. Please allow an hour before use.

Fluttershy nodded, and gently picked up the pony and pushed them to a sitting position. She smiled and gave the pony a gentle shake, “Hey. You’re all good to go!”

The pony’s eyes seemed slightly hazy but nodded with appreciation.

“Just have to tell you not to eat anything for an hour, okay?”

Another nod, then a hug, “Thank you…”

Fluttershy returned the embrace, accustomed to sudden hugs. It was saddening that it wasn’t Pinkie, but she was able to keep her demeanor as the hug broke.

Fluttershy nodded, a smile still on her face, and turned to the next pony, “Who’s next?”

Fluttershy then lost herself watching herself fix several different types of prosthetics. Realigning an artificial spine by tapping into the ports on the ponies back. She had the perfect tool to connect to them. She found herself watching her hair perform software updates on many. Re-tuning bio-connectors and Cloud connectors. She replaced another leg and even replaced a holographic tail. Some devices needed new crystals for the cutie mark feelings matrix, or a new metal frame for a dented wing, or even a motor replacement for an artificial shoulder.

Fluttershy had no idea what she was doing. She just kept smiling and relaying what the computer said to her.

It continued. Replacements for an energy relay in an artificial heart. A metal fetlock. Tuning the balance of another’s wings. Recalibrating the cuite mark magic in another’s artificial horn. Replacing a metal welded bone where the connections to the metal had corroded over time. That required more surgery. Though she made a cut, made two cuts along the bone, watched her limbs glow, and connect the bone back to the metal piece in the center. Closed it up, placed a patch on it, and moved on.

A deep cleaning of an artificial lung.

Repairing the outer wall of another damaged stomach. That didn’t require surgery. The pony had to hold still though as several strands of hair went down their throat.

Replacement of a lower jawbone. Teeth included. Were her teeth made of metal? Or were they organic?

She buffed out a scratch in a philly’s mechanical eye, while she had to remove an entire section of another’s to replace a broken video sensor.

Another foal came to her with a broken drone. She happily fixed it, surprised to learn that the repair mode wasn’t restricted to prosthetics.

Though as she was replacing the cover panel on a back leg prosthetic, red words appeared in her vision.

Material cap has been reached. Marking current project as Material limit.

Fluttershy frowned at this. She probably repaired at least 30 ponies and their prosthetics. Probably did a, “software update,” for many more. She had no idea what half the terminology her head meant. Leading her to have to figure out what it meant through context. Sometimes she was successful, others not so much.

Though she did realize that the limit that Noah had placed had been reached. So when she had finished the plate on the pony’s leg, she looked towards Noah, “The material limit has been reached.”

Noah nodded, “Alright, that’s all the materials she can spare at the moment.” The group seemed to be down at the news, but they recovered quickly. Fluttershy received many thank yous and smiles that made her uncomfortable. She responded in kind, however, no matter how tiny she felt. Though it felt easier to talk to the group without the horde of blue rectangles filling her vision.

Noah turned to her, “Exit repair mode, normal mode should work just fine.”

Fluttershy was about to ask a question, when the word: Repair mode appeared in the top left again. Once more the cycle of words filtered upwards and she found normal mode sitting there. Though it too disappeared after a few seconds. The remaining blue rectangles also vanished, leaving her vision clear of them.

“Come. There are things we need to do before tonight’s mission.” Noah said, turning away.

Fluttershy followed, giving out smiles and small responses to the dissipating crowd. Though they didn’t follow the two into the mansion she was starting to become familiar with. That made her happy. Peace and quiet where her soul could recover from all the attention she had received. Of all the things that have happened to her, she wasn’t quite sure if having a metal body was worse than being idolized by a whole city. She felt her stomach grumble, noting that it had been at least a full day since she had eaten anything. Though she also noted that she didn’t hear her stomach protest its emptiness.

Did she have an artificial stomach like the ones she repaired? If so, why could she not hear it grumbling now? She could feel it doing so, and she had most definitely heard it before.

She sighed gently, watching the hallway display its numerous paintings before they disappeared to the stone walls as they continued into the depths of the mansion. And after stopping to go through a door, she found herself, once more, in the room with the harness. She gave the device a slightly annoyed look. She should have listened to her feelings when Noah had asked her to get into the device the first time!

She let the feeling fall to dust. She had no idea of knowing how she truly was. Beating herself up over it wasn’t going to solve anything.

She then took a step towards the harness but stopped when Noah placed a few bars of metal in front of her. A small chunk of the wire spaghetti, a few circuit boards, a couple chunks of crystal, and the broken metal skull. Upon further inspection, she saw that half the skull was missing. Largely because of the blackened hole of the side of it. Its jagged edges serving the same warning as a porcupine’s quills.

“That ought to be enough to recover your material stores. We’ll worry about filling them up completely at a later date. Though I’m surprised you managed to empty them as much as you did…” Noah said, walking towards the harness.

Fluttershy gave the small pile a confused look. Several metal ingots were in the pile. She saw gold, silver, copper color, and a dull dark silvers as well. The pile contained at least 15 ingots of varying sizes. The green circuit boards were marked with tons of little boxes and cylinders. Lines of metal weaving in and out of the green material, carving straight lines that created mesmerizing patterns that never touched another. The metal skull seemed to be looking at her, even though she could see right through its lifeless eyes.

She turned to Noah, “Uh, what do you want me to do exactly?”

“Eat. You need to recover the material you’ve expended fixing the others. I’ll figure out why your material storages are so low later.”

“Eat?! But this is metal! I can’t eat metal!” She objected plainly.

“Yes you can. If I need to create a program to do what you can not I will. Though I would prefer to get the program I’m currently working on finished before we go.” Noah answered nonchalantly. His gaze was on the glowing screens around the harness. There were lines of text on them. All bound with in boxes of white. The text was different colors, and though she could read them, she had no idea what they meant. The words didn’t make sense to her.

Void? Get_Sensory_Data? Words didn’t seem to match any sort of grammar she knew. That and everything seemed to be contained in brackets and other forms of grouping symbols that weren’t used very often. She looked at Noah, who was giving her an unimpressed look. Fluttershy sighed. She didn’t know what the words meant. Nor did she know what a program truly was. But she knew that Noah wanted her to consume the variety of inedible parts in front of her, or he’d force her to do it with one of his programs.

She took a deep breath and inspected the pile. She pushed the skull to the side. She’d do that very last, and only if she had to. She looked towards the little ingots. Those would be a good start, right?

So she put her hoof on the pile and picked up the gold one. She thought it was gold, and was the material she was most familiar with. Other than maybe steel but being a friend of Rarity had taught her a lot about the fancy metal. She swallowed nervously, and just stared at the gold ingot between her hooves like a forbidden sandwich.

Had she been holding a normal sandwich, she’d feel her mouth start to salivate. But with the gold, she felt nothing. Was it really food? For her at least? She’d never been able to bite through metal, but nor had she truly tried. She glanced up at Noah, seeing an annoyed expression on his face.

She’d be forced to eat the metal if she didn’t do it, and she was tired of her body doing things against her will. At least she could keep her ability to eat on her own. Even if her “food” wasn’t really food. So, she opened her mouth, put the bar halfway in, and took a bite.

It happened exactly how she expected it to go. A solid click as her teeth came into contact with the metal piece. She was pretty sure she dented it, but Rarity had told her that solid gold was not as hard as other metals. So she wasn’t too surprised.

“You have to bite harder than that,” Noah said, amusement mixing with annoyance.

Fluttershy half frowned with the bar of gold in her mouth. Its taste was metallic. Nothing super special. Though she had had metal in her mouth before. Trips to the dentist had given her the taste of metal a few times. Though the gold had a very particular taste rather than the metal tools. She couldn’t really put it into words. But she was pretty sure it tasted different.

Though she had to eat the gold, not taste it. So she tried to bite harder, making a small indentation in the ingot, but not much more. Though, she suddenly heard a few clicks in her jaw as she tried to bite harder. Then, it felt like she was biting through butter and her jaw severed the ingot into two pieces. She was slightly elated at this but realized that she still had to swallow the chunk of gold in her mouth. She released the pressure on her jaw, hearing a few clicks before she could. Instinctually she felt she needed to chew a bit, but was unsure if she could. But, with the new experience of biting through it, she was pretty sure she could chew it into smaller pieces. Upon trying she found she could, though slower than she could with say a hayburger. Though she managed and took a deep breath, steeling herself before swallowing. Nothing out of the ordinary occurred. She felt fine. Her throat felt fine. Her stomach didn’t disagree with her with the foreign “food.”

Materials marked for recycling.

The words blinked twice before disappearing. She felt horror when she saw those words. When she was taking all those broken metal prosthetics, she was eating them?! She gently smothered her chaotic thoughts. The other ponies didn’t care, wouldn’t care, right?

She sighed and looked at the rest of the golden ingot. She felt slightly amused at the teeth marks imbedded into the metal as it was not a sight one got to ever see. Though she noticed that the bar now had a near razor-sharp edge to it. She thought to the chunk she had just eaten. The chewed-up bar probably was not smooth but probably had a very scratchy surface. Though her mouth handled it just fine.

Is that why whenever she had popcorn with the girls, she never had to worry about an unpopped kernel nearly breaking her jaw? While her friends, other than Pinkie, would have words to say when the rare event would occur? Chips? She never had an issue with chips getting stuck in her gums. Though granted, she wasn’t the one to generally have chips but she never had the experience others had. She again refilled her lungs and popped the rest of the bar into her mouth, chewing and swallowing it slowly. It felt weird to eat metal. It felt like she was going against her mother teaching her how she shouldn’t put things in her mouth except for food. Abiet dentist tools, retainers, and gum were exceptions, but it felt odd putting whole bars of metal into her mouth. Even more so swallowing them.

But she downed another gold bar, not wanting to be forced into doing another thing against her will. Though, after the gold, she picked up one of the silver bars and took a bite. This one was much harder than the gold. It felt like she was biting into a much colder bar of butter rather than the gold. And again she picked up on a very distinct taste. Different than the gold or the dentist tools. Though she found she could still chew it up and swallow it just fine. She took in a few of those bars, then grabbed one of the last bars. The last ones were of a dull grey color that reminded her of the silver ones. Though with a dull finish. Though when she tried to take a bite, she found it very difficult to bite through. She barely was able to make a dent in the material. She frowned and bit harder still, though paused when she heard her jaw whine. Not in the sense of a whining animal, or something she would make. But this whine sounded unnatural. Similar to the whine from her legs when she was running away from Applejack only a few days ago.

Though she steeled herself. Her body had shown that it was normal for it to make those sounds when it was pushing itself to the upper limits. So she again bit down and didn’t stop when she heard the whining of her jaw. The ingot resisted at first, but slowly deformed as continued the pressure. Soon, she got a bite of the mystery metal in her mouth. Though this time she had to pull it apart like a piece of really hard taffy. Though it felt like she was chewing a piece of hard candy rather than taffy. Though this took longer to chew, she found it was still swallowable. She took another bite and tried this time to feel the sharp edges the crushed-up metal was bound to make. She felt them, but was surprised she felt no pain as the edges ran along with her tongue and mouth.

So her mouth was most definitely not organic. Or was it? Saliva was organic, was it not?

She felt those thoughts buzzing through her mind as she ate a few more of the super-strong bars. Celestia had seen the underneath of her eyelids stating she saw blood vessels, right? And she had said she had seen metal but blood vessels were from a living being, right? She can’t be completely made up of metal?

Though that thought diminished as she swallowed another chewed-up ingot. She knew her legs and eyes were made of metal. She also knew that her wings were at least mostly made of metal. Her sides had some metal contraption in them since they could open up. Now her mouth was some combination of organic and metal with some of her insides the same way. Her stomach grumbled. Though it was overshadowed by the dread she could feel resting next to it.

What was she?

Earlier she had her friends to lean on when she had these thoughts. Though, now she didn’t have any of them to surround her in a hug. She was alone to deal with the fact of her true self. Though she pushed it aside the best she could but could still feel pounding behind the mental door she put it behind. She tried her best to distract herself with the objects in front of her. Though as she picked up the green board that contained a myriad of tiny cylinders and boxes, she couldn’t help feeling the door break down.

It was overwhelming! She was a pony! Yet she was a pony eating metal! No pony could do that, so did that still make her one? Was the pony that had the artificial stomach able to eat such materials? Did she just have an artificial stomach to process the other materials she’d need to heal and grow? The feelings were starting to get too much for her to handle and she could feel herself starting to break down. So she quickly stuffed the green board in her mouth like a very oversized cracker and bit down. It crunched like a large cracker. A bit more resilient than a cracker but that’s the best consistency she could think of. Though the taste was completely different than the metals she had previously consumed. While she did taste several different metallic tastes, including the taste of the gold, she encountered a sort of unnatural tang. It was very odd because she could describe it as the taste of a lemon. Though an ancient one, that still was sour but didn’t have the taste of a lemon. It felt she shouldn’t put such taste in her mouth because it was bad. The texture was also a concern. The best way she could describe it was glassy. It felt she was putting strands of fine glass in her mouth. Each strand of varying strands felt like it should be sharp enough to cut her mouth to ribbons. Though even as she swallowed, such expected effects did not occur.

Materials marked for recycling…

She took another bite, again exploring the flavor. It really felt it shouldn’t go in her mouth, but at the same it did. It was like when she was taking brussels sprouts for the first time. She didn’t like them very much, but it felt like she needed them. Later she found out such foods have the materials she would need to grow up. Though as she has grown up she replaced them with other foods and her antioxidant teas but that was personal preference. Her parents were right to give her such foods to help her young body grow into—

Her brain choked on the thought, making her pause with the large green cracker. Did her parents know? Surely they must have known something because this happened to her when she was a philly right? She would’ve needed it, her brain struggled to complete the thought. She would’ve needed metal to grow right? She remembered growing up and making markings on the door frame when she was younger to mark how tall she had gotten. Though said door frame had to be replaced, they still kept the piece with the markings and updated it till both she and her brother were old enough to move out. How did she grow then? Was she part metal at that point? Or was it later?

She growled, stuffing the green board again into her mouth. When did this all happen to her? How much of her memory was fabricated to keep such a transformation hidden from her? She took another aggressive bite from the unnatural cracker, leaving only one bite left.

What was she? She found herself back at the question she asked only a day ago. Was she a killer machine? A healing miracle?

Her eyes fell on Noah as he worked on the panels in front of him. No, she was neither. She was an unwilling puppet. She unhappily put the rest of the green board in her mouth. She’d never be able to look at a puppet the same way again. Maybe not a sock puppet though, that was different as it was only a hoof in a disguise. She felt like she was an entirely separate thing from the puppeteer, controlled via invisible strings hoisted onto a stage they didn’t want to be on. Saying the things they didn’t want to say. Doing the things they didn’t want to do. Or maybe they were just inanimate objects that required a creature’s personality to get their own.

Was she that way? She picked up the last green board quietly munching on it after the initial crack of her bite. Was she just an inanimate object given personality and purpose by Noah? She frowned, taking another bite. No, she had her dreams and desires. Noah certainly didn’t seem to care about wildlife as she did.

She eyed the tangled mess of wires in front of her. She tightened her lips and picked it up. Then, just took a bite. She tasted plastic. She knew that taste. Both from an early age and from the dentist trips. Though she also tasted another metal that she did taste in the crazy cracker. This was copper if she wasn’t mistaken. That’s a taste nearly every pegasus knew. Much work in the weather factory with electricity involved the metal. And since wings were much too singable than the hoofs or mouth, that’s what ponies used to manipulate instruments. While she didn’t do it often, she still remembered the very peculiar taste. She wasn’t too fond of the plastic though. The taste was fine, though the texture was annoying in her mouth, and she found herself swallowing quickly. She looked down at the tangled mess, now able to see the little circles of copper among their plastic coverings. She quickly took another bite, finding the small balled mess loose half its mass. It was like spaghetti, in a very odd way. Only if the noodles were filled, rather than just plain carbohydrates. She took another bite, chewing quickly to not endure the plastic granules resting on her tongue. A final bite eliminated the tangled ball.

Next were the crystals. A deep shade of cyan lay on the floor coating it in shadow. These items she was actually looking forward to. She had always wondered what crystals had tasted like since Spike ate them. Though she had thought eating such objects would surely cause internal issues. Though, now she was sure of the opposite. So she picked up one of the crystals and put it into her mouth. She could only describe it as a glass. She could taste something else but she wasn’t sure what that something was. It tingled her taste buds but she really couldn’t compare it to something she’d normally eat. It was similar to the metal she had earlier but different. She positioned it between her teeth and took a breath. Could she chew crystals? She gently closed her jaw, ever-increasing the pressure till she felt the gem crack. Then, it exploded in her mouth, sending tiny shards and bits into her cheek with a sharp crack. It was muffled by her cheeks but still was loud enough to get Noah’s brief attention. Though he disregarded it as Fluttershy attempted to chew. It became like she was chewing sand that was becoming finer and finer in her mouth. It was hard to swallow.

Though she liked it better than the green cracker. She took another crystal in her mouth, this time struggling to get her jaw around it. Though this one cracked much heavier than the last one, making her cheeks bulge with the kinetic energy. Though it too did not last long to her newfound teeth.

Which left one item left. She stared at the empty metal skull as it stared back with lifeless eyes. Is this was a predator felt like? She frowned at that thought. No. Most of her animal friends didn’t consume bones. Hunting though was a part of their nature. A nature that helped control the cycle throughout all of nature.

This was different.

This object was mimicking an organic one and didn’t get the same rules as organics simply because it wasn’t in an organic. It obviously wasn’t wanted since she was expected to eat it. Though she really couldn’t bring herself to eat such an object.

How would she even attempt it!? She stared at the skull as she recalled times she had talked to her predatory friends. They’d tell her to break it down the best she could, till they were in bite-sized chunks you could get down. Though, Fluttershy’s heart couldn’t do that, no matter how inanimate the object was.

“Could you make this one smaller please?” Fluttershy asked timidly. She just didn’t want to do it herself.

Noah looked at her but didn’t respond. Instead, he levitated a small circle connected to a wire to her face. She backed up a bit before the magic placed it in front of her right eye. It flashed with a brief multitude of bright colors then her right eye’s view blackened as something pulled the device snug on her eye socket. It clicked a few times and her right vision was replaced with: Docked…

She had felt such devices before. With the new pony Glyph at Canterlot and with Noah’s Harness. Though this time she could feel energy running through it. It felt odd as the feeling felt like it was an extension of her eye.

Synchronizing magmatic extenders…

Fluttershy felt the invisible limbs reach out to the skull and wrap around it like they were made up of putty. Once it had wrapped around it fully, she felt it energize the air around it.

Then with a loud clunk, the skull collapsed in on itself. It complained further with metallic thuds as the force compressed it further into a mishappen ingot. Then, the limbs vanished, allowing the piece to fall to the ground with a clunk.

Fluttershy felt like she was white as a ghost. She couldn’t help feel horror as she watched the lifelike skull be crushed by her invisible limbs. She stared at the lump of metal on the ground, realizing now she had to eat the piece. She looked at Noah, who was now uninterested in her and staring back at the glowing panels. She heard some fast-paced clicking as the pony maneuvered two pucks on a nearby console. She swallowed and picked up the chunk of metal. It was now unrecognizable, but the fact she knew what it was made her want to curl up.

Though she knew she’d be forced to do it and she’d rather do it herself. It was just a piece of metal after all…

So she quickly took as big of a bite as she could, chewing very little before swallowing. She shuddered, feeling the large sharp edges run along her throat. It didn’t hurt, but she could feel her neck protest at the much too big bite. She could even feel the bite crawling through her chest. Though the discomfort passed quickly. She quickly took two bites of the remaining “U” shape and found the entire pile of inedible objects, eaten.

Though Fluttershy felt a little nauseous after the last object. Her insides seemed to hate her, though it wasn’t enough for her to throw up. Just an aching feeling knotting itself together in her gut. She looked towards Noah, who was still typing away.

“I’m done…” Fluttershy said in a sickly voice. Though she shuddered after hearing her voice.

Noah nodded, “Please dock. The program is almost done, and then we will be able to head out.”

Fluttershy frowned as she felt her limbs take control, and wake back into the harness, “Where?” She asked, surprised it let her speak.

“That is of no concern to you,” Noah said plainly.

External computer has initiated program download…

Program: Mimicry.

Allocating file space…

Beginning install…

…

It was the beginning of another shift. Another day, another pile of bits his family had told him. Though that was years upon years ago. He just now wanted to rest. Though his bar wasn’t going to keep itself up and going. He was also too stubborn to just give it away. He exited the bathroom and started down the hall back to his post. Though the walk made his joints complain, grinding here and there.

He groaned. He was getting too old for this. One day he was going to make a conveyer belt that would carry him down this hallway. He smiled at the thought and what such a device would do for his old bones. Though he paused, looking around at the multitude of rooms that connected to the hallway. Maybe that idea wouldn’t fly. Though it didn’t stop him from imagining himself from flying forward, not with his own muscles.

Though he then found himself flying forward, tripping on some unseen object. He landed forward with a thud, smacking his face so hard that everything went black. He blinked, feeling his entire body tingle. Did he just break his neck? Was he dead?

His mind filled with fear as he felt he was floating in a black void that deposited him in a large cube of near blackness. Did he die? Was he in some sort of purgatory?

“Eeep!” A sudden voice sounded near him. Though as he tried to look around to find the source, his vision brightened, and he found himself on the floor.

What in Equestria just happened? Did he just die and his body decide to get back up? What was that voice? The voice of his ancestors about ready to guide him into the afterlife? He groaned, and slowly got back on his hooves. Then paused. His joints no longer hurt. He did a little skip and even a jump and found that it didn’t hurt to do so. Though originally it would send him to bed for several hours. Though now he felt young and spry again!

Though he stopped, realizing that such an event may not be permanent. He should still probably get a doctor to check him out. Though he still had his shift to cover, but he was pretty sure he’d only have to wait about a half-hour for a relief shift to come. He’d then go straight to the doctor’s office and get things checked out. He briskly walked out through the hall, pushing open the push doors with a forehoof. He was then instantly subjected to the smell of warm bodies that had been in a large room for too long. Smell of hard drinks mixed with different types of sodas and warm food. It wasn’t a great smell, but he was used to it. It was more of a home away from home kind of thing. He smiled and walked towards the bar, where he magically opened the little half-door barring him from behind the counter. He closed it on his way out and locked it. He’d had several ponies attempt to get back, though the door had stopped anypony drunk enough to try to get free drinks.

Though he knew some tricks up his sleeve to keep such ponies at bay as well. He’d done some karate before. Not much, but you didn’t need much to subdue a drunken pony. He smiled at the few guests he had waiting, offering cheerful greetings. Some he got similar replies, though some were half-spoken grunts. Though he didn’t take offense as many would come over to cool off or even mourn a lost one. He’d seen a lot, and a lot of others would come to him for questions or advice on anything from relationships to housing loans.

“Oye Bartender, could I get a spiked number 15?” A guest asked.

The pony nodded, “Sure, just give me a moment to wash my hooves.” The guest nodded, and the bartender started to wash his hooves while he magically assembled a few glasses together along with his shaker. A pint of coconut and a splash of alcohol. Putting them on the counter he quickly mixed them with his hooves. He could do it with magic, but an earth pony had taught him his ways. So he kept up the tradition despite it being a tad slower than his horn. But he was still quick as he opened up the shaker, popped in a slice of lime, and continued shaking. Then he twirled it with his magic and poured it out into the hovering glass. He looked at the guest who nodded and tossed 4 bits his direction. He caught it with his magic and placed the drink in front of the pony.

“Thank ya.” The guest said before taking a sip and returning to his conversation with his friends.

The bartender smiled and looked at a fellow pony who seemed to be picking at his hayburger. The bartender frowned, knowing that look. He quickly levitated a small glass of orange juice over to the pony and greeted them with a small smile.

“So, what’s the matter?” He said cheerfully, pulling ingredients to make a commonly ordered lemonade.

The stallion frowned, eyeing the glass of orange juice with a dull look, “I got mad at my kids today. Think I scared them pretty bad.”

The bartender nodded, “I understand. Though it's because you want them to learn the lessons the easy way before they learn them the hard way.”

The stallion picked up the juice, “Yeah…” He said dully.

“You want to equip them with the best possible tools so that they can live their best life. But at times it seems they just don’t want to take it. Because they have their own thoughts and dreams.”

The other pony nodded.

“Well, that’s part of parenting. You’ve got to learn how they think and understand the world. Then you can explain the lessons in a way that would make sense for them.”

“I know that,” The pony scoffed.

“Aye,” The bartender replied with a smile, “But do you know how?”

The pony hid their expression under the glass of orange juice.

He chuckled, “Hey, can’t tell ya either.” The pony gave him an odd look, to which he chuckled, “Aye, I’ll admit it. Mostly because it's different per foal. No two are alike. Even twins will have their differences you need to work around.”

The pony put the glass of orange juice down and smiled, “Does the old bartender have any good advice? Like always?”

“Perhaps,” the bartender smiled. He loved giving out advice, and loved when creatures would come to him to ask, “Give the foals a little space. Be sure to be there when they need help or comfort and show that you are a friend. And take care to look into their interests and give them some praise for working on their dreams! If the only thing you are doing is correcting them, then they probably won’t see you as a parental figure.”

“And if I don’t know a single thing about their interests?” The pony replied, curious not hostile.

“Could I get a number 2?” Another pony asked. The bartender nodded and started to pull a few glasses down.

“Well,” He started, mixing various liquids, “You have to learn about them. You get excited to show them your skills and things that you’ve learned right? Well, you’ve got to allow them to show you the things they’ve learned. If they can’t show you well, then learn about it. Libraries aren’t meant to be giant dust collectors.”

“I suppose…” The distressed pony said. Though his tone wasn’t condescending, rather had a sense of deep reflection.

“Here’s the number 2!” The bartender said, raising it up. The pony who ordered it then exchanged it for some bits. The bartender smiled at the gold bits and deposited them into a slot underneath the counter. That would take them downstairs into the vault. Just in case a group got too greedy for bits. It wouldn’t be the first time.

Though he paused as he looked at the front door as such a group came in. Four ponies dressed in black and curled spiked cuffs along their fetlocks. Each one had shades, though they weren’t over their eyes as it was the middle of the night. Each accessory though was a different dark color, red, green, blue. Though there was a golden one as well, one that marked the boss of the group. An amulet with a bright blue gem was also another indicator that the group meant bad news. Well, mostly.

To the bartender, it wasn’t the case. These rich ponies had never tried to outbuy his spot of land, simply because he was their father’s best friend. A security that surpassed the bands of death.

He gave them a smile and a wave, which they returned in kind and began to walk over. The bartender smiled but then froze. Not of his own will though, he turned back to the incoming group when he felt his hair start to levitate.

Fluttershy was waiting in a room, her eyes tracking a colored blob through the wall. Eyes kept open with electric shocks. Each one warding the comfort of sleep as she stood still as a statue. The only movement she did do was an ever so slow movement of her head, tracking the blob.

After Noah had installed the new, “program,” he had her teleport to Manhatten where she then teleported into a building. Now, she was in a random room. There were a few boxes here and there, but nothing more. She felt herself take a step forward and pull the little disk from her neck. She stood at the ready, even though she had no idea what she was doing. She continued to look at the colored blob that she assumed was a pony walk down the hallway towards her. Though, as the pony got close, she felt a single hair reach across the hallway and make a crude tripping hazard. Though, as the elderly pony came into view he easily tripped on the single strand that managed to stay taut. Though before he hit the floor, her hair caught him and placed the disk on the pony’s neck. Then her hair spun around the pony with blue glowing strands.

Though before she could fight the containment protocol, the pony was covered in a brilliant neon green glow and reduced to a glowing ball. She blinked as the sensory input had told her that her chest opened up. She watched a little glowing ball be placed in her chest, and it sealed up. She found herself attempting to breathe faster, but was denied.

Why did the system take him?

Action denied.

Why couldn’t she fight the impulse like with the others?

Action denied.

Phase 2 initiated.

Program Mimicry has been activated.

Using Containment section 1…

Fluttershy frowned as she felt her back click, whereupon her wings sunk into them. Soon after the back clicked back into place, making her look like an earth pony. Though that look didn’t last long as she felt the horn she had used Sombra’s magic with emerge from her forehead.

Great. She was now a unicorn.

Though she pushed the thought aside, she wasn’t able to change her appearance even if she tried. So she delved back into her mind to where she had talked to Celestia when she had been contained. He’d be put there too? Though, as she appeared in the large cube room, she did so right behind the pony. Her initial reaction was to jump back at the sudden pony, with a small, “Eeep!” For good measure. Though when he turned around to face her, she saw a confused face covered with light blue lines. It looked like a visor of sorts. Like really, really big sunglasses.

Though it seemed that the pony couldn’t see her at all.

“Hello?” She asked timidly, walking forward. Though she didn’t get a response. Though she did feel her body start moving on its own again. She felt herself take a few slow steps forward, pause, then a little skip and jump followed by a brisk walk to the end of the hallway. Though, had she seen it from the outside, she would be sure the movements conveyed joy! Slight hop in the step, longer carefree stride, and she wasn’t sure why. Was the computer happy?

She pulled her mind out of the cubed room and focused on what she was seeing. Though it frightened her because she had just entered a bar that seemed full of ponies. Each ranging from happy to outright crying. The must in the air was not pleasant to her nature accustomed nose but it wasn’t the worst thing she had come across. Though she’d only been in a bar for very few occasions, mostly meet-ups with several animal consolers, this one was pretty clean. Though she watched herself walk up behind the bar, and with energy gathering in her forehead, she felt the energy push the half door open. It felt like those magnetic invisible lines, only, without the magnets. Was that how magic felt?

She then felt the energy close the little door behind her and she heard somepony say hello. She blinked as she felt herself respond cheerfully to the pony.

Just not in her voice.

It was a male voice emanating from her throat. Deep, but wise with age. It sounded like she was listening to her grandfather, though, this voice was much louder and boomed with confidence.

She listened to it give greetings and take orders. She watched herself make the orders with uncanny hoof dexterity that she didn’t have. She didn’t even know what she was making! She knew it was a drink as she watched it levitate in the air and pour itself. Though the magic was coming from her!

She frowned, or, at least tried to. Did the magic belong to the pony the computer had contained? Was he controlling her actions? She contemplated the answer as she watched a glass of orange juice hover to some pony. Did he order that? No, he’d been quiet the whole time. She listened as she asked what was wrong. To which the pony opened up easily.

It made sense to her. Though, she was confused. She was the Element of Harmony. Why was everyone treating her like some pony else? Did she look different? Sure she had no wings but surely she didn’t look like the normal bartender! Though the thought shattered when she heard the pony ask a question:

“Does the old bartender have any good advice? Like always?” he said with a smile.

Like always. The pony recognized her! How? Surely the bartender didn’t look that much like her! Sure, she looked like a unicorn, but she’d have to change her coat color right? Though she watched the other ponies interact with her, it became more of a possibility. A possibility that seemed to become more of a reality the more she noted her senses. The lack of wings was disconcerting, as well as the new horn, but her coat felt the same. Her hair was the sam—No. No, it wasn’t…

It was shorter. She no longer felt the familiar weight her hair had but felt it much lighter than usual. Nor did she see it at the edge of her vision. She never so desperately wanted to see a mirror in her life.

The front doors opened up with a group of ponies entering the bar. Black clothing, curled spiked bands, and very shiny sunglasses were all present on these ponies. She felt herself throw a wave at them, then turn to clean some dishes after she received gestures in kind.

Target identified. Mimicry has been disabled.

Fluttershy felt her head turn back to the group, the glass she was holding with magic falling to the ground with a clatter. Though to her surprise, it did not shatter. But that was a side thought as her hair extended from her head and started to levitate in the air. With a whoosh of air, her hair shot outwards, wrapping itself around every creature in the bar. Sounds of panic, surprise, and even anger filled the bar as the hair moved around. Tables and chairs scratched the floor but soon quieted down as her hair finished restraining the entire room.

The newcomers to the bar remained unrestrained, however, but their faces seemed to show shock and fear.

The one with the golden sunglasses twitched but spoke in a cool voice, “Whoa. Eld? What’s going on?”

Fluttershy wasn’t able to respond. But rather she climbed up and over the bar with smooth gliding steps. Her eyes never leaving the pony in front of her. In the sunglasses, she was able to answer previous questions.

She did look different. She looked like the pony she had contained. The horn, light grey coat, and short dark brown hair were distorted in the sunglasses but wasn’t impossible to discern. Though the hair seemed to be twitching and seemed more like a fluid rather than a solid object. Hundreds of tiny pink strands were coming out of the broken hologram, but vanished a second later. She watched the horn on her head retreat into her head, and felt relief as the feeling in her wings returned. Then she watched with a mixture of awe, and dread as she watched her coat change back to the butter-yellow she was fond of.

She was still walking towards the pony with the sunglasses when the others stepped in front of her. Though her pace didn’t even slow as more strands picked them up and moved them out of the way. When she finally stopped walking, she was mere steps away from the pony with the sunglasses.

“It took you long enough,” Noah said, revealing his presence. He too was unrestrained as he took steps towards the golden glasses pony, “You’re 5 minutes late.”

“Oi. You can wait,” The pony said, in a cocky accent that was hinted with a little fear, “You. What did you do with Eld?” He said, turning back to Fluttershy. Though she remained mute, despite the glare she was receiving. Though she was petrified. Had she had control of herself she’d probably be curling into a ball or running away.

“Hey! I’m talking to you! What did you do with him?!” He said, pulling a simple knife from his coat with skill only experience could provide. Quickly, he placed the blade on her throat, making Fluttershy’s fear jump in intensity.

“That won’t hurt her,” Noah said again but was quickly shushed.

“Shush! I said I’d deal with you later.”

Noah rolled his eyes, “Release Containment section #1, keep him held though.”

Fluttershy blinked and took a step back. Her chest hissed and snapped open. A few hairs then reached down and pulled a dark grey orb from the indents in her chest. With a quick hum of energy, the hairs glowed stark light blue and pulled the orb outwards into the shape of a pony. The bartender quickly appeared, breathing heavily.

“Eld! You alright?” the pony said, relief filling his voice.

“He’s fine,” Noah said with an air of annoyance.

The pony growled and turned to him, turning his blade towards him with a flick of his hoof, “I said—”

Snap!

The blade vanished in a teleportation spell with a red flash. Noah’s frown was prominent on his face as he displayed his annoyance, “She is with me. Any business you have with her, you have with me.”

“So you told her to foal-nap Eld?” He accused, quickly recovering from the shock of losing his blade.

“Yes, to get the chance to talk to you,” Noah said with venom, “And if you do not shut up, I’ll have her permanently shut up your friend.”

Fluttershy’s leg clicked and she felt it shoot upwards. Her hair holding Eld up also went down. With the two movements, the transparent blue blade was hovering a centimeter from the unicorn’s neck.

The pony frowned, his sunglasses moving with him as he twitched with anger, “And what do you want to talk about?”

“Your amulet.”

“Sorry, buddy, elaborate setup and all but it’s not for sale.” He said an annoyed look on his muzzle.

“I do not want to buy it. I wish to exchange it.”

“That’s still buying, in a sense.”

Noah shrugged, “Sure. Though this is a price you can’t refuse. Eld for the amulet.”

The pony paled, “What?!”

“Yes, you heard me. I’d just take it from you but there are rumors of enchantments that would destroy it.”

“You heard right,” The pony scoffed.

“And because of your attitude, you’ve got three minutes to decide.”

“Oh come on! It’s a family heirloom!”

“I don’t care what the purpose of the gem originally was. Its structure will hold energy quite nicely.”

“The gem is replaceable,” the pony said quickly, “Would you be okay if I give you the gem? And I keep the amulet? My father would kill me.”

Noah gave him a contemplating look, “Your father is dead.”

The pony smiled, it was a sad smile, “Yes. I don’t care if he’s in the afterlife or the mortal realm, he’d find a way to punish me for losing the piece.”

Noah shrugged, “Sure. Give the amulet to her and she can remove the gem.”

The pony frowned but did what he was told and took the amulet off his neck. Quickly he proffered it to the yellow pegasus who didn’t respond.

“Remove the gem in place for Amulet containment,” Noah said, which sparked her into motion.

She turned to the amulet with a sharp movement and accepted it in her hoofs. Her hair quickly loosened the gem from the gold piece’s hold. Then, she offered the gold piece back and watched the hair place the gem into a section in her chest. It clicked back together, sealing the gem into her being.

The pony gulped, “Creepy. What is she?” He asked accepting the rest of the amulet.

Noah smiled, giving Fluttershy a thoughtful look, “She is a perfect collimation between pony and electro magical devices. A perfect tool. A perfect assistant.”

Eld frowned, still maintained in the air but said nothing.

The pony with the amulet though looked worried, “Yo Eld! What’s the matter? You’re turning pale!”

The elderly pony tried to point to something, but the hair locked him in place. A pained expression was now growing on the pony’s face.

“YO! What did you do to Eld?!” The pony shouted angrily.

Noah frowned, unconcerned, “Did the pony receive any injuries during containment?”

Fluttershy shook her head, “No. Mild trip was employed.”

“That’s probably what did it! The last time he tripped he broke rib!!” The pony hotly replied, not bothering to put the amulet back on.

Noah shrugged, “Since you were compliant, I’ll allow her to fix your friend. Whatever happened…”

“What? Fix? He’s not like her. He can’t just be, “fixed!” We need to get him to the hospital!”

“That won’t be necessary,” Noah said carelessly. He turned to Fluttershy, “Return me to the base then heal, “Eld.” Once completed, let everypony go and return back to base.”

“What? Are you eve—” The pony started, but stopped when Fluttershy felt a ring of skin disappear from her midsection. Something spun to life and Noah vanished in a familiar flash of light. Then, the spinning motion stopped and she felt her skin return its sense of touch.

The pony didn’t bother continuing his sentence but stood staring at where Noah had been. Then he turned his awful gaze to Fluttershy. It was full of fear. Not just fear, but primal fear. Shock seemed to anchor his legs to the floor though Fluttershy could plainly see he wanted to get away as far as possible.

Was this how, quote on quote, “monsters,” felt? Their bodies made up of, “horrifying” combinations of different body types, only drawing the stares of horror to them from other creatures?

She contemplated that as she watched Healing mode appear in small text in her vision.

Booting MMO in separate image for injury diagnosis.

Was she a monster? A freak of nature?

MMO booted successful. Beginning diagnosis…

Fluttershy watched with a hollow heart as her hair moved Eld into her direct field of view. What were the other ponies around her thinking? Being suspended in tiny strands of pink hair? What did they think of her?

She wanted to look around and see the facial expressions. But was glad her vision was locked forward. She was curious, yes, but was afraid to see the results.

Minor shoulder dislocation in the forward left shoulder. Repairing…

Fluttershy felt her neck open with a few clicks, making the free pony jump. From it came the little disk which was placed on Eld’s neck. She felt her right leg vanish into her shoulder and felt the Medical leg come into existence. It filled her with a little joy. Despite being a machine with powerful destructive power. She was also blessed with a similarly powerful healing power. She smiled, barely registering the facial expression appear on her face. Her leg then glowed a light blue and gained an aura on the end of her hoof. The hoof was applied to the pony’s left shoulder, where Fluttershy felt a sense of touch pierce the pony’s skin. Though, it wasn’t piercing in the sense of a needle, rather sound. This touch she couldn’t feel as well as the magnetic limbs but could feel it moving through something as she would through honey. It pushed harder on something, till she felt her leg twitch as something below it moved.

Immediately she saw Eld’s face dissolve into relief, “Thank you,” He said, as she felt the disk get pulled away back into her neck.

Patient healed. Stopping MMO…

Fluttershy frowned, feeling her hair retreat back to head and dropping everything it held. Why would he say thanks? “I caused it…” She muttered. Surprise emerged in her face as she realized she could talk.

Eld chuckled, “Sure, but you’ve rectified your error. Still noble! Though you can better use your abilities in a different crowd.”

“I wish I had a choice…” She muttered before she once again felt the ring of numbness appear around her barrel. It spun and soon she vanished in a flash of light. The pony’s she left behind feeling an odd sense of compassion, worry, and awe.

Hieroglyphs

Author's Note

Okay. This chapter was a tad harder to write. I had to get some explaining out of the way as well as starting certain threads but I hope its not too boring...
I do also have to apologize as the chapters are, less frequent. Though I hope y'all will bear with me. :twilightsmile:
But I'm really excited to introduce the next chapter. It ought to be more exciting than this one. I hope. We'll see. :twilightsheepish:
Anyway, thanks for giving my story a chance! :pinkiehappy:
As always: I do not own My Little Pony nor the characters contained with in. They belong to Hasbro and their respective companies.

Hieroglyphs

“Alright, your device can see quantum fluctuations. But how do we tell the difference between Fluttershy’s dimensional connector’s fluctuations and naturally existing ones?” Twilight was talking, asking a question to the light blue pegasus.

“That’s why we need a lot of readings. We can’t get close enough to negate that interference. We’ll need to take a sample of the fluctuations in the area to calculate the actual fluctuations we are after,” The pegasus replied.

“Sure, but that’s another scanner! Won’t we run out of power? We already have so little space to work with…” Twilight responded.

Rarity smiled, looking at the dress she had slaved over for the last few months. It was a beautiful white and blue dress. While it may have the resemblance of a fancy wedding dress, the ruffles along the hem suggesting that, it wasn’t built for such an occasion. Though the ruffles hid ribbons of blue fabric that were only visible when she was in motion. The seam between the hem and the bodice was flawless, something that took her some time to accomplish, so it seemed like a single piece. The neckline wasn’t as well attached to the bodice as the hem but that was intentional. The seam was visible but in the form of a stark collar that she tried to portray a sense of elegance a peytral would without the heavy piece of metal. Its folds and patterns of lace conveyed it pretty well in her mind. Though it was made out of a different material than the base, that too was intentional.

The base material of the dress was silk. Which gave the dress a smooth elegant finish. Along that gleam was sections of white satin that didn’t have nearly as much gloss. But if one were to follow the pattern, an experienced eye could see an illusion of armor. This one took some doing, and some chats with the Wonderbolts, day and night guard, and even Shining offered some input. While she got advice for the full armor, she only put the illusion on the bodice and the sleeves. The bodice remained mostly white, though the sleeves had a splash of blue running from the fetlock, up to the shoulder, and then ran along the bodice to form an open wing. It got a little covered up by the armor, but not enough to damper either of the illusions she was trying to create.

The front of the dress she tampered with the illusion a bit. Rather than a plain pattern of lace attempting to mimic armor, she morphed the armor to form a large heart. It wasn’t very prominent or puffed out but rather laid like an etching on metal. The flat lace conveying a 3D shape without restricting the motion of her front legs.

She called it the Battle swan. She was also very proud of it. She was also prepared to fully take it apart to implement whatever device Glyph and Twilight were working on. She sighed, imagining her hair all done with the blue flower nocked next to her ear. Pinkie had even offered to make her mane resemble a swan. While she allowed Pinkie to let her see it in her mane, she decided it was a little too much. She rather just stick to the large bun she had been planning.

Her face quickly adopted a thinking pose, “Twilight. I suppose we could put something in my hair if necessary.”

Glyph quickly shook her head, “No, trust me. This thing spins. We’ll have a protective cover for the dress, but hair is a whole other mess.”

Rarity frowned, remembering her hair getting caught in a spinning apparatus before, “Ah yes. That is terribly unpleasant.”

Glyph nodded, “Yeah. Motors and hair do not mix.”

Twilight frowned and Rarity could see curiosity forming on her face.

Rarity smiled, “You remember when I tried to curl your hair?”

The alicorn nodded.

“Now imagine that twisting not stopping, and starting to tug on your scalp,” Rarity said with a painful smile.

Twilight’s expression morphed to a simulation of pain, “Oh.”

“Yeah. It’s more painful in experience,” Glyph said putting a hoof to her hair.

Twilight nodded, “Alright, good to know.”

“But with the dress, just tell me where you need room and I can make room.” Rarity said.

Glyph shook her head, “No that’s not the problem. I don’t want to make something that relies on the dress for support. If you jump or do something vigorous then it might rip your dress.”

Rarity frowned with that image.

Glyph nodded, “So I say we make something that goes under the dress to hold the equipment. That way it’s anchored to you rather than the dress.” She then walked over to the harness’s desk and pulled a little device off the desk. This item was already revealed to Rarity. It was the scanner device Glyph had mentioned at the throne room. It wrapped around one ear and hung on the side of the skull. When activated, it deployed a little green glass that went in front of the eye. Or so she was told.

“Could you put this on and jump in the harness?” Glyph asked, looking at the white unicorn. She held out the device which Rarity levitated to her.

She gently lifted it to her head where she placed the top spiral around her ear. Letting the device rest on her head, she felt its weight settle on the top. She felt it put a tad bit of pressure along the side of her head but it was very subtle. Though the device seemed to weigh as much as a large crown it wasn’t too bad to wear. She’d worn much heavier adornments. She nodded, feeling the device cling to her head though it shook slightly.

She looked at Glyph, “Is there a way to tighten it a bit?”

Glyph nodded and reached to the top to fiddle with the spring-like apparatus. After a few moments of fiddling, Rarity felt the band shrink effectively stiffening its grip.

“Thank you,” She said, giving her head a small shake to test its firmness. She then turned to the harness and paused. She shook off the fear since Twilight and Pinkie had gotten into the machine without harm. She’d be no different.

So she walked into the territory of the rings and put her hooves into the little rings on the device. They tightened and soon she was surrounded by spinning rings with a device laying on her back. Though part of the device that was on her neck extended a piece out to the device on her head. It clicked, then the rectangle snapped upwards, covering her eye. Though the action made her flinch, it didn’t scare her. Glyph had already told her about the little device.

Though she didn’t say what she’d see through it. It was a green material probably made of glass or some other composite she’d had no experience with. Though, somehow there was light trapped inside the thin pane. It formed itself into words that made short sentences before zooming upwards beyond the material. Then, a small reticle filled the pane. It was aimed at Glyph with how she was looking. The pony was outlined in red, but words were flashing below the reticle.

No Quantum fluctuations detected.

Error! No storage medium installed. Please install a usable medium to store scan data.

“Uh, it needs a storage medium?” Rarity said hesitantly, wondering what a medium was. She was imagining a box for electricity to go into. That would be very hard to implement into her dress.

Glyph nodded, “We can get to that later,” She said but her attention was aimed towards the monitors. Each had pictures and icons that were foreign to her. She saw things that looked like folders. A plethora of pictures lumped together served some purpose. And lots of lines of writing. Lots.

“What’s a storage medium?” Twilight asked, taking a step towards the monitors.

Though as Rarity instinctively turned to Twilight, she got highlighted in red but new words formed along the bottom of her vision.

Quantum resonance detected!

Error! Unable to store scan data because of incorrect Storage medium set up. Please install an appropriate Storage medium to continue.

“Uh, Glyph?” Rarity as hesitantly.

“Yeah?” The blue pegasus responded, still typing away.

“The scanner is detecting a Quantum resonance on Twilight.”

That got the pony to pause, then slowly turn to Rarity, “Is Twilight highlighted in red?”

Rarity nodded.

“Does that mean I am part machine?!” Twilight asked with both annoyance and fear.

Glyph shook her head rapidly, “No. The harness would have been able to detect such devices. It didn’t see any.”

Twilight seemed unconvinced, “Then why are there quantum fluctuations around me?! We’ve only seen that in Electromagical devices, right?”

Glyph shrugged, “Yes you are correct. But I also have very limited data on Alicorns. Maybe you have a natural one.”

Twilight frowned, calming a bit, “Yeah, I suppose.”

“There’s also your new power form remember?” Rarity said, “Perhaps it’s from that?”

Glyph nodded, “True. All that power has to come from somewhere. Maybe it's coming from the quantum realm? Parallel dimensions?”

Twilight frowned, “I hope not. I don’t want to steal power from other me’s.”

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be another you,” Glyph said, turning back to the computer, “A parallel dimension is just a dimension that runs alongside our own, thence the name. You could just be pulling power from a dimension void of life and filled to the brim with unending energy.”

Twilight shrugged and nodded, “Yeah, I suppose. Later, could you help me figure out where it comes from? Such knowledge may give me insight into where my new abilities come from.”

“Sure.”

Rarity wasn’t sure what to say. A dimension filled with energy? And nothing to use that energy?

“Surely such a, dimension,” Rarity said slowly, “Wouldn’t have nothing to use such an energy pool. I mean, even lightning comes from clouds. Which are built by other creatures. Sure, it doesn’t have to be ponies or even a living creature. But if it was just electricity, surely it wouldn’t be the only thing? It’d have to come from something. Something that isn’t made up of energy?”

Glyph smiled, “Technically, our dimension is filled with energy. Matter is merely massive batteries for energy. Break the atom and you get a massive explosion. Break it calmly, and methodically, you get nuclear energy. But then you have to deal with radiation.” She waved her hoof at that, displaying her distaste, “That stuff will stay around for years. Probably be as old as Celestia. Crazy deadly too. Well, sort of.”

“Oh.” Rarity said, feeling very different about the world around her.

“Yeah, that’s why we use much cleaner sources of energy. Magic makes solar panels much more effective; it can also make certain objects frictionless so wind energy is much more effective. Damns are also very good at supplying power. And such mechanics provide us with enough power to run our cities and such. We really don’t need more power than a nuclear reactor would provide. It would just be more annoying to deal with the radiation and potential breakdowns. Which could cause damage that would last long enough to cripple cities for generations. Though,” She paused, “We really haven’t done too much with the way of radiation. Maybe there is a spell that could erase it? Maybe accelerate the half-life of an atom? Without the dangers of course.”

Twilight grinned, “Yeah, technically there is but it's quite a difficult spell. It’s much easier to block it rather than stop it at the source. That’s why we have X-ray technology! Its radiation in small bursts to unveil broken bones without breaking the skin!”

“Yep! Though I’ve figured out that our cutie mark energy will form different patterns in different parts of the body. You can then make that energy glow to use as an x-ray.”

“Really?!” Twilight said with elation, “Well, actually that makes sense since there is a spell that can highlight your bones.”

“True,” Glyph replied, moving the little disks on the desk to create more words on the screen, “But if the cuite mark energy is hit with a certain level of separated cuite mark energy, visible patterns will form. Using that you can essentially map out more than bones! Like Organs!”

“Really?”

“Though again, it uses a lot of power to function. Harnessing cutie mark energy is easy. Using it is the power-hungry part.”

“But that’s not a problem with your cutie mark generator right?” Twilight said with an eagerness.

Glyph smiled, “Nope, not at all. Here, let me show you after the firmware is updated.”

The rings spinning around Rarity slowed when Glyph hit a button on her console. Once they fully stopped, she felt the rings around her hooves loosen, the back piece lift from her back, and the little scanner retreat out of her vision. She nodded and stepped out of the device to follow the pegasus to the back of the room. Twilight followed suit.

When the group had assembled next to the pegasus she tapped the floor with her metal leg. The section of the floor clicked and a large circular hole appeared on the floor. It lowered slowly into the floor till it stopped with a loud thunk. Glyph motioned to follow as she jumped into the dark room below. Rarity followed and found a large drop. It wasn’t too large of a drop to alarm her. Such heights had been conquered on her multiple adventures. She wasn’t worried about getting up either as Twilight could just teleport her up. So she focused on the dimly lit room around her.

It was dark, but not dark enough to where she couldn’t see. Low-level lights kept the made the room maneuverable but not light enough to make everything visible. Though she could see several thousand wires running through the ceiling. Each wire was neatly arranged into rows with its brothers and sisters. Large wires the thickness of her hoof ran along with the little ones that were the size of a hair. Hundreds of different sizes were present and she’d go insane trying to understand where they all led.

Though many of the thicker wires seemed to run out from large crystals on the ground. They seemed to outline the edges of a path towards a large device.

Glyph started to walk towards the device while Rarity took a moment to look at it. It was like a large fridge. A very large one that was shaped more like a cylinder. On the front of the cylinder was a large porthole that contained blackness behind it. Several wires the width of her barrel extended out from the bottom like a resting octopus, each one running away towards the crystals in front of it. Though that was the bottom portion, the top part of the cylinder was smaller in width than its neighbor. With much smaller wires coming from the top.

“This is the Cuite mark Generator Mark 3. The latest edition of cuite mark magic to pure electrical energy,” Glyph said, gesturing to it proudly.

Twilight nodded and took careful steps, “It's not that big. I was expecting it to be massive!”

Glyph nodded, “What it doesn’t make up for in size, it makes up for in weight,” She frowned, “It's probably as heavy as this house…”

Twilight’s eyes widened along with Rarity’s, “Really?”

Glyph nodded, “Indeed. That’s why it's really hard to move around. Its core needs heavy metals and the cuite mark energy needs to be contained without using power so elements that can block it have to make up the casing.”

“And the only elements that can naturally block raw cuite mark energy are extremely heavy,” Twilight said with a nod.

“Yep. Though the crystalline generation rings are made up of crystal and have elements built into their formations. Like gold, copper, etc. Each ring is the size of a small hula-hoop yet weighs as much as a loaded wagon. But it's necessary to convert the cuite mark energy into usable electricity.”

Twilight smiled, “I’d love to get a rundown on how it works but we really ought to get back to the outfit,” She paused, “Though, what are the crystals for?”

Glyph smiled, “I wanted to show you for the outfit.” She walked towards the large generator, causing a panel to light up with words and symbols.

She reached to the side of the panel and grabbed a small harness-looking device. It looked like a large rock climbing harness with several large wires coming out of it. Rarity frowned. It was all black.

Though Glyph had no issues placing the harness on her shoulders and threading her wings between the gaps. Though two large net-looking disks were placed on her flank, just above either side of her cuite mark.

“This is the connector to the pony that would supply the generator. Simply, it acts as a net to the cuite mark energy a pony would naturally emit. You can also directly feed the pony’s energy into the generator for more power but that would require another device.”

“Do you think Fluttershy has such a device?” Twilight asked with a frown.

Glyph nodded, “It’s probable.”

She then reached over to the panel and tapped its surface. The harness Glyph was wearing suddenly hummed to life and the nets on her cuite marks became obscured as inner components began to spin. A light pink light began to spill out from the nets and the wires. It followed the wires along a dotted line that revealed itself, showing the energy rushing to the generator. Once it had entered through the cables in the top, the whole room filled with loud thrum that echoed throughout the walls. The porthole filled with the light pink light and stayed that way for several seconds. Then, the white slowly turned white and the six crystals began to glow. Their glow intensified until Rarity could see the room in more detail.

The generator slowly lowered its voice till the room became silent once more. Though the crystals remained glowing. Their purple color tinging the whole room in purple light.

“And that’s how it works!” Glyph said with a triumphant smile, “Now we just need to do something similar with the scanning device.”

Twilight nodded, “Okay, but what are these crystals for? Do you want to include them in the design?”

Glyph nodded, “Those are batteries. They store massive amounts of electricity. The only downside is their unique glow. They slowly lose their power over time even if they are shielded.”

“How big of a gem would I need to fit in the dress?” Rarity asked with a frown. The gem could comfortably fit half her body inside. Trying to fit that into a dress was simply not going to work. Unless she wanted to roll everywhere.

“Each of these gems could run the entirety of Manhatten, on maximum load, for a day. We’ll only need a crystal the size of an earring gem.” Glyph replied.

Twilight looked at the pony and the gem, “Wait, there is that much power inside these things?”

Glyph nodded, “Yeah.”

“Why aren’t we using them? Such technology would be instrumental in solving energy issues there! Wait, can this stuff make cords?”

Glyph nodded with a smile, “Yeah. The reason is that my technology has many corporations’ attention. Like the Silver Swords? Such energy storage would make them a huge problem to society.”

Twilight frowned, “I understand I suppose. Though, if the times were right, would you share your technology?”

Glyph nodded, “Of course! I’m just scared my technology would be used to make another Flutterbyte situation. Though if the time were to arise, I’d share this tech in a heartbeat.”

Twilight nodded with a smile, “Good.”

Rarity shared the smile but changed the conversation, “Alright, this dress? What needs to be added?”

Glyph pointed to the nets on her flank, “These. These with catch the cutie mark energy and channel it to converters which the scanning device then could use.”

“May I take a look?”

Glyph nodded, allowing the unicorn to walk over.

Rarity then examined the little disks in more detail. It was like a hollow pancake with a little spinning piece in the center. A very flat fan of sorts. She lifted it to see the thickness of the piece before setting it down.

“So, here’s what I’m thinking,” Rarity said after a moment of pondering, “I can make a jumpsuit of sorts that those things can be sewn into. Everything should fit under the dress provided it's towards my flank as the ruffles would hide them pretty well. Then you could also sew in wires along this jumpsuit to wherever you needed. My only concern at those crystals. It might need a housing to keep them in place. Fabric style attaching may not hold them for very long and I doubt glue would work.”

Glyph nodded, “Yeah. If they were to come loose it would likely break the system. Though I have an idea. Have you ever worn a horn adornment?”

Rarity frowned, “On occasion, though not very often.”

“Well, I can make a crystal one, which we could then use to…” Glyph’s eyes lit up, “Oh! That would work much better!”

“What will work better?” Rarity asked.

“I forgot you’re a unicorn!” Glyph said excitedly.

“Yeah?” Rarity said giving the pegasus an odd look.

“Your horn will work as a medium! We might be able to completely skip the transfusion process!” Glyph frowned as she got a confused look and a curious look, “Uh, remember how I said that cuite mark energy takes a while to infiltrate materials? Like being able to feel a prosthetic leg?”

The others nodded.

“It’s the same here. You have to essentially boil it down to a level that the reactor can accept.”

“Reactor? Wait, you’re not planning on putting that into my dress?” Rarity asked with concern, pointing to the Cuite Mark generator.

Glyph shook her head, “Oh no. We could never do that. No, we are going to make a little cousin of it. It’s a small device, relatively speaking, that can turn cuite mark magic directly into electricity. It's not nearly as efficient as the Cutie mark generator but it’ll work for this situation.”

“Okay,” Rarity said cautiously, “So I just need to wear an adornment?”

Glyph teeter tottered her head, “Yea but that’s not the only thing. You will need to carry the control module, power clasp, and controlling CPU. We also will have to work on your hair to be able to hide the scanner.”

“Oh,” Rarity said ruffling her hair subconsciously with a small smile, “So we still have a lot to do?”

“Yeah,” Glyph nodded, taking off the harness, “Though not nearly as much as we would have had to do. With my original setup, we would have had to cover you in electronics!”

“Really?” Twilight asked as Rarity tried to visualize herself covered in metal.

“Oh yeah,” Glyph replied, “There are the collection nets for the cuite mark, then the mag-icity matrix, and then it can go into the power clasp which in turn would power the CPU, module, and scanner,” She lifted the harness and pointed to the net device that was over her cuite mark, “This is the collection net. You would have needed two of them to collect enough residual energy to power the device.”

“But a unicorn’s horn already has a major magic line through it so you wouldn’t need to siphon energy naturally given off,” Twilight said with a grin only the scientifically inclined could understand.

Glyph smiled, “You got it.”

Twilight nodded but thoughtfully frowned, “Though if you disrupt that flow the unicorn loses their ability to do magic,” She nodded, “That’s probably how Flutterbyte was blocking our magic earlier with her hair,” She shook her head, “Though I mean to say is: wouldn’t Rarity lose her magic when the scanner is equipped?”

Glyph frowned and nodded a second later, “Technically yes…”

Rarity mimicked the frown, “That might be a problem. If I’m trying to act on the down-low then a unicorn not using her magic might be a dead giveaway.”

Glyph shrugged, “I say we go for it and try to make an on and off switch so Rarity can use her magic. It’s a much easier way to power the scanner.”

Twilight nodded.

Rarity nodded as well, “I’ve learned a thing or two from AJ and Pinkie about non-magic manipulation. I’ll live.”

Glyph smiled and placed the harness on the hook it had come from, “Alright, let's head back up and get this project started.”

Rarity looked behind her to the exit finding it out of her reach, “Twilight dear? Could I get a lift?”

Twilight nodded and Rarity felt a familiar pressure as her friend’s magic encompassed her from all sides. It gently lifted her up through the hole in the floor and she followed soon after.

“Thanks darling,” Rarity said with a smile and got a gentle nod in reply.

Glyph stayed in the hole for a moment to tap the floor once more with her metal leg. Another click echoed through the little room as the floor rose to become a single floor once more.

“Okay, let’s do a little test first,” Glyph said walking over to where they had found her earlier that day. It was the table next to the device that made the sparking noises.

“What is that device? The one that was sparking earlier?” Rarity asked as she followed the pony to the table.

Glyph followed her gaze, “Oh the welding station? That’s a device to make two pieces of metal, one. It’s useful for repairing or making larger plates with smaller ones. It can also solder.”

“Solder?”

Twilight perked up, “It’s a process where you join two metal points together to form a bridge that electricity can flow through.”

“So like welding?” Rarity asked, looking at the alicorn.

“I suppose,” Glyph responded, “Just in a lower energy environment. You’ll just get a burn from a soldering pencil, though a welder will leave a burning gash.”

Rarity frowned, “Do you know by personal experience?”

Glyph shook her head, “No I’ve only seen it. It wasn’t pretty…”

Twilight nodded, “I can assume. That thing needs to get extremely hot. Pony doesn’t really stand much of a chance.”

“Yeah,” Glyph said a little distracted as she fiddled with some buttons on her leg, “Alright. Rarity would you stand close?” She asked as she pulled a cable from underneath the table. It looked like a large flat rectangle with the cords coming out of one end and several hundred little circles of exposed metal on the other. Though Rarity was a tad concerned about what it was for, it melted when she watched the pegasus plug the device into her leg. It beeped twice.

“Right, what would you like me to do now?” Rarity asked.

“Just sit down for me,” Glyph said, reaching under her leg to pull another small device out of her leg. This one was a small ring that was connected to a thin but sturdy cable.

Rarity nodded and sat down, allowing the pegasus to place the device around her horn. It settled down till it reached her forehead.

“Okay, just hold still the best you can,” Glyph looking at her leg with some concentration. It clicked and the frog and sole retreated inward on the leg. It didn’t go too far as it was still visible. Though a light blue glow obscured it soon after.

Two little prongs emerged from the wall of the metal hoof. Each had a glowing blue tip. And looked rather sharp.

“Glyph. What are you doing?” Rarity said firmly.

Glyph smiled reassuringly but Rarity could feel the sadness that was coming from the pony. Though she didn’t immediately reply. Rather she sat close to Rarity and lifted her biological leg. She brought her metal one close and adopted a face of concentration.

Her leg began to hum and the two prongs reached for each other but didn’t touch. From that point spawned a little bit of crystal. Carefully, and expertly, she created more crystal along her leg. Till there was a little lizard approximation on her blue coat. She showed her leg with a little bit of pride on her face.

“This device creates crystal. Well, it's not true crystals since those are held together by covalent bonds and such. This is just cutie mark magic.” Glyph said with a smile.

“May I take a closer look?” Twilight asked. Rarity smiled as she heard her friend’s eagerness.

Rarity watched as Glyph nodded and pulled it off her leg. She then proffered it towards the Princess. It glowed purple and quickly brought to the alicorn’s scrutiny.

Rarity’s smile grew but faded a touch when she looked a Glyph, “Didn’t that hurt? I can only imagine pulling my coat out of a chunk of crystal.”

Glyph chuckled, “No, your cutie mark magic is a natural repellant to this stuff. It's not a super-strong repulsion but it's enough to make sure the coat doesn’t get stuck in it. Though,” Glyph said strongly, her eyes remembering an old pain, “It’s a whole other story for your mane. Ugh…”

“What do you mean?”

“Well if you are creating the crystal and your hair gets in the formation, you have to break the crystal to get it out.”

“That sounds like a pain,” Rarity replied.

Glyph nodded, “Not really? I mean it’s more frustrating more than anything.”

Rarity nodded understanding, “It doesn’t take too much effort, but you’ve got to start over. Same way with dyeing clothing. You mess up the color and it’s a process to get it out. It’s not too difficult with magic but you’ve got to scrap your color bath completely.”

Glyph nodded.

Rarity smiled, “Well now that you’ve shown me that device of yours is not Fluttershy’s plasma launcher, feel free to do what you were going to do.”

Glyph nodded with a sad smile, “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t think that my leg looked like the DPM.” She said as she put her normal hoof into the side of her artificial fetlock. It clicked as she rotated her hoof and Rarity saw the blue glow fade to white.

“The DPM? That’s what it’s called?” Rarity asked, holding still as the pegasus began to cover her horn in a white crystal. Its surface glowed ever so gently.

“Defensive Plasma Manipulator,” Glyph replied, wrapping the horn in a candy cane pattern.

“Ah that’s right, you’ve said that. I’m sorry,” Rarity replied. Her horn was completely covered but it didn’t alarm her. She rather watched in interest as the pony began to make a small bird head at the top of the crystal cover.

“Don’t worry about it. There are so many acronyms it's hard to remember them all,” Glyph said, a hint of a smile emerging from her focus.

“Oh tell me about it,” Rarity replied with a smile. Many such acronyms existed in the fashion industry. Though with time they became natural.

The two prongs on Glyph hoof separated and created a line of crystal in between them. Glyph placed that line along Rarity’s horn and began to pull away. A sheet of crystal began to emerge, slowly creating a wing. The prongs slowly reached for each other as Glyph pulled the leg away, gently tampering the edge to a large triangle.

Rarity admired the ability to create such a piece. Sure, it wasn’t very detailed. She couldn’t see feathers along the assumed wing, nor could she see any facial features along its face. Though its head shape and beak were plenty enough to see a bird-style adornment on her horn. And it was created in such little time.

Glyph didn’t say anything as she created the other side’s wing. Though when she was done, she plucked it off of Rarity’s forehead and proffered it to her.

“Now I can do much, much better. I’m very proud of my crystal sculptures,” Glyph said with a smile full of pride, “But that’s a base. We can work with that to power the scanner. It’ll be a lot easier if we don’t have to use the nets.”

Rarity nodded, still admiring the smooth crystal, “This is quite interesting. Though I must ask, you like birds a lot, don’t you?”

Glyph gave her a confused look, “What do you mean? You called your dress the Battle Swan, right? I thought a swan-style adornment would fit pretty well.

Rarity paused a moment looking at the crystal, “Oh that makes sense. Sorry,”

Glyph shook her head, “Don’t worry about it. I can understand the confusion. My logo is based off a silver bird anyway…”

“Even though your cutie mark is a wrench and a gear,” Rarity replied with a smile.

Glyph shrugged, “The ponies I gave the tech to really liked my image on a bird. So, it became a silver bird,”

“Holding a wrench right? Flying upwards?” Rarity said admiring the crystal.

Glyph gave her a questioning look, “How do you know that?”

“I saw your inscription on Fluttershy’s eye when it was broken. Though it makes sense as you made it right?”

Glyph frowned, “Not really,” her frown morphed into a thinking face, “Though I put my inscription in all my plans. So, you could get the symbol if you followed them to the letter.”

“Which means Noah isn’t modifying your plans in the slightest,” Twilight perked up, looking up from the crude crystal lizard.

“That info may come in handy. The software was pretty much the same so I’m assuming he just got my plans he wanted and stuffed them into Fluttershy.”

Twilight nodded, “Though we still don’t know the extent of Fluttershy’s gadgets. Noah could create more as you said he was your partner.”

Glyph nodded, “Agreed.”

Rarity frowned, unsure how to continue, “Uh, is this fragile?”

Glyph shook her head, “Not in the slightest. Throw it on the ground, as hard as you can.”

Rarity gave the pony an incredulous look, “Okay?”

She then raised the little crystal bird high and brought it down as hard as she could. Her brain reminded her of the sharp corners on the wings and instinctively flinched.

Though, unlike her expectation, it didn’t bounce. It merely landed on the floor with a thud and stayed there. She looked closer, worried she had buried the sharp edges into the floor but found the sharp edges weren’t.

“Huh? I know crystals don’t bounce but they bounce a little,” Rarity said picking up the piece once more.

Glyph smiled, her pride returning, “That’s because it can absorb energy. Tons of it. You won’t be able to break it even if you dropped it from the outer atmosphere. It’d survive re-entry as well.”

“Wait,” Twilight said, her face serious, “This is the same stuff that Celestia was trapped in. Only, the other stuff was golden,” She looked between the light blue lizard and the white bird, “And I can see it can change colors.”

“Trapped? What do you mean?” Glyph asked with curiosity.

“Well,” she paused, “Fluttershy launched a black rocket thing that when it hit Celestia; she was enveloped in a golden crystal and brought to the ground. It was also used on me.”

Glyph’s eyes lit up, “Wait right there.” She rushed off but the cable on Rarity’s forehead was still connected to her leg. Though it didn’t seem she cared as it was pulled right out of her leg.

“Uh, Glyph?” Rarity said making eye contact with the pegasus and then looking at the wire dangling between her eyes.

“Could you just put it on the table?” Glyph asked apologetically.

Rarity nodded and levitated it off her forehead.

Glyph disappeared by the shelves in the corner of the room. The two magic users heard metal and shuffling of materials in great quantities before the pegasus returned. Though when she did, the two adopted faces of worry and concern.

Glyph’s face had a smile of pride that washed away the moment she looked at the others, “Oh,” She said, “Well, at least I know I grabbed the right thing…”

Twilight nodded as Rarity looked at the device Glyph was holding with her metal leg.

It was the black missile that she had seen used on Twilight and Celestia. Its smooth black surface told of a very slick one. Its domed head paired sharply with its little air stabilization fins. Though now that it wasn’t moving, she could make out a silver ring in the case just near the top.

“What did Noah do with this now?” Glyph said glumly.

Twilight frowned, “Well, why don’t you tell us what it is?”

Glyph’s smile partly returned, “Well, it’s a fall recovery device.”

“FRD?” Rarity asked with a smile.

That got the pony to smile more, “I suppose. Though I normally just call it a Fall recovery device. It’s designed to be launched at a falling victim and encases them in crystal,” Glyph put a hoof on the top and swiveled it up. She then pulled out a small rectangle that snapped out into a mask.

“Wait, what’s the mask for then?” Twilight asked, looking closing at the device.

Glyph nodded, “Yeah. It’s for oxygen. You can’t breathe in the crystal so it’s equipped with an oxygen tank that will supply the user with enough oxygen to reach the ground. When that happens, the missile will shatter the crystal.”

“How?” Twilight asked.

“Using sound. The crystal will reverberate fatally when exposed to a certain frequency.”

“Fatally?!” Rarity said in shock.

Twilight shook her head and grabbed her attention, “No she means for the crystal. She just means when the crystal is exposed to certain sound waves it’ll break.”

Rarity felt worry flow out like aches in a relaxing bubble bath, “Oh good.”

Glyph smiled, “Yeah sorry.”

Twilight nodded, “Well, Noah used it to bring Celestia to the ground so Flutterbyte could capture her. He also had her use it on me to sever my magic connection to the quantum portal,” Twilight frowned in frustration, “I tried to use my magic to break it, but it took all the magic I gave it!”

Glyph nodded, “This stuff is especially magic absorbent. Though, you must be careful. Add too much power and you get those crystal bombs. Remember the ones at the Crystal Empire?”

Twilight frowned, this time in concern, “Really? This stuff can be turned into explosives?”

Rarity shared the frown, feeling like she shouldn’t be holding the crystal swan. Much less have it on something that could feed it more magic.

Glyph shook her head at the concern, “Yes and no. Yes, it can be turned into a bomb after it's made but it requires a lot more energy. You can infuse its bonds with more magic as it's made and it stabilizes after it crystallizes. That’s how its explosive cousin is made. With this stuff, the energy would get trapped and bounce around it for a while. Unless you supercharge it, it would just give off the excess energy as light.”

Twilight frown, “I pumped a lot of energy into that crystal…”

Glyph shrugged, “It could be that you can’t make it into a bomb after it’s made. It’s only theoretical. I don’t try to make these bombs regularly. I’ve only used them to cause a precautionary avalanche and when I lost my leg.”

“You blew off your leg?”

Glyph shook her head with a smile, “Oh no. The joint got stabbed when I was stopping a Silver Sword’s activity. I was only packing them.”

“Oh? What happened?” Twilight paused. A frown formed on her face, and she backpedaled on her words, “Or, well. I mean if you don’t mind telling. I don’t know too much about the Silver Swords...”

Glyph shrugged and was about to talk when the door echoed with a knock.

“Come in!” Glyph said moving forward to look at the door.

It glided open to reveal Spike. He smiled, “Hey Glyph! How do you feel about food down here?”

Glyph frowned, “That’s a no, unfortunately. Let’s eat upstairs,” She turned her head to Twilight, I can answer your question up there.”

Twilight nodded and looked satisfied.

Rarity was a tad worried about learning the loss of limbs while eating but followed the group upstairs.

Once in the dining room, the group soon was seated at the table to a nice lunch prepared by Twilight’s number one assistant. It wasn’t the fanciest; simple sandwiches laid on the dishes accompanied with cucumbers and Spike’s cauliflower bites.

Glyph smiled swallowing a bite, “These bites are really good! You’ll have to give me the recipe!”

Spike smiled, “Certainly! Though you’ll have to try Twilight’s sweet potato muffins!”

Glyph smiled and looked to Twilight, “Oh really? I didn’t take you for a baker.”

Rarity chuckled, “She really isn’t but they do bake-offs with each other now and again.”

Twilight smiled, “Yeah! Baking can be a hassle at times, but it really makes a fun competition!”

“Except when the experiments get too exotic,” Spike said, a look of disgust appearing on his face.

Twilight shuddered, “Oh yeah.”

Glyph chuckled, “I know the experience. My mother was really keen on teaching me to cook. I can but electricity is more my thing.”

Twilight smiled, “I feel the same about magic but it’s good to branch out,” she said, taking a bite of her sandwich.

Glyph smiled, “True.” She took a bite of her sandwich.

It was quiet though as the group worked on their lunch. Rarity was enjoying the food but it didn’t settle well with the curiosity about Glyph’s leg. She said it had been stabbed. Such interactions rarely happened in Equestria. Were the Silver Swords still resorting to such tactics?

It made her worry. Would she have to fight the Silver Swords to save her friend?

She would of course. Fluttershy was her friend! And she was going through an experience that she could barely even dream about. Though certain precautions would have to be taken if she were to fight.

The time came as they finished their lunch. Spike went to collect the dishes, but Glyph shook her head.

“Watch,” she said with a smile. She reached the edge of the table and clicked a hidden button. The table suddenly began to whirr and they heard several mechanical clicks.

Then the dishes began to move! On their own!

Rarity wasn’t too surprised though. Her mother would use magic to clear the table all the time. Though those dishes would glow. These dishes were not as they glided along the smooth tabletop.

Each plate moved on its own accord towards Glyph. The pegasus picked up each plate and stacked them. Once she had them all in the stack, she picked them up and walked over to the sink. Rather than putting them in the sink; she placed them on the countertop next to it. She pressed a hidden button on the front of the counter. It clunked and a portion of the counter sunk downwards, taking the dishes to a hidden compartment.

Glyph smiled and returned to the table, “My mother was really impudent about me doing the dishes. I made a device to wash them pretty quickly. But let’s talk about my leg!” She said cheerfully raising the appendage, “But first I’ve got to tell you about my wing.”

“Your wing?” Twilight asked with a frown.

Glyph smiled, “Well I was born with a defective wing,” She replied, motioning to her back, “When I was young it became a burden and because it had formed improperly as an embryo, it started to grow improperly as a foal. When I was merely 3 years old, my defective wing developed cancer and had to be removed.”

Rarity frowned, “Oh my. I can only imagine the trauma! Losing your wing when you are so young…”

Glyph shrugged, “You don’t miss something you never had. At least,” She frowned, “Until you realized that you could have had it.”

Twilight frowned, looking at her own wings, “I know the feeling. I never really wanted to be able to fly. Though I can’t imagine losing the ability now.”

Glyph nodded, “Yeah. Personally, I didn’t mind not being able to fly. Though, when I entered school,” her face turned painful, “I was incredibly ridiculed. I gained a new nickname: Clip. They called me Clip because I was clipped.”

Rarity frowned.

Glyph however smiled, “Though I honestly am grateful, kinda. I hated the abuse they did, but I was turned that into strength to make my first metal wing!”

Rarity smiled, “Good on you for not letting those barbarians get you down!”

Glyph smiled, “Yeah the attention turned around quickly after that. Though I was never really a social butterfly. I tended to stick to myself. So, they started to call me Hieroglyph cause no pony could really understand me.”

“That’s much better than Clip,” Spike replied.

Glyph nodded, “Much better. Though I still had my leg back then, so it wasn’t a focus. Though I continued to work on my wing designs, getting them sturdier and faster. More accurate with my thoughts and gestures. Till I got to my current design! My most powerful and accurate model yet.”

“Though I lost my wing when I was too young to remember having it,” Glyph continued, “I lost my leg due to an infection from a stab wound.”

Rarity frowned, “A stab wound? You said it was from the Silver Swords right? Would we have to fight those, creatures?” She asked with the race-neutral word.

Glyph shared her frown, “I suppose it’s a probability. Though they really don’t expose themselves after I revealed them. They hate me,” Her face turned into a sour, hopeless expression, “That’s why my Silver birds have to be careful. I’ve lost several to the Swords.”

She pounded the table with her metal hoof, “Just because they wanted my tech! They went after them because I refused to give them my plans!!”

Twilight grabbed Glyph’s attention with a stern look, “I’m sure many more would be affected had you given them your electromagical creations.”

Glyph seemed to depress, “Sure, but it doomed several lives. My tech still bolstered their ranks and abilities. Whether I wanted it or not…”

Twilight shrugged, “I suppose. Though I’m sure if Noah didn’t blackmail you, you could have been a great help!” Though she seemed to regret her statement a moment later.

Glyph deflated, “I let him blackmail me…”

Rarity gave Twilight a small smile, then turned to Glyph, “Darling. You really need to stop beating up yourself. That’s in the past. Right now, you need to realize you’ve got friends to help you stand up! Not to mention you need to help another friend.”

Glyph scoffed, “I doubt Fluttershy would want to be my friend when I tell her I made pretty much everything that went into her?”

Twilight chuckled, “Glyph. She’d probably forgive you even if you had put it into her. As long as you don’t destroy nature, or hurt her animal friends, you can earn back her trust and friendship.”

Glyph shrugged.

“Well let’s stop dwelling on that. You were going to tell us how you lost your leg?” Rarity said, pulling the conversation back on track, “That is if you still want us to know.”

Glyph nodded, “I do. The less secrets between us the better.”

Rarity nodded, having an idea, “Well why don’t you tell us while we work? I think that may help you.”

Glyph shrugged, “Sure.”

So, Rarity led the way back to the lab. And soon she had the pegasus tinkering with an electronics board while she marked up a piece of cloth with some chalk. She wanted to indicate where the other two could place their gadgets without messing up the design of her dress.

Glyph grunted as a bolt refused to come loose, “Well, to start. I had gotten some intel that somepony was going to break into the Canterlot Vault. Its location wasn’t hidden very well at the time. With Celestia herself enchanting the vault, it was seen as impregnable. A fortress hidden in the wall of Canterlot. Though the electromagical field was blooming at that point. Many ponies were trying their hoof at it. You may know the Flim Flam brothers?”

Rarity felt her face droop at the name, and she could feel Twilight doing the same. The two had gotten better. Though they had never truly gotten away from their old habits.

“They were like me. Though, much more flamboyant and pursed money rather than helping others.” Glyph said, “Though there were others that realized such methods were capable of not only taking the pretty penny off ponies but also able to circumvent magic.”

Twilight looked interested at this, “In what way?”

Glyph smiled, “While the field wasn’t quite to that point yet, it was able to create loopholes in certain things. Take for example enchanted metal. While it blocks magic quite well, it wasn’t designed to handle corrosion by electricity.”

“Huh,” Twilight said, “So the enchanter didn’t take into account that corrosion could be accelerated by electricity as such a process would require magic. So, it would be easier to make it harder for the magic to get into the metal.”

Glyph nodded, “Exactly. Though they communicated through radio waves. So somepony like me could pick up on those waves and intercept their plans.”

Twilight frowned, “Why didn’t you tell the guards?”

Glyph shrugged unhappily but took a moment to fiddle with the piece she was working on before responding, “They didn’t believe me. They thought only Celestia herself could open the vault. They didn’t even pass on my warning.”

Twilight frowned, “Why would they do that?”

“Well, when your understanding of the world is challenged, you tend to push back. If something new comes up it's harder to accept. Though because of the events that night those rules changed.”

Twilight nodded understanding, “Ooh! That’s makes more sense. The royal guards’ rules and standards are much more allowing of anonymous tips.”

Glyph shook her head, separating the device into two parts and connecting various wires to her metal leg, “Oh I didn’t submit it nameless. I went there myself and when I was rejected; I decided to handle it myself.”

“In what way?” Rarity asked.

Glyph smiled, “I had developed a self-defense method using my metal wing. I was too young to realize others may be more trained than I was and get the higher ground. Though I knew electromagical devices like the top of my muzzle. I was positive I could put a stop to their device before they gained access.”

Glyph was in a tree. The trees that had the best position were not the softest, unfortunately. She shifted her front legs, feeling the branches scrape along her coat. She wasn’t too worried about her looks but was worried about potential splinters. She had to be quiet.

And she was sure a splinter entering her leg would definitely give her away.

“How long were you waiting there?” Rarity asked feeling disgust crawling up her neck.

Glyph shrugged, “An hour? Their original time they had set over the radio wasn’t followed. So, I was off. Though I had a coat! But that was to hide my hair,” She motioned to her bright-colored hair.

A slight breeze flowed past her face and found its way into her jacket, filling the warm area with abnormally cold air. She instinctually shivered and pulled her jacket tighter together. She also did a double-take on her hair. Making sure not even a single strand was able to leave her hood. She loved her bright pink and red hair but it didn’t help her keep hidden. She had already committed to dyeing her coat a darker green, well most of it. Mainly her legs and face. She didn’t have enough time to fully cover herself. That’s what the jacket was for.

“You dyed your coat?! Green?!” Rarity said aghast.

Twilight gave her an annoyed look but remained silent.

Glyph shrugged, “I didn’t mind it. It wasn’t permanent and it was a small price to pay to prevent Canterlot’s vault from being breached.”

She shifted her wings once more, double-checking her metal surfaces weren’t glinting in the moonlight. Though she froze when she heard a loud commotion.

Well, sort of loud. To her trained ears it sounded like electricity, then somepony getting zapped. She also heard a cry of pain after several metal thunks.

Then silence.

She remained vigilant. Her body now ignored the feeling of the sharp bark rubbing against her coat. Using her hooves, she gently pushed the branches aside to see below her. There were two ponies in mostly black garments, loose-fitting capes with hoods. One was definitely thinner than the other, but the other didn’t have fat. Rather, he had a muscular frame that was supporting a large device they were carrying. Glyph couldn’t see much more as their hoods covered them well. However, she could make out their brown muzzles.

“They really didn’t put up much of a fight, did they?” One complained in a masculine voice, “And here I was prepped for carnage!”

The other laughed. A deep booming laugh, “You are always like that. But I’m sure that one wasn’t expecting several thousand joules to the face!”

“Joules? Don’t you mean ohms?”

The one shrugged, making the device on his back bump, “Eh, I don’t know the device. I just know it can stun from a distance. They didn’t even know what hit em.”

“Eh,” The other complained, “I wished it could end them. I’m worried about them waking up and short-sighting us!”

The deep voice carried distaste, “You know the boss said not to. He’d dock our pay by half if we killed any of the guards.”

“If they come back and attack?” The other said annoyed.

A frustrated voice now, “Do you even listen? He told us to not kill the guards. Though you’re free to deal with any pony who isn’t a royal guard, any way you’d like.”

The responding voice seemed to light up, “And you’ll let me?”

“As long as I don’t have to see it, I don’t care,” The gruff voice said as he removed the device from his pack. He lifted up the block-like device and placed it on the vault. It made a metallic clang as it snapped to the metal vault door. It then snapped outward with another clang and made a larger rectangle. A small screen lit up into existence on the bottom right of the device and the pony began to tap it.

“What do you mean?” The thin one complained.

“You know what I mean,” The other responded gruffly. The device began to hum gently.

Glyph frowned. That device was designed to used electricity to pull the metal out of the door, making it weaker. She gently pulled back from the branches and began to slide down the tree. She had to get to it before it fully warmed up. It would easily break down the door enough to allow those two to get in.

“Break it down? What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

Glyph frowned, “Well you can use electricity to pull certain metals to other certain metals. By using that, they could make the door more fragile and prone to shattering.”

“The whole door?”

Glyph shook her head, “No. Think of a door like a sponge. Metal fills it and makes it solid right? But the device can pull pockets out and replace it with weaker material. It becomes much easier to make a hole large enough for a pony to fit through.”

Twilight frowned, “How would they carry the loot through? Surely they had some idea to get all the stuff out!”

Glyph nodded, “I was curious about that as well, but they found a Portation scroll in their belongings. It was small so I guess the plan was to get in, put all the loot through the scroll and get out.”

“Huh,” Twilight replied simply.

Glyph slowly got to the bottom of the tree, gently crouching down onto the ground. She made sure to avoid leaves or twigs as she slinked around the two ponies.

The thin framed pony was silent for a moment as he contemplated what his partner said, “No, I don’t know what you mean…”

The other pony turned away from his device with a sigh of exasperation, “Yes, you do,” he stated firmly.

“I’m pretty sure I’d know what you mean if I knew.”

The now annoyed pony took a few steps towards his comrade, “Remember the forest? Where we got attacked by the locals?”

Glyph didn’t stop to listen to their conversation but slowly took step after step towards the device. She just needed to plug in her gauntlet. It shouldn’t be too hard to disable it.

“We’ve been in a lot of forests!” The thin one complained.

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me,” The annoyed voice said.

“I’m not!” He complained.

Glyph smiled as she now had reached the device. She had to be very gentle about the vault door though. Her metal wing would surely alert them if it rubbed metal against metal. Though she froze as one of the two ponies gave the device a sideways glance. Though her insides turned to ice in that moment, it didn’t seem they noticed her. She turned back to her work, grateful for her disguise.

“The forest with the purple fruit? The ones that almost killed you?”

“Nope, still nothing,” the other one said in a confused voice.

“Oh for Celestia’s sake! Is your brain filled with nothing but death and mold?” The annoyed voice was now an angry one.

“Hey!” The other complained though there was confusion in the pony’s voice, “I’m good at doing the death thing and you know it! Though why the mold?”

Glyph smiled as she heard the two bickering. She had found the port she was looking for and was testing connections for a data line.

“Cause it's rotting, duh.”

It was clear the pony was insulted by his tone, though Glyph could only imagine his face, “I’m not that old!”

“I didn’t say you were old.”

“Oh please!” The tone reminded Glyph of an angry customer who refused to be in the wrong.

“I wasn’t calling you old.” The deeper voice replied. His voice carried a hint of smugness that gave away his true meaning.

“Oh?! And what exactly were you referring to then?”

Glyph’s smile had faded due to concentration. She had successfully gotten into the device’s program. And the change she needed to make was very simple.

She simply had to disconnect the screen’s data connection to the software. That would render it useless unless the two others had another CPU. Which she very much doubted. Her frown deepened as she typed the incorrect character.

“Did you have a whole computer thing with you? With the dialing knobs and such?” Twilight asked with a smile.

“Dialing knobs?” Rarity asked confused.

Glyph nodded and walked to the table next to the harness. She picked up a flat rectangular box that had two circular indents on the top. She faced the top face towards the unicorn and put her hoof in one of them.

“It’s a way to input characters into the computer. If you move your hoof in a certain direction you input a certain character.”

Rarity frowned, “How do you know which character is what position? It’s not marked.”

Glyph smiled, “Years upon years of typing has made me memorize the positions. Years more practice has gifted me speed.”

Twilight frowned, “Did you carry one of those things on you?”

Glyph shook her head, “Nope. I had a gauntlet that had a singular knob. It’s much more difficult to type on but it's good on saving space.”

“So, you were using your gauntlet to type?”

Glyph nodded again, “Yep! Had my front legs just like this,” She lifted her front legs to make a four.

“I could be referring to a lot of things,” The bigger pony replied and Glyph could feel the smugness coming off of him.

The thinner pony growled as he tried to compute what his partner was referring to.

Though Glyph had long finished her task of disabling the device. It was now no longer humming and the little screen was now black. Her smile was on her face until she removed her wires.

Cause once she did, it made a single, loud, beep.

Instantly the two ponies whirled around to look at their device.

“Hey! What do you think you are doing!” The gruff pony said in his deep voice. He rushed forward with an obvious intent to attack.

Glyph didn’t respond but lifted her hoof that had the gauntlet. She clicked a button with her free hoof and the device lit up the area in front of her with a blinding white light.

The pony stumbled to a stop rubbing his eyes with a shout of complaint.

Glyph put her gauntleted hoof to the ground while she reached under her leg to pull the little handle that was wrapped behind her shoulder. With a hiss, her metal wing shot out and deployed to a flying position. She then spun on her front hooves and whirled her metal appendage towards the offending pony’s face.

It made contact with a dull thunk and the pony went down, groaning.

“Wait,” The thinner one said barely sounding afraid, “You aren’t a royal guard!”

Glyph frowned as her mind recalled their previous bickering. She again lifted her gauntlet and flashed her little beacon. Though she didn’t attack as the pony chuckled.

“You aren’t the first to attack me with light!” He said gleefully and produced a small knife from underneath his cloak. Though the little knife telescopically extended into a spear that that pony wielded with their front legs. He whirled it around, showing off his experience.

Glyph frowned, using her wing to block. She did push against the spear as the attacker thrust it in her direction, yet the mechanism didn’t retract as she had expected it to. Though it was probably designed that way since using it ought to make it return to a knife.

The other pony she had struck earlier shook their head and got up. He smiled as she was locked in combat and pointed a device at her.

It was a Lightning-milli.

“A Lightning-milli?” Rarity asked.

“It’s a hoof-held device that can deliver the force of a thunderbolt! It can stun most ponies with a single shot.” Glyph replied.

“How?” Twilight asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Glyph smiled, “Well it’s a limited use since the power is stored in a battery. But the front end has retractable wires that are connected to prongs. When activated, it shoots the prongs out with the wire trailing behind. Once it hits a victim or metal, it will deliver the electrical charge. The prongs are barbed but have a quick-release mechanism for removal.”

“Ow…” Twilight merely said.

Glyph nodded, “Yes, it’s quite unpleasant. But if it comes to letting somepony attack you or causing them a bit of pain, I’d rather the latter.”

Twilight nodded, “Fair.”

The larger pony activated the little device wrapped around his foreleg, firing the two prongs with a little click.

Glyph used her wing to intercept the prongs and focused on the pony wielding the spear. The prongs latched onto her wings and fused because of their current. However, Glyph had already experienced being electrified without her insulating skin. So, her wing was able to handle the charge just fine. So, she ignored the current and continued to block the spear. She even used the wires to manipulate the spear as well.

There was just one issue.

Any attack she deployed was completely disregarded by the enemy pony. Hits from her metal wing, even when she did a complete spin to utilize all of her muscles, only made the pony smile.

She was in a losing battle. She’d have to disengage or risk getting killed. But where would she go? The two would likely pursue since she was a witness now. Not to mention she had tampered with their device; they’d surely come after her for that alone.

Though her thoughts ran cold as she felt a sharp pull on her wing. It was the wires from the Lightning-milli. They were being pulled on by the other pony, pulling her wing away. Her only shield against the razor-sharp surface that was aimed at her chest.

At that moment she had to choose. Lose her life or gain a burden for the rest of her life.

She shifted her barrel to the left as the spear was thrust forward. It ran home into her shoulder, cutting through everything in its path till it split the joint apart and buried itself into her bone.

The pain was nothing she had ever experienced before. She’d remember the searing pain for the rest of her life. It throbbed with every heartbeat, and she could feel two layers of pain harmonizing in a song of agony. Her flesh screamed as it lay torn, and her bones groaned as the spear twitched with other pony’s movements.

She allowed herself to scream with her pain. But not for too long. Just long enough for somepony to hear, not long enough for her to lose herself in her pain. She needed a clear head to think. To act.

Though she subconsciously gripped her shoulder as the pony grabbed the spear towards the blade. He then grunted as he lifted her up and over his head. He then continued her arc till she met the ground with a solid thud.

Her shoulder responded with a loud crack that reverberated within her with vibrations and pain. She didn’t allow herself to cry out this time. But she couldn’t help a high-pitched squeak before she cut it off.

Her wing had also snapped, breaking free from the artificial joint that was spliced into her back. Luckily, it was designed that way. Otherwise, the joint may have been ripped from her premature wing joint. Maybe she should make the wing be able to go limp from trama to reduce the leverage an extended wing would have during said trauma.

“You’re pretty good if you aren’t screaming,” The thin one said with a grin Glyph had only seen in movies and plays.

Glyph merely grunted in response. She could feel the pain running through her body. It felt as if there was a pressurized tube running from her should directly to her brain. She could feel it throbbing and she was starting to get a headache.

“Who trained ya? The guards? Perhaps you a retired fellow?”

“She’s too young to be retired you, idiot,” The larger pony said, “She’s probably some vigilante who just wanted some attention.”

“She already has attention,” The thin one countered, “She has a metal wing!”

Glyph felt herself breathing heavily. Constant streams of oxygen were flowing into her mind, feeding her anxiety. Though she channeled that energy into thinking about her situation.

She wasn’t dead yet, so the main artery that ran close to her neck was probably fine. She wasn’t in immediate danger of bleeding out. Though the blade in her shoulder was hurting terribly, it was probably helping with that fact.

The larger pony rolled his eyes, his blue eyes not hidden by shades. He said nothing more but walked over to the device.

The thin one smiled, “He turned away, do you know what that means?!” His voice betrayed excitement. Glyph tightened her face into a mix of pain and frustration.

The grin only grew. He then braced against her shoulder and wrenched on the spear. She exclaimed in pain as her bones refused to allow the spear to release. It took two more tugs before the weapon came loose with another crack.

Her pain tripled and she was now whimpering trying to contain her sanity.

“Oh, don’t worry,” The pony said lifting the spear up, “I’ll send ya right off to a land of sunshine and rainbows!!”

The moon was behind the pony at that moment, making him look like the Mare in the moon cloaked in a robe of shadow was in front of her. For a moment, she could imagine the pony holding a large scythe.

“Wait!!” The other screamed in a silent but urgent matter, “She did something to this thing! It’s not working!!”

The thin one’s displeasure was plain to see on his face despite his sunglasses, but he stopped his attack to look at his partner.

“What do you mean?” He asked, his displeasure mirrored in his face.

“Like I said it’s not working!”

“Let me see,” The thin one said, leaving the crippled pegasus behind. He walked over to the device and started to fiddle with it.

Glyph grimaced with the pain echoing through her body. She wanted to get up and run. Though she knew she wouldn’t get far, especially with her leading leg out of commission. She shook with another wave of pain as she reached for her bag. She gasped after the wave and continued to go for her bag. It took her a bit longer, but she grabbed a syringe from her bag.

It was a tube filled with a light grey ooze. She removed the cap with her teeth and gently applied the contents onto her wound. It stung like, well, Glyph couldn’t compare the pain to any sort of sting she ever had. It was much more potent than a bee sting. Though this pain was familiar. The gel was an antiseptic that was designed to stop heavy bleeding. She had created it herself, and she always tested her gadgets on herself.

The gel became clear and the pain was subdued ever so slightly. She put the syringe back into her pack and rummaged for a moment.

“I have no idea why it’s not working now,” The thin one said in frustration, “Did you turn it on properly?”

“Of course, I did! It was just working a minute ago!” The large one replied with anger.

Glyph frowned, knowing where the conversation was going. She didn’t have much time. Her rummaging became desperate, but relief filled her mind as she found the object she was looking for. She pulled it out to reveal another syringe. Though this one had a razor-sharp needle covered by a protective cap.

This was a dose of anesthetics. A dose that should knock her out for about an hour with her weight. She ripped off the cap and gently poked the needle into her injured leg. It complained but soon the feeling around the area started to go numb. It was the best sensation she had felt to have the searing pain be flattened away. Though she made sure to not move. It wasn’t a miracle cure, she was still hurt, and moving more than necessary would only give her future self more pain. She quickly replaced the cap and hurriedly pushed the needle back into her bag.

The feeling of numbness was beginning to climb up her leg, but she gently started to push herself away from the two arguing ponies. She needed to act the part for this next bit.

“Then what happened? Nothing happened except…” The thin one said, his anger trailing off. The two ponies then came barreling towards the pegasus. She had expected as much and placed a defiant expression on her face.

“What did you do!!?” The larger pony said, his voice booming.

“Quiet!” The thin one complained, “You’ll alert the others!”

The larger one’s neck seemed to snap as he turned to his partner, “You already did that when you made her scream.” His voice was deathly deep and deathly serious.

His partner frowned, realizing.

The larger pony turned back to Glyph, “Now, you’ll fix the device. Or you’ll only get more pain, understand?” He placed a hoof on her shoulder for emphasis, but Glyph didn’t even twitch.

Glyph’s head was swimming. The pain was now forgotten as a shining numbness seemed to blossom from her barrel, numbing everything it touched, “No, I. won't…” She said semi-coherently.

The pony’s face immediately turned to concern, he looked at her shoulder then at his partner, “What did you do?!”

“I just stabbed her in the shoulder!!” He complained, “I didn’t kill her yet!”

It was starting to get hard to hold her eyes open. Glyph’s eyes seemed to be dried out as the sensation to blink became nearly unbearable. She twitched with effort but allowed her eyes to slowly close. Her world become a comfortable blackness that she willingly fell into.

“So,” Twilight started, “you drugged yourself to act like that one pony had killed you?”

Glyph nodded.

“And used that gel stuff to make sure you didn’t bleed out in your sleep?” Rarity asked.

Another nod.

“So that the two ponies would have believed you died?” Twilight asked with confusion, “Though it would be easy to tell if you were still awake by checking your pulse or even seeing you breathe.”

Glyph nodded, “Of course. Though I was guessing that those two weren’t the brightest bulbs in the room. So, I took a gamble. I sincerely doubt I could take any torture back then. I was inexperienced and waaay in over my head. I had underestimated the skills of the outer world and quite nearly paid the price for it.”

The blanket that was smoothing her consciousness slowly peeled itself off, allowing her mind to start waking up. First came her senses. Though all she could see was light and a lot of bright colors.

“-----”

She felt her face frown. She was experiencing something, yet her mind was trying to understand. What was it?

It then smacked her in the face. It was her hearing. Some pony was talking to her.

“Hello?” A gentle voice said. It was painfully familiar.

Though Glyph’s mind was still trying to focus on the image in front of her. It was just a mess of color that was speaking to her. She tried blinking but that didn’t help. She then felt her mind un-fog a bit more and she felt her eyes move a bit. The mess of color combined together to reveal a pony with a white coat and rainbow hair. Her eyes were stern, but Glyph still couldn’t remember who she was.

“Hello? Can you understand me?” The pony asked again gently.

Glyph didn’t respond. Her mind still felt like a sponge that had been left out after the dishes.

Glyph frowned at the stimulus and rather looked around. It was still dark out and she could see a very big metal door and a few trees that edged the path to said door. There were a lot of ponies around. Many were wearing armor. Though there were two wearing capes.

“She’s not quite coherent yet,” the pony said, “Be sure to keep those two here. I’m sure she’s injured because of them.”

“No! She attacked us!” One of the ponies with a cape said.

The other growled in response.

“Oh? Is that so?” The white pony said, turning around, “I know that you are not among my Royal guards stationed here.”

The two ponies seemed to recoil with fright.

The pony turned back to Glyph, “You able to talk?”

Talk? Could she talk? Glyph frowned and opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

The pony smiled, “I guess not,” She sighed and shifted her wings, betraying her impatience, “Even with magically metabolizing the anesthetics, it still takes a while for them to wake up.”

So, Glyph remained there, trying to remember how to talk. Furthermore, why she should be talking was still a question. So, she stared at the pony in front of her. She was white and she had wings. Her hair was also flowing in the wind. Was there wind? Her skin didn’t report any. Or at least she wasn’t sure it wasn’t.

It took her a couple of minutes, but it finally dawned on her that she was staring at an alicorn. And there was only one white alicorn.

Celestia.

“I uh,” Glyph suddenly sputtered, trying to get herself into a bow as soon as she could. Though she found she couldn’t move her right leg. She looked at it to find it smothered in a golden glow. She again tried to move it, but it wouldn’t budge even a little bit.

The Princess of the Sun laughed, “I see you’ve found your voice!”

“Uh, yeah.” Glyph said, still trying to understand why the Princess was standing right in front of her.

Though she frowned as the Princess’s face darkened, “So can you tell me what you are doing next to the Canterlot Vault?”

Glyph gulped, “I, uh,” She started trying to find her dictionary in her mind. Though Celestia stood patiently but slightly extended her wings.

Glyph swallowed again, “Intercepted a radio signal that warned me of a break-in. I was here to stop it.”

The Princess said nothing for a moment, looking at the two ponies that had attacked her. She turned back to the pegasus, “Why did you not alert the Royal Guard?”

Glyph frowned, “I did. I uh, got laughed at.”

The Princess’s face curled into an unpleasant frown, “Hmm. Provided you are correct, I’ll personally see to that.”

Glyph shrunk with the sudden thoughts of an angry Princess, “Don’t punish them too badly. I mean, it did sound ridiculous; breaking into the vault that you yourself enchanted.”

Celestia gave the pony an odd look, not a bad one but an amused one, “Given time, any defense will fall. Regardless of my magic.”

Glyph merely nodded.

Celestia nodded as well, “Now, prove your story to me,” She said with a frown, “These two claimed you attacked them when they were trying to prevent an attack.”

Glyph frowned feeling uncomfortable, “Uh, how would you like me to do so?”

Celestia didn’t respond immediately but looked to the sky for advice. After a moment she smiled and turned back to Glyph, “Well, tell me what you saw. What did you do after you got that, radio signal?”

Glyph blinked, “Well, I dyed my coat and braided up my hair to hide in that tree over there,” She replied pointing to the tree she was in.

Glyph felt her hood magically lift itself off her head. Celestia frowned, “You went through great lengths to conceal yourself. Why?”

Glyph wanted to shrink down into the ground under the Princess’s scrutiny. But she knew that wouldn’t help her much, “I’m not the best fighter. I never really trained in the art…”

“Okay,” Celestia replied plainly, “Then why did you come to stop the attack?”

“Cause she was the attacker! Obviously!” One of the caped ponies cried out indignantly.

He might as well as not have said anything with Celestia’s reaction. The only indication that she heard him was the slight rise of the eyebrow, motioning Glyph to continue.

Glyph swallowed again, “Cause it’s the Canterlot Vault! Lots of important things have to be stored in there since it has your protection! I couldn’t just stand idly by!”

“You went to stop an attack when you aren’t experienced and have only one wing? Did you plan for that?”

One wing? Glyph frowned and looked to her back. Her frown faded a bit when she saw blood obscuring her wing’s port. Perhaps the joint got pulled a lot harder than she realized.

Celestia’s frown increased, “Did you lose your wing?”

Glyph nodded nonchalantly, much to the Princess’s surprise. Glyph ignored it as she looked for her wing. She found it almost immediately as it had just been buried a little under dust and her back. She picked it up to find it bent in awkward places. The wing sections were at gravity’s will and hung limply. Glyph frowned as she lifted the end section upwards and let it go. She watched it fall back down as it made a small click.

Great. The pneumatics had lost pressure. Some sort of micro leak, she was sure.

Though it glowed golden and floated forward towards the Princess. She brought it close and gently extended it outwards, making the wing more apparent. She gave Glyph an incredulous look.

“This is your wing?”

Glyph nodded slowly, “Yes. I made it myself!” She frowned, “Though it's broken now.”

“How did you connect it to yourself? Your saddlebags?” Celestia asked curiously.

Glyph shook her head, relaxing a little, “No, I had a connection point placed where my wing socket was. It’s a little busted too,” she said turning once more to look at her back.

Celestia nodded and smiled. She placed the metal wing at Glyph’s forehooves and turned to the vault door, “So it seems that you are familiar with electromagical devices. So, you’ll know what this thing is right?” The device that was on the vault door glowed with a bright golden hue. It remained that way for a moment before coming off the door sharply. It was brought to Glyph where her metal wing snapped to the back of the device.

Celestia gave it a curious look but turned to the pegasus when she spoke.

“It’s magnetic.”

“Oh really? That’s interesting. It doesn’t look like a magnet; this looks like a large piece of metal,” she said pointing to the large circular disk on the back of the device. Now that Glyph could look at it plainly, it looked much like a porthole. A very thick one that kinda reminded her of a doughnut.

Glyph nodded, “It’s likely an electromagnet. It’s powered by electricity.”

“Fascinating,” Celestia said, putting her hoof to the magnet. It glowed for a moment, then the metal wing fell off due to gravity.

Glyph picked up the appendage with a confused look. Did the Princess know how to stop the device?

Celestia smiled, “Anti-magnetism spell.”

Glyph’s confusion washed away, “Ah,” she replied.

“Now,” Celestia said after a pause, “Do you know how this device works?”

Glyph wanted to become as small as possible, “Not entirely. I just know it was supposed to allow entrance into the vault.”

“And how did you know that?” Celestia asked in a carefree tone.

“I heard it over the radio,” Glyph replied simply.

Celestia chuckled, “So what was your plan then? You stated that you weren’t trained with fighting though you made that wing of yours. Surely you have some sort of cognitive planning?”

“Oh, for, your sake!” The thin caped pony shouted with a slight pause and exasperation, “She’s the one that attacked us!!” Though no pony even looked at him.

Glyph frowned and took a moment to respond, “Well I’m pretty good with programming. I would just need a port to get into the CPU and I figured I’d be able to go from there.”

Celestia didn’t respond but her horn glowed brighter and a sheet of metal materialized in a golden glow next to her. She then placed the device on it where it attached with a resounding clang.

“Can you turn it back on?” Celestia asked gently but with a firm tone.

Glyph frowned and looked at her injured leg, “That could be a problem…”

Celestia frowned, “Do your best. Let me know what I can do to help you.”

Glyph nodded and with the Princess’s help reconnected the gauntlet to the device’s port. The tiny screen on the gauntlet lit up with now-familiar characters. It took her a few minutes but soon the device the two caped ponies had brought lit back up and started to hum.

Though it didn’t last long.

Even as Celestia lifted the device to look at it, it stopped humming and beeped twice. Celestia frowned and put a hoof to the plate that was exposed from the device.

It cracked and crumbled beneath her touch.

“Electrolysis…” She muttered.

Glyph was about to respond with delight that the Princess knew of such process but she turned to her before she could even open her mouth.

“Alright, last question,” Celestia said laying the device gently on the path. Her Royal guard approached and started to load it onto a wagon.

“What injured you?” Celestia asked looking Glyph in the eye, “Not who, what.”

Glyph frowned combing through her memories, “It looked like a spear? Though it did start out that way; it was like a small knife…”

Celestia’s eyes lit up like a detective getting something right, but also had the eyes of a mama bear whose cub was just punted, “A K-ear?”

Glyph felt her head tilt of its own accord, “A, what?”

“A K-ear. It’s a small knife blade that has a telescopic handle that can extend it into a spear.”

Glyph nodded.

“Oh, that clears things right up,” Celestia said turning towards the two caped ponies, “Not only was she able to turn back on the device, implying that she was the one to turn it off, but the weapon she described was identical to the weapon used by a very certain somepony.”

The thin pony’s hood glowed as it was pulled off. His shaded glasses also glowed but were flung aside instead. Beneath them were two eyes, though only one saw. A light red scar ran up from the left to the right and continued to the pony’s ear. He was also missing a chunk of hair on that side as well. The remaining stark blue eye was filled with fear.

“KaKarem, was it?” Celestia said with distaste.

The pony nodded hesitantly but was like a bunny to a wolf as the alicorn approached.

“KaKarem! You and your partner are hereby placed under custody!” She proclaimed. She then placed her hoof on the pony’s chest and left a glowing magic rune when she pulled it away. It glowed bright and lines of light shot around the pony’s body, covering him in a fine web. He then clunked into a laying position as the spell nullified his resistance until not even his ears could move.

Once he was restrained, she lowered her head to his level and spoke in a deathly serious tone, “And you won’t escape me this time.”

The fear was plain to see in the pony’s eye and it made Glyph suddenly more conscious about the magic surrounding her injury.

Celestia turned to the last caped pony, “Do I need to restrain you as well?”

The pony shook his head and followed his now floating companion as several of the royal guards escorted them off the grounds, taking the device with them.

Glyph gulped as she watched the pony get restrained, then asked as she watched the group disappear into the darkness, “What did he do?”

Celestia was still watching the group go but spoke with a restrained calm, “He murdered an entire group of locals in the forest. He was a robber that was using the forest as cover when he and his partner ran into them. When my guards found him, his coat was stained with the blood of those locals and a big smile on his face. One of the locals managed to take out his eye. Though they won’t be able to see the light of my day ever again.”

Glyph frowned and turned back to where the pony was taken away. She started to relax about the magic surrounding her shoulder though it turned back to panic when the Princess turned back to her.

“Now it’s your turn,” She said firmly, “You aren’t supposed to be around these grounds either, regardless of your heroics or not.”

Glyph swallowed but nodded, “I understand your Highness.”

The guards started to walk forward but stopped with a signal of the alicorn’s wings, “That won’t be necessary. I will waive this intrusion this once as you helped stop an unknown threat. Though they wouldn’t have gotten away with anything, you were willing to sacrifice quite a bit to save something viewed as important.”

Glyph’s face curled in confusion, “What do you mean?”

“Do you want a punishment?” Celestia asked with a smile.

Glyph shook her head sharply, “No, no... I mean, what do you mean they would have gotten away with nothing?”

Celestia’s smile became merely more prominent on her face, “I can’t tell you that. Though it’s like you said. Anypony would believe something important is behind a door Celestia herself protects.”

Glyph frowned incredulously.

Celestia chuckled, “You learn from experience my little pony, and I’ve got quite a lot of it. Though,” she paused, looking curious now, “This new electromagical area is fascinating but I don’t fully understand it quite yet. I am aware of what a radio is though have never seen one. May I take a look at yours?”

Glyph merely blinked at the sudden turn of attention but figured she might want to go through with the Princess’s request, and not just because she was the Princess. So, she nodded.

“Wonderful,” Celestia said and turned to her attentive guards, “Can you take the injureds’ post?” The two nodded and marched towards the door and stood at attention in front of it.

The alicorn turned back to the pegasus, “Now, where do you live?”

Glyph relayed the information to her. Then she saw her environment change with a flash of golden light. Once she removed the blinding light from her eyes, she found she was in front of her house.

“Can you stand?” Celestia asked ignorant of Glyph’s awe at the teleportation and lifted her up with her magic.

Glyph put her damaged wing in her mouth and settled three legs on the ground. She took a hobbled step forward but managed to guide the Princess to her door. She hesitantly welcomed the alicorn in, wishing she had cleaned up. Though it wasn’t too bad. Several projects were on the floor in a multitude of places, but it wasn’t junk and dust thrown about. Though she would have put them away had she’d known the Princess would be visiting.

But that didn’t quite matter now. The Princess was here and there was nothing she could do about it. The Princess, however, seemed to be interested in the piles of miscellaneous circuit boards and metal pieces.

“What are you working on here?” The princess asked, “Those are transformers and, pneumatics?”

Glyph nodded with delight and placed her broken wing on one of the piles, “Yep! I was working on increasing the effectiveness of my wing’s movements. The less power it consumes, the lighter I can make it.”

“That does make sense. Batteries are heavy. Especially when they need to hold a lot of power.”

Glyph frowned, “Um, if I may; how do you know so much about this stuff?”

Celestia smiled and waved her wing dismissively, “Electromagical devices are powerful creations. And with that power, comes those who want to use it to get more power. A good ruler must be aware of posing threats to her kingdom.”

Glyph nodded, “That makes sense.”

Celestia smiled, “I’m glad you understand but let’s get to the subject at hoof. It is still quite late.”

Glyph frowned, “Oh, I’m so sorry! Uh,” She looked around her room as her panic made her forget where the radio actually was.

Celestia laughed, “Oh do not worry too much. You are the one that ought to be more tired than I. You’ve been up nearly all night!”

Glyph didn’t feel the need to respond but rather focused and remembered where her radio was at. It dawned on her as she ran to the kitchen on the other side of the stairs. There on the side of the stair was another door. Though it posed a problem.

It led to her basement that she had been turning into a workshop. It would allow her house to be a house and not a workstation. Though the hallway fit a pony just fine, a full-grown alicorn was a different story.

“Is it down there?” Celestia asked but something was different about her voice. It was at her level.

Glyph turned to the alicorn to see the pony now just a tad taller than she was. Glyph found herself staring at the solar princess in shock.

Celestia gave an apologetic smile, “If I had known I would have grown to my height, I would have made all the doors in the castle larger when it was built. Though I had to add extra clearance to them in the more recent past. However, I am not able to do such with other pony’s homes. A simple spell was all that was required.”

Glyph nodded, accepted the explanation, and led the alicorn down the short flight of stairs. The basement’s stone walls were still plainly visible, and dirt had to be swept away from time to time. Several mostly empty shelves occupied a corner directly from the stairs. A few tables were present but were covered in tools for woodworking and other such room design equipment.

The radio was also there though Glyph had to move a few wooden boards to get to the receiver.

“Hmm, it’s a lot larger than I expected,” Celestia said looking at the device. It was like a large box, a suitcase-sized box. Several dials marked with an up and down arrow, lined up on the front of the box-like device. Above those dials was a large circle that had light trapped inside. A single number also was trapped with the letters H,t, and z. Next to it was another circle that looked like a piece of foam with a plastic grating on top.

Glyph smiled, “I could make it much smaller but I made this one before circuit boards were a thing,” she explained picturing the nest of wires hidden by the cosmetic box.

“If I’m not mistaken, that stands for Hertz, correct?” Celestia asked, pointing towards the glowing screen.

Glyph nodded, “You can send data on radio waves and there are many types of radio waves. Using these dials, you can change the hertz of the wave to tune into a signal.”

Celestia nodded with fascination and opened her mouth to speak but the radio crackled to life.

“Team Codebreaker do you copy?” The mystery voice said making Celestia perk up to its words.

“Can they hear us?” Celestia asked quietly.

Glyph shook her head and picked up the receiver. Another small box that had a curling wire reaching into the side of the radio, “You have to speak into this thing when it’s on to transmit a signal.”

“How do you turn it on?” Celestia asked with her normal voice.

“KaKarem! You are behind schedule! What is your location!” The voice angrily shouted.

Glyph frowned but answered the alicorn’s question, “Uh, there’s a panel inside you reach in and pull it down.” Normally such radios were meant to be two hoofed but she had wanted to make it a single hoofed device. So, she had reversed the normal button, pulling to activate it instead of pushing.

Celestia picked up the small receiver with her hoof and looked at it curiously.

Glyph pointed to the lit-up screen, “A ring will light up around those numbers when it's transmitting.”

Celestia nodded and Glyph noted that her neck started to glow a bit.

Then, when the alicorn started to speak, she had a different voice, “Ugh, I’m in the middle of something! Hang on a minute!” She replied in a much deeper voice, speaking into the little device. It was the same voice of the pony who had stabbed her.

“Why are you behind schedule!?” The voice angrily demanded.

“We ran into some issues,” Celestia said with her modified voice, “Or, rather, someponies.”

“I swear on Celestia’s mane… If you killed a guard—”

Celestia chuckled, her neck no longer glowing, “My mane? Sheesh, I really don’t understand why everypony swears on it.”

There was no response.

Celestia chuckled, “Good choice. Though it’s no use now. I know your voice.”

Celestia put down the receiver and smiled, “Fascinating little piece of equipment. I would love to talk to you about this subject further if you are able to.”

Glyph nodded with a small smile, still processing what had happened.

“So she responded to the Silver swords? Why?” Twilight asked.

Rarity shared her curiosity as she sat as still as she could. Glyph was working on making the horn decoration that would serve as a bridge between her magic and the electromagical device.

Glyph took a moment to respond, “I’m not sure. I never got the chance to ask. Nor did I think about it later.

“Wonderful! Though that will have to be after you recover.” Celestia said with a smile.

Glyph frowned taking a look at the golden glow no dubitably muting the pain on her shoulder.

“Let’s go back up and lock your door. Then straight to the hospital.” Celestia said with a smile, walking towards the door.

Glyph frowned but nodded. She followed the Princess back up the stairs, noticing her go back to her normal height in the process. Glyph then walked to her front door and quickly locked the door. The next thing she knew she was in a hospital lobby room with a golden flash. She didn’t even have time to lower her hoof.

“Celestia!” Glyph heard a pony said exclaim in shock.

“Hello!” Celestia said cheerfully, “Will you be able to check in a patient for me?”

The pony seemed to be in shock, but she nodded, “Who am I checking in?”

Celestia turned to Glyph, “One pegasus.”

“Glyph,” Glyph added.

The receptionist nodded, “Okay, and what are we in for today?” Her question was shaky as she talked to the alicorn.

Celestia replied with a warm smile, “A stab wound on her shoulder. Pretty deep, caused by a k-ear.”

The receptionist gave the Princess a blank stare, “Uh, is this a code blue?”

The alicorn shook her head, “No I’ve got her wound secured by magic, but it will need medical attention to heal.”

The receptionist blinked, looking at the golden glow surrounding the pegasus’s shoulder, “Uh, alright. I’ll get a doctor to come look at that right away.”

“Thank you,” Celestia replied but Glyph barely had a moment to sit down before the doctor arrived.

The pony in a lab coat was slightly out of breath but spoke evenly, “How may help you, your Highness?”

Celestia smiled and pointed to Glyph, “She’s the one that needs the medical attention Doctor.”

Glyph smiled and held still as the doctor examined the wound. Though it was hard to see through glow originally, it became largely clear as he looked.

It was mostly red as the blood had had time to coagulate. Though the amount was alarming.

“How long ago did this happen?” The Doctor asked. His voice was no longer filled with anxiousness with the Princess was around but with concern.

“Hmm,” Celestia frowned, “I’m not entirely sure. She was unconscious when I placed the spell. But it’s been about 20 minutes since then.”

“We are going to have to take a closer look,” He turned to the receptionist, “Have them clear operating room 4. It may be just a wound to the surrounding tissue but I’m not taking any chances.”

Glyph frowned at the word operation but realized that it was probably necessary, “The blade went into my shoulder,” she said, “I’m pretty sure it went either into my ball joint or at least in between the joint.”

The doctor smiled, though not of joy nor ill intent, “It's helpful when the patient is awake! Are you in much pain?”

The alicorn shook her head, “No. The spell is blocking any sort of pain at the moment. Though it’s blocking quite a bit.”

Glyph seemed to shrink, suddenly very grateful for magic.

The Doctor nodded, “Understood. I’ll be sure to get an Anesthesiologist to meet us here,” He turned to the receptionist, “Can you ask them to bring a stretcher?”

The pony nodded.

The Doctor then turned back to Glyph then paled. He pointed to her back, “Have you always been missing a wing?”

“Yes,” Glyph said, “Though the connector may be out of position.”

“What type of connector? We can fix it while you're under,” the Doctor said with a smile.

“It’s the standard model. Just the Generation 4 with computer connections.”

The Doctor nodded, “Understood. I’ll have the surgeon take a look.”

Glyph nodded with gratitude.

It took little time for the stretcher to be brought, floating along the ground. Two ponies accompanied the stretcher, one was holding the stretcher while the other was holding a small bag. They recoiled with a little shock at the alicorn but recovered quickly.

Glyph hesitantly clambered onto the stretcher when she was asked to, lying down as she did.

“I’ll leave your bags at your house for you,” Celestia said with a smile and Glyph felt the bags lift off her back.

Glyph frowned, “Just be careful with them.”

Celestia nodded, “Of course.” She replied with seriousness, but it dissolved to a chipper tone a moment later, “Though when you are awake and able, I would like to talk more about your Electromagical creations.”

“I’d love to!” Glyph said with a smile. She then rolled onto her said per the Doctor’s direction and allowed the stretcher to hold her weight.

“Is there anything else you need to talk to her about?” One pony asked, pulling a small needle from their bag.

Celestia shook her head, “No. I wish you good health Glyph.”

Glyph nodded with a smile.

Celestia returned it and turned back to the pony, “Be sure to tell me when she’s under before I release the spell.”

The pony nodded and injected the needle into Glyph's uninjured foreleg.

Glyph once more felt the blossoming light envelop her consciousness and passed out into darkness moments later.

“I woke up after a successful surgery but because KaKarem never really cleaned his blade, my shoulder became infected. It wasn’t fun dealing with that,” Glyph said pausing with her work on the crystal piece.

Rarity was in awe of the crystal adornment. A large swan seemed to envelop her horn and blossom upward with a cry of jubilance. Its extended wings were covered with tiny lines depicting feathers that covered them. Its body was a translucent white, looking much like glass rather than a piece of crystal.

Though it wasn’t too large. Only just a few centimeters past her horn and two or three for the wings. Then again, she was glad the piece wasn’t large, or moving her head around could be dangerous and cumbersome.

“But the infection spread downwards and dug into my bone,” Glyph paused to grab another wire from Twilight’s magic, “Though it was contained mostly to my bone, the doctors were worried that it may spread from there. If that bacterium got into my liver, I was done for. So, they opted to remove it. I agreed and made my first metal leg a week later.”

“Wow!” Twilight said watching Glyph’s work while several parts hovered in her magic around her, “I’m glad you're okay! And am amazed at how fast you made your leg!”

“Well, when you’ve made one artificial limb, it's not hard to make another,” Glyph said with a smile, “Though it's more amazing that we finished! Before midnight!”

Rarity smiled. She was now wearing a dark purple jumpsuit with several electromagical devices stitched in on her flank. They were connected by wires to a few devices along the back of her neck. Those were connected to the scanner device on the side of her head and the crystal adornment.

“Well, we still have to test it, do we not?” Rarity asked standing up, “We aren’t quite done yet.”

Glyph nodded, “Of course. Though I wasn’t expecting to be able to test till past midnight.”

Rarity frowned. Midnight? She shrugged, remembering the numerous late nights she had endured for the sake of fashion.

“Alright, you can still use your magic, right?” Glyph asked proffering a tool.

Rarity lit her horn, causing the swan to glow with a light blue glow, and extended her magic to the tool. Gently, she picked it up and spun around a bit.

“Yep,” Rarity replied, “I do love how this adornment looks though! Is there any way I can use it for my other outfits?”

Glyph frowned and shook her head, “Unfortunately these crystals don’t last very long. It’ll dissolve in about a week.”

Rarity shared Glyph’s frown, “A week? That’s it?”

Glyph nodded, “Yeah… It’s a characteristic of the lower-powered crystals. The explosive variety doesn’t decay. Though,” She paused with a thinking face, “We might be able to keep it solid with charge. Though it may have to be made differently…”

“Oh, I would love that! Though not now of course,” she said looking at Twilight’s lost face.

Twilight shrugged, “Eh, I’m just trying to think of how many swan-themed dresses you could make.”

Rarity smiled, “Oh dear the swan is an elegant bird! It can go with many types of dresses or outfits! Regal occasions, white dresses, water themes, or even a bird theme!”

Twilight smiled, “Is there going to be a Swan theme for your boutique?”

Rarity returned the smile, “Potentially.”

Glyph chuckled, “Let's test this thing before we go onto more dresses. We still need to make sure your dress will fit with all this equipment.”

“Of course,” Rarity said and reached her magic to her adornment. Gently, she pulled the wings down. The tool she was holding fell to the ground as the adornment started to glow and emit a light blue aura. Rarity made sure to keep her horn lit by using the horn light spell, on low power of course.

She felt the little devices on her back rev up and whirr and she could feel the devices on her flank warm up ever so slightly.

The scanner flipped outwards and covered her left eye with a small plastic screen. This time, the reticle was already in place and was scanning Glyph for any Quantum Fluctuations.

No Quantum Fluctuations detected.

It was no longer fussing about storage medium this time.

“It looks to be functioning,” Rarity said with a smile.

Glyph's wings extended as she gave a little cheer, “First try!”

“Here, test it on me,” Twilight said, walking into Rarity’s vision.

Rarity nodded and aimed the reticle at her friend.

Quantum resonance detected!

Error!

Device is currently set to scan for Quantum fluctuations and not Quantum Resonances. Please resolve in the device settings.

Rarity frowned not understanding, “Glyph? I’ve got an error here.”

Glyph deflated a bit, “Ah there’s a problem. There’s always one…” She shook her head, “What’s it saying?”

She relayed the error which made Glyph’s head bounce.

“Ah, that’s not a problem. Quantum resonance is different than a fluctuation. Fluttershy’s connectors emit fluctuations and not resonances. I didn’t want it to accidentally scan something else Noah may have added.”

Rarity nodded but still had a frown, “What’s the difference?”

“A resonance happens when a Quantum event could appear,” Twilight replied, “A Quantum fluctuation happens when a Quantum event is occurring.”

Rarity nodded understanding. Though Twilight put a hoof to her chin in thought.

“Though I’m concerned about the Quantum resonance detected on me. I’m not thinking about teleporting and that’s the only thing I can think of that would cause a Quantum event…”

“Perhaps it’s the elements?” Rarity suggested, “Our harmony forms do allow us to transfer energies, right?”

Twilight nodded but frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well, I was hoping it was my alicorn power form,” Twilight said with a sigh, “I was hoping it would help me figure out what it is and then control it,” She shivered, “I really don’t like the idea of suddenly turning into a powerful being just because I’m mad or some other trigger I’m unaware of.”

Rarity chuckled, “Darling, we all can turn into powerful beings when we are mad. Remember Fluttershy at the Gala?”

That got her friend to chuckle.

“It's something we all have to control, not just you.”

Glyph nodded, “Yep. Agreed on all ports here.”

Twilight smiled, “Thanks.”

Rarity nodded and used her hoof to lift the wings on the adornment.

Device powering down…

The device on her head then retreated from her vision and the devices on her body slowly whirled to silence. She then lifted her dress from her mannequin and slowly put it on. She was very gentle and made sure to resolve any snaps before they caused a rip. Though it went smoothly. Once she had pulled her hair from the depths of the dress she stood and looked at herself.

Everything was snug. It was slightly tight around the collar, but it was bearable. She walked in a few circles feeling the devices weigh down her steps a little but it wasn’t unlike saddlebags. She looked to Glyph and Twilight with a proud smile.

“It all works! I may adjust the collar a bit but that’s just preference.”

Twilight clapped her hooves a few times, “Wonderful! Oh, I can not wait to make the others! I’ve got a few ideas about the batteries we could use to make it smaller.”

Glyph nodded, “Sounds good! Though let’s not do them tonight. Let’s write them down, help Rarity get out of the jumpsuit, and call it a night. We can continue in the morning.”

Rarity nodded with a smile and began to use her magic to gently remove the dress, “Wonderful. I was hoping to get it down before the event. I originally canceled some plans, but I may be able to now go through with them!”

Glyph nodded, “Just be careful about liquids. It should be okay with a little bit of water but don’t go swimming with it.”

Rarity huffed, “Why would I go swimming in a dress?”

Glyph blinked, “Hmm, Fair point.”

Inexplicable Chrysalis

She was alone. Though, this time she wasn’t covered in menacing shadow.

Dim sunlight was filtering in through the window in the room. Its color told her the day was almost over, reminding her of all the tasks she needed to complete before the end of the day.

Her animal friend’s feeding schedule. Tending to the sickly creatures and preparing them for Luna’s restful night. Making sure the creatures of the night were taken care of before herself went to bed.

But there were a multitude of things she would need to do for herself. Shower, a little bit of cleaning, and getting something to eat among other things.

She frowned as memories of the metal meal returned. The uncomfortable memory was still quite fresh in her mind. So she tried to think of other foods she had previously. Haybugers, salads, even the tofu bean custard she tried a few days ago.

It made her stomach grumble like she hadn’t eaten for days. A deep pain in her gut that silently demanded her attention. She had eaten, hadn’t she?

She sighed as she felt her stomach grumble once more, the computer’s error rolling off of her ears as she stood mute as a statue. Clutched in the grip of the metal harness.

Action denied.

She felt miserable. Alone. She never so badly wanted to talk to somepony. Or, some creature! She wanted to be surrounded by Twilight’s contraptions as she tested hypotheses on what she truly was.

Or a full party of all the townsponies hosted by Pinkie pie where she was the main star. Complete with a multi-layered cake and other delicious goodies.

She’d love to be surrounded by the Apple family, as they took turns guessing her predicament. Laughing with them on some wild guesses while devouring the many apple-themed confections that could be present.

She shuddered, remembering that those were only dreams, thoughts written on a paper of hope. She found herself thinking about her friends next. Both her animal friends and her pony friends. The many experiences they had and the unfortunate events that had occurred over the past few days.

But she lingered on the memories of the group hugs she had experienced over the last few days. The big group hug of reassurance from all of her animal friends before she went to the school. The hugs she had gotten when little bits of truth had emerged. She pushed the worry away, feeling them bare down on her. She stubbornly stayed in the phantom hug she could barely feel.

It helped. A little.

But it merely braced her for the wave of emotions she was caught in.

She shook her head, holding onto the memory of her friends like a life preserver.

Action denied.

She couldn’t just give up! Her friends would be fighting for her! Twilight was probably up at this very moment, surrounded by stacks of books that had to contain knowledge that could help her. Help them.

Right?

Her life preserver seemed to deflate a bit. What could her friends do about her predicament? Even Celestia stood very little chance at fighting off her new form. If Noah wanted her to do something, how could her friends stop her?

And now she could hide like anypony! She could walk right next to Twilight and she’d never know! Her much too quiet voice would now be mute to voice any objections.

Her mentality deflated further and she felt darkness pushing once more against her.

She stood there for a few moments, only the feeling of the Harness’s limbs breaking the mental silence in her mind.

She then jumped as sleep was once again pushed away from her.

She didn’t even have the energy to sigh.

She summoned her virtual hug from her friends again, letting her mind drift idly among the realm between the waking world and the dream world. She was so tired…

Her attention suddenly filled her cranium as words appeared in front of her vision.

Warning! CMG running at 20% efficiency. Running diagnostics for power continuity…

…

She felt her brain sluggishly process the information fed to her. Though she couldn’t understand it. She still didn’t know what the CMG was. She was pretty sure that it was the Cuite Mark Generator she had received but that didn’t mean anything to her.

…

She felt nothing as she watched the dots take turns showing themselves to her. Her mind felt as empty as her stomach as no other stimulus entered her mind.

…

Unable to fix automatically. Problem is identified at CM input on ports 342 through 401.

Error:[CMG_00009283B-C]

Power cap instigated with the name: CMG_BadCON:342_401

Priority has been placed on {BIO_Core}

Please talk to Glyph at Canterlot for full diagnostics.

An address appeared below it. Though, she had been there already. It was the pegasus that didn’t open the door and was somepony Celestia had trusted.

Fluttershy felt hope flutter weakly in her chest. She had seen the pegasus at the Crystal Empire and she was helping Twilight to subdue the puppet strings she was entangled in.

There was hope.

Somepony did know what was happening to her. Or, maybe? She frowned but pushed the thought away as the computer denied her again.

Twilight and Glyph would figure out something, likely in a stack of books.

Determination seemed to inflate her, surrounding her in a bubble that held the waves of depression away. She wouldn’t just stand idly. Not when her friends would no doubly be trying to free her.

Her thoughts darkened as she again thought about what she could do.

Nothing. She couldn’t even blink without permission. Tartarus, she couldn’t even breath on command.

She wrapped herself in a phantom hug again.

“Relax. You can’t think of anything if you are freaking out!” She told herself.

Her mind told her now was a really good time to be freaking out, but she repressed it. Rarity had told her that looking at the entire project would cause a lot of stress. So, it was good to take things one step at a time.

But where to start?!

She could feel the needed to hyperventilate. She shook her head, feeling no motion in her head as Action denied assaulted her ears.

One step at a time.

She backtracked in her mind and thought about the incident at the bar. How could she tell her friends that she was disguised?

She just focused on that question. Not the fact that she could disguise herself. Not the following questions she had been asking herself for days now.

Her stomach grumbled, but she ignored it.

What would she do?

She couldn’t move her body. So that ruled out talking, gesturing, or speaking in character contrary to who she was disguised as.

She felt hopeless as she didn’t have unicorn magic. Maybe if she could get that artificial horn to appear on her head she could—

Was it artificial? Her mind asked, chilling her blood. Did she just have some other unicorn’s horn?!

Her mind seemed to freeze again and once more began to panic.

What was she?! Was she a conglomeration of metal and other ponies? Was her pegasus magic even hers?

Were her wings hers?

She stopped. No, those at least were hers. Those were made of metal, right?

She shivered, feeling the action rattle the harness.

“Please let them be made out of metal!!” She thought as she imagined a poor pegasus stripped of their wings for her sake. “Please let them not be some other pony’s wings!”

She stood there, still once more.

“If they do belong to somepony else, I can give them back, right? If I could use them then they’re not lost right?” She thought. Though the thought sounded absurd but so was the situation she was in. Surely if a pegasus could overcome the might of two alicorn, no, three alicorn Princesses then surely she could give back the wings on her back.

She’d much rather deal with the heavy silver wings than have some pony elses.

The horn would be much easier to return, and her mind had an easier time accepting the fact that it could be reattached. The only reason Tempest probably didn’t is because she didn’t have the other piece.

Her mind settled down after she addressed what she would do if the wings on her back were not in fact hers. Well, a partial answer anyway.

But that didn’t matter if she couldn’t remove the strings attached to her body!

She mentally took another deep breath as she asked herself again, “What would I do if I saw my friends while I was disguised?”

No, what could she do?

She pondered it for a few minutes, feeling the occasional shock to wake her exhausted mind. But she found herself running in circles, upon circles.

Anger welled inside her chest this time. Furious about how powerless she was. How her friends would have to come save her, again.

Sure this was different. Much different. But she always felt like she was a burden. A rock in a carriage.

“Oh Sugarcube,” Applejack laughed in her mind, “Even a rock in a carriage has a use! How are ya supposed to keep it from moving when ya need to take a break?”

A smile tried to creep along her lips but the computer stopped it. Though it didn’t matter. A cool relief flooded her senses as she remembered the conversation. Just a small one where she talked to AJ after the invasion by the Storm King.

A rock in a carriage. Just waiting to be used to stop the wheels from moving when the pony took off the harness. Its weight was an easy burden to bear by the pony. It was better than risking the cart rolling away to crash into a tree.

She’d just have to wait. Trust her friends. Though she wouldn’t just let her friends do all the heavy lifting. She’d keep an eye out for an opportunity. And then she’d pounce.

Rarity was enjoying herself. Or at least the best she could. She was quite vigilant at the moment, looking for any sign of a pink-haired pegasus with a yellow coat. She saw many colors. Reds, blues, greens, browns, blacks, and greys. But only once in a combination she was looking for.

Though it only was a unicorn wearing a yellow dress. Her pink hair was in a tight little bun and much to short to belong to her timid friend.

She kept looking though and often had to ask others to repeat themselves when she saw a pink or a yellow move across her peripherals.

The concern was warranted but she firmly brushed it off, “Oh I’m just a little scattered at the moment. Teaching at Twilight’s school has given me an eye for sudden movement. Some of my students like to pass notes while I’m talking. And they’ve gotten quite sneaky at it.”

That normally pushed the conversation forward. But she’d have to tell her tale every time she met with a new group. While it was true, she hated to mislead them. Though, what was she supposed to say?

“Oh, I’m just keeping an eye out for Fluttershy. Apparently she’s a robotic pony! And now she’s under the control of a complete heathen! A fiend! A monster!”

She subtly shook her head, imagining the responses she’d get. She magically lit her horn and adjusted the collar of her dress. The devices seemed to be working but she’d excuse herself to go and check at planned intervals. The last thing she wanted was the little device to not activate if she did happen to see Fluttershy.

She did still glow when her work had been complemented. Some thought the horn adornment was a tad much but the craftsmanship still received complements.

She agreed and wouldn’t have had it if it didn’t serve a second purpose. Though she’d guide the conversation away from its hidden purpose by asking for critique on her work. Hiding the activation switch under the guise of trying something new.

Though she did have to admit the weight of the dress pushed her to take a break here and there. It was a small trade-off, no matter how much her hooves were killing her.

“Oh Princess Celestia!” The pony in front of her exclaimed and the group did a small bow their formal clothes would allow.

Rarity blinked and turned her head around to see Celestia in a fancy dress of her own. Though it was more suited to allow the alicorn to move, it still had many frills and patterns laced with gold. But it was a tighter-fitting dress that didn’t go pas her knees. She smiled and did a small bow, “Princess?” She said, noting the look in her eye below a more simple crown. It better matched her attire, was thinner, and looked more like a golden wreath of golden leaves. It still had the purple gem though.

“I’m sorry to intrude but I’m going to have to steal your attention for a bit.” She said smiling at the others in her group.

“Of course!” Rarity replied, then turned to the group, “I shall be right back.”

She got a few nods of approval as she turned away and followed the Princess. The alicorn took her into the backroom. This building wasn’t the main attraction, but rather a small side show of mineral use on fabrics. So, the smell of chemicals was still lingering along the walls as she followed the Princess.

She continued for a minute then asked, “Is everything right Princess?”

Celestia smiled warmly, “Yes, of course. At least for the moment. I just ran into an old friend from long ago. Or at least their predecessor.”

Rarity frowned, unsure of whether to respond or to not. Though that trouble was taken from her as they turned a corner to see a pony waiting for them.

It was Alaina Mineralis! The current caretaker of the Sparkling Boutique! Rarity had to contain a gasp but could feel her eyes beaming.

The unicorn smiled with a practiced formality that conveyed a happy sense. They were tired but pleased. Her flat uniform was freshly pressed and had a small gemstone fastened to the collar. It was a pin of sorts, with a gold-plated base and a dark purple gem encrusted with white minerals along the edges. The pony herself was a chocolate milk brown that was complemented by her dark blue vest. The vest had a lighter blue dress underneath it, tucked neatly away as it became a gradient to the vest’s darker color. It ran across the pony’s body, ending just short of where most dresses would end. Rather, the hem stopped just after the pony’s knees leaving her back hooves exposed. A design most likely sought after since she was no doubt walking a lot for the event. Her tail wasn’t visible, so she assumed it was tied up. But her blonde mane was left to flow with its shorter length. It rested lightly among her ears in a slightly rough shape. But it complemented the colors of the dress, giving it a movement without it moving.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting,” Celestia said with a small smile, “But I had to get another friend.”

Alaina smiled, “It’s not a problem. This is a touchy subject.”

Celestia turned to Rarity, “Alaina is going to show us the gem we may think that she is after.”

“She?” Rarity asked, trying to confirm whether or not to use her timid friend’s name.

Alaina smiled sadly, “I know about Fluttershy, or,” the unicorn said, “At least in part. I also know this gem was given to us by Celestia long ago. So, I have no qualms in showing it early to you two.”

Celestia smiled with another nod, “I thought it necessary to enlighten Alaina as she is in charge of the show. It may prove to be useful in corralling ponies should Fluttershy appear.”

Rarity nodded, trusting the Princess’s judgment, “Alright, lead the way! But please, I do not want to spoil the whole show if possible!”

Alaina smiled, “Of course. The gems are in protected storage until the show. You won’t see anything else unless you want to.”

Rarity smiled in response and Alaina escorted the two through a backdoor of the building to the streets. Where they walked a few blocks to another building.

This building was surrounded by ponies as well but instead of dresses, suits, and other manners of fancy clothing, there were security outfits. Armor, restraining devices, and other devices Rarity couldn’t identify covered them in varying shades of blue and black.

They were stopped briefly but let through after Alaina showed a badge concealed in her mane. Multiple guards followed them as they were allowed into the building, past armored doors and several other guards.

The group was then led into the basement, where they paused before a large, metal, circular vault door.

“My goodness,” Rarity said plainly, “That’s quite a bit of security.”

Alaina chuckled as they waited for the door to slowly swing open, “Oh you should see the gem’s actual storage in Manehattan. This is nothing to that.”

“Oh wow,” Rarity said, imaging the quality of gems that required such security measures.

“Oh,” Alaina said perking up, “You’ll need to put on this,” She said, proffering a small ring.

Rarity looked at the adornment and looked at her crystal swan, “Uh, do I have to?”

Aliana also looked at the swan sitting on Rarity’s horn, “Hmm. Maybe not.” Her horn glowed a bright shade of blue, then faded.

She then shook her head, “No it looks like you’ll be alright. That crystal is stopping any magic fluctuations from coming out of your horn.”

“Would you like me to wear one?” Celestia asked.

Alaina shook her head, “No, alicorn horns are able to contain their magic much better than unicorn ones. As long as you don’t perform any magic, you won’t mess up any of the spells operating the vault.”

Celestia nodded.

Alaina smiled and placed the ring on her own horn, “Alright. Follow me.”

On her words, the massive door clunked and hissed, then slowly opened up. It took a few moments for the massive metal door to stop moving but Rarity was able to see dozens of glowing runes and symbols lining the edge of the door. She also was able to glimpse gears and such from the opening on the side of the door. But the rest of it was hidden by a magical glow emanating from the center of the door’s interior.

The guards did not follow them this time as they walked into the metal box they called a vault. Boxes lined the room in a grid pattern, leaving just enough space to walk between them. Black drapes covered each one, obscuring the contents from view.

Alaina walked to a seemingly random box and paused at it till Rarity and Celestia had assembled around the box as well.

“Well, here it is,” Alaina said, gently pulling off the black tarp.

Rarity wasn’t sure what she was expecting. A rock? A gold ornament surrounding the rock that was older than her family name? Perhaps a flawless-looking diamond?

But she wasn’t expecting to see the yellow chunk of rock sitting in a plush red velvet stand surrounded by a glass box.

It was an odd little gem that looked like it was two gems smooshed together. The top portion was a near-flawless complexion that made Rarity’s eyes sparkle. However, the rough yellow residue that it was jammed into had quite the opposite effect. It made her pause and stare at it, following the lines of lights as they bounced through the clear top till they became befuddled in the rough bottom.

“Huh, I was expecting something quite different if I must be honest,” Rarity said, pulling her eyes from the little piece, “It’s a beautiful gem but can’t the imperfection be removed?”

Alaina smiled, “It's been a source of much fighting in my family. However, the gem was to not be modified, not under any circumstances. My great-grandmother was very stern about that, and I will be certain to maintain that decree.”

“And that is why I trusted the gem to be in your family’s care,” Celestia said with a smile, “Me and my sister both.”

Rarity nodded. She was curious but she didn’t want to spoil the true nature of the gem by asking why it wasn’t refined. But she continued to look at the gem, letting her eyes continue to play among the lines.

“So, this is the one your unfortunate friend is after, correct?” Alaina asked, getting a little more serious.

Celestia nodded, “We do not know for certain, but it is a possibility, and as the caretaker of the gem you should be one of the first to know.”

Alaina nodded, “I appreciate the knowledge. Though it’s discouraging to not be able to do anything should she arrive. Are you certain you do not want us to interfere?”

Celestia nodded her face serious, “Whatever magic or contraption fueling the control of Fluttershy, it makes her formidable. Formidable enough to pose a serious threat to even my sister and I,” She paused looking Alaina dead in the eye, “If your security measures have the ability to subdue an alicorn, then we can consider a plan of action. But for now, your team will be on damage control as we discussed.”

Alaina blinked, “It’s that serious?”

Rarity nodded, saddened.

Alaina frowned, “Are you sure we should still host the event? Or at least keep the gem in storage?”

Celestia shook her head, “This is more of a test. We do not know the plans of those pulling their strings on Fluttershy. She may not even show up! But if she does, it will give us a better idea of their final plans. Plans we can then counter.”

Alaina nodded nervously, “If you are sure…”

Celestia smiled, “Both Luna and I are on duty for tonight. If anything, it will attract more ponies to your event. So everypony will win.”

“If she doesn’t show up,” Alaina said with a small smile, “If she does show up the event will probably be ruined for times to come.”

Celestia chuckled, “Do not worry. I’m sure my sister and I can help with restoring your event. You help me, I help you.”

Alaina nodded but her nervousness was still on her face, “Of course Princess. It’s your gem after all, even after all these generations. A gift that has been able to bless our event with much participation. I am happy to return the favor. Though, should she show up, I will enjoy a conversation about how to smooth the wrinkles that would inevitably appear in the fashion world.”

The Princess smiled, “Like a dress, you just need to do a little work to get out wrinkles. It's even better when you have the correct tools,” She winked, “I would be happy to help. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to smooth out wrinkles caused by public contentions.”

Alaina laughed, “Yes I recall many stories from my foal hood from my grandparents.”

Celestia shared the laugh, “Pray tell it’s not too embarrassing!”

Alaina chuckled, “No, not that much.”

Rarity continued to stare at the gem while the two talked. It was just a very simple gem. Yet it had caused a pony to take the life of her friend and use it like she would a puppet. Was this power really that strong?

“Rarity, are you alright?” Alaina suddenly asked, her cheery tone dropping.

Rarity blinked pulling her mind out of the world it had been in, “Yes, I’m just surprised is all. It's just a small gem! Yet, because of something so small, my friend suffers.”

Alaina smiled sadly, “Yes. Unfortunately, I can share in that concern and grief,” She looked around the vault with eyes that were somewhere else.

“There was a time when we didn’t have to store these wonderful examples of our lands. Yet, from the stories of my grandparents, there were many fights about them. Our events would bring ponies from many lands to compete. Friendly competition! Yet, there will always be that one pony who just wants it all,” Alaina looked back at Rarity, “Years upon years ago, there was a battle in this very city over these gems. Hundreds were hurt. Several were even killed. All over simple hunks of rock that contained purpose given to them. At the end of the day? They are just formations of minerals that we find to be pretty. Yet, some are willing to throw others away for that given value. It’s unfortunate…”

Celestia nodded, “Indeed. Thankfully I haven’t had to stop such contentions in quite a while. But they still hide in the shadows. Waiting for their moment.”

Rarity nodded sadly. But it made her pause to think. What was the moment that caused Fluttershy to fall into the hooves of Noah? She may have been made of metal since she first met the timid pegasus. But why now?

She absent-mindedly followed the two other ponies out, preoccupied with her thoughts. Could she have done something? Should she run back into the vault and break the gem?

“Is she alright?” She heard Alaina speak, but she didn’t respond as it wasn’t directed at her.

“She is dealing with the potential loss of a friend. A dear one at that. Somethings will simply not make sense.” She heard Celestia reply.

“I’m fine,” Rarity said with a smile, “I’m just uncertain about the motives of the fiend that is controlling Fluttershy…”

“Some ponies' ambitions will not be known unless they want them to be known,” Celestia said with a somber voice, “But take heart! Try to enjoy the event that you have prepared for so much. It will not assist you to be full of doubt and worry.”

“It’s a great dress!” Alaina complemented, “You’ve done a wonderful job.”

Rarity smiled, feeling a glow inside like a flashlight in a dark woods.

Celestia nodded with a smile, “Let us head back to your group. The main event will be starting here soon.”

Alaina smiled, “Just a review before you go. If your friend does show up, just focus on evacuation. Let you deal with her. No engagement and no trying to stop her, right?”

Celestia nodded, “Yes, the gem’s safety is not comparable to that of ponies. Just get the guests out, let Rarity do her thing.”

Alaina nodded, “Alright, I will debrief the security once more. Just to be safe. You two enjoy the event! I shall go and oversee transportation.”

Celestia nodded and she and Rarity did a small bow before leaving. The two were silent as they were guided through security. It was a block back towards the building before the silence broke.

“Are you okay?” Celestia asked quietly. The city's roads were quiet, with very few ponies in the cool night air. No doubt enjoying the event’s venues.

Rarity frowned, “It is just a tiny rock. All this because of a tiny rock…” She gestured with a flick of her head to the dress she was wearing, “Fluttershy is no doubt feeling terrified! I just can’t help but get mad! Or frustrated!” She let out a breath, “I suppose I can’t understand why some pony would do such a thing! I mean, I understand that its part of something bigger but, why?”

Celestia was quiet for a moment more, but her pace slowed. She gave the unicorn a small smile, “Power. It's as simple as that.”

Rarity frowned, understanding. She knew quite a few ponies willing to do a lot of things for money. But taking over some pony’s life? Replacing their very body with metal to serve a new purpose?

“Do you think she was born a pony?” She asked quietly, “Or do you think I’ve been friends with a machine this whole time? A very kind machine. But, still a machine?”

“Would it be a bad thing either way?” Celestia asked simply.

Rarity shook her head, “No, that’s not what I mean. I suppose it would be odd had I known she was who she was. And that would have cleared up quite a few things as well. But, I’m trying to figure out if Noah,” She paused, feeling the words choke up in her brain, “Built her. Or she was born of her parents and changed by him?”

Celestia sighed, “I do not believe Fluttershy was built by Noah. I’ve never seen Cuite mark magic replicated except that in a family,” She turned to Rarity, “I do believe that she was changed by Noah later in her life.”

“But why would some pony do that? I’ve seen ponies do some awful things to others to get money and power, and heard many more stories about much worse! But to change somepony like that, with no remorse or thought about her?! Who are we really dealing with?”

Celestia’s face was blank, “Some pony who thinks they are right.”

Rarity frowned, “Huh?”

“Say the Everfree forest became rampant and you and your friends had to go destroy it. Would you be in the right to do so?” Celestia asked.

“Of course! If it's rampant and destroying Ponyville; we have the right to defend it!”

“But what do you think the inhabitants of the forest think?”

Rarity frowned, “With all due respect Princess, I do not think the Timberwolves think…”

Celestia smiled, “Not like us sure. But they do think. They have families of their own and wish to protect them. It’s a simple thing of nature. Life is quite protective of the next generation, regardless of the form life takes. Yes, there are exceptions. But, if you had to protect your children, do you think you would be willing to take some pony’s life?”

Rarity frowned. The only pony she had technically killed was Sombra. Even then, he was apparently able to come back. But he had deserved it for the actions he took against the Crystal empire. But, if it was somepony else? Some creature not so obviously evil?

Celestia’s face formed into a small smile, “If somepony was trying to kill your child, then you obviously would react accordingly. Now, I would like to think that you wouldn’t try to actively kill the attacker but some would. And they would feel justified as they were trying to defend their offspring.”

Rarity nodded remembering a few cases where such a thing had happened. They were quite rare but they had occurred.

“Now imagine that feeling in something else. Say, entitlement to something. For example, as the older sister of the family you are entitled to boss your little sister around.”

Rarity frowned, “I wouldn’t say boss…”

Celestia chuckled, “I agree. We as older siblings want to take care of each other and have more experience. And if we see our younger siblings doing something that we know is going to turn out bad then we feel the need to stop them.”

“Like using super glue as hair gel…” Rarity said, remembering a vivid conversation with her younger sibling from a time ago.

Celestia nodded, “Yes! But how do you think they feel? Do you think they would understand?”

Rarity shook her head. She knew that from experience.

Celestia smiled, “It’s the same way here. Or, at least how I see it. Noah feels entitled to the power of the amulet as it may help him accomplish something that he feels needs to be done. Maybe he just wants the power? That might be true. But regardless, he feels he’s right to change Fluttershy to serve his needs because he feels its right. Or he’s crazy…”

Rarity smiled, “I hope it’s the crazy…”

Celestia shook her head, “I disagree. Crazy ponies can not be negotiated with. And as such, many lives are affected or even lost. I hope he is not crazy or I fear for our friend.”

Rarity nodded. A part of her wanted to talk to Noah and stop this whole debacle with carefully spoken words. But the other part wanted to pound him flat for the things he had done to her friend.

“Do not let anger cloud your judgment. It is simply an urge to act, acting on it too soon and without clear thoughts will only prolong your suffering,” Celestia said quietly, stopping at the building she had pulled the unicorn from.

Rarity sighed, “I’m sorry. I’m just so mad at Noah. What gives him the right?”

“Himself.”

Rarity frowned, recalling the earlier conversation.

“Relax, and enjoy your event. Keep a vigil eye out and get a scan if she appears. You do not want to get grey hairs because of stress, do you?”

Rarity frowned with distaste at the image, then chuckled, “Thanks.”

Celestia mirrored her smile, stopping in front of the building she had pulled Rarity out of, “Of course. Don’t forget about the check before the main event. We want to make sure everything’s in order.”

Rarity nodded, “Of course.” She then bowed and walked back into the building she had left minutes ago. Her group had changed a bit from when she had last left them but it made for pleasant conversation. All the while looking for her timid friend. She even would look at the ceiling as it could provide a hiding place with one with wings. She did get asked about it but she was able to throw such suspicion under the rug, barely. She again used her excuse of being a teacher, saying her patrols through the hallways looking for students not in class had taught her to look up often. Some bought it, some didn’t. Thankfully the suspicion didn’t affect the conversations too much. And there were many. She enjoyed it though, traveling through venues and different mini-events.

She enjoyed herself! She even got several new ideas for designs for new fashion lines! Got much-needed input from all around the fashion industry. All stored away in her little notebook she kept on her at all times. She even had a spare if she ran out of space on the little pages.

But she would have really enjoyed herself if she constantly wasn’t looking up from a conversation because something pink caught her eye. A yellow dress pulled her attention so much that the owner came over to ask about it. She was able to smooth that over with compliments on the piece only because the pony had just gotten into fashion. Using that, she was able to pull the attention away from her accidental glances by giving the pony advice. She was much more careful from then on.

So, when it came time for the main event, she was exhausted. But she excused herself from her group saying she had a meeting with Twilight before the event. They wished her well and she trudged over to Glyph’s place. Luckily, she didn’t have to go to the Castle to meet with her. Though it was still a trek before she got to Glyph’s house.

She wearily reached up and knocked on the front door, trying her best to keep her face cheerful. Thankfully it opened quickly and her tiredness was momentarily forgotten.

Twilight had opened the door, but she was covered in wires and bits of metal. Flashing lights emanated from the satchel she had hanging from her left side. Also there, were multiple glowing cords that ran to several devices on her head which looked like her little scanner. Her horn was covered in glowing rings of metal, but they were glowing because her magic was levitating them. Instead of a bright purple, there was way too much white. Staining her friend’s natural glow with a much lighter color.

But she didn’t seem perturbed by it at all but had a large smile on her face.

“Uh, Twilight, how much did I miss?” Rarity asked with a weary smile.

Twilight chuckled, “Oh not much. Except me and Glyph may have found a better way to crystalize magic. A method that could potentially store Alicorn magic! Now, we can’t reverse the process but its potential to be a battery is quite strong!”

“A Alicorn battery?”

“An Allterry,” Twilight corrected, letting the unicorn step inside, “That’s what we’ve dubbed it for now until Pinkie can come up with a better name.”

“Pinkie?”

Twilight nodded, “I’m sure she’ll want to come up with a better name than our haphazard combination. She’s pretty good at it.”

Rarity nodded, “I’m sure she would. But, I hate to be a bother, can I get out of this thing?” She shifted her weight, making the dress shift, “I made the dress to be comfortable but the jumpsuit is not up to par. The weight is also killing me…”

Twilight frowned, “How long do we have?” She pushed open the door to the basement allowing Rarity to go first.

“Not long really,” Rarity said with a sigh, “I would say maybe 20? Likely ten with the walk.”

Twilight shrugged, “Let's do the test real quick then I’m sure I can shave off ten minutes with teleportation,” She replied giving the white unicorn a wink.

Rarity chuckled, “Oh I would love that!”

Applejack had a load on her back. Both emotional and physical.

Her physical load was a load of animal feed of varying types. Her emotional load was because of her task.

She was helping Dr. Fauna feed the nightly critters taking refuge in Sweet Feather Sanctuary.

She was happy to help but that wasn’t the problem. The task had to be filled because of the recent events that were happening to her friend.

Applejack couldn’t fathom it.

In just a few days, she had seen her friend turn from her skittish self to a machine capable of fighting off the Princesses of Equestria. And the Element bearers to boot.

She knew the little pegasus had quite the strength. She had seen the pony push over boulders and trees like it was nothing to save a critter. Not to mention survive the hugs she had gotten from Harry and the numerous Boa constrictors she cared for.

She shivered and put down the feed where Dr. Fauna had indicated, making her chest pull along her patch. Those hugs made her ribs want to crack and her lungs would feel tighter than an apple in an apple press. While Fluttershy could still sing notes under the same pressure! The fact that Fluttershy would be much more comfortable with metal ribs, made a lot more sense.

But it was also confusing and, unnerving. When Fluttershy was pulled away from her puppeteer strings she would be very happy. But, would things be the same when she knew her true origins? Surely not?

“Thanks again Applejack, I wouldn’t have been able to carry all this in one night. I’m really not sure how she does it!” Dr. Fauna said, beginning to portion out the feed.

Applejack nodded, “Yeah, she does always have her hooves full don’t she?”

She looked around trying to escape her thoughts. It was very dark and made it nearly impossible to see. But numerous rocks around the Sanctuary glowed gently next to the care center. Marking it for ponies to find but not too bright to disturb the sick wildlife.

“Eat up little one,” Fauna said proffering a small ball of food to a creature Applejack didn’t recognize.

The critter shook its head, making Dr. Fauna sigh with acceptance. She then pulled the pill out of the little ball of food and gently pushed it down the critter’s throat with a carefully made tool. Applejack watched, remembering times she had to do the same thing with Winona.

Unless Fluttershy was around. She could get that little devil to eat a whole mound of pills if she needed to. Applejack chuckled at the envisioned thought but sighed it gently away.

“How long do you think Fluttershy is going to be tied up?” Dr. Fauna asked, giving another hidden pill to another critter.

Applejack frowned, “No idea. Just hope its soon.” Dr. Fauna had been filled in on Fluttershy’s fate but they avoided talking about it around the animals. They didn’t need a whole sanctuary of sick animals getting upset and potentially hurting themselves further.

“I agree,” Came the tired response, “You holding up alright? I know you are normally asleep at this hour.”

Applejack nodded suppressing a yawn at the mention of the time, “Yeah, it's not the first time that I’ve been up late. Won’t be the last. I’ll be alright.”

Dr. Fauna nodded, “Good. Don’t want to impede your work at the farm!”

Applejack smiled, “Don’t worry about it too much, you got quite a bit to chew yourself. But I’ve got ma friends coming tomorrow to help us catch up.”

“Oh that’s good. If you finish up with good time, mind sending some of that pony power here? I could use it.”

Applejack nodded, “Of course. But, knowing ma friends, we are just going to get pulled away.”

“Pulled away?”

Applejack nodded, “On some adventure. It always calls when ya don’t need it!”

Dr. Fauna nodded with a laugh, “Oh you can say that again. Life seems to be a game of whack-a-mole sometimes. You get the hang of one thing, and another pops up!”

Applejack nodded, pushing a bowl of feed to a critter. This one looked like a very small cat, almost a kitten. But she didn’t know what it was but it didn’t seem hostile, accepting the pungent food with a grateful purr.

She found herself just staring at the creature, waiting. Only, the thing she was waiting for was not going to happen.

She sighed and looked at Dr. Fauna, “What’s this little creature?”

“Hm? Oh, she is a black-footed cat. Tiny little nocturnal cats that are excellent hunters.”

Applejack looked at the cat peacefully eating its meal, wondering what the creature would hunt, “And what she stuck here for?”

“Oh not too much. She got a splinter stuck in her paw that got infected after removal. She’s just recovering from that.” Dr. Fauna said, portioning more of the food.

Applejack nodded, looking back towards the lone building in the sanctuary. This building had a few more glowing rocks but it was simply a storage building. Well, more of a building built into the stone wall. The little glowing butterfly marked the door. Behind the locked door were many of the medicines, feeds, and tools needed to run the sanctuary. Some were placed in hidden locations around the sanctuary for quick use. Like the little stone box that contained the means to test and manage the Ph level of the little pool. Or the toy station for playing with the critters located in a fake tree.

“Oh I’m sorry,” Dr. Fauna said pulling Applejack’s attention back, “But Fluttershy isn’t around right now.”

The little lizard seemed to look upset, its facial expression strongly effective on that fact. The air seemed to droop as the group kept quiet.

Fluttershy had known she was the only one that could communicate with animals so she devised a system with her veterinarian friend to help her. Simply, it was her cuite mark cut out onto a little stone plate. There were little piles of them placed throughout the sanctuary. So, if a creature wanted to communicate something that Dr. Fauna couldn’t understand, it would bring her a little stone butterfly. Fauna would then get Fluttershy and work from there.

The little lizard gently placed the little butterfly on the ground and looked imploringly at the vet. Applejack and Dr. Fauna looked uncomfortable as they were able to understand the lizard’s question.

“I’m not sure little one. It may be a little while…” Dr. Fauna replied sadly.

Rarity was floating in her friend’s magic. She had gotten a ten-minute break while Glyph double-checked her work but then jumped back into the jumpsuit and dress. She then allowed Twilight to teleport her back to the event. Well, sort of.

“Uh, Twilight? Why are we in the sky?” Rarity asked confused as she floated several house lengths above the buildings.

Twilight smiled awkwardly, “Well, I actually don’t know where the event is at so I have no way of targeting it with my magic. You’ll need to point out the building.”

Rarity nodded and quickly looked down. She had to squint to make out the details among the lights of the buildings but it wasn’t too difficult with the size of the building she was after. It’s bright front doors lit up much like her friend’s emergency beacon would. Though, in that light, she also saw a multitude of ponies getting in line to get into the door.

On second thought, maybe she shouldn’t have waited.

She shrugged and pointed out the building to her friend. Who nodded and with a flash was next to the ground. Rarity was gently placed on the ground where she once more felt the weight of the dress on her hooves. She looked up at Twilight with a smile.

“Thank you, darling!”

Twilight nodded still hovering in the air. A few ponies paused to give the Princess looks but only gave nods of recognition to the Alicorn, “Oh course! Have fun!” She replied, vanishing in a flash of light.

Rarity smiled and started to make her way into the crowd of ponies going through to the entrance. Luckily it wasn’t too crowed and everypony had the decency to not step on the expensive gowns that were ever so close to the ground. So, Rarity strode in with confidence. Or, until she heard her name called out.

“Rarity! Oh, it’s such a delight to run into you!”

Rarity turned and was greeted by another lavender pony in a blazing dress. She immediately smiled seeing the phoenix that spread its wings along her chest and alongside her shoulders. Flames seemed to dance as the folds of the dress drifted backward, completely enveloping the pony in red and gold. Black and purple sequence followed the flames along, creating ribbons of smoke that trailed from the collar. Smoke that seemed to rise up with the pony’s hair dyed in a black and purple gradient.

It was well done and Rarity took a moment to soak it all in. But then she frowned while half smiling.

“I’m terribly sorry, but I do not recognize you. It’s been a long night, can you refresh me?”

The pony’s face did not falter, but rather, she laughed, “Oh I wouldn’t expect you to recognize me. I’m Enya Phoenix? We’ve been sending some letters back and forth!”

Rarity’s eyes lit up, “Oh! You’re Timber’s marefriend!”

Enya nodded with a smile, “I sure am! Thanks for all the fashion advice! It was really helpful in getting my dress done! Well, sort of. Wasn’t able to finish the bodice and in my rush, I ripped the gown…”

Rarity frowned, remembering such times in her early years, “Oh my goodness! Did you tear the robe? Cause otherwise it’s still salvageable!”

Enya shook her head, “Oh no, it's intact. Just, I was trying to finish it last night and…”

“She ripped it clean apart and the house was filled with screams of rage and despair…” Said a much deeper voice. That one Rarity knew. That was Timber’s voice, a stallion who was a pale grey that seemed to lack shadow. He was well built with muscle but not overly so. Neat black hair lay atop his head styled with a slight blue color. It matched his dark blue fashion, a suit with a pale green tie. Along with his clothes, he wore a simple watch that was held on by a dark blue band while the watch itself was a dark metal. Rarity knew that Timber had created the piece himself, and she could visualize the many gears and such turning in their case. Timber had created the piece specially to allow the outside world to see the tiny sea of turning parts.

While he wasn’t the best at creating the clothing his girlfriend created, he was good with the non-clothing parts of fashion. He often would take orders from Rarity if her designs needed something to be made out of less malleable materials like metal or plastic. His work was quite splendid and detailed even at a tiny level.

The work was even more impressive with Timber being an Earth pony. Rarity did know that Enya helped him from time to time with her unicorn magic but that was for special projects like placing patterns of flux on red hot metal.

Enya smiled with an embarrassed air, “Yeah, might have woke up the neighbors on that one…” She chuckled, her embarrassment showing on her face.

Rarity frowned in confusion, “But, you fixed it right? It looks wonderful!”

Enya chuckled once more, “Oh no. I didn’t have enough materials to repair the damage. Ran out of elastics for the mid-body. No, this is the dress of my family. An heirloom you might say.”

Rarity’s eyes widened a bit, “An heirloom! Darling, should you be wearing such a piece?”

Enya smiled, “Yes. My great, great, great grandmother would scold me for not wearing it to such an event. Or, so I’m told…”

Timber nodded with a laugh, “Oh she was told alright. Nearly the entire family demanded that she use the dress when they found out she was going to not go in fashion.”

Timber’s voice changed pitch, presumably mimicking a family member’s voice, “Now don’t you dare wear such a plain gown to such an important event!!”

Enya rolled her eyes, “If the neighbors weren’t awake by that point, I’d envy their sleeping abilities. I simply do not know the fuss! It’s just a dress, every pony isn’t going to judge an amateur going into fashion! Surely a simple dress would have been just fine.”

“Oh,” Timber said, voice back to normal, “It’s not just an event. This is a very important event! Especially for you!”

The group had finally made it into the building, being one of the last few ponies to do so. Enya rolled her eyes once more and smiled.

“That’s what you keep telling me. Yet, besides the obvious, it's not that important. It’s not going to ruin my career because I wear a different dress! This isn’t life-changing!” Her tone wasn’t upset, but comical, even playful.

“We’ll see about that,” Timber said mischievously.

Enya gave him a playful look, “Uh uh. Is that why you made sure I was able to make it to this event?”

“I’m not saying anything.”

Rarity laughed, “I presume this has been going on for a bit?”

Enya nodded, “A bit? Oh my dear its been weeks!”

“Weeks?”

Enya nodded once more. The group was now in a hallway, simple purple and whites adorning them. Each one led to other hallways to other events that would be going on. Though they were heading to the far ballroom, the biggest of Canterlot, except maybe the castle itself.

Timber chuckled, “It’s important!”

Enya laughed, “Oh I’m sure it is! You’ve just been so-“

“Uh, I’m sorry. But can I bother you for a moment?”

Rarity sharply turned her head to the new voice, seeing another mare in a simple blue dress. This pony didn’t match the pony she was looking for, so she relaxed after a moment.

This pony was dark orange with light brown hair. The hair was left to flow naturally and seemed a tad bit of a mess which matched the pony’s frazzled expression.

“Do one of you think you can grab something for me? I spilled something and really wanted to help clean it up! Only the supplies are too high up for me…”

Timber nodded, “Sure thing! Where’s the thing you need to get?”

Enya chuckled, “Darling, I do think she needs the assistance of magic.” She said, lighting her horn.

Rarity looked at the new pony, who was also an Earth pony. So, if she couldn’t reach it then Timber probably wouldn’t be able to reach it either.

Timber chuckled, “Oh alright. I won’t show off my climbing skills.”

Enya nodded satisfied, “Where was the thing you needed?” She asked, turning to the other pony.

“Don’t take too long!” Timber said after the two had started down the hallway, “You don’t want to m—”

“Table four, seat 01. Don’t worry darling! I’ll be right behind you.” Enya called back with a smile.

Timber nodded and he and Rarity continued down the hallway. It was quiet for a moment while Rarity decided to ask Timber about the conversation or not.

“Would you like to sit with us?” Timber asked suddenly.

“Sure,” Rarity said, “but I don’t want to take up too much space as it seems you reserved a table. May I ask for the reason?”

Timber smiled and said not a word as he pulled out a small velvet box. It was a dark hue of purple, so dark that it was near indistinguishable. The color was only separated by a simple golden band that cleaved the box into two soft shapes.

Rarity’s eyes shot wide when she saw it, “You’re going to propose?!” She asked in an astonished whisper.

Timber nodded with a smile, “I would love to have you at the table. It was you after all that got us to meet.”

Rarity smiled remembering the occasion, “Yes I do suppose. What’s the plan?”

“Let’s sit down and I’ll fill you in,” Timber said, stepping through the large doorway that led to the ballroom.

The ballroom didn’t immediately begin but slowly transitioned into one from the hallway. It widened gently into a well-lit room that had a large runway in the far back, taking a majority of the center. It was covered in a white cloth that draped a little off the sides. Fancy white ribbons trimmed off the rough edges, making single-colored rainbows dance along the side of the runway.

Around the runway were a multitude of tables, all garnished with simple plates and glasses of water on more white cloth. Many tables were already filled with ponies, tasting the water and conversing with their parties. The room was colored with dark blue walls and another shade of dark blue. Though it was a slightly different shade from the walls, giving one the ability to discern floor from wall easily.

On either side of the room was an unshielded staircase that led up to the upper level. This upper level was the same color as the lower level but not as large. It looked like an inside balcony. She also couldn’t stare directly up at the upper level as she’d blind herself with the light system above.

These lights weren’t the same lights Glyph had shown her in the limited time she had worked on her dress. These lights worked on the principles of magic-based crystal systems, not electricity. Though their housings were similar, instead of using glass to create a vacuum, it was simply used to protect the very fragile crystals.

But even protected they weren’t meant to last longer than Luna’s night. Rather, the room had tons of windows surrounding the upper walls to allow Celestia’s day to fill the room. But for the late-night events that occurred the lights did very well to light up the entire room.

She was curious to see the upper level but that’s where the gem exhibit was. But that wasn’t going to be open for a little bit. Though that wasn’t quite on her mind at the moment.

She was scanning the tables for her controlled friend. She continued her search even as her legs followed Timber to one of the few unoccupied tables. She continued to look around a bit more as she took the seat Timber offered her. But she relaxed a bit when she didn’t see her. Though her nerves were a little restless, she tried to push the feeling away with a little curiosity.

“So, we are siting down…” she said, looking at Timber.

Timber chuckled, “Yes. Well, it’s a simple plan. We are going to sit through the first part of the show.”

“The Exhibition?”

Timber nodded, “Yes, then after that, I will do my thing,” He gently padded the side of his suit jacket, “And then Alaina herself will take us on a little tour of the gems upstairs!”

Rarity smiled enthusiastically, “My goodness! You really went all out didn’t you?”

Timber chuckled, “Come on, you know me. I don’t do anything half way.”

Rarity grinned, “Huh-uh. I do suppose that your record would suggest that.” She chuckled.

Timber grinned.

“So do I need to say anything? Do anything?” Rarity asked.

Timber shook his head, “Nope, I can take care of everything. You can even join us if you’d like!”

Rarity frowned tempted by the offer, “No I couldn’t do that! This is your special time with her!”

Timber shrugged, “See it as a repayment for getting us together.”

Rarity rolled her eyes, “Darling the offer is tempting but I am interested in the first entries in the show! I realize that Enya may not yet be at the point for horseshoe creation and you are already an expert, but I do need some inspiration in that field.”

Timber chuckled, “Alright, alright, fair enough.”

Rarity smiled, “I do thank you for the offer though.”

“What offer?” Enya’s voice suddenly said.

Rarity turned to the pony with a smile, “Oh, you’ll see.”

Enya rolled her eyes, “You too huh?”

Rarity merely held her smile. Though noticed the pony’s hair seemed a little frazzled, or, different. She continued to stare at it as the pony took a seat.

“Seat number 01,” She said settling into her seat, “Right on time, early even! Does that satisfy you?” Enya said, giving Timber a playful look.

Timber chuckled with a nod.

Rarity mimicked the smile, “Did it go alright? Need a touch-up on your hair?”

Enya frowned and shook her head, “Is my hair messed up?”

Rarity frowned, “Not really? Just seems a bit different.”

Enya shrugged, “Eh, guess I need to relook at all the hair gel I’ve got.”

“Well, you look great still,” Timber assured, “The hair color seems to be holding fine.”

Enya sighed with relief, “Good, couldn’t choose the normal stuff I use.”

Rarity smiled, “I’m beginning to understand what happened with your original dress.”

Enya laughed, “Oh, I can say it was me being terrible at using my time.”

Rarity chuckled, “Oh time is one of the most slippery resources.”

Enya frowned, “You can say that again…”

The lights dimmed, prompting the trio to look towards the stage. The whole room quieted as the lights on the runway lit up with a bright white light. A bouncy tune started as the runway suddenly glowed with a magic hue. It sparkled across the entirety of the runway with bright white sparkles and ended at the end with another white flash of light.

When the sparkles cleared, Alaina stood there with a bright smile.

“Hello everypony! Welcome to the Sparkling Boutique!” She cried in a magically amplified voice.

The audience around them clapped their hooves together in a slight applause that lasted for just a moment.

Alaina nodded several times in multiple directions, “To those who haven’t gotten the schedules at the front doors or do not remember the schedule of events, it goes as follows: First off will be the exhibition line up. Then we will be showing off several of the horseshoe innovations that have happened in the time since the last time we met. After that comes the fashion shows! Mare formal dress will be first, then stallion formal dress, and after will be our hip-hop-themed show this year. Then will come our medieval theme showcasing multiple styles of fashion from multiple species!”

More applause filled the room. Rarity smiled at the selections. While the brochure had made the schedule clear, it had not specified the different creatures. Curiosity poked at her brain, but a sudden movement of yellow caught her eye. Thankfully it was just another outfit.

“Once that has been completed, there will be a Q and A about their line ups. After we have satisfied our questions there will be a miscellaneous line up of honorary guests. Then there will be our Fashion contest! Through out the event, keep an eye out for the best outfit you see! Under each chair will be your contest cards. Fill them out with your name, and three of the best outfits you’ve seen! Don’t vote for yourself now…” She said with a smile.

Rarity smiled, using her magic to pull the little piece of paper from under her seat. Attached to the paper was also a small pen. She quickly filled out her name and set the piece on the table. She already had a few ponies in mind.

“Don’t vote for me now,” Enya said playfully, “If I’m going to win, I want to win fair and square.”

Timber smiled and nodded, crossing out something on his piece of paper.

“Also, in between each event will be a little snack and refreshments. You can use that time to socialize and get those three names! The lights will signal the start and end of each section of the show but feel free to move around whenever you’d like! Just please do not get on the stage,” Alaina said with mild annoyance, “Let’s not do what happened a couple of events ago…”

A few laughs echoed through the hall. Rarity also chuckled, remembering the stallion rushing onto the stage to flirt with one of the actors. Before he could be physically removed, however, he fell through the stage after a stomp of anger.

“A few more things before we start,” Alaina said, walking back to the curtains on the stage making sparkles around her hooves, “For those who have allergies, all the waiters and servers have been briefed and can accommodate you. Just let them know your name. The gem exhibit will be opened after the hip-hop fashion show and will remain open for the remainder of the event. Just remember the evacuation protocol listed at the end of the schedule! These gems are extremely valuable and there may be those who wish to try and take them.”

She paused and turned around in a half circle, looking at the room with the curtains at her back, “If you are one of those who wish to steal one of the gems, know Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are on guard along with the team. So I would highly recommend you just enjoy the show! For those who are not here to do harm, please, enjoy!”

She vanished in another white flash of sparkled brilliance. The curtains behind her opened revealing a bright red pony with a top feathered plume dancing on her head, walking through the bright mist. Her darker red coat was partly concealed by a bright red dress with many layers. Each layer had levels of sequence that made every step bounce light in a different direction. Rarity watched the pony walk down the runway, enjoying the table she had been given.

She wasn’t a huge fan of the dress as the sequence was a little much. She would have loved the thin dress to be a bit darker and have a smooth finish. But she did applaud the fashion pony for the alignment of the sequence not blinding her as the pony walked by. It was just reflective enough to draw attention but not enough to blind.

The next pony was covered in a slick black suit that made them look more of a secret agent type. It was a normal suit with coat tails. Though the change was the slightly different color undershirt that had, two colors?

She gave the shirt a closer look, seeing the lighter blue thread only showing in a swirling pattern. It wasn’t too fast but barely noticeable. It then became even less apparent as it traveled through the black suit in semitransparent hues. The stallion’s hair was also in a slick flat fashion, completing the stylish secret agent look.

Though the next pony was wearing what Rarity could describe as a magician’s outfit. Thin purple vest with a white shirt and red bowtie. She had on a purple magician’s hat with a single red stripe at the top. It was quite odd as the white earth pony seemed to be wearing a plain magician’s outfit. Though as she got halfway through the stage, she began to do a little dance. A little tap dance that showcased her horseshoes having small pieces that swung in and out, creating more taps than a normal hoof could.

She then spun around, seemingly pulling a rainbow sheet out of thin air. She waved it around and twisted it up into a rope, then tied it together in a way that made a multicolored rose! Now the cloth origami wasn’t as exciting but the fact she got the sheet not from her vest while tapping all about? That was pretty impressive. She then tapped the bottom of the rose to her tongue and stuck it to her chest with a small wink to those who could see it.

“How did she get that thing to stick to her vest? Saliva isn’t that sticky, right?” Enya whispered.

Timber chuckled quietly as the pony began to tap dance back, “It’s an old magician trick. It’s a special pad that the pony keeps on their tongue. It’s an edible type of glue that is activated by saliva. It's not very strong and only lasts for like ten minutes. But it's suitable for earth pony magic.”

Enya nodded with a smile, “I’ll have to right that down! That could make for some quick patches in a pinch!” She patted down the front of her dress, then the side, then her mane. She frowned and looked at the table franticly.

Rarity gave the pony a concerned look as the tap-dancing magician was exiting the stage, “What’s the matter?” She asked in a whisper.

“I’ve lost my idea notebook!” Enya said in a panicked whisper, “I must have dropped it somewhere…”

Rarity smiled and pulled her secondary notebook out with her magic and proffered it, “Here, I always keep two on me for these events.”

Enya gave the unicorn a warm smile, “Oh thank you! I really should do that…” She wrapped it in her magic and hastily opened the book, “What was the name of the patch?”

Timber had a smile on his face as well, “It’s the Instant Swamp patch.”

Enya paused with her writing, “Huh? Swamp patch?”

Timber chuckled, “Cause of all the sickness it first caused. The main reason why the disinfectant was added to the formula.”

Enya shook her head, “Wonder why that wasn’t added at first.”

Rarity shrugged, “Those things aren’t always thought about.”

The next pony walked onto the stage clad with full metal armor. The lights above dimmed and moved their gaze away, so as to not blind the audience with the reflected rays. The pony marched onwards, allowing others to note the engravings on the various pieces of armor. Rarity could see bits of thickened pieces of fabric meshed beneath the armored plates.

She didn’t look too deeply into the medieval times of her species. But she was certain those pieces of fabric were likely capable of stopping a sword from sliding across it. She doubted it would stop a stabbing motion but it was certainly better than an empty hole in the metal adornments.

Her analysis stopped short when she realized that the pony wasn’t alone. Entering the stage was another creature, a gryphon. The gryphon had a helmet with semitranslucent panels for them to see through. It looked much like a pony helmet that the Canterlot Guard would wear but was made up of thicker plates of metal. They also ran down the front of the neck, connecting to a thick chest plate that had a bunch of thick polygons. They seemed to bulge out of the metal as if they were beneath it. But Rarity knew such sharp shapes and ridges were to deflect the heavy spears and claws the griffons had. The rest of the creature had several armor plates protecting the various other parts of the body but she could still see a lot not covered by metal.

Rarity knew that reason too. The griffons were creatures that had a lot more endurance than ponies. Well, except earth ponies with their magic. However, gryphons were heavy-hitting fighters. They used attacks that could fell the enemy in a single swipe. If they missed or needed to do another attack, they’d curl up, interlocking their amor along the polygonal shapes. This would protect the exposed areas and allow them to counterattack soon after.

Rarity could feel the stage trembling with the armored creature walking on top of it. She kept her smile, holding back the fear she felt. She never wanted to go head-on with a griffon. While their culture and battling spirit had dimmed over the years, their anger could still be seen through the ages.

The next creature came floating in a sphere of water. Rarity gave the liquid a skeptical look. Such a volume of water could spell disaster if whatever was holding it together broke. Though the thought remained in the forefront of her mind, she focused on the contents of the bubble.

It was a Seapony! She also was wearing armor that was adorned in many colors of a coral reef! It was very light armor that seemed to glow with lines of magic every so slightly. It was barely visible as it traveled along the metal plates.

The glow included her helmet which was very open in design. With wide cut outs for the eyes that joined together in a nose plate that extended outwards and around her head like that of a sea horse. Rarity could see the differing colors of sharpened steel as her gaze wandered close to the very edges of the metal mohawk.

A chest plate of many plates protected the creature’s chest, allowing for full swimming movements. Simple leg gauntlets adorned her two forelegs, covering only a small section of them. Though they had a locking mechanism on the top half. Rarity gave the piece a look, wondering what would lock into the piece.

The Seapony’s fish tail had a skirt of metal plate that continued down her tail like large stones making a path along a river. They were held together with a myriad of metal cords that seemed to slightly restrict her movement. Though, Rarity was sure it wasn’t enough to inhibit the creature. But she would have to ask how the plates were sticking so close to her body.

Her thoughts popped as the bubble exploded into a myriad of mist and sparkles. Rarity wasn’t the only one to cry out in alarm as she feared the consequences of getting wet. Especially for the sensitive electronics she was holding. Though her relief seemed to permeate the entirety of her mind when she was only pelted with sparkles of residual magic.

Timber chuckled as he surveyed the two mares catching their breaths, “Oh? Scared of a little water?”

His girlfriend whipped her head towards him with an angry but bemused glare, “Do you think I want this dress ruined? My aunt would kill me then throw my spirit in Tartarus!”

Timber chuckled once more as the seapony had become a hippogriff. Her armor also changing in the transformation. Though it retained its colors and mystical glowing lines, it nearly perfectly resembled a pegasus’s armor. Only it was slimmer with more aerodynamic angles and an overall opalescent look. The thin wires snaking in and out of the metal plates.

It was very pretty.

She found herself wondering if she could layer thing layers of metal under an opalescent cover to mimic the effect in clothing. She frowned as her mind swore there was a way to implement that into the metal itself. She continued to think on this as she watched the group turn and walk backstage. Once the curtains stopped moving, the lights gradually turned back on.

“Well, that was quite a teaser!” Enya said with a thoughtful pose.

Timber nodded and gave Rarity a small smile. Rarity returned it and settled her gaze on Enya. Enya noticed immediately and gave her a curiously playful look. But her attention was pulled to Timber as he got up from his seat.

“You’ve given me quite the teaser yourself over the years,” Timber said in a confident voice, “You’ve taught me a lot and have been willing to let me teach you a lot. And I hope to be able to continue the camaraderie we’ve built for years to come.”

Rarity could hardly keep the smile from dominating her face. She could see herself with a stupid wide grin on her face with ponies and the little crystal bird on her head watching it all. Though she didn’t let it bother her too much. Timber wouldn’t mind. Though she noticed that Enya’s face was still in a confused state but there was a cautious smile on her face.

The smile only grew on Rarity’s face. Enya couldn’t decide if this was on of Timber’s pranks or not. Enya looked at Rarity, trying to decipher the secrets she had been given. But she kept her face firm and tried to keep her smile as innocent as possible.

Enya turned to Timber though when he lowered himself into a bow, the velvet-covered box open in one hoof. Inside was a unicorn engagement horn ring. A tradition sign of a unicorn marriage promise. Rarity smiled, wondering how the earth pony traditions would be satisfied later.

“Will you be willing to continue our journey? From now to forever?” Timber asked, his voice gentle but firm.

There it was! The proposal! Rarity had to hide her smile behind her hooves this time. But she knew her face was no doubted giving away her expression. She had known Timber for years. Many years. As he was her go-to for all the metal things her tools weren’t able to work with. She had helped Timber connect with Enya almost 2 years prior. Two years that she had never met the unicorn but she knew that the two had become an amazing team. A nearly inseparable duo at that. Only distance managed to keep her from meeting her. But she heard many, many good things about her in her letters from Timber. It was an absolute delight to finally see the mare in person, no less see Timber finally propose!

However, her delight hit a wall in her mind, leaving a brightly confused mix of confusion and worry.

Enya’s face didn’t match the face she had been playing out in her mind. Rather, it was one of confusion, and horror. Rarity frowned, moving her hooves from her face to try and mitigate the situation. As Timber’s face was equally confused.

They were a match made in heaven! Why wouldn’t she be jumping all over the proposal?

Then, a brilliant blue bolt of energy crackled along the unicorn’s face. Like a lightning bolt dancing through her coat hairs, lasting only for a second. Rarity felt all her feelings freeze, then shatter with horror.

She’d seen those little bolts of energy before…

“I’m not the one you should be asking…” Enya said, in her timid friend’s voice.

Fluttershy felt the words fall out of her mouth, escaping the hot emotions she felt in her tired mind. Horror, shock, and burning embarrassment choked the realization that she did speak of her own accord. But it was short-lived as she felt her entire body seize up, causing her to fall out of her chair. She tumbled backward, drawing the burning gazes of the others around her. She felt her body roll upright of its own accord with a smoothness that she could not repeat. She felt the hair on her head unfurl and float around her head. She could feel a strange numbness on her back where her wings should be. Though she shuddered as she fought her wings emerging from her back.

Not the dress! She screamed internally, her exhaustion ever so present in her mind but washed thin by her anxiety and adrenaline. She knew the dress was important. Very, very important to the pony she left in the closet. She did not want to break it. No. She wouldn’t break it!

She could feel straining in her back, as something seemed to be trying to push itself out of it. She could hear it complaining about her efforts, an awful, unnatural sound that reminded her of metal. She somehow knew it was her wings but she refused to let them out and tear up the tight underlying of the dress. She shuddered once more, trying to get the dress off of her forelegs. But she couldn’t move more than a centimeter before her limbs fought her.

Action denied!

She continued to fight to stop her new body from destroying this important piece of clothing. Her confusion about how she knew was raging in her mind. Her worry for the pony who owned it. The hot embarrassment of being wrongly proposed to. It boiled down in her mind, coalescing into anger.

Just take off the dress!! She screamed at the thing controlling her, the new thing that she had found in her mind.

Rarity could only stare at Enya seemingly struggling with herself. She felt as if her body was bathed in liquid nitrogen as she watched more tiny little bolts dance around the pony’s exposed coat. Her ears twitch uncontrollably. She was shuddering every other moment, seemingly trying to get her hooves out of her sleeves.

“Enya? I’m sorry! Are you okay?” Timber asked, putting the ring in his pocket before jumping forward.

Seconds. It had only been a few seconds for the entire mood of the party to change. Seconds to change the very way she saw her friend. So she wasn’t surprised as pink hairs burst out from the top of her head. Her original hairstyle seemed to be a container made of polygons that shattered as the hairs burst from it. It morphed the polygons into much smaller ones, barely holding together with infinitesimal specs of colored light. Rarity could still see the original hair if she squinted at it, but it soon became an unrecognizable blob as more hair suddenly shot out of it. It vanished, revealing the bright pink hair that she knew all too well.

Each follicle went to the back of Enya’s dress, gently peeling it up and off with expertise of magic. The pony’s head was enveloped by the dress for a moment before it was pulled off exactly as it was designed. Rarity felt her eyes widen in shock, not noticing the hair place the dress gently on the table. Rather, she was awe-stricken seeing the pink butterflies where Enya’s Cutie mark should have been. The light lavender coat that was slowly being consumed by a butter yellow while large rectangles of ethereal blue waves marked large holes in her back. But her attention snapped to the pony’s face as her horn flickered and lost all appearances of a horn.

It, was clear.

It looked to be made of blue-tinted glass that had several wires, crystals, and other tiny electromagical components encased inside. It clicked, then sank into her forehead. A panel closed behind it, making it seamless.

Rarity felt herself swallow, barely hearing the small gasps of those around her. The holes in the back of the seemingly earth pony were quickly filled with wings that sounded like the sheathing of a sword. They gently unfurled, mimicking flesh and bone perfectly. Rarity looked into the now teal eyes, feeling the fear and embarrassment radiating from them. Then, the entire body suddenly relaxed and took a smooth step to steady the rest of her form. The little bolts of energy stopped dancing around her body, the emotions vanishing from her eyes just as quickly.

“Enya?” Timber asked quietly, the shock, disbelief, and worry heavy in his voice.

Fluttershy didn’t respond but smoothly closed her wings and looked around with sharp, unnatural movements. Her unnaturally wide and blank eyes disappeared for moments under her very quick eyelids.

Snickt.

Rarity remained in her seat as if it had turned into a tree with her still in it. She was vaguely aware of the room being suddenly very quiet. There were still conversations but as the shock traveled along the room, they faded to silence. It seemed to fill the space, tightening it to the point where Rarity found it difficult to breathe.

She felt like a rabbit in the gaze of a tiger. Like taking a sharp breath would make the entire room explode.

Fluttershy’s eyes settled forward, staring at nothing in particular. Her wings smoothly, slowly extended outwards to a lower flapping position. Then sharply flicked upwards, sending two feathers soaring into the air. Rarity watched with tense breath as they whistled through the air, then pierced the glass casings of the lights above.

They exploded with a large, sharp bang! Releasing glass shards and all of their stored light energy in a flash that illuminated the room so brightly, that Rarity thought the sun itself crashed through the roof.

The tension in the room exploded as several ponies screamed in fear; causing the majority of the room to follow suit. Ponies jumped from their chairs, knocking them over in their haste. Many continued to scream in fear but all started for the exits. Rarity felt her anxiety crawl into her throat as she felt the desire to follow the crowd. But her eyes locked onto her shy friend uncharacteristically weaving in and out of screaming ponies. They only seemed to recoil in panic as she got close though, creating a fairly easy path.

Rarity steeled her nerves and jumped off her chair. She magically pulled chords near her chest, pulling the folds of her dress closer to her hips, clearing her back legs to run forward. She allowed a little pride to enter her heart of the little design. But it was hardly noticed as she jumped to and fro to avoid the ponies running around. She could hear Alaina’s magically enhanced voice shouting over the chaos, providing what little order she could.

She ignored it though, her target fully on her friend. Her magic turned to her little adornment, making the wings swing down. She felt the little devices embedded in her dress come to life, the little visor snapping to her eye. The words appeared immediately when she trained it onto Fluttershy.

Quantum fluctuations detected! Scanning for possible quantum states and patterns. Please retain subject in reticle!

Rarity felt her lips form into a tight smile of determination as she followed her friend to the side of the stairs. Thankfully, the others were giving her a wide berth. So even with the pegasus having a headstart, she was able to get to the stairs as Fluttershy reached the top. Though that’s when she paused.

Fluttershy reared up her back legs, then brought them down with a mighty thud. The ground beneath her cracked and Rarity backed up in alarm. The ground under and between the steps fell away as the support beams tore from the wall from a force they could not handle. The plaster, wooden edges, and other decorative finishings fell off like dry frosting off a cake. Creating a pile of broken stairs.

Rarity looked up in time to see Fluttershy dash off from view and a few steps falling off from the little edging they were anchored two. But they were just little beams of wood now! The ones left were supported by nails that were as thick as the pins she’d put in her hair! There was no way she was going to be able to use them now.

But her training with Twilight gave her a solution.

She’d been able to use her magic to make shields that were quite resilient. And Twilight had helped her to make them into different shapes and sizes. And able to hold weight in midair!

With varying success…

But she knew she could hold a pony or two for at least a few seconds. And that’s all she needed to—

“Rarity!” Timber’s voice was suddenly next to her, “What happened to Enya? Why was Fluttershy wearing her face?!”

Rarity pushed up the little wings on her device before turning to Timber, “I don’t know!”

“What? She’s your friend! One of your best friends!” His voice was shrill but plenty loud enough to be heard above the chaos currently around them.

Rarity felt the words clog in her mouth. She didn’t just want to tell exactly what was happening. Nor could she say much as she truly didn’t know what was happening to her poor friend!

So what should she say?

“Surely you have some reasoning? Or some understanding of what she’s doing?!”

Rarity felt her emotions bubble to her mouth as she tried to make magic stairs upwards. However it was a difficult spell for her, and her concentration had to give on something.

“I don’t know Timber! I don’t! All that I do know is that my friend has been abducted by a ruthless fiend who has control of her every limb. Her body and her will are his. And it seems that he changed her to fit his terrible design. All I know is that she’s in pain. Terrible pain. And I can only imagine being caught in a proposal not meant for you. Her poor heart can only handle so much! And now I’ve got to try and get scans of her. Scans of her new body that she didn’t even know she had!”

Her magic responded to her outburst, swirling fast around the wall where the broken steps were.

“And I have no clue about it! I’ve just got to keep her in my sights so this little gadget thing can, who knows what! Then I find out that she’s taken the looks of another of my friends! And acted just like her! And what happened to Enya? I don’t know! For all I know, Flutterbyte’s got her inside her! Tucked safely away in something that I can’t understand!!”

Timber blinked, his confusion diluting his anxiety and worry, “Inside her?”

Rarity nodded her head in a matter of factly, “Yeah! Inside her! They are magically compressed and it's totally safe. But, she’s metal! And I’ve got no idea how much metal she’s got in her. Or how long she’s been that way!!”

She felt her magic pause in its magical pull as it completed the shapes she wanted to get. She turned to them, the now very cubical shapes hovering in the air like bright blue diamonds. She put a hoof on it, testing its hold.

“Look, I’m worried about Enya but I need to get to Fluttershy. Cause she might be holding her and the more of a scan I get, the more I help Enya.” With that, she quickly clambered up the magical stairs. It took a lot more magic out of her than she expected but she reached the top with little time spent.

Her words did not inspire confidence in her though. The little hope she could draw from her mind was the knowledge that even if Flutterbyte hurt Enya to near death, Fluttershy wouldn’t let her die.

Right?

She ran forward, seeing the very large door that led to the gem exhibit blown to splinters and metal scrap. She steeled herself and flipped her crystal wings up, making her little visor flip out once more.

She’d seen Fluttershy heal Applejack after stabbing her in the chest. So, if Flutterbyte did something similar to Enya, she was still in good hooves.

Provided she could hold her control…

Or maybe it was because it was Applejack? Would she do that to a complete stranger?

She felt her head nod as she reached the shattered doorway. She timidly peeked around the frame, like a foal spying on their parents. Her timid friend was not very keen about strangers but she wasn’t a jerk to them. She was still very nice! Always nice!

But as she watched her friend shatter a glass case to allow her hair to gently pull the golden yellow gem out, she felt doubt in her mind. Not towards her friend but towards the evil twin she had hidden inside. And the nefarious thoughts and wants of the pony who put it into her. Would he allow her to be her kind self? Did she have to worry about her friend attempting to kill her? Could she take her appearance as well?

How many things could she realistically expect?

Her mouth was suddenly dry as she watched the little bar in her visor fill ever so slowly. She hadn’t entered the room yet but she was unsure if she should. She remained in the doorway, feeling like a mouse that stumbled into the house cat. If she breathed improperly the cat would spin to look at her then gobble her up.

She swallowed as she watched her friend’s chest crack open to reveal a metal interior. It looked like how Cadence described it and not how she’d seen it the first time. A six-pronged star that had the centerpiece come out in a circle. A long cylinder followed, filled with several compartments all covered in shielding of either transparent hues or solid metals. All in the gleaming hues of metallic colors. It was mostly steel grey but the star itself seemed to be made of silver. It definitely looked to be more of a decorative piece but she could see tiny indentations at the end of each prong. Were there more compartments?

Her mind froze as she watched the pony place the gem in one of the compartments nearest the back, only to glimpse the familiar shape of the Alicorn amulet. It was tucked away, covered in a light blue shield.

But it was most certainly there.

Rarity gave it a silent scowl. A tiny trinket that had caused them so many issues already. Now it was back again, a new type of thorn in her side. A thorn that had seemingly brought up ancient history, and destroyed known history to that.

Rarity watched her friend’s chest return to normal then froze as they locked eyes. Almost blank eyes, like a doll that you couldn’t decide was alive or not. Whether or not it was judging you from the shadows.

She maintained eye contact, not able to see if Fluttershy was actually breathing or not. It seemed time itself froze around her. She didn’t even blink while Rarity felt her eyes need to blink several times. But Fluttershy’s head suddenly snapped to the other side where the opposite doorway opened.

Timber was there in the doorway, looking slightly flustered as if he’d run up several flights of stairs. But noting the other set of stairs and the whole room to run across, she wasn’t too surprised. Though she felt worry as Timber rushed forward, his intent unclear.

“What did you do to Enya?!” He said with an elevated voice. Fluttershy blinked once, faced him, and closed the gap with a small jump. Her foreleg snapped upward with a slight twist, a sudden blue semitransparent blade at her hooves.

Rarity felt her eyes widen as she recalled Glyph slicing through rock with a similar blade. Though she didn’t even have time to open her mouth. Nor did Timber have time to do anything but an instinctual sliding stop.

But Fluttershy’s foreleg stopped with the edge of the blade barely entering the coat of his face, just by his cheekbone. More tiny lightning bolts were dancing around her, sounds of metal rubbing against each other with a slight whine. It quivered like a dangerous caged animal, just begging to be let out.

“M-m-Move…” Fluttershy said in a strained voice.

Rarity jumped forward and half pushed half tackled the earth pony back. The moment she got him out of the way, Fluttershy’s hoof continued its swing as if nothing had impeded it. The swing cutting off a corner of a display case clean off.

But Rarity paid it no mind as the piece hit the floor. She remained still, watching her friend’s movements till she stopped moving like she was encased in ice.

“What was that?” Timber asked, his voice suddenly much lower.

“The work of a fiend after he got his hooves on my friend. Don’t get too close. That blade will cut right through you.”

“Yeah. I can see that.”

Rarity nodded and remained still. She wanted to unlock her magic but wanted to continue her scan. It was vital but how vital? Should she be ready with her magic? Should she get away?

Indecisiveness was in her hooves, her stomach, even her hair!

But it jumped into her throat as she watched Fluttershy’s head snap to some unseen thing. Rarity wanted to look behind her and look at what she was looking at. But she didn’t dare deter her gaze.

She continued to watch as Fluttershy tracked something that Rarity couldn’t see. Was she looking through walls? What would be drawing her attention?

Was it one of the Princesses? Were they close? That might grab her attention…

Fluttershy suddenly felt her body shudder. A sudden shake that lasted only a moment.

But it barely registered.

Her mind was almost numb with exhaustion from all the stress she’d gone through the past few days. Days that she’d barely had any sleep with.

Days since she’d eaten anything. Or even drank anything. But that didn’t bother her nearly as much as not having food. She felt hunger sit like a rock in her stomach. Pulling all her insides down till it ached.

She felt her body shudder again as she watched the glowing outlines of ponies through her eyes. It looked like alicorn outlines but she couldn’t be certain. Her mind was too tired.

Warning! CMG irregularity detected! Attempting diagnostics…

Error log compiled with Diagnostics log: MMO/CMG/Error Log

Power is being restricted to BIO_CORE.

Fluttershy frowned. What did that mean?

She shuddered again.

Warning! Electrical overdraw!

Huh? Electrical overdraw?

Her vision turned to Rarity once more, with the other pony behind her. She shook again as she recalled being caught in the proposal. After taking the face of another pony, a unicorn. A unicorn who had a very special day. A day she had ruined.

Now she was in a janitorial closet, drained of her magic, and left for her to walk in her hooves. Or, at least that’s what she thought she’d done.

She could feel it, she thought. The other pony's magic or, whatever she took from her. She could feel it nestled next to her own. Next to the other magics she’d stolen.

Sombra. Candance. Celestia. Each one had its own vibrance to it. But Celestia’s and the unicorn’s magic was much stronger than the other two. But it felt weird. Unnatural even.

She felt her mind tense as she stared at Rarity. She stared back with eyes of fear. Though she too had an unnatural addition to her eye. A solid semitransparent plane covered her eye. But it didn’t seem to originate from her, rather something that she was wearing.

Was she wearing it?

Glowing lines drew themselves around Rarity, making shapes that she could not see normally on the dress. Circular nets covered her cutie marks. Then wires connected to other boxes: power converter, basic CPU, storage device, and quite a few others. But they didn’t stay in her vision long enough for her to read. They got replaced with Quantum event scanner.

It was pointing to the little piece over her eye. And looking at the glowing lines, it seemed the devices she was seeing were built into Rarity’s dress and not built into her body.

Unlike herself.

It brought a little relief to her mind. But it was quickly consumed in the turmoil and exhaustion. She was barely able to stop the blade attack her legs had deployed. The gap in her mind was, fuzzy. Anything she tried to do seemed to be, inhibited.

It felt like she was trying to pull a carriage with a harness covered in soap. Possible but more difficult.

Much more difficult.

Battle mode activated.

Error. Insufficient power.

Deactivating Battle mode.

Reconfiguring battle mode to fit power restrictions…

…

Done.

Battle Mode activated.

Fluttershy felt the tiredness in her mind only increase even more. But Rarity was highlighted with the other pony. Rarity was marked as no threat but the other pony was marked with a low threat.

Fluttershy tried to swallow but felt it get denied once again.

Was she going to have to fight herself from trying to kill others? Was she going to be able to stop herself?

She felt her head turn to look behind her. She seemed to be in a sort of display room, with many little rocks and crystals on display. She had already taken one. But in the far back of the room was a large window. It was circular and seemed to be armored with metal bars along the frame and grilles. But it was well blended together and was barely noticeable.

She turned back to Rarity who hadn’t moved a muscle. She felt worry build in her gut, her tired mind getting ready to wrestle with her internal demons should they rear their ugly intentions.

But she felt it drain slightly as she felt herself walk backward. It was odd to be walking backward without looking behind her. But it felt even weirder as she could feel her balance unaffected by her walking back. But soon she stopped, the small room not taking long to navigate. But it felt much longer. Her mind tensed and ready.

Well, as ready as it could be. She was so tired…

All she wanted to do was curl up in her bed and sleep for days. Or go to the forest to cuddle with the many animals that she hadn’t seen for several days. She could imagine the little pile of warmth.

But she felt surprised as she reared up her back legs. They bucked, one leg at a time at the window behind her. It was much stronger than she was used to nor did she think she could kick one leg at a time while on two hooves. But the loud cracks from the window made her jump and the crackling made her heart tense.

But then she felt her balance remain on her forelegs for a bit longer. Then she felt her legs do a full buck that made the room explode with sound.

The window behind her buckled and shattered. But the glass seemed to hold itself in the frame despite its many, many cracks. A few pieces gave but it held together. But the frame…

It creaked and crackled as the frame was ejected from the wall. A multitude of voices were heard as they flowed through the new hole in the wall. Several of them screamed.

Fluttershy blinked, her tired brain realizing what she’d done. She’d knocked out the window.

And there were ponies below.

“No!” She yelped turning around sharply. She turned to the opening and saw the window falling.

Catch it! Catch it! Catch it! She screamed in her head, praying that the system would let her. Or, let it do, whatever!

JUST CATCH IT!!

Her hair listened and rushed from her scalp with an impossible length. The strands worked together to hook themselves around the frame till they had a grip all around the frame. Her head dropped as it suddenly felt the weight of the reinforced window. But with a grunt, she managed to stop it before her head hit the ragged edge of the broken hole in the wall.

She heard a pitched whine in her neck as she resisted the weight as much as she could. And found she could. She was breathing heavily though, like she was in a gym doing too many reps.

A thunk sounded the window frame striking the wall of the building. She could hear yelps and screams as the glass was punted out of the frame.

But that was okay. It was better to have little shards of glass rain down than have the metal frame landing on somepony.

She took shaky breaths as she stared at the broken frame of metal, wood, and the little bits of glass still hanging on. She braced her forelegs on the frame and pulled up as hard as she could but it didn’t do much than lift it a few inches with her legs and neck straining.

Though, she’d strained her muscles before. They didn’t whine like they were now…

She shook the dark thoughts from her mind. Right now, she needed to make sure that this thing didn’t crush anypony. But how?

The tension on her neck was a lot but it wasn’t unbearable. But she couldn’t pull it up! Didn’t know how!

She could feel something inside her being compressed like a lemon being squeezed for lemon juice. It was uncomfortable and it started to make her panic. It felt as if somepony had their hooves around her throat and was squeezing. But she could still breathe at the same time! What was she feeling?

She took a few more raspy breaths and refocused. She needed to put this down and now.

How?

She twitched, feeling her insides groan and it wasn’t biological.

Could she ask the thing in her head again? The computer? But she couldn’t just ask it to drop it! She might drop it on somepony!

She shuddered.

Can you please place it somewhere where it won’t hurt any pony? She asked in her mind, feeling as if she was pushing the thoughts through her teeth.

She felt something in the back of her mind process her words. Then felt her hair begin to move. She winced as she felt the squeezing sensation get unbearably tight.

Warning!! CMG at maximum limits!! Stop overdraw or fix the errors at affected ports!!

CMG safety shutdown in 10 seconds!!

Her vision went blue and she saw all the ponies appear in their colors. She could see them through the walls, items, each other… And she noticed a clear little patch. Her hair already moving towards it.

CMG safety shutdown in 7 seconds!!

The squeezing was making her numb. She could feel her mind screaming for release but the screaming was getting quieter every moment.

CMG safety shutdown in 5 seconds!!

It was above the patch now. Her hair lowered, pulling more from her scalp. The broken window landed on the ground with a quiet thump. Its remaining glass crinkling and clicking for a few moments before going quiet.

Fluttershy felt herself breathing heavily. Part of her was trying to make sense of the sensation of her hair retreating back into her skull. But she was unable to keep herself up any longer. So she went limp, the broken window frame supporting her. It was a bunch of wood splinters, twisted metal, and insulation but it felt like a hammock lined with the softest of linens. It wasn’t a silk bed cause her legs were still beneath her. Supporting her weight not by standing but by being cushions for her barrel.

CMG Stabilizing…

CMG Safety shutdown cancelled.

She tried to peek over the edge but wasn’t able to. Her legs were far too weak.

“Fluttershy? Is that you?” She heard Rarity say from a distance. But she was closer than before. She weakly turned her head to her and she had an expression of concern on her face. Though she could still identify the fear layered beneath. But her vision suddenly turned as her movement dislodged her head from the window sill, letting gravity pull her to the ground with a thud.

It now felt like she was on a bed. The tiled floor beneath her was not as colorful as her covers but that barely mattered. She continued to breathe, trying to focus on her lungs and aching body. She also was vaguely aware of the unicorn that was slowly getting closer to her.

Fluttershy wasn’t sure how to respond but her lips were unable to get words past the ragged breaths she was taking. She felt like she had just been underwater for too long and had just gotten to the surface to breathe. Only, it was part of her. Like, a portion of her had experienced it but she could feel it radiate through her body.

It was odd. It felt like she had two bodies. And one just nearly drowned. Yet, they were the same thing, right? Did she really have two bodies?

“Fluttershy?” Rarity said, only closer now. Very close. She was hesitantly stepping closer with her face of concern. Though, this time she was able to turn her head to face her. But still couldn’t talk because of her breathing.

But in her exhaustion, she felt something click, or something that seemed to wake up and take notice. It made her foreleg snap up with the blue blade blazing into existence. She felt her eyes widen as she violently stopped her foreleg but it was difficult.

Thankfully, Rarity was still aware and was able to jump back the moment she moved. Like a cat realizing there was a new object behind them.

Her breathing resumed back to normal in a moment, despite her lungs’ complaints. Her expression was wiped from her face and she got up smoothly.

Action denied!

Fluttershy felt a great confusion at the sudden appearance of the words. She’d just been acting on her own, why didn’t it stop her from catching the sign?

But, did she catch the sign? Or did the computer?

Well, she was able to move her head! And breathe how she wanted, what changed?

She shuddered as she fought for control of her limbs and lungs. But she simply wasn’t able to break free of them this time. But the strings didn’t make another move to attack Rarity so she restrained her efforts and saved what remaining strength she had to fight when she really needed to.

She felt herself look around, then turn to jump out the window. Only, the earth pony jumped forward and caught her back leg, pulling her back mid-jump. Her forelegs caught her though, anchoring her to the outside wall.

“No, you don’t! Not until you tell us where Enya is!” He said, voice full and confident. She could hear the fear in his voice, only it was smothered by the conviction to get his friend back.

And she had a pretty good idea who Enya was. It was likely the unicorn that she left in the janitorial closet.

Her body turned towards the earth pony and swung at him again with her hoof blade. Something that she managed to stop but not before her hoof crossed his face. It seemed the blade lasted no more than a second and that alone saved the earth pony’s face from being cut in two.

Error. Insufficient power for Sugical_bladeVER4.

She shuddered and again felt her body try to leave but she couldn’t fight the earth pony in her weakened state. Or was it because the earth pony felt so obligated to get his to-be wife back? Was that supercharging his magic? Making him able to hold her down?

She felt the need to hyperventilate. To run, to hide, to get absolutely away.

She didn’t know why the blade had vanished but she was so tired that her efforts to slow down the strings attached to her were effectively sabotaged. She didn’t know when she’d slip or when her efforts not be enough. At any moment she could see her hoof spouting a blade to stab another friend in the chest.

And she wasn’t sure if she’d be allowed to heal it or if she could in her tired state.

She just couldn’t take that risk.

She watched the earth pony hold her back from getting out of the window. Saw his very sturdy stance and noted the magic emanating from his hooves. She saw Rarity hanging back, confliction on her face as she seemed to ponder what to do.

She needed to break the earth pony’s grip but he wouldn’t just let go until Enya was back with him. But she just couldn’t tell him, right? She felt her balance shift and she allowed the earth pony to pull her from the window. But she used her wings to turn her body mid-air to then get a grip around the pony’s neck. Her momentum brought them to the ground but she had him in a very precarious position. Both forelegs wrapped around his neck and the system inside was trying to get her to suddenly twist.

She knew that maneuver. She’d seen similar actions with crocodiles or other large prey animals. A violent twist at the neck would sever the spine, removing their life in an instant.

But she wasn’t allowing that. Not at all.

The system tried to get her to tighten her grip to suffocating levels but she stopped that too.

Barely. She could feel her forelegs tightening their grip but it wasn’t deadly. But she was playing ping-pong in her mind, trying to think ahead of her puppeteer. It was working but it was driving her anxiety mad.

She was going to slip up. She was going to sprout some sort of knife somewhere and kill the pony. Maybe she’d just light ablaze! Maybe a destruction catalyst would happen, vaporizing the pony in a moment. Or maybe her hair would just zip-zap and kill both of them! Or maybe her eyes would shoot lasers!

Error! EMDs are offline!

Couldn’t she get the earth pony to let her go without killing him? Surely there was a way!

She wrestled with her mind again, pushing her body from delivering a deadly strike to the pony in her grasp.

Could she tell them where Enya was? Or the thing that she took from the unicorn? Surely it would make the pony let her go! Then she’d not have to worry about killing him or Rarity! Was that okay for the thing controlling limbs?

She again felt something click in her mind. Or, not click but, compute? Something in her mind heard her through all the fuzziness. And, she felt it in the back of her mind. Like, much further.

It was coming from outside her mind! Just behind it!

She continued to wrestle with her body trying to kill the struggling earth pony but she felt the energy she took from the unicorn get pulled from the rest of the magic she’d stolen. It ran up from her chest and flowed down her leg, collecting at her fetlock. She felt a few things click inside, and it opened to have a thick bracelet emerge and wrap around the top of her hoof.

She then saw an image in her vision. An image that moved and contained two hooves bumping against one another.

Magic in receptacle. Please perform the action to give energy to patient.

Patient? What?

She felt her mind shudder as she fought her forelegs from trying again to break his neck. She frowned not understanding who the system was supposed to give it to but that didn’t quite matter.

Something heard her. And it was going to give it back to hopefully make the Earth pony stop trying to hold her down.

Stop him from endangering his life.

But she felt something trying to pull the magic out of the little device on her foreleg. Trying to take it back and put it back with the rest of the stolen magic. She could feel its pull, like a big magnet.

Her stomach was empty and she could feel herself reaching her absolute limit. If she didn’t get the pony out of her grip and make sure he didn’t try to hold her back, he’d surely be hurt.

If not killed.

She steeled her mind again, trying to remember the feelings that she had to stop the spears from hurting the guards. The feeling that she felt when she healed Applejack and Starlight. The feeling that she felt when Glyph tried to help her in Canterlot. The absence of the gap in her mind, the gap that was restricting her movements.

She couldn’t feel it as strongly as it was all filled with fuzziness and exhaustion. But she pulled it together anyway, pulling as hard as she could. It slowly, shakily, came together.

Slowly, her limbs stopped fighting her. But it didn’t stop all the way. She had to fight for her movements. Every one.

Action denied!

She forcibly unwrapped her forelegs and slid the earth pony along the floor towards Rarity. She stood on her legs feeling her body twitch and spasm at random intervals as she fought for every movement. She could feel the little lightning bolts as they traveled around her coat, tingling her skin as they did. Her mind felt like a mouse trap, ever so tight, ever so sensitive. She looked up at Rarity but felt the strain increase as the earth pony stood up to tackle her again.

But he stopped when Rarity spoke firmly, “Wait! She’s fighting, trying to not let Flutterbyte hurt you. Don’t be brash and—”

She couldn’t wait, the strain was too much, “R-R-RA—I-I-I-TTTyyyy…” Her voice was even fighting her, breaking up her words like a terribly broken radio...

Rarity immediately turned to her, “Fluttershy! Yes, what is it?” Her attention was fully on her.

Fluttershy felt her body twitch, “Co—KRRST- heer.” She felt frustrated at her voice, feeling as if her words were bouncing around her throat like tiny plastic beads. But as she was about to repeat it, Rarity stepped forward, seemingly understanding.

“What is it?” Rarity asked. She wasn’t too close as she could tell Rarity was ready to jump back at a moment’s notice.

Fluttershy felt a wave of twitching go through her wings and then pass through her body. It nearly knocked her over and made her look at the ground. But she took a few solid breaths and steeled her mind.

“HooOOOooF,” She said, trying desperately to keep her voice understandable through the changing pitch. She raised her hoof, the one with the thick bracelet.

Rarity frowned but cautiously raised a hoof and bumped it to hers. Immediately she felt something in her fetlock start moving but it stopped as her fight for control smothered it. She pushed the air out of her lungs and pulled more in as she gently pulled her stilling touch out of her fetlock.

Immediately a few rings and rods of metal extended out from hidden panels and wrapped around Rarity’s hoof. She yelped and tried to pull away but it was a tight grip and Fluttershy pulled back.

“Do-o-oNnnT…” She said, feeling as if her throat was the size of a straw, filled with even more little straws.

Transferring Energy storage cell. Please do not move.

Warning. Energy does not match recipient. Are you sure you want to continue?

Fluttershy nodded.

Warning. Recipient doesn’t seem to have the right tools to deploy the energy cell properly. Be sure that you trust the recipient with this energy cell.

Are you sure you want to continue?

Fluttershy nodded once more.

She felt Rarity trying to pull away but she paused as they both watched the bracelet being transferred to Rarity’s hoof. Once around the white foreleg, it tightened snugly and a few of the metal rings and rods were pulled from Fluttershy’s fetlock to wrap around Rarity’s.

While it did bring some concern for her, Fluttershy felt completely overwhelmed. But she confirmed that she could no longer feel the energy that she took from the unicorn in her body. It was now in the little bracelet around Rarity’s hoof. And as long as she had it, she had access to ponies who could give it to its proper owner.

But the strain was getting worse, and it was getting harder and harder to keep her body from lashing out. She was constantly hearing the system telling her actions were denied. But it fell on deaf ears. She didn’t know how long she’d last, she needed to focus.

“Fiirsst…Flooo-r. Jan-i-i- t-tst-alll C-C-Claaaset…” She said, straining her voice as much as she could. But it was getting rough and sore. She could feel something trying to keep it closed as she used it. Sending out the wrong syllables at the wrong moments.

But she said it.

“First floor, Janitorial closet?” Rarity asked perplexed.

Fluttershy felt a smile tug at her lips. She got it! So she nodded slowly, feeling the motions get twisted as the commands traveled down her spine.

Rarity blinked but nodded. Fluttershy nodded again and tried to speak, tried to tell her that Enya was there. What she was giving her but something snapped in her mind, and she could feel the gap quickly returning.

Her words abruptly ended in a whimper of alarm and she quickly pulled her hoof away. It came loose with a few rods remaining on the bracelet. It hurt but she barely noticed with the growing alarm in her chest. She took several quick steps back, falling over in her haste. Her hooves went to the side of her head as the pressure only increased before suddenly snapping. She could feel the pieces in her fetlock return to normal but it was overshadowed by the loss of control in every limb.

The earth pony again jumped forward but Rarity tackled him back, nearly throwing him off his hooves.

“Don’t!” She said forcibly, “She’s no longer in control.”

Fluttershy felt herself smoothly stand straight and look at them both. Then towards the window that was now a hole in the wall. She felt her body nimbly run to it and jump out into the open air. It was decently dark, with only the little lights of the buildings keeping the area dimly lit.

The air was chill and it felt good as her wings snapped open to catch her. If she was flying on her own accord, she’d be excited for the flight. But all she could feel was worry, anxiety, and the extreme exhaustion she felt in her mind. But she tried to get her mind to relax, to allow her nerves to loosen even a little bit.

But even as she tried, she heard another sharp sound of rushing wind. Her tired mind took several seconds to process the sound. Was it coming from her? Was she making another new sound? It was then she recognized the sound.

It was Rainbow.

She felt her body twist mid-air, turning to face the rapidly approaching pegasus. She felt panic as both her fore-hooves raised to face her and she felt energy build up in them.

She had no time to react.

But rather than beams of plasma, a brilliantly bright flash of light came out. It was so bright that it illuminated the buildings nearby as if it were day.

At that moment, it looked like the sky was the wrong color.

Rainbow yelped and stopped abruptly. Her pupils went to pinpricks before being shielded by her hooves. Fluttershy felt herself continue on, flying low and close to the buildings. After she had cleared Canterlot, she felt herself gain altitude till she was above the night's oncoming storm.

Scheme Unveiled?

Rarity stood there feeling shocked and lucky. She took a look at the device Fluttershy had given her. It was metal for starters but seemed to contain two cubes connected together with a thick band. The bands were almost as thick as the cubes and both seemed to be filled with lead. But the cubes had a rough finish look to them. They had beveled edges, a uniform smooth gray color. She could also see little holes that seemed to hold screws to keep the apparatus together. She could also see the little rods and rings that helped transfer the piece to her hoof. The pieces that Fluttershy had ripped off in her haste.

Did that hurt? Did somepony feel the pain of their metal parts being ripped apart? Glyph had said that she barely felt her metal leg, even if it were damaged. Cadence said the Fluttershy gave no reaction when she ripped it off to fight Sombra.

She let her hoof fall to the ground and looked at the hole in the wall as a sudden Rainbow caught her eye. Rainbowdash seemed to give chase, only for a brilliant flash to illuminate the sky.

Rarity squinted her eyes, at the sight of momentary day. But watched as Rainbow remained in the sky for a few moments before heading back.

She felt Timber walk beside her. She could feel his confusion and burning questions as if they were her own. She could also feel his worry for Enya. Something that was echoed in her heart as well.

“Rarity?” Twilight’s voice suddenly said, “Are you okay?”

She turned to Twilight, who had made it up the broken set of stairs and stood at the shattered doorway. She simply nodded.

Twilight gave her a smile of understanding, “I came as soon as I heard. The other Princesses were preoccupied with the crowd nearly trampling each other to death. There already had been a few injuries.”

Rarity nodded again, “Is everypony alright?”

Twilight nodded, “Yes. No terrible injuries were found. Just some bruises and broken attire.”

Rarity felt air rush out of her nose with a slight snort, “Oh no…”

Twilight nodded with a small smile, “What happened?”

Rarity frowned but recounted what had happened. How Fluttershy was seemingly wearing Enya’s skin. Even her dress. How she had gotten caught in a proposal, and then started the chaos.

Rarity sighed, “She got the gem it seems. Or, whatever she wanted up here. I got up too late to try and stop her.” She added as she remembered that Timber was still there.

Twilight nodded with a glum expression, “Well, at least everypony is okay.”

Timber shook his head, “Not everypony,” He turned to Rarity, “What about Enya?”

Rarity frowned, feeling Twilight’s questioning gaze, “I’m not sure Timber.”

Twilight spoke up quickly, “Enya? That’s your friend, right? You sure that you came in with her?”

Timber nodded quickly, “As sure as the day is day. I’m still trying to understand how she suddenly turned to Fluttershy…”

Twilight nodded with sympathy, “Me too. I honestly can’t fathom it. I suppose I can understand the blending in part as that’s not hard with magic. But, knowing her memories? Acting so well that her significant other doesn’t know? That’s baffling…”

Rarity nodded, “It was quite the shock.”

“I can only imagine.”

Rarity used her hooves to reset the wings on her horn, freeing her magic, “Well, I think the switch happened when we got here. Enya had been working on her dress all night. And as much as Fluttershy knows about dresses, I doubt she could act like somepony else that well.”

“Act?” Timber asked.

Rarity frowned, “Against her will Timber. Remember, she’s not herself. Some, fiend is controlling her.”

Twilight turned to Timber, “Yes. Its something that has recently happened. Something that is quite baffling to all of us. But we do know that she is being controlled.”

Rarity nodded, “But she does seem to have some control. She gave me this,” She lifted the bracelet, “It seemed to take quite the effort though. The poor dear could hardly speak or stand!”

Timber nodded, “Yeah. Looked like she was about to have a seizure at any moment.”

Twilight looked at the device with interest, “She gave it to you?”

Rarity nodded, “Yes, but dear, if you wish to study it, please hold it. It's quite heavy…”

Twilight’s magic hovered around it, but the weight didn’t disappear. The magic then attached to her leg and held it up, providing sweet relief.

“Tell me what happened,” Twilight asked, her eyes on the device.

So Rarity quickly recounted the event. How Fluttershy had those little lightning bolts dancing around her and her difficulty speaking.

“It was hard to understand her. Her voice seemed to be coming out of a terrible radio and was terribly mix-matched. But she told me: First Floor janitorial closet. Nothing more before she lost control.”

Twilight nodded and placed Rarity’s leg on the floor, “Well, it’s got a tight fit. I don’t think you can just pull that off. We’ll have to talk to Glyph about it. Nor do I sense anything inside it but that’s probably the anti-magic nature of her electromagic nature. But, I think we’ll just have to check out the Janitorial closet on the first floor.”

Rarity nodded, “Lead the way Princess, I’m sure with you leading, others will let us through.”

Twilight nodded, her crown appearing on her head. Then the trio exited the room and found themselves at the broken stairs. Twilight’s magic quickly made a path and they found themselves at the bottom.

“I saw the broken stairs and figured that’s where she went,” Twilight said, “Though I’m impressed that you were able to make some holographic stairs for you to get up! Seems your training is paying off!”

Rarity allowed herself to smile, “Thanks darling.”

Twilight nodded and led the way out of the room. Her crown quickly parted the ponies in their way and quickly got an answer to the location of the janitorial closet. But they soon ran into the other princesses, Glyph, Rainbow, and Alaina.

Alaina greeted them first, “Oh there you two are! I was worried sick when I didn’t see either of you!” She paused, her voice quickly becoming worried, “But where’s Enya? I assumed she’d be with you?”

Timber’s expression fell, “We don’t know.”

Alaina frowned and nodded, “I’ll go and try and organize a search.” She quietly turned away to speak to a guard. Who hurriedly went off down the hallway.

Timber nodded, his thanks lost in his throat.

Rarity sat down and gave him a hug, “Don’t worry, we’ll find her.”

Timber merely nodded.

“Rarity, where did you get that Energy cell?” Glyph said stepping forward.

Rarity turned to her, “This?” She asked, raising the bracelet.

Glyph nodded quickly.

“Well, Fluttershy gave it to me,” She replied, quickly recounting the event.

Glyph pondered for a moment, “Well, those energy cells were built into bracelets for helping those with Cutie Mark Cancer. It was a container to hold the entirety of one's magic so their body could recover. But it can also be adjusted to hold a very significant amount of energy. If she gave one to you, I’m curious what’s inside.”

Rarity stared at the bracelet. Her curiosity was barely winning over her concern.

Celestia nodded, “Then let's head to this closet and hopefully find another piece to this puzzle.”

Twilight nodded and heeded the instructions she’d been given. The group quickly found the door but Rarity could feel her worry being mirrored in those around her.

The door was closed. But at the bottom of the door was a thin notebook. It was open, exposing a single page to the world outside the door. A single word was written on the page. It covered the whole page and was made of many, many lines of a very thin pen to imitate a larger font. And even with the door frame covering a chunk of the top, it was still very easy to identify the word.

HELP

The group quickly got to the door and tried the handle, a rattle noting its locked nature.

“One moment,” Alaina said, “I can unlock it.” She fiddled with her keys she produced from her front pocket and slotted one into the door. Her haste caused her to turn it the wrong way at first, but she quickly righted it and swung open the door.

Enya appeared sitting in the doorway and fell over, her support gone.

“Enya!” Timber said rushing forward.

“Timber?” She said in a very weak voice, trying to get her hooves beneath her but her forelegs merely shook with the effort, “Is that actually you?”

“Yes, it's me.” Timber said, easily pulling her to her hind legs to engulf her in a bear hug.

Rarity felt a frown pull at her entire face as she saw Enya’s ruined hair. Her face had tears running through her makeup, fresh ones running through old trails. Though these seemed to be of joy, not some other negative emotion.

But her expression and her stance seemed to exhibit exhaustion. She was mostly limp, with most of her weight on Timber and the floor. Her coat didn’t have a sheen to it and her color seemed plain and unnatural.

But her eyes. Her eyes were colorless and magicless.

Glyph stepped forward quietly, “Enya? I’m versed pretty well in the medical field. Can you answer some questions for me?”

Enya nodded and Timber broke the hug. But he held her to his side and allowed her to lean on him for balance. Something that was very obvious.

But because she was no longer wearing her dress, Rarity noted with shock that Enya’s cutie mark was gone.

“Does anything hurt?” Glyph asked with a small smile.

Enya shook her head, “No. Nothing is painful. I just feel, numb. Not, physically I guess. I can still feel everything. But I just feel, tired? Everything feels off…”

Glyph nodded and stepped forward. She lifted her metal leg and pointed it at Enya’s forehead.

“Alright, there’s going to be a bright light for a few seconds. Just look at the top of my right ear.” With that, a little light turned on from Glyph’s hoof. She moved it around a bit, staring into Enya’s eye.

“Alright, now my left ear,” Glyph said, moving her light to Enya’s right eye. After a few moments of studying, the light turned off and she put her hoof to her chin.

Enya said nothing but she gave the pegasus an expecting look.

Glyph smiled, “Well, to put it simply, your magic has been removed from your body. Completely. I suspect that’s why you feel so tired. Are you able to walk?”

Enya shook her head, her face slowly filling with despair.

Glyph nodded sadly, “Then yeah, I’m pretty certain your magic has been forcibly removed. You’re showing all the symptoms. Colorless eyes, sluggishness, lack of energy, lost of color in the coat, and missing cuite mark.”

Enya's expression shifted to shock as she quickly looked at her flank to see that her cuite mark was in fact missing. Rarity walked forward and joined Timber in the hug as she saw the pony’s face fill with tears.

“My magic? Is gone?” Enya said with a tiny voice.

Twilight’s horn glowed for a moment then she nodded solemnly.

“All gone?”

Another nod.

“But my magic can’t regenerate from nothing!!” The statement came out as desperation, making Timber and Rarity tighten the hug

Another slow nod.

Enya went limp, supported by the two ponies on either side of her; tears beginning to stream down her face.

The alicorn sisters looked at each other, then looked at either end of the long hallway they were in. Two colors appeared on either side of the group. One a bright golden light, one a patch of starlight cut from the night sky itself.

“Fear not,” Luna said gently, “Our conversation is private.”

Enya let out a quiet sob and nodded but cried quietly.

Glyph however stepped close with a gentle smile, “Hey. Magic is not easily destroyed. Its attuned energy. So it can’t be destroyed, only converted. So, its highly likely whoever has your magic still has it. We just need to get that back and return it to you. And you’ll be back to yourself in a jiffy!”

Enya looked up, “What happens if I never get my magic back?”

Glyph smiled, “Nothing really. You’ll still live. It’ll take a few years for your body to get accustomed to it, but you’ll be able to live on. And judging by things, I’m thinking you’ll have an excellent teacher on the ways of an earth pony.”

Rarity smiled as Timber and Enya chuckled.

“But let's not jump to that conclusion yet. Will you tell us what happened? Maybe we can find whoever took your magic?” Glyph said with a smile.

Alaina nodded, “Everypony who attended the event is in the secondary ballroom till the mess here gets cleaned up. All guests except you, Timber, and Rarity had been accounted for.”

Enya’s face lit up with hope. Then she wiped her eyes and frowned, “Well, I went to help an earth pony get something from a shelf,” She pointed upwards at a shelf in the back of the closet, “She had apparently spilled something and she wanted to help clean it up.”

She paused, “But when I got it down for her, her hair flew from her head and restrained me! She pushed me deeper into the closet and took off my dress. I struggled but it was like struggling in magic. But I couldn’t do the magic hold break! I couldn’t even light my horn!”

She paused as she looked at her hooves, face curling with discomfort, “Then it felt like tiredness itself was being injected into my veins. I literally could feel the energy being pulled out of me! Though, I think that’s the moment that my magic was pulled out huh?”

Glyph nodded, “Probably.”

Enya nodded sadly, “After that,” She paused her face filling with horror, “She changed. She, gained my appearance. It was like looking at a mirror! Only, she didn’t change as a changeling does. I watched her face and eyes change color. It wasn’t slow but it was slow enough for me to watch it happen. Her hair just, appeared though. Just like mine. Her hair helped put on my dress and the image was complete! She looked exactly like me! She even grew a horn!! How does that happen?”

Glyph frowned, “Then she left you in the closet?”

Enya nodded, “Yes. I tried to get to the door, to shout but I was far too weak. Any banging I could do was pathetic. I doubt you’d hear me even if you were walking by…”

Rarity nodded, “She took your form, then revealed herself at the dance party.”

Enya looked at her concerned, “What?”

Rarity nodded, “It was quite the shock…”

Enya nodded enthusiastically, “Yes. I can imagine! But, that means you know who took my magic!”

“It wasn’t her fault.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Enya’s demeanor fell.

Rarity frowned and looked at the others before responding.

Celestia nodded, “Please do not speak of the things you are told. They are things that we do not truly understand yet. And we don’t need rumors turning into lies. This is already going to be hard to explain.”

Enya blinked but said nothing. She then turned to Rarity with a horrified and shocked expression. Like a foal who’s just been told the price of their favorite toy.

“It was Fluttershy.” Rarity said quietly.

Enya’s expression turned to confusion, “Fluttershy? Your friend right? But, she’s a pegasus? The pony who did this to me didn’t have wings…”

Rarity nodded with a sigh, “She can apparently pull in her wings when she’s told to. She can do the same with her horn.”

“She’s an alicorn?!” Enya said in a shocked whisper.

Rarity frowned, dearly wishing that was the case. It was far better than the truth, “No. Something else.”

Eyna’s expression turned from shock to shock and concern, “Pony?” She asked.

Rarity frowned, “Yes? But no. Whoever did this to her is also controlling her. Forcing her to do things against her will.”

Glyph tapped her metal leg and wing with her hoof, “It's kinda like my prosthetics. We think. Only, all over.”

Enya’s expression turned to exasperation and she shook her head slightly, “So, Fluttershy took my magic. A pegasus who’s body’s been transformed by some evil, fiend. And they told her to take my magic? Why?”

“I suspect that is was to allow her to blend into the dance party,” Luna said, “Then steal one of the gems on display.”

“But something made her break her cover,” Rarity said, “And then forced her to cause a lot of chaos….”

Enya looked at her concerned, “What event?”

Rarity frowned, “I’d rather no dwell on it, darling. It was supposed to be a fun event…” She gave Timber a side glance which he responded with a smile.

Enya frowned and looked at Timber suspiciously, “Oh? She in on it too?” While her voice was tired, it was still playful.

Timber chuckled mirthlessly.

Rarity nodded, “Yes. Its both fascinating and concerning that you’ve already asked him that.”

Enya looked at Rarity with a more shocked expression, “You mean she was acting like me?!”

Timber nodded, “Fooled everyone. Acting to a T.”

Enya just stared, “Really?”

It was Luna who spoke, “It was likely with your magic. Cutie mark magic contains an imprint on our personalities. Our thoughts and emotions. If you were to pull it out and read it, you could get responses from it as if it were the pony themselves. There is powerful dream magic which uses that concept. Very, very powerful dream magic.”

“But Fluttershy can do that? With, whatever happened to her?” Enya asked.

The group nodded.

“So, I take we can’t just ask her to give me back my magic?” Enya asked sadly.

The group nodded.

The unicorn deflated. Rarity tightened the hug, barely able to understand. The whole of Equestria has lost their magic for a short while. But permanently? Rarity could hardly fathom that.

Glyph paused, “Wait. Maybe she’s already given it back. Rarity, you said that Fluttershy gave you that Energy cell?”

Rarity nodded.

“Well, that thing it capable of holding one’s magic. Enya’s magic may be in there!”

“In, what?” Enya asked.

Rarity lifted up the bracelet she’d been given, “This?”

Enya looked at it with a cocked head, “That? That thing can hold all of my magic?”

Glyph nodded, and twisted a portion of her leg off, “Yes. It's via highly condensed crystal lattice. It’s not unlike DNA.” She pulled out a rack that held several little trinkets. She spun them around for a second then pulled on off.

It looked like a C. With two cubes at each end. Attached to the back of the C was a small circle. It was a dark navy blue. All polished and smooth, with rounded edges and corners.

She placed it on the ground to reattach her leg, then placed the circle of the trinket in the center of her artificial horseshoe. It clicked into place and Glyph pulled on the little cubes to extend the limbs they were attached to.

“Alright Rarity, lend me your hoof real quick,” Glyph said with a smile.

Rarity nodded and held up her hoof. Glyph gave her a hoof bump, which made the cubes on her little trinket touch the ones on the bracelet. Rarity felt them pull together like magnets, and hold fast.

Glyph used her free hoof to tap and slide a panel off her leg to reveal a glowing panel. She tapped a few times on the panel till she heard a click emanate from the bracelet. It whirred and expanded slightly. Then Glyph pulled it off her foreleg. But not all of it came off.

“Uh, that’s not part of the energy cell…” Glyph said giving the remaining metal rods and rings a look.

Rarity too looked at them. The bracelet was on a bed of tightly woven rings. It looked sort of like chainmail only, finer. The rods connected to them were arranged like a scissor lift, only, circular.

“I think that’s part of the deployment system,” Glyph said with a frown, “In other words, that’s part of Fluttershy…”

Rarity looked at the pieces with concern, “Ew.”

Glyph chuckled, “Well, keep it around if you will. It may be useful to study. It wasn’t on you to start with right?”

Rarity shook her head.

Glyph nodded, “Noted.” She turned to Enya, “Alright, let me see your hoof.”

Enya’s face was full of hope as she shakily lifted her hoof. Glyph gently put on the bracelet, whirring as it tightened. She then tapped on her little panel a few more times then looked at Enya.

“Yep. Your magic is in fact in this energy cell!” Glyph said happily.

Enya’s face lit up, “How do we get it out?”

Glyph smiled and pressed on the panel once more.

Enya flinched slightly then smiled. She twitched a bit but the color gradually returned to her eyes as she took several quick breaths. Her stature strengthened, while her coat’s sheen returned. Rarity moved a bit to allow Enya to see her cutie mark return, a multicolored flame that was made entirely from cloth. A fine eye could even see the stitching.

It marked her special talent perfectly. Enya was really good at making dresses. But her craft and talent revolved around making cloth look like realistic items. Rarity saw a few photos here and there but was very intrigued when Enya came to her for advice on how to incorporate something into a dress. She was looking forward to her dress for the dance. It was a shame that it wasn’t done in time.

But that too ran in the family. Either making a realistic-looking cake, or not being on time.

But Enya glowed again as she took in a breath and released it.

“Thank you,” She said looking at Glyph.

Glyph smiled and removed the bracelet, “Of course. I’m happy to help.” She tapped a bit on her little screen, removing the bracelet and placing it on her own foreleg.

Celetia’s smile glowed for a moment before it straightened, “Now, can you please tell us what happened? We got preoccupied with everypony nearly trampling each other.”

Rarity frowned, “If I were to explain everything, I’d spoil something that had been planned for a long time. Is it possible that we talked after?” She looked at Alaina while she could feel Timber’s mind asking the same question.

Alaina gave her a look then understanding washed over her face, “Ah. I too do not want to spoil the surprise. But that is up to the Princesses.” She turned to the alicorns.

Celestia looked confused but looked at Rarity’s, Timber’s, and Alaina’s face in turn. But it was Luna who spoke.

“I think we can postpone. For the sake of the event.” Luna had a knowing smile on her face.

Celestia nodded, still confused, “Then it's settled.”

Enya looked between the three ponies before settling her gaze on Timber, “You got an alicorn in on this as well?! What have you planned?!”

Timber smiled nervously.

“I am not in on the event,” Luna said with a wink, “But is merely a bystander who knows what the event is. I can tell you that it is something that you don’t want to miss…”

Enya looked confused but amused.

“Which is why we must get you back to your formal glory!” Rarity said triumphantly, pulling her friend to her hooves, “Twilight?”

“Huh? Yes?” Twilight said surprised.

“Is there any way you can teleport me and Enya to my shop in Ponyville? I unfortunately lack the necessary makeup to repair Enya’s look here in Canterlot.”

Twilight smiled, “Sure. I think we can get the ballroom back into shape by the time you get back.”

Rarity nodded, “Perfect.” Then waited as reality twisted by a familiar purple hue, changing their location in a moment.

It was dark in her boutique but memory told her exactly where the lights were at.

She grinned as she thought about her lighting system. These were electrical. Very simple lights that Glyph had described. Powered by Ponyville’s electrical grid, which was powered by the nearby dam. The thought was quickly replaced as she levitated her friend to a stool. Her memory quickly pulled the makeup from their designated positions and had them hovering around her in seconds.

However, she quickly realized that she had a missing item. But after checking the usual spots where Sweetie Bell left things she quickly found them.

“Alright,” Rarity said, visualizing the project in her head, “Let's get you fixed up shall we?”

Enya smiled and looked at all the floating materials, “I know Timber said you could hold quite a few things in your magic but it's different to actually see it. How do you do that?”

Rarity shrugged, “I’m not entirely sure darling. I’ve asked Twilight and she speculated that it was when I used my magic to arrange sequences on my earlier projects. I grew accustomed to holding many things at once at a young age. A skill that has only improved.”

Enya chuckled and nodded, “That does make sense.” A mischievous smile crept over her lips, “Before we start, could I get a hint to what Timber has planned?”

A cloth soaked itself in makeup remover before coming close, “Nope!” Rarity said with a smile before starting to remove the ruined eye liner.

“How about a single word?”

“Not even a syllable darling,” Rarity said, dabbing at the purple hues that connected the dress to her neck and hair. The makeup remover made quick work and soon her face was her standard lavender hue. It was similar to Twilight’s coat but a tad lighter. She looked at her hair, which was far from its original state. But she was worried about the hair dye.

“Did you use permanent hair dye? Or something else?” Rarity said with thought, “I recall you saying that you couldn’t use your normal stuff?”

Enya gave her a confused look, “Yes. The normal stuff I used mixed with my hair gel and messed with the gradient. But, I don’t recall talking about it… Did I mention that in one of my letters?”

Rarity frowned, “Oh. No… Fluttershy had mentioned that when she was disguised at you…”

Enya looked at her with shock, “She could see into my memories?”

Rarity sighed and thought about it for a moment, “I’m not the one to ask that darling. I’d ask Twilight or Luna for that answer.”

Enya shuddered, “That’s just creepy. Too creepy…”

Rarity nodded, “Yes. Seeing her transform was a whole other ordeal.”

Enya merely nodded, “I’ve seen a changeling take my form before but that was in good fun! Seeing it that way made my blood run cold…”

Rarity nodded, “Well, let's not dwell on that too much! We need to get you fixed up for your event!”

Enya rolled her eyes and gave her a smile, “And you still won’t give me a hint?”

Rarity shook her head, “Like I said, darling. Not a syllable. Now, what hair product did you use? Any of these?” About 20 bottles were pulled from their spots and levitated in front of her. Enya frowned and scanned them till she pointed to one.

“That’s the one!”

“Splendid,” Rarity said, “Now the hair dye, is it washable?”

Enya nodded, “Yes but it does loose its color a bit.”

Rarity nodded, “Alright, let's get the gel out and recolor. Then restyle.”

A little purple orb suddenly appeared in the room. It was right next to the mannequins but gently moved till it was in an open space. Once there it expanded and turned into the dress Enya had been wearing. It hovered there, trapped in a purple glow.

Enya gasped and ran over to it, “It survived! Oh thank goodness!”

Rarity smiled and held it in her magic. Once she did, she felt Twilight’s magic fade. She summoned a hanger and gently hung the dress up on one of her many clothes racks. She also pulled off the little note stuck to the side.

Found this on the table Timber had reserved. Seems in pristine condition! Thought you might need it. Also, tap twice on this note to teleport back. Just hold hooves before the spell takes effect.

Rarity smiled and placed the note on her desk. Then she led Enya to her bathroom to wash out her hair. New color was applied and Rarity enjoyed the conversation she had with Enya while she worked.

But part of her mind was elsewhere. Fluttershy was in a very, very different situation now. And she dearly wanted to pull the pegasus into a hug. Cause she couldn’t fathom the embarrassment the timid pony would feel after being caught in such a culturally significant event! Especially if it wasn’t meant for her! Now she was sure if Discord had been the other pony she’d react very differently.

But Fluttershy was always a bit reserved when it came to new ponies. She was always kind but having the spotlight suddenly shined on her was a guarantee lock up. The poor dear could hardly speak when that happened.

Rarity had finished with the hair and guided the unicorn back to the main room. There she helped Enya back into the dress and began to restyle her hair.

Not to mention Fluttershy had been worried sick the past week for her event with the school. She had worries upon worries about the foals being too rough on the little bunnies. Or the bunnies misbehaving and causing unwanted chaos!

She was glad she could convince her to not bring Angel to the gathering on one of their spa days. Or such a situation may have gotten worse. But she did know that she had been worried restless about it. To only then discover that she didn’t have a normal body? Then to discover some fiend had control over you? Then discover that you had enough power to overpower three alicorns!?

Rarity knew that pony always had a lot more strength than she displayed. She’d seen it several times. Many more times when she helped out at the sanctuary from time to time. But to find out the reason? To find that she may be the creation of somepony else?

It was disturbing. Worrying.

“Rarity? You okay?” Enya asked quietly.

Rarity blinked realizing that she had paused in her work on the hair do, “Oh, I’m alright darling. It's just been a lot in the past few days.”

Enya’s head bobbled in a very slow, very subtle nod, “I can imagine. This stuff had just started huh?”

Rarity snorted, looking at the dress trying to match the implied smoke lines the best she could, “This all started only a few days ago. And already it's shaping to be quite a…” She paused.

She was about to say adventure. But this wasn’t an adventure. Something much more sinister.

“Ordeal?” Enya offered.

Rarity nodded her thanks, “Yes. An ordeal that I’m not excited to partake in. I’m just worried about Fluttershy. The poor dear’s heart must be so hurt right now!”

“Why?”

Rarity frowned, she didn’t want to spoil the event, “Well, I’m sure it will make more sense after but imagine that your legs and wings could be pulled into your body. Then replaced with something else. Imagine you were turned against your friends and allies. Almost forced into killing them!”

“Killing?”

Rarity nodded. She took a step back looking at her friend’s hair.

Perfect.

She held the hair in position while the gel dried with her magic and simultaneously pulled the makeup tools she’d need.

“Yes. Kill. She’s been gifted with powerful abilities that can both save you from the brink of death, but can also put you at the brink of death. It’s, both awe-inspiring and dreadful…”

Enya frowned, trying to hold still and talk at the same time while Rarity redid her makeup, “And the fact its Fluttershy… Makes the impact hit more huh?”

Rarity chuckled, “I suppose. Though I’m certain I’d be all the worried if one of my other friends were changed and controlled…”

“I understand. It's just different with her. She’s…” Enya said with understanding, “The mellow one? She’s kind to all, seeing her suffer like this hits different.”

Rarity smiled, “I suppose.” She took a step back, then added a bit more eye liner then admired her work.

“All done!” Rarity said leading Enya to the little mirrors at her desk, “How did I do?”

Enya turned all around with a growing smile, “Wonderful! It looks even better than when I did it!”

Rarity laughed, “Darling! While I thank you, it's much easier when you are dressing another up than yourself!”

Enya smiled but sombered quickly, “I know I was, well, for lack of better words, abducted by your friend. But if there is something I can do to help, let me know. I can see that you are really worried.”

Rarity frowned, “Is it that obvious?”

Enya nodded. Her magic pulled a tissue and a stick of eyeliner from Rarity’s magic before touching up Rarity’s makeup, “Yes. It's plain to see on your face. But Fluttershy’s lucky to have such a friend. I’m sure your group of friends will get her back. After all, you’ve saved Equestria what, five times?”

Rarity chuckled, “Yeah…”

“Then I’m sure you will pull together,” Enya said with a smile.

Rarity gave her a gentle hug, careful to not ruin her attire, “Thanks Enya. If anything pops up that you can help with, I’ll let you know.”

Enya tightened the hug, “And I’ll be ready. On time? We’ll see.”

Rarity chuckled and broke the hug, “Well, you’re going to be on time for this event!” She grabbed the sticky note, grabbed her friend’s hoof, then tapped twice on the note. It glowed with Twilight’s magic before she once more lost sight of reality for the space between them.

Then she appeared with Enya again in the ballroom. Though it was like how she entered the first time. Everything was done up, neat, and organized. Even the broken stairs were fully repaired.

The only thing missing from the first time was the ponies.

Though Twilight, Luna, Celestia, Timber, and Alaina were there.

They were in a gentle conversation, but Twilight gently guided them to the table that Timber had originally reserved.

“They are working on getting things straightened out,” She said, “They are going to sit with you though, to try and sooth tensions. I hope that’s okay?”

“That’s alight with me,” Timber said, offering both Rarity and Enya a seat at the table before taking a seat himself.

Enya frowned, “Uh, sooth what?”

Twilight smiled, “A good portion of ponies saw you transform into another pony and cause chaos. We are hoping that if the others see the Princess nearby, and know what happened, then things will still go smoothly.”

Enya nodded slowly. She looked around at the ballroom a now curious but hesitant expression on her face, “What did she do? I mean it looks fine.”

Twilight chuckled but Timber spoke, “She broke the lamps above, causing a flash of light and a sprinkling of glass. Then caused those stairs to collapse, kicked out a door, then the large window upstairs.”

Enya gave him a surprised look, “You mean the reinforced window? The only with that super strong glass?”

Timber nodded, “Three kicks. Knocked it clean out of its frame.”

Twilight took a seat while Celestia, Luna, and Alaina started to walk towards the exit of the ballroom.

Alaina gave them a smile before they disappeared, “We are going to go and explain things and hopefully get things moving smoothly! Be right back!”

The group nodded and watched them go.

Enya sighed, “Looks like I’ll be missing the beginning of the show then huh?”

Twilight shook her head, “Nope! The show will be restarting since it just started. All the actors and models are willing to do it again so you won’t miss a thing.”

Enya’s face brightened.

The group then waited. Engaging in idle chitchat as the minutes passed. But it didn’t take long for ponies to pass through the door and again start filling the ballroom. Unlike Rarity expected, several ponies came to their table and offered condolences to Enya about her experiences.

Rarity smiled gently, glad that whatever the Princess had said had gotten the others to understand. She’d hate for Timber’s proposal to be ruined again because of pony’s all too wobbly feelings.

But after another ten minutes, the tables were filled. Celestia and Luna both joined Twilight at Timber’s table. Rarity frowned though.

They were almost the same height as them?

Twilight caught Rarity’s eye and smiled, “It’s a sort of shrinking spell. So they aren’t so prominent.”

“Its also so we can use the chairs better,” Luna said with a smile, “Being alicorns gifts a lot of power and responsibilities. But also, a lot longer legs!”

Rarity chuckled with the table but it soon quieted as the lights once again dimmed. A flurry of white sparkles marked Aliana’s entrance and she once again went through her speech. A very practiced one that was exactly the same as the first. Though only Rarity, Enya, and Timber pulled pieces of paper off the bottom of their chairs when they were prompted, the others already having done so.

“Don’t vote for me now,” Enya said, an eerie echo from the past, “If I am going to win this, I want to win fair and square. Regardless of what just happened!”

Timber chuckled, “Alright alright. No need to tell me twice!” His voice was low and playful but it got a confused face from Enya.

“Twice?”

Rarity smiled sadly, “Yeah. Fluttershy had you say the same thing the first time.”

Enya, surprisingly, chuckled, “Oh? Okay. Then you know what I’m going to say when I’m going to say it?”

Timber nodded slightly, bouncing his head a bit with a half smile.

Enya nodded, “Alright. Then complete my next sentence.”

Timber frowned, “Well, how about I answer your next question before you ask it?”

“I’ll take that,” Enya said with a playful smile.

The table chuckled. And turned back to the stage. Once again models took their turns going down the stage in their various outfits, showcasing what the event was to offer. Though, when the magician came back on stage and performed her magic trick. Rarity couldn’t help but feel a little giddy.

The magician quickly made the bowtie, stuck it to her tongue then to her vest with her signature wink.

Enya frowned and got to open her mouth before Timber spoke.

“It's an old magician's trick. The pony keeps a special pad on their tongue that is covered in edible glue. It's activated by saliva but isn’t very strong and lasts for about ten minutes. Though it's suitable for earth pony magic.”

Enya smiled and took another breath but Rarity smiled and proffered her extra journal.

“Need something to write down the name?”

Enya’s face was desperately trying to not smile as she pulled out her own journal from her collar. She simply opened the book and held the quill. She looked at Timber with an expecting look.

“Swamp patch,” Timber said with a smile.

Enya’s face was tinted with confusion but she got one syllable out before Timber spoke once more.

“Cause of all the sickness it first caused. The main reason why the disinfectant was added to the formula,” Timber’s face was nearly cut in half by the grin it was supporting.

Enya raised an eyebrow, challenging them to answer her question behind her eyes.

“Cause those sorts of things aren’t always thought about,” Rarity said shrugging.

Enya had to close her eyes as she silently suppressed a laugh then opened them with a nod, “Fair enough!” Came the very mirthful whisper.

Rarity nodded with a smile and returned her attention to the stage where the magician was just about the exit. She did note that the Prinesscess supported smiles of their own but seemed a little lost.

Rarity’s smile continued on her face as she watched the different teasers cross the stage. She didn’t write down nearly as many thoughts but she did add a few notes seeing the different outfits a second time.

When the armor showcase came again, she saw Timber giving her a glance. Rarity once more felt giddy in her chest as she waited for the seapony to come on stage. Soon she came, floating in her little bubble of magic water. But when it burst into the myriad of magical sparkles only Enya cried out in alarm.

She noticed that, shrinking a little as a blush came across her face, “Please tell me that everypony freaked out the first time.”

Rarity was about to speak but the seapony got close to the edge of the stage and nodded.

“Oh you weren’t the only one,” She said in a dramatic whisper that wasn’t so quiet, “Lots of other ponies were freaking out. You should have seen their faces!”

Bouts of quiet laughter echoed through the ballroom.

“Oh thank Celestia,” Enya said with a sigh. Then paused and looked at Celestia with embarrassment again crossing her face.

Celestia chuckled, “You’re welcome?”

The table shared a chuckle with the seapony before she continued across the stage.

Timber though turned to Enya with a grin, “Oh? Scared of a little water?”

Enya gave the earth pony an angry but bemused glare and opened her mouth to speak, then stopped and closed it with a smile. She raised her eyebrow, another challenge.

Timber chuckled, then spoke with a higher voice, “You think I want this dress ruined? My aunt would kill me then throw my spirit in Tartarus!”

Enya again had to close her eyes, suppressing her laughter, “Alright alright, you got me.”

The group once again turned back to the stage to watch the armored group walk off stage. Once they disappeared backstage, the lights dimmed and Rarity felt curiosity as she looked towards Timber.

Enya was writing a few more thoughts in her journal before she clapped it shut with a smile, “Well I’m probably going to sound like an echo but that was great!”

Rarity chuckled, “Oh darling! That was just a teaser!”

Enya chuckled, brandishing her notebook, “And what a teaser it was!”

Timber echoed the chuckle with a small nod to Rarity, “You yourself have given me quite the teaser yourself!”

Enya turned to him with more confusion on her face.

Timber chuckled, “You’ve taught me a lot and have been willing to let me teach you a lot. And I hope to be able to continue the camaraderie we’ve built for years to come."

Enya's face behaved properly this time. Hesitant joy was rising up beneath the curious confusion that was on her face. And Rarity couldn’t help but feel a smile tug at her lips.

Timber took out the ring, bowed then presented it for the second time.

“Will you be willing to continue our journey? From now and forever?” Timber asked with a smile. Enya’s face lit up but it stopped as a playful grin spread across her face. She got close to his face and grinned wider.

“You’re the mind reader,” She said playfully, “You tell me my answer.”

Timber laughed, “Oh? You are just placing your wellbeing in my hooves? Are you sure that’s safe?”

Enya rolled her eyes, levitated the ring out of its container, placed it on her horn, and then gave the earth pony a large kiss that lasted a few seconds. Clapping and a few cheers erupted around them as they pulled away.

“Does that answer your question?” Enya said with a grin.

Timber chuckled, “Yes. I do think that it does.”

A stream of white sparkles danced along the stage and stopped next to them, then flashed to reveal Alaina on the runway. She hopped gracefully down and stepped close.

“You lovebirds ready then for your little tour of the gems upstairs?” Alaina said with a smile.

Enya gasped and gave Timber a look, “How did you set this up?”

Timber gave Enya an eyebrow, “Oh? Is it not special enough for you?”

Enya gave him another bemused glare, “Oh shut up you,” She said playfully and pulled him close with her magic. She then turned to Alaina with an excited face.

Alaina nodded, “Follow me,” She said then in a louder voice she said, “Can we get a round for the new love birds?”

The ballroom erupted with applause. Though it wasn’t all out applause like one would find in a sports stadium. This was dignified but quite prominent applause that filled the ballroom. Rarity smiled as she watched the three ponies head up to the gem exhibit and wondered how things looked up there after the earlier experience.

The thought made her frown and she turned to Twilight, “Everything got repaired up there right?”

Twilight nodded still gently applauding, “Yep. All fixed up like nothing ever happened.”

Rarity nodded and applauded till the three were out of sight. Several ponies in suits and other formal wear came in with food carts, floating trays, or little notepads. When one came to her table, she found she could order an Apple Cider from Applejack’s farm. While she was probably going to get some while she helped the earth pony family tomorrow, she couldn’t help order one.

Nonalcoholic of course.

She sighed thinking about it, feeling a sense of tiredness enter her body. The dress was still weighing down on her but she still wanted to be prepared in case Fluttershy did show up again. Which wasn’t likely but with all the things going on with her? Rarity was still unsure she wasn’t somewhere in the crowd, wearing a face that wasn’t her own.

“Rarity,” Twilight said quietly next to her. Rarity turned and saw the alicorn leaning towards her with a face of concern.

“Are you alright?”

Rarity frowned with a small snort, “Is it really that obvious?”

Twilight gave her a small smile, “Yes. I’m afraid it is…”

Rarity nodded looking towards the stage, “Yes I suppose I am. I can’t help but think of Fluttershy. The ordeal she just went through, her heart and mind must be so strained!”

Luna frowned, “What exactly happened? We may discuss more after the event but why do you think she’ll be so stressed?”

Rarity chuckled, “She was wearing Enya’s face when Timber proposed.”

Luna’s eyes widened a bit, filling with understanding.

Celestia nodded, “I see. So after her cover was blown she started the chaos?”

Rarity nodded, “Yes. But she told Timber after he proposed that she wasn’t the one he should be asking. I’m not certain her cover was blown? It sounded like she was talking, not Flutterbyte. Her voice was so full of shock…”

Twilight had a sudden scroll appear next to her, “Glyph is back at her place running a few simulations on the Alterrys we’ve been working on. But I’ll ask her about it after the event.”

Rarity nodded with a sigh.

“But try to enjoy yourself!” Twilight said, her scroll disappearing into her pocket dimension, “It does seem that you need to unwind a bit.”

Rarity silently cursed the fact that she was so transparent to her friend. But it also wasn’t a bad thing. Twilight could see the annoyance and frustration at the pony who had changed Fluttershy and forced her to do the things she was doing. It seemed to be written on her face.

But Rarity could also see it on Twilight’s face. A strong desire for any information that could help decipher the mystery that had swallowed their friend. A burning desire.

Rarity took a breath to steady her mind before smiling at Twilight, “Alright Twilight I shall. But, if you need any questions answered before we get together later tonight, you ask me. Okay?”

Twilight nodded, “Oh course. You’ll still be at this table right?”

Rarity frowned and looked around, “This room perhaps but I don’t think I’ll be sticking to the table much.”

Twilight nodded, “No worries. If a question pops up, then I’ll warp to this table and find you.”

Rarity returned the nod and watched the alicorn turn to Celestia.

“I’ll be right back,” Twilight said. Celestia nodded then the purple alicorn vanished in a puff of purple sparkles.

Twilight appeared in Glyph place. Her living room to be precise. She quickly trotted to the basement door and walked down the stairs. There she found Glyph staring at a screen with a molecular pattern that contained likely hundreds of lines and circles.

“Twilight? I’m unsure if we can go much bigger. The stable patterns to hold your alicorn energy can only stack together to a certain point before collapsing in on their own weight,” Glyph turned to the alicorn, “We may only get an hour, likely less under load.”

Twilight frowned and looked at the chart, “Could we layer my magic to help support it? Like store the energy in a spell that slowly releases?”

Glyph nodded slowly, “It makes sense. But we’ll have to test. I’ve never really done much in storing spells in a crystal lattice.”

Twilight nodded and walked past her to the stack of scrolls she had been writing to catalog the events that had happened so far.

“How did the proposal go?”

Twilight smiled, “Great! Enya accepted and they are enjoying a private tour of the gems on display!”

Glyph smiled, “Wonderful. You heading back?”

Twilight nodded lifting up a scroll, “Yes. I just need something to keep my brain occupied. I can understand clothes but not when my mind is so distracted…”

Glyph nodded, “Sure thing. I’ll run a few more tests. But I may fall asleep, will you wake me up after the event so I can join in the conversation?”

Twilight nodded, “Of course. It will be a few hours at least so feel free to get some shut-eye.”

Glyph nodded, her stance portraying her tiredness.

Twilight smiled and warped the chosen scrolls to her pocket dimension before heading back up the stairs. She took a few moments to straighten her mind before teleporting.

Rarity seemed to be really frazzled about Fluttershy’s situation and she could understand why. It seems their timid friend could hide in plain sight by wearing another face. Then seemingly acting just like them! Was that another perk of the Containment Protocol? Or was that another hidden ability?

She glanced back at the door to the basement. And how much of Fluttershy’s body was made up of the inventor’s inventions? If they corned the mechanical beast could they cut the strings off of her? Return her to her normal self?

Twilight snorted. Fluttershy was turning out to be anything but normal. Something that was going to be difficult to adjust to. But she’d made many friends with many different creatures. And Fluttershy was already her friend, so nothing was going to change that.

Unless Noah killed her.

Twilight frowned. Fluttershy was one of Noah’s strongest tools. It would be a detriment to kill her. But she was worried that Noah didn’t care about the pony within the mechanical shell he created.

She sat down for a moment calming her thoughts. They had faced quite the challenges and there were many more coming. Though she was used to that. She was an alicorn who lived in Ponyville. The day that nothing odd or adventurous happened in that poor town would be the sun the sun imploded in on itself.

She activated her teleportation spell, reappearing back on the seat she had left.

“Welcome back,” Celestia said with a warm smile.

Twilight nodded and noted the dimmed lights. The models on stage were showing off the different types of horseshoes they had. She caught Rarity’s eye as she was writing in her little journal. She smiled in greeting and returned to her notes.

Twilight quietly pulled one of the scrolls out of her pocket. Re-reading the events that had happened thus far.

She needed a lead. The Quantum scanner would help with that but she doubted the little device got enough readings to narrow their search. Glyph had told her that an hour of readings would likely suffice. Maybe less if they could improve their energy storage.

But that’s what Glyph was working on. She needed to look elsewhere.

The question burning into her mind was: how did this start? Why did it start?

Sure. Fluttershy was likely made of a lot of metal and prosthetics. But, pushing the unsavory thoughts aside, she was likely that way for a long time. A really long time, perhaps before she even met the timid pony.

But, for Noah to suddenly take control? Now? Why now?

She reviewed many events in her mind. Star formations for magical use, political events happening in Canterlot, or even any rumors she had heard of.

But, nothing aligned. Nothing at all. It didn’t make sense to take control of Fluttershy at this time! Twilight paused.

What if Noah couldn’t take control? Until now? It would have made more sense to use Fluttershy’s baked-in abilities a lot sooner, when herself was a unicorn for example. She wouldn’t have stood a chance!

She drew a circle on her paper. Writing in the little circle, No control till now.

But she ran into another problem. Computers weren’t able to connect wirelessly unless they had a very specific set of devices and circumstances. And if Noah could interact with the computer in Fluttershy’s head from a distance, then why didn’t he?

She drew a line from her first circle and made another circle. She labeled it, Noah’s harness. Canterlot battle.

She stared at the line between the two circles. Something happened between these two events that caused Fluttershy to become aware of her true form. Or, maybe this is the point where she as changed?

She shook her head. No. She was changed before, right? She gave her first circle a questioning look. Then added to it.

Loss of control?

Maybe Noah loss his control with Fluttershy? That would explain why he didn’t start his hunt for the gems earlier…

Likely.

But that still didn’t answer her first question. Why now? What event caused Fluttershy to become aware of her metal form? Cause that caused them to seek out the inventor of the parts, running into Noah in the process. When Fluttershy stepped into that harness, Noah gained full control.

But he didn’t have control at that point!

She tapped the quill on the line a few times, reviewing the past few days in her mind.

The only event that really stood out was when the Reception ‘Ception attacked the Ponyville school. Fluttershy was there with her bunnies, hosting a teaching event for the little foals. Something that she had been stressing over but seemed to go with little issues.

Fluttershy had said that she got hit in the eye which caused her eye to be cracked, revealing her mechanical eyes. But she also was able to subdue the two ponies. Ponies who were quite skilled in fighting and capturing ponies and many other creatures!

Skill that would be hard to counter. Was hard! They had been able to evade authorities of many different types of creatures for years! YEARS! Fluttershy easily beating them was, shocking. Though that solidified the event as the time Fluttershy became aware of the computer in her head.

So was it her eye getting damaged that caused it? Cause Fluttershy didn’t know about her eye until Cheerilee showed her. She frowned and made a little note to talk to Cheerilee later. She had meant to talk to her at Canterlot but she was far too tired at the time.

She pushed the other thoughts and refocused. Her concerns about her power form could wait.

She drew a line between the two circles and labeled it Eye damaged?

It made sense. Her eye getting damaged is what caused it all to start. But it nagged her that she was able to battle off the Reception ‘Ception with little difficulty. Twice.

She and her friends had been in a multitude of battles. While Fluttershy wasn’t the battling type, she could definitely use her words for sure. But never really fought in the battles unless she absolutely was forced to.

But in the second battle with the Reception ‘Ception, she fought well. That sudden personality shift bothered her. It did make sense for her to step up to the plate and put up a shield around her own. Since her magical shield was being drained and redirected.

But she was able to take the lead in the battle and ended up winning! It wasn’t a bad thing but Fluttershy wasn’t a fighter! Sure, her hidden strengths would do well in battle but her spirit wasn’t for it. For her to suddenly be good at it confused her.

Fluttershy did say she was listening to a voice or, reading its voice, in her head. And it was telling her about the tactics that she was using. But the way she spoke of it on the train and during the battle itself, it felt like this was the first time it was happening.

Did her eye breaking cause it to start happening? Was it the initial battle at the school? Or was it something else?

She made two more lines branching from the middle one, Reception ‘Ception, and Unknown.

“Celestia?” Twilight asked quietly.

Her mentor turned to her.

“Did the Reception ‘Ception say who hired them?”

Celestia frowned and took a moment to respond, “No I do not think so. Nor do I think they’ve been questioned much at all. You’ll have to talk to the head guards at Canterlot. They’ll be able to tell you who talked to them.”

“May I talk to them?”

Celestia raised an eyebrow, “Why?”

The lights brightened, signaling a break between the shows.

“Well, I think that’s where is all started. I think there is a tie to whoever hired the Reception to head to Ponyville.”

“If they were hired,” Luna added quietly, “They are generally a lone group. They don’t really take contracts or allow themselves to be hired.”

Twilight frowned, “Right…”

“I do think you can ask though,” Luna continued, “They may be willing to talk. Their interaction with Fluttershy really frightened them.”

“Really?”

Celestia nodded, “Yes. They even asked for the strongest cells we had.”

Twilight gave her mentor a look, “So they saw something in her that frightened them?”

Rarity chuckled, “Well, I know that seeing her transform in front of me was terribly frightening.”

Twilight gave her friend a reassuring smile.

Luna nodded, “Though I feel it wasn’t just the event. They seemed mentally scarred. I do not think that Fluttershy was the thing that pushed them over the edge. Especially the unicorn.”

“What do you mean?”

Luna frowned, “I did not see them much. Just after the battle we had at Canterlot. But the unicorn was frightened and I could see it on her psyche. Whatever happened in the battle reminded her of a past trama.”

Celestia nodded slowly, “Tomorrow I can arrange a meeting with them if you’d like Twilight. I feel such a conversation may be enlightening.”

Twilight nodded, “That would be great.”

“Then head to Canterlot when you wake tomorrow. You can speak to them then.” Celestia said.

Twilight nodded but paused as a sudden thought poked her brain, “Is their wagon in storage?”

Celestia nodded, “Did you want to take a look at it?”

Twilight nodded, “I feel there is something missing. Like, why did Fluttershy start hearing the computer in her head when they attacked? She’s been in battle before. Why was this the battle that all this started?”

Celestia nodded.

“I want to check all avenues, this all started with them,” Twilight said with a determined face, “And I do not want to miss anything.”

Fluttershy was feeling numb. Her mind was empty as she barely had the energy to summon any thoughts. Her silent stomach grumbling was getting more and more consistent but that was the only thing that noted the passing of time.

Barely at that.

She was resting her head on one of the seats in the room she was in. It was like a stool of sorts. But she didn’t dare sit on one of the more comfortable seats in the room. Nor did she want to be anywhere near the harness.

She had come back from the dance party and docked. There she stayed for several minutes before Noah came into the room. He seemed chipper until he saw the screens next to the harness. Fluttershy couldn’t see them but the flashing yellow light was intruding the edge of her peripheral vision for some time now. Noah had fiddled with the screens a bit and seemed very grumpy and confused.

She couldn’t care though. Her body was exhausted, she was starving, and she was still trying to understand the last few days’ events. Her new body and its seemingly metal parts. Her new abilities both frightened her and awed her. She was curious and what she could do but she’d much rather not know if it could hurt somepony.

The harness had then suddenly released her, nearly causing her to fall over. Noah didn’t say a word and left the room, leaving her standing in the circle the harness resided.

She didn’t dare move for quite a time. Until her hooves started to complain, moving her to her position now. Draped over a simple stool like a discarded towel. Her wings were limp and laid where they pleased. They were far too tired to try and hold to her sides. Or even to hold them up at all.

But as her mind thought about the past few days, the dance party quickly came to her mind. Taking Enya’s magic and abandoning her in the closet. She’d never forget the look of fear that was plastered in her eyes. A look a child would give a monster costume before running away to their mother in hysterics.

She hated it.

She then would take the pony’s form and wear her dress to join the party. Only to be then run into Rarity and—

She could feel her face heat up as she once again watched the stallion propose to her while in Enya’s skin. She shuddered and buried her face into the stool, surrounding her head with her forelegs the best she could. She could feel her wings shift slightly, trying to hide her in a cocoon, trying to shield her from the embarrassment. But they had no energy to do so.

Once she was able to, she’d go try and resolve the rift she no doubt caused. She had obviously ruined both his and her very special night. No doubt it was planned out with her interactions with Rarity. It was something special and she just had to ruin it.

She peeked out from the safety of her forelegs, half expecting to be still in the dance party. She could still feel the hundred gazes of ponies as she transformed back to herself. The gazes would only multiply as she shot some of her feathers into the lamps above.

Yeah. She can apparently do that too…

She’d remember the eyes of those she ran past. The eyes of shock and terror as they hastily stumbled to a stop next to her. Their fear was so thick that it collected in her lungs till it made it hard to breathe.

Would things be able to return to normal? When her friends rescued her? Or would everypony now fear her? Would that fear extend to every creature?

She let her forelegs gently fall off the stool to lie next to her. She didn’t have the strength to keep them up. But the thought of being shunned by society wasn’t a terrible one. She already kept to herself quite often. While she may miss several social events that she enjoyed, she could live without being in society. She’d still have her friends, both ponies and critters.

Would she still be able to teach at the school? Would the parents of her students be okay with that? Would her students be okay with that?

She frowned. She knew the school was off for a break. But that was only to last a week! What would Twilight do when the students returned?

A small smile tugged at her lips as she realized Twilight was fully capable of coming up with a solution. She always did. Besides, there was Starlight there to help with that. If they couldn’t come up with a solution, well, no. Fluttershy couldn’t see them not coming up with a solution. She herself could think of quite a few.

But she was confident she’d still be able to see her students at least. Twilight wouldn’t mind. Even if she was some mechanical beast that society didn’t want. She’d be allowed to not worry about ponies being annoyed by her shy nature. She wouldn’t have to worry about keeping up with a social norm! The thought was a peaceful one.

She sighed after being jolted awake for the thousandth time. Anger tried to rise in her mind but it fell back to the surface as hot confused ash.

Why couldn’t she go to sleep? Why was it so important for her to remain awake?

She closed her eyes and felt like crying. She so dearly missed her bed. And she was tempted to curl up on the more comfortable furniture. Even if she was only half on it!

But she felt like a dog. A dog who wasn’t allowed on them. As a pony, she knew why. Their nails could gouge the fabrics and ruin the rather expensive pieces. She was blessed with the ability to explain that to dogs and recommend the brand she used to their pony owners.

The door to her little room opened but Fluttershy was too tired to try and turn to the door. It was no doubt Noah. Probably to send her on another mission. Capture some other pony’s magic or put another thing into her creepy chest compartment. She already had the alicorn amulet, what other dark and powerful artifacts were out there?

Something landed next to her drawing her attention slightly.

A protein bar. A very potent one.

Her mouth instantly watered but she felt hesitant and wary as she looked up at the unicorn above her.

Noah gave her an annoyed look, “I guess you’re not hungry?” His magic started to lift the bar away but Fluttershy quickly snatched it and brought it close, pushing the stool out of the way.

She quickly stuffed the bar into her mouth, choking a bit as she entirely forgot to chew or unwrap the wrapper. She felt her face contort into an unconscious expression as she felt the bar get lodged in her throat. She coughed a few times unable to dislodge it. She shuddered and instinctually thought about what she’d do if she were to start choking alone. But her mind fought with her.

To stop choking, she’d have to remove the bar from her mouth. Something that her body didn’t want to do, and frankly she agreed. So she gathered what moisture was in her mouth, and swallowed the far too large pill she’d taken.

It budged but took a few more tries to get down. She gasped the moment her lungs fully connected with her throat, taking deep breaths as she felt the bar go down.

Noah snorted and shook his head but said nothing. He then levitated a simple plastic cup down to the floor and turned to leave. Fluttershy watched him go, resolving to never do that again. But she turned her attention to the little cup.

It was a cup of water, lidded with a straw poked through the lid.

It took her a few minutes of fighting with herself, but she eventually gave in and picked up the cup. She put the straw to her lips and found the cold water refreshing. She drained the cup, feeling sad as the refreshing feeling faded.

She then looked at the cup with mild concern. She looked around, seeing nothing to put the cup in. There wasn’t a trash bin in sight and she was far too tired to walk around to try and find one. Annoyance built up in her mind but it faded to mild curiosity.

Could she eat the cup?

She felt her stomach grumble in response to the thought so she pushed the straw into the cup and crushed it between her hooves. The thin plastic provided very little resistance. She then took the flattened plastic lump and put it into her mouth. It took some doing as the little puck attempted to jump back up when she released it, but she managed.

She could feel every sharp edge and crinkle in the material as she chewed, filling her head with the sound of breaking plastic. But after a few minutes, she managed to get it to something she could swallow.

Materials marked for recycling.

She snorted lightly and laid back on the stool. She felt better now that she had something in her stomach. However weird it was to eat a wrapper and a plastic cup. But she was still starving. She frowned thinking about the large metal meal she had earlier. Was it normal to be so hungry?

But even as she thought about it, the feeling faded into a gentle pull. She sighed, feeling a release from the hammering pain she’d felt for a while. But felt the shock again as she closed her eyes.

She frowned but settled into a half-awake state where time once again became irrelevant.

The door opened again, marking the return of the unicorn. She glanced at him and noted a dream catcher within his magical grip. A simple wooden frame made of dark oak. Dark blue threads threaded to and fro to create a magical net for the dreams it was supposed to catch. Though, it looked rougher than the strings Rarity would use. It looked more natural, like the string itself was made with plant material. She could see other plant remains hanging on the sides of the catcher.

Plants that created powerful sleep aids when made into potions. They were wrapped around with strings of lavender, creating little braids of color that fell from the sides. Above them on the same string were a few beads, each with a magic rune etched onto them. The beads were also present in the hanging adornments. Three blue strings of varying lengths that all ended with a dark blue feather tied at the bottom.

Very, very familiar feathers. Were they Luna’s feathers? She frowned at them, feeling the piece radiating power. Though, it didn’t truly remind her of Luna’s power…

Her feathers didn’t fall out too much. She did know other pegasi did though and it didn’t seem too odd for that to apply to alicorns. She never heard Twilight complain about it but she never asked either. It was just something that happened.

But it seemed that Noah was carrying a powerful dream catcher. For what?

Noah looked at her, “Dock.”

Fluttershy sighed and hauled her body up. She then walked over to the harness and placed her hooves into the little circles. They tightened and she felt the little crescent thing attach to her back. Then she lifted her wings to allow the harness to hold them out and felt her head get restrained soon after. She saw the little eye come up and obscured her right eye but it retreated after Noah pressed a button near the screens.

Fluttershy gave the unicorn a curious look but didn’t try to ask as she was sure she wouldn’t be able to. She watched as the unicorn carefully balanced the dream catcher on her forehead and nose, completely covering her face. She could still see through the lines but she could now feel the energy stronger than ever radiating through the piece. She noted that it did remind her of Luna but it felt more like the dream magic she used. Even then, it felt ever so slightly different.

The unicorn then grabbed the little lavender braids and pulled them revealing that they were on a much larger string. He then guided them to the back of her head and tied the string to secure it to her head. The action caused a little bit of pressure to be applied where the catcher sat but it wasn’t too uncomfortable. She could feel the little braids on the back of her neck when she was moved but they were barely noticeable.

“Perfect,” Noah said after a few moments, “Let’s see if this works.”

He then again fiddled with the screens for a few moments then promptly left the room, closing the door behind him. Though this time, he shut off the light, draping her in darkness. The screens this time didn’t bathe her in comfortable light, making the entirety of the room pitch black.

Fluttershy swallowed as she nervously thought about the unknown environment she was in. She could still feel sleep nipping at her tired hooves and her neck was starting to complain from holding up her head. She mentally sighed feeling the annoyance building.

Couldn’t this harness actually hold her? Instead of just being?!

Fluttershy blinked as she heard the harness start to click. She could also feel little arms wrapping around her middle section. She started to panic as it happened but stopped as she felt the harness raise up a bit, relieving the pressure on her hooves by lifting her barrel. The little apparatus around her head also lifted up, holding up her head by her chin.

Fluttershy felt confused but now very comfortable. Even her wings weren’t pulled out nearly as much! Did the harness hear her? Could she control it as well?

The curiosity and included thoughts of potentially escaping were quickly drowned in the wave of sleep that hit her. She was now comfortable, her stomach wasn’t full but it was no longer complaining, and she couldn’t resist the sensation of sleep. Her tired mind demanded it.

She frowned feeling a sense of dread as she was likely going to be shocked all night. But she had no power over the fuzzy feeling overtaking her thoughts. Her eyes shut but she hardly noticed since it was already pitch black. She sluggishly waited for the shock but it never came.

But the darkness quickly faded into a long hallway. With many medieval torches lining the walls. It lit up the hallway enough to show she was in some sort of basement.

What happened? Did she leave the room to some, castle?

She swallowed, immediately thinking about the dungeons in such structures, and quickly looked around for an exit, pleasantly surprised to freely move her limbs. Whatever unpleasant creatures were kept in such a place, both harmful creatures and unpleasant ponies, she didn’t want to be in the same place as them. While she was comfortable around many other creatures and could talk and make friends with many more, she had a strange uncomfortable feeling in her chest.

Like a shadow of evil was trapped inside and something, someone wanted it back.

The feeling of terror grew as she turned through the seemingly endless hallways that lacked any diversity. After some time, she found a hallway that changed and went up to a much more appealing decoration.

She smiled and hurriedly climbed the long incline to the top and frowned at the more hallways. This time with many doors and little nightstands decorated with little furnishings. Tiny little lamps hung at every door, its light provided by a simple candle.

Her blood ran cold as she heard a monstrous roar behind her. The hallway echoed its full blast towards her, making her hair tussle with its energy. She froze for a moment, feeling her ears slowly become one with the back of her head.

She didn’t bother looking behind her, instead she bolted forward desperately looking for a place to hide. Thundering steps sounded behind her, making her whimper with fear. But her legs continued to run while her head turned left and right looking for an escape.

She saw the hallway split to left and right. She frowned and chose to go to the left only to slide to a stop at the unlit hallway. She yelped and looked behind her.

That way was lit!

She dashed that way but caught a glimpse of a moving figure coming the way she came. But it was impossible to tell what it was as it blew out the lamps in its path.

She couldn’t help but scream in fear but it came out as a strangled yelp as her voice box fought with her lungs. She could feel every hair on her coat, every step, every blink, and the ever-so-strong presence in her chest. It was pushing against her lungs, making it hard to breathe but she forced air into and out of them, refusing to collapse.

But as she explored more hallways, the need to stop became greater. The burning in her lungs stronger. She gasped as she forced her legs to continue but she could feel herself slowing down. But she spied a large closet, didn’t question isn’t location, and jumped in.

It was surprisingly empty and large enough for her to put her back to the wall of the closet and still have it close. She held her hooves to her face to quiet her breathing, the ragged breaths that she had to fight for. But her breath caught in her throat as she felt a presence pass by the closet.

It was dark. And felt cold. So bitterly cold that it made her shiver despite her not feeling anything cold on her skin.

Once it left, she still didn’t dare to let herself relax. But she did force her lungs to restart, taking careful breaths so as to not give away her location.

But to her horror, she felt the presence return and felt bemusement from the other side. The doors were then violently opened and she saw a shadowy form. But she didn’t study it as she instinctually pulled the doors shut with a small yelp.

She didn’t know where the strength came from, or perhaps she merely caught the creature off guard. She caught herself off guard!! But that didn’t matter as she stared at the closed door with her hooves practically glued to the surface.

Was this some sort of magical creature designed to keep her in her room? Was it going to kill her? Or simply bring her back?

She tried to swallow nervously, but felt it get caught in her throat as she felt the creature trying to pull open the doors again. She coughed bitterly. But she refused to let the monster open the doors, no matter how much they shook.

She could feel the presence surrounding the closet, as if it was looking for another way in. She felt her throat was sore from her coughing, but she looked about the closet looking if there was another way in. She even felt the back of the closet rock as if it tried to make another entrance.

But it was too dark to tell.

She then felt the monster pull on the door constantly, instead of ripping bursts. She braced her legs against the pressure, making sure to constantly fill her lungs. She could hold it.

No. She would hold it!

But her determination faltered as she felt her wings extend of their own free will. They creaked and cracked, twisting outside of their natural limits of motion. It didn’t hurt, but when she tried to pull them back, they simply didn’t respond. Rather, they slowly reached to her forelegs and grew shiny black talons.

She watched in horror as she saw her wings grasping her forelegs like dragon claws and slowly pulled them back.

She resisted of course but trying to push and pull was near impossible, and her grip was failing. Her voice box whimpered pleas of release and unintelligible sounds of fear. But she held fast, uncertain how long she’d last.

The last of the festivities were ending. There were only a few groups that stayed to mingle but the event had ended.

Finally.

Luna had retreated with her sister back to the castle. But unlike her sister, she wasn’t able to go to bed. She was the Princess of the night. She had responsibilities to attend to. Though it wasn’t too much of a concern. Familiarity was comforting in the mess of chaos and confusion that filled the last few days.

She had attended a meeting with the remaining elements of harmony, Celestia, Glyph, Timber, and Enya. It was, insightful. She could barely believe the tale that was spun in front of her.

Enya being foal foal-napped, her magic stolen so Flutterbyte could perfectly impersonate her. Her looks, thoughts, and reactions were perfectly simulated. It was hard to fully understand. While she had seen such feats done with Changlings, it was a completely other matter. Fluttershy wasn’t a changling. She was a pony who seemed to have more and more metal replacing her.

She felt a frown on her face as she replaced the lavender plants hung around the castle. Fluttershy was a pony that was quite attuned to nature. It felt, odd. Unnatural to think that she wasn’t natural.

But did that mean machines dream?

Luna shook her head, silently answering her question. She was certain that machines made of metal were not nature’s machines made of flesh. And was certain that such things did not dream like ponies. So she was also certain that Fluttershy was still a pony.

A pony with metal parts that mimicked flesh.

So, could it be possible? The world of electricity was another change that she had to adjust to when she came back from the moon. It was fascinating to see what electricity pushed through little bits of silicon and metal could do.

Without magic!

Plumbing, lighting, entertainment, destructive power…

It was a lot to adjust to. Though many things were not too difficult to do so and she found many things to be very helpful. Thankfully not everything went the ways of electricity and many of the things she was used to remained after the thousand years. Well, a little bit changed…

She sighed as she walked through the castle, pausing to interact with her night guards to manage the nightly duties each had. She eyed the lighting of the castle as she passed through the stone hallways.

It was mainly magical. But Celestia had shown her the little lights that were powered by the stinging fruit of storm clouds. Just in case the castle was attacked by anti-magical practices or magic failed entirely. Something that funnily had occurred multiple times since her return.

And it had provided many amenities. She was fond of the thing called “video games.” She sadly had very little time to partake in such activities but they were enjoyable when she was able to.

But even though the electronic games held many characters that could mimic the thoughts and even actions of living creatures, they were not alive. Nor did they have true ability of thought and emotions. Celestia had explained that such things were scripted, much like the plays she enjoyed a thousand years ago. Only much, much more complicated.

But, could electricity mimic living creatures using bodies of metal? Was that something that could happen? Could a creature of metal have a dream?

Luna was ascending to her tower now, but her thoughts were flurrying around her like snowflakes in a blizzard.

Fluttershy most definitely had the magic of a pony. That she could confirm through the elements themselves and the Tree of Harmony. She most definitely had the magic of a pony. Though, she seemed to be made mostly of metal! Could a creature be both made of metal and flesh?

Glyph was an example of that she supposed. And she knew of many ponies that had metal within their bodies to replace missing parts. She could think of many ponies that had prosthetics but not to the extent of her engineering friend. Her prosthetics were of another level, a gift that could bestowed upon many.

But she held her tongue. Both her and her sister. Glyph seemed burdened with her actions. Guilty about Fluttershy’s position. Scarred from the thought of her inventions being used by others for the intent of evil.

She suspected that it was the Silver Swords and the actions of Noah that made her pull her gifts into her shell. They were a high-tech organization that specialized in blimps. Though they hid their tracks well. Left many clues and many mental scars for her to find in the dream world, but never clues to track their whereabouts. Nor any methods to track down their blimps…

She sighed, then paused at the top of the steps to her tower.

Were there others like Fluttershy? Bodies of metal and flesh? Capable of using electromagical devices to subdue alicorns? Also being used like puppets to work out evil schemes?

She remained at the top of the stairs. She could believe that the Silver Swords could have such means to make a pony like Fluttershy. Surely, if a single unicorn could turn Fluttershy into what she is now, a whole, hidden organization could. Something that they would surely have to deal with. A task that would certainly be a confusing and difficult task. Though, she felt a little reassurance.

Glyph and Twilight seemed to connect together with electromagical devices. Glyph had demonstrated her ability to control her devices without her little screen or words. Opening hidden compartments on her wing or changing pieces on her artificial leg. Using that, she explained that Fluttershy had gotten control when she got wrongly proposed to.

Even for a second.

Since she’d likely been living with her metal shell for some time, her computer was likely interconnected with her magic. And when her emotions were strained like one would be when wrongly caught in a proposal, it likely gave her subconscious control over it. Letting her move a bit before the other administrator program took control. This same subconscious control was likely theorized the same thing that allowed her to catch the window when she had knocked it out.

Luna would then stand by and listen to Glyph and Twilight discuss ideas to use the connections the computer had to her magic to, “counter control” her. Something about using the MMO’s hidden training programs to manually adjust Fluttershy’s pneumatics and motors to values of external models based on magic?

It did not make too much sense to her. However, she still had quite a bit to learn about electromagical devices. But it was quite a thought to think of what the two may create.

She felt her hooves start moving again along with her conflicting thoughts. Did Noah make Fluttershy? Or was she changed by him later in her life?

The thoughts resolved themselves soon after. Fluttershy may be made of metal but the presence of her magic was a giveaway. She was still a pony. Even under the layers upon layers of metal, crystal, and silicon. Or the multitude of electromagical devices.

She turned to her balcony, pausing only to read the list of notes left for her.

Did Fluttershy’s magic belong to somepony else? Enya’s thoughts and actions were perfectly replicated with her magic even outside her body. Even the notes from Enya-shy were the same as Enya’s own notes! So, was Fluttershy’s magic ripped out of her body and being used to simulate a pony in a metal body?

Luna stepped onto her balcony, enjoying the cool air that was blowing by.

Even with magic, there was still the issue of dreams. Magic alone couldn’t dream. It required the soul of the pony as well. It was the culmination of magic, body, and soul that made up a pony and allowed them to dream. She knew that other creatures without magic could enter the dream world but it still required a soul. A soul touched by the magic of Equestria.

That she knew.

But did she? Could these electromagical devices create the essence of a soul? Or capture it perhaps? Maybe it captured the pony’s magic and soul? Placing it into a metal cage that resembled a pony’s body. That made more sense.

But she also knew spells that could hold the souls of ponies, keeping them separated from their magic in eternal suffering.

She had the Eye of Calamity to thank for that knowledge. The memories of trying to free souls in terrible magic cages were haunting. As they had to use their alicorn bodies as a vessel to pull them out of the dark magic containers.

She frowned at the memory. The Eye of Calamity had ripped out the souls of their soldiers and fellow kind to fuel powerful dark spells that ranged from golems to shields and laser blasts. The container was almost pure dark magic, attuned to the souls within. So it was impossible at the time to pull them out. And since their alicorn bodies naturally opposed the dark magic, they were able to pass into the container without harm.

But spells that interacted with souls were not researched. Not crafted. So Luna and Celestia had to ferry souls out of the container using spells that were hastily crafted. But were effective.

Though she could hear the thoughts of the souls and them her. It was heartbreaking to explain what had happened. To hear their anguish of perishing before their dreams and hopes. But it was hearting to be thanked for release. Even more to help guide them to the next world.

Such spell craft would then be researched and understood. A section of magic that was only available to alicorns and large groups of dedicated unicorns. So if another group tried to use such horrible tactics to gain power, it could be swiftly stopped.

She closed her eyes and cleared her mind with a deep breath. She then opened them and adopted her dream walking pose. Her horn glowed with dream energy, white light spilling out from its ridges. She took one last look at the starry sky and closed her eyes.

The stars became the nebulous sky filled with little specs of light. It would constantly change color but it was a reddish pink mixed with her hair color. She smiled and jumped forward from the multicolored mass that held the dream world. Such as space would hold the many planets and other celestial bodies. Both known and unknown.

This realm too had little planets. Though these were small and resembled snow globes. She could see glimpses of dreams in them. Though she had been in the realm a long, long, long time. Such sights were very familiar. And even as times greatly changed, dreams did not.

She saw many hopes and desires in them. Or simply joyous times with family, friends, or even a high school crush. Peaceful walks in parks or mountains.

She waited for a moment, listening intently. The dream world also contained nightmares, both fictional and those cemented in reality. Halliumbras were still a danger to her, even though she had her Tantabus to protect her from them.

But she could feel them from afar. Them and nightmares themselves. If a pony cried out for her, she would hear and go running.

But she didn’t hear anything. It was surprising but welcome.

She turned to the little patch of dreams next to her. Again thinking about her timid friend.

Fluttershy had dreams. And nightmares! So she was a pony, regardless of her metal additions. She frowned, still feeling her conflicting emotions about it. Would she have to deal with the dreams of machines in her time? Was that an avenue of the dream world yet to be discovered?

She spread her wings and lifted them high with a deep breath. She then lowered them and released the air out of her lungs.

Fluttershy’s predicament was more important than her relation to the dream world. The important thing was that she still was a pony. A metal pony that had many electromagical devices that were still very foreign and many others that remained a mystery.

Her impact on the dream world could be looked at later. When she was in control of her own thoughts.

But the night’s events revealed what Noah was planning to do with their timid friend. Collecting the gems that contained fragments of the Amulet’s true power. If Noah did get all the fragments together, restoring its power? They would have a very large problem on their hooves.

Not to mention the electromagical prowess the unicorn showed. She recalled the many battles and sacrifices it took to take down the Eye of Calamity with said amulet. She could hardly fathom fighting that and Flutterbyte’s arsenal. That alone could take three alicorns at once. While at the time they weren’t very coordinated for the battle, it was still a power they had to respect.

She was reminded of the meeting once more. Where Rarity had procured the corner of a supply case that Flutterbyte had cut off. She had said that she had used the same blade that was used to stab Applejack.

The corner had metal, wood, and glass within it. All of it was cleanly cut through. As if it was all the same material, with flawless edges… Glyph had showcased the blade on a rock earlier but seeing the blade’s work on several materials all at once? She shivered, instinctively imagining the blade passing through her ribs as easily as a blade through water.

Luna frowned and bounded across the dream world, letting her ears and eyes keep a lookout for nightmares while she re-railed her thoughts.

Noah had changed Fluttershy, morphing her body to that of metal and electricity. Could he do that to others? Could he have an army of Flutterbytes?

She looked about the dream realm with curious eyes. Maybe? But it felt odd that Noah would just suddenly take Fluttershy out of the blue. If he had several ponies like Flutterbyte, then it did not make sense that he’d wait till now to start his collecting.

She had to respect that Noah was a formidable opponent with a tongue of silver.

No. She believed Twilight’s theory that the Reception ‘Ception had to be the cause of Fluttershy’s sudden transformation. Or, at least its appearance. They had to admit that she was likely changed earlier and they’d been conversing with a pony of metal for some time.

It did not concern her though. Fluttershy had a kind heart. Whether that was made of steel or flesh, she would trust her. It may take a while to get used to her abilities which would most likely stick with her even after Noah was dealt with.

But again, that was something she’d worry about later. Twilight had organized a meeting with the Reception ‘Ception and organized a time to take apart their wagon tomorrow. So they’d have answers swiftly on what caused this all to start. Was it just the battle? Or was it something else?

Her guess was as good as Twilight’s and unfortunately her Princess duties would demand to be taken care of. But Twilight was more than capable of handling whatever was coming. She chuckled, thinking of the many problems that Twilight had solved in Equestria.

But she did not know of the dangers of the dream realm. Fearful problems that Twilight would not be able to fix. It was something that the Princess of the night had to fix. Halliumbras, Nightmares, pony psyche, and the connection between the dream world, the mortal realm, and the world beyond!

But Twilight would reach out if she needed the help. And she would also keep them well informed like she always did. So she felt comfortable fulfilling her duties while Twilight led the charge.

Though it still baffled her that Noah was even aware of the history of the gems. Or the amulet’s power itself! What information did he know? Was he aware of the alicorn power forms?

Was he aware of the Eye of Calamity’s true purpose for the Alicorn amulet? If so, they may be in much bigger trouble than they first thought…

She frowned at the thoughts in her mind and what she was seeing. The night was not too early as there were many dreams nestled in the clouds of space. But she had been prepared to handle any nightmares that would have occurred from the Sparkling Boutique.

Especially Enya. While she and Rarity had gotten third and second in the event’s fashion show, she doubted the win alone would have prevented her from having a nightmare tonight. She had experienced quite the event. Two of them. But she had Timber to lean on and the two of them seemed close, so it wasn’t too terribly surprising. Though she’d be keeping an eye on her dream, just in case. She would hate her sprouting relationship to be ruined.

But it was very quiet. While she enjoyed the quiet night, welcomed it even, she was expecting to see Fluttershy’s dream. She was no doubt having a nightmare the next time she slept. So not hearing her was making her ears strain.

Was she being kept awake? Wouldn’t that harm her? If so, why would Noah want that to happen? To make sure that Fluttershy wasn’t able to communicate with her?

She growled. It was a good answer but forcing a pony to stay awake for two nights was awful. That and she knew that Fluttershy didn’t sleep nearly at all the night before this all started. She was terrified of the social environment of the school.

Or even the walk there…

So, several days without sleep? And several days of unsuitable sleep before the event? Fluttershy must pass out at some point, right? All ponies had to sleep eventually. Even the assistance of magic had its limits.

She halted her movements and looked toward where Fluttershy’s dream usually was. All dreams in the dreamscape rarely moved. They generally had a spot in this space. A spot that she’d only seen change if the pony drastically changed their sleeping location or new ponies were nearby while they slept. A very extended sleepover, or after a new marriage. Something that pulled the dreams closer together. They would never touch but got ever so close.

She gently pushed herself to the spot Fluttershy’s dream resided. It was easy to spot. It was generally secluded but also surrounded by the little dreams of her little critter friends. These appeared as tiny specks of light. Tiny sparkles that didn’t show their dreams as their dreams were different than ponies. But her powers still allowed her to enter them, albeit with a little more effort.

But as she neared the area, she hastened her pace.

Fluttershy’s little dream orb was black, with a shining edge. It hadn’t moved much from its normal spot and was still surrounded by little sparkles. She quickly got close and noted her senses.

She couldn’t feel the nightmare? All nightmares could be felt by her! They changed the very dreamscape in a way that was like a splash of cold water. It was very hard to miss.

Nor had Fluttershy cried out. Did she know she was in a dream?

Luna cleared her mind and summoned a door to her dream and hastily rushed inside. Or, tried to. It was like running into a bouncy ball, throwing her out of the ethereal doorway.

Luna caught herself and stared at the doorway with disbelief. Such a thing had only happened a few times. And those were back in her time! Before her transformation! Was this the work of an electromagical device as well?

She frowned, doubt in her mind. She again went to the doorway and tried putting a hoof through the opening. Only, it was stopped by dark blue lines of energy. She pulled back her hoof in shock and disbelief.

A dream catcher. Specifically designed to catch her. Not bad dreams, lucid dreams, or nightmares. Well, not just her, any dream walker. While she was the only true dream walker, some spells could let one dream walk. Not to the same extent as her, but it was possible.

There were other creatures in the dream realm she had to fight against. But they too would be stopped by this dream catcher.

She felt disgust on her face as she could feel the torrents of nightmare energy coming from the doorway. Fluttershy seemed to be having a terrible nightmare and she could do nothing about it.

Luna’s face went to a thoughtful one. No, not nothing.

She collapsed the doorway and brought the little orb to her chest. She stared at the cloudy image barely able to discern a yellow blob in a box, desperately holding one side. But that was only a guess. The dream catcher would block most of the image from her. Sound, light, thoughts, but not everything.

She’d stop the nightmare. Then see if she could get around the dream catcher.

Fluttershy’s right leg gave but in an act of desperation, she managed to reach out and grab the door once more. She saw an inkling of a shadow before the door was safely closed.

She was sweating with the effort. Her wings were digging into her forelegs with their new claws and it was getting harder and harder to keep the doors closed. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, feeling her lungs screaming for release but she didn’t dare.

She opened her eyes again, desperately trying to think of a way out. Her grip was going to fail, that was inevitable. What was she going to do when they did?

The walls themselves rumbled and Fluttershy felt a new fear blossom in her chest. She suddenly felt gravity’s pull as the bottom of the closet suddenly vanished. She fell through it, her grip on the door giving her no leverage.

She screamed as she fell into a nebulous area that was devoid of any sort of depth. She looked up to see the dark hole that she had come from, only to see it vanish as her rapid descent continued.

She flailed her wings in a desperate attempt to fly, their new claws gone. But it was for naught. She couldn’t feel air in her wings and without that, they were useless in the pink and blue environment.

But suddenly her fall stopped, causing her to grunt in alarm. But it wasn’t like she expected…

It didn’t hurt at all. The only reason she knew she stopped falling was because her hair stopped trailing behind her and coiled all around her face. She could also feel solid ground beneath her. She perked up her ears as they were suddenly filled with the sounds of crickets riding along a cool breeze. So she cautiously used a foreleg to move her hair from her eyes to look around.

She was now on grass? A cool grass one would find on a cool night. She moved her head around and tightened when she saw the nebula above her. She swallowed, noting that it was the same area she was just falling from. But now it had a mass, preventing her from moving her head up much or standing up. She also noted that it was still all around her but it seemed to have, shapes?

If she looked close enough, she saw shadows that made her think the surface was fuzzy. The area above her also had interlapping shapes that were nigh impossible to see. Only if she was close enough.

And she noted that it was warm! Like hugging another creature warm!

A little dread found itself in her heart as she put a head on the fuzzy part of the nebula. She swallowed as she felt it go up and down like her side would when she drew a breath. She frowned and felt an unquenchable urge for silence.

She wasn’t inside the creature unless the creature had grass growing inside them. So perhaps the creature had just rolled onto her? Maybe she could wiggle out if she was gentle enough?

She gently started to wiggle forward. She was unsure if forward was the way out but she just had to go for it. But her attempts stopped when the nebula parted in front of her, creating a large opening, but also showed the creature’s face.

It was a pony’s face. But it too was made up of the nebula that surrounded her. It had no mouth or lips, only white glowing eyes. A long horn was perched on its forehead above its black crown, while its starry hair floated in the gentle breeze.

“Luna?” Fluttershy said gently. Was this all a dream? Was she asleep?

The pony didn’t respond with words but gently nuzzled the top of her head. Fluttershy frowned but looked closer.

Luna’s hair was a match and it made a lot more sense that her experience was a dream. But wouldn’t the pony come here herself? Why didn’t she come earlier?

Fluttershy frowned at the thought. She didn’t call out for her so her late arrival was perfectly logical. But the alternate form was confusing.

She took another look around her and realized that the Luna was the creature that surrounded her. Only, she was bigger. Big enough, in fact, that a fully grown pegasi like Fluttershy looked like a foal. And Fluttershy was nestled under Luna’s wing as if she was Luna’s foal. Protected under a wing of ethereal space matter.

They were also in a much more hospitable environment. Instead of a dreary castle dungeon, there was a grassy plain that stretched on for miles. It was night, casting cool colors over the entirety of the landscape. The breeze rustled the grasslands, making mesmerizing patterns for her eyes to follow.

The dread in Fluttershy’s heart drained and relief started its slow path along her nerves. Her head flopped to the ground and she simply lay there, breathing heavily. Luna nuzzled her again and then looked in a seemingly random direction. Fluttershy followed her gaze to see an ethereal door appear a short distance away.

Fluttershy was familiar with this door. Luna often entered her dreams this way. She gave the nebulous alicorn a cautious look. Was that really Luna?

She looked at the door and saw a sudden spider web pattern appear. It then bulged outwards as if it was on a piece of plastic and somepony was pushing the other end.

She frowned as the white glow suddenly went clear and she saw a dark blue shape on the other side. Only, it was like looking through a frosted window. She could make out very basic shapes but nothing more.

The shape was dark blue but her mind made her think it was shaped like a pony. She could also see the very sharp point of the bulge marking the horn of the shape, solidifying her theory. It looked like a pony was trying to force their way through a very stretchy piece of plastic. Like they were trying to get out of a very durable balloon.

Fluttershy felt concern weld within her chest now. Was Luna not able to get into her dream?

The bulge ballooned inward, becoming a flat white surface once more. Fluttershy looked at the pattern of lines left behind. An addition she’d never seen before when Luna entered her dreams. But it was painfully familiar.

The worry built in her chest as she realized that the patterns matched the dream catcher on her face. Was it blocking Luna from entering her dream?

The door vanished and the nebula alicorn looked at her with a sad expression and nuzzled her again. Fluttershy returned the nuzzle but met its eyes as she spoke.

“Can you hear me?” Fluttershy asked but got a blank stare in return.

Fluttershy felt sadness deform her face. It seemed that Luna was able to stop her nightmare but not interact with her like she normally did.

A sudden thump marked a very, very large step. She jumped and turned towards the sound. The shadow creature was there, crawling along the grass, surrounded by writhing shadows. They bit into the environment, making it black, unrecognizable.

She yelped but turned to her nebulous protector as its eyes glowed a bit brighter. The shadow creature then abruptly stopped as it hit an invisible wall. Its shape ballooned over it as if it were a black, terrible liquid.

The alicorn then turned to her and pushed its head under hers. It then pushed against her chest, pushing her deeper under its wing. Its eyes seemed to portray hope and strength before the wing completely covered her.

It reminded her of the times her mother sheltered her. When she had a terrible nightmare and slept in her parent’s bed. Or during her panic attacks at social gatherings.

It was comforting. So she curled together tighter and closed her eyes. She tried to forget about the shadow outside. Remembering that Luna would protect her. Regardless of whether she was able to be there or not. The thought brought more comfort. That slowly brought sleep, leaving her to float among the stars.

Luna sighed as she felt the little orb brighten and the nightmare energy fade. She could feel it when she held the little dream orb close but the further away it was, the harder it was to sense it. She turned away and pulled the nebulous matter of the dream realm and weaved it into a bright string with her magic.

She added more matter to it, making it thicker. Then she flattened it into a plate and gently curved the piece to a half circle. She smiled as she pulled the center, making it into a diamond shape that was only slightly larger than the plate. She gently indented the center of this diamond then flattened its top. She then placed the diamond just below her chest, turning it into a sort of necklace. She then gently put Fluttershy’s dream orb in the indent where it clicked into place.

She stretched the arms a little bit to wrap them more securely around her neck. She moved her neck around to make sure that was stable, then took a few steps to make sure it wouldn’t fall off. Dream magic could be as strong as steel, but as malleable as aluminum. It could also be as soft as a cloud! Or like a liquid, both hot or cold.

The dream catcher that was inhibiting her ability to go into her dream couldn’t block her unconscious energy. Or the natural energy her soul gave out. Her tantabus could then give that energy life, thoughts, a purpose. So she just sent her energy through to Fluttershy’s dream and let the tantabus shape it. Its magic touch was similar to hers but just different enough to circumvent the dream catcher, to a point.

Luna couldn’t send actions to the energy she sent in. Only sensations, thoughts, and desires. So, she sent a motherly protection and the desire to protect her from the nightmare. This would hopefully create an avatar that would resemble her but have a motherly instinct to protect.

But she’d had to first flood the dream with her residual energy, breaking the original flow of the dreamscape. That would give the avatar enough time to form and do its job.

While he could sense its presence, she couldn’t send any more forming factors to her avatar without first breaking it. She could only supply the basic energy it needed to sustain itself.

Thence the necklace. Keeping the orb close would allow her avatar to pull the energy it needed directly from her. Without any conscious thought. It would also keep Fluttershy’s sleeping location next to her. So, if Fluttershy were to somehow contact her, she’d be able to respond in very little time.

But her heart doubted that it would happen. She gingerly held her dream orb and stared at the brightly shining orb. She could no longer feel the torrents of nightmare energy and she was glad the avatar was working.

She’d have to talk to Twilight to see if she could refine it. To maybe break through the dream catcher enough to talk to the pegasus.

She sighed. It wasn’t a bad idea but the dream catcher was built very well. It used techniques that were old even to her. Lavender braiding, oak frame infused with dream magic and a natural compound that imbodied sleep itself. The very threading was taken from the Everfree forest, its natural fibers pulled from plants that used a gas to put its prey to sleep. It was then further enchanted to enhance its residual magic. She could sense the runes of magic that further amplified and joined each piece. She hadn’t seen such methods used since she first started to dream walk. Furthermore, she could sense her magic within it.

So it was likely formed with a few of her feathers, so any attempts for her to break through it would be much, much harder.

Her sister couldn’t walk among the dreams as she could. But perhaps she could pull her or Twilight into the dream realm?

But they would then be relying on her magic and not their own. Something that the dreamcatcher would catch, negating pulling them into the realm in the first place. However, that mattered little as the catcher would still block them. It would take an experienced user who wasn’t attuned to or using her magic to have any chance of breaking through.

Luna sighed. She’d have to teach either Twilight or Celestia how to dream walk. Something that took her years to master. Years of study and practice.

She was certain they didn’t have years. Though, she was certain Twilight could easily pick up the craft and Celestia already could weave dream magic. So years was likely not an accurate guess. But it was still a craft that would take time to master.

She closed her eyes in the dream realm and opened her true eyes to see the dark beauty of the sleeping Canterlot. She turned and pulled a scroll and quill from her magic. She quickly wrote down what had occurred in the dream world, then duplicated the scroll.

One for Celestia. One for Twilight.

She did write them so both alicorns would know of the options she was posing. But in Twilight’s she asked if she knew about the craft of dreamcatchers. If she knew of any spells that could help circumvent them. And if she didn’t, if she’d be up to discuss such tactics and spells. She’d ask Celestia at first light when she delivered the letter. She knew her sister knew about dream catchers.

Luna chuckled at the mischievous actions of her younger self and pulled out a few ribbons from her magic.

She wrapped them around the letters and sealed them with her signature wax seal. A dark blue wax that held the moon in front of a mountainous valley contained its varying depths.

She’d sent the letters at first light. Though she may have to send it magically to Twilight as Spike would certainly not be awake at such an hour.

She pulled the scrolls back into her magic and returned to the dream world, hoping that the peaceful night would continue. She rechecked her handiwork, making certain that Fluttershy’s dream was still in place. It was still glowing brightly. She then turned back to the many orbs of dreams under her charge.

A Princess never sleeps…

Startling Truth

Author's Note

Disclaimer: I do not own MLP: FIM. They belong to Hasbro and their respective owners. This fanfiction is written for non-profit and falls under Fair use.

Author's Note: Hello! I hope I did the disclaimer right but welcome to my first story! So bear with me. :D This story is rated M for injury descriptions later on in the story. Though this chapter doesn't contain any of those injury descriptions and I will post a warning when that chapter comes. Anyway, enjoy it!

(This story is also on Fanfiction. I'm aware and posting to both sites :twilightsmile: )

Startling Truth

"Come along little ones," Fluttershy said quietly. A large group of bunnies slowly hopped towards her. She was walking backward towards a large red schoolhouse.

"You guys are doing great!" She cheered, though her cheer didn't get much farther than her audience. She received a little chatter from the white and grey bunnies she was leading. She smiled and continued to walk towards the building. Once she reached the front door she stopped, and the bunnies also stopped.

"Alright little ones, you all be on your greatest behavior," Fluttershy said gently. After watching all the critters nod, she knocked on the schoolhouse door. She heard some excited chatter from the other side and smiled when the door opened up.

"Fluttershy! Glad you could make it." A dark magenta colored pony answered the door. A bright smile mimicking her smiling sunflowers on her flank.

"Glad to be here," Fluttershy said calmly. She was definitely getting better at talking with other ponies but a small part of her still wanted to be left alone. She mentally sighed. Twilight had arranged a meeting with Cheerilee to help her acclimate and that had seemed to help a lot. She didn't have that much issue with the children in the school building. She was older and knew that they wouldn't tease her like her younger peers back in-flight school. Adults her age was another story though. She knew most wouldn't but there was always a thought in the back of her mind that told her to be cautious.

She mentally shrugged off the thoughts but failed to completely shake them off. When was she going to be able to talk to everypony like a normal pony? She felt a tug on her mane and saw her bunnies giving her encouraging looks and gestures. She smiled. Her animals always knew how she felt and was always willing to help her deal with her irrational fears. Something she was always willing to help them with as well.

Cheerilee started to talk and drew the attention of the room to her. "Alright everypony! Fluttershy is here to help us learn the actions of bunnies in their environments."

"After we are done learning can we play with them?" A small pony asked.

Cheerilee looked at the yellow pegasus who looked at the furry creatures. They nodded and happily chittered. Fluttershy nodded and smiled. She had tried to say something, but the words died in her throat.

The next couple of hours she spent helping Cheerilee teach the kids the behavior of her little friends. What they did with food. How they would grab food and nibble the carrot down rather than biting chunks off and then chewing it.

"It's because their mouths aren't built like ours." Fluttershy explained, "We have similar, but different teeth growth."

The little fillies around her began to ask her questions but Cheerilee helped pull their attention away, smiling as she did so. Fluttershy gratefully pulled her nerves together and returned the smile. She began to wonder who smiled more: Cheerilee or Pinkie Pie? She had no idea.

Time seemed to pass quickly as she shared her knowledge about the little critters that had started to become comfortable with the little fillies. The foals had been warned to be gentle and Fluttershy only had to intervene a couple times. Though after all of Cheerilee's students had finished the assignments that had come with the bunnies; Fluttershy suggested to take the group outside to have more room to play.

Cheerilee agreed and assembled the group together and started outside. Fluttershy followed with all the bunnies piled on her. One of the fillies mentioned that she looked like a cloud. The comment made Fluttershy glow and a small smile appeared on her face. She walked down the steps and noted that working with children wasn't all that bad. She watched Cheerilee with interest. How good of a teacher would she be?

As she continued to watch, two ponies came into view from the path to the schoolhouse. They were both a light brown and were pulling a large wagon behind them. The black brimmed hats on top of did little to conceal the fact the wagon had a large cover obscuring whatever was inside. Though Fluttershy took one look at the wagon and was immediately suspicious. Though she was not sure why. She got one look from a large distance away. Probably just some ponies on a delivery with weather-sensitive items inside. Though the alarms in her head kept going off. Something in her mind told her to grab every filly and bunny, rush into the schoolhouse, and lock the door. She blinked and realized that's almost what she'd do with everypony else. She would run to her closet and cuddle up with her teddy bear till she felt safe to go outside. Though her gaze remained glued on the ponies closing in from a distance.

She tore her head from the two and turned to Cheerilee. She had gathered the fillies and bunnies who were playing together. Cheerilee was watching Fluttershy with a confused look. She started to say something but Fluttershy gently shook her head. Motioning to the path with a gently controlled face.

Cheerilee followed her gaze and saw the duo and stared at them for a moment. "Okay everyone!" She said loud enough for every creature to hear. "Stay by the schoolhouse. Looks like me and Fluttershy have some ponies to meet!" She said this all cheerfully. Though Fluttershy was acutely aware Cheerilee was also worried about the visitors. Noting this carefully, she walked down to Cheerilee and the two strode off a little farther down the path. They stopped when they were just within earshot of the students and could see every detail of their environment.

The two down the path noticed they were waiting for them and one of them waved. Cheerilee smiled and waved her front leg. Though Fluttershy didn't move a muscle. She wouldn't normally draw attention to her anyway, but her attention was glued on the wagon. It looked normal even though it was made of a multitude of wood types. Dark shades and light shade mixing with each other while keeping in square boundaries. Two dark wheels turned methodically on either side pulled along by the harness connected to the two ponies in front of it. A large tan fabric was draped on top but elevated by an invisible frame. It reminded her of a balloon. Just a balloon that was overinflated and held in place with a wireframe. Each segment of the cover swayed gently with the movements of the wagon.

"Is it just me…" Fluttershy said quietly. "Or does that wagon, feel suspicious?"

Cheerilee raised an eyebrow. "No, I was more focused on the ponies." She stayed quiet for a second seemingly studying the vehicle. "No… It looks like a normal wagon. Even if it is made of different types of wood."

Fluttershy merely nodded.

"I have a very bad feeling about the ponies though."

Fluttershy nodded once more. She took a deep look at the ponies. It seemed to be a male and a female pony. Their brimmed hats hid their faces from afar, but they had kept their heads up after waving. The male had saddlebags as well. It seemed odd to have a wagon harness and saddlebags on but that wasn't too unheard of. The male also had a single black band on his left foreleg. It was higher up, just above his knee. He was too far away to see what the band was, but she was pretty sure it was made up of fabric. The female had no such burdens other than the wagon harness. The thought struck her that both were pulling the wagon. Maybe the burden was heavy but Fluttershy was very sure that that wasn't the case. Why? She hadn't the slightest idea.

The two ponies waited quietly for the duo to reach them on the path but when they did the duo smiled and greeted the two in a cheery but out of breath fashion.

"Hellllo! We are the Reception 'ception! And we heard you need a reception planned!"

"uhh," Cheerilee said but shook her head a bit, "This is the wrong place. This is a schoolhouse."

"Uh," The female of the duo was talking now, "This isn't the first time we done our thing at a school."

"I can see that. But school is in session right now and I would have been notified of any reception. I'm the teacher and I would appreciate you not interrupting class."

The female nodded, "I realize we are a bit early, but we've got the request right here." She held out a piece of paper.

Cheerilee nodded and took the leaflet. "Seems legit. Though I'm not sure why I was left out of the mix."

"May I take a look?" Fluttershy asked turning to Cheerilee. The pony nodded and handed her the paper. She grabbed it with her wing and looked over the page. It was indeed a request for the Reception 'ception to plan a reception for a pony she didn't quite recognize. Though that didn't alarm her. She didn't know the names of most of her town. She was too shy to ask and even more shy to endure the small conversations that would spawn. She was getting better at it, but nor would she be surprised that she had missed half the town. That was Pinkie Pie's job and passion. The thought wrinkled her brow. Why wasn't Pinkie in charge of the reception? She was Ponyville's resident party planner. Wouldn't she at least be there to help with the décor?

She looked at the note again trying to find an answer. She found it but didn't agree. "You two are taking over for Pinkie?"

The female pony nodded, "Yep! She was bit tied up at the time of the reception and the Mayor was pressed to request help from us two."

Fluttershy shook her head, "Well, I know that's not right. Pinkie's been bored out of her mind because this week was the one week of the year with no birthdays, anniversaries, and no holidays of any kind. She would have jumped on the opportunity to plan a reception."

The two brown ponies gave her a dark, annoyed look. "Should have known that her friend would have kept close tabs on the party pony." The male pony said in a deep voice.

"So, what are you doing at our schoolhouse while students are here?" Cheerilee demanded. Fluttershy noticed that the Fillies seemed to take heed of their teacher's voice. They merely turned in their direction and stayed quiet.

"Well…" The female said, dropping all sense of cheer. "I'm sure you two have already figured that out."

"Everypony! Get to the schoolhouse! CMC! Round up the bunnies and get a head count. I want every creature in that building, stat!" The magenta teacher shouted. The students immediately took heed of their teacher's words and started to run to the safety the schoolhouse provided.

"All those innocent little children." The female said quietly. "It makes me quite h—" The phrase was cut off by Cheerilee who shoved the female back pulling the other still connected to the cart.

The male grunted and the two shrugged off the harness. Hitting the back of the wagon with his hoof, the cover sprang down and revealed what was inside. Large stands had metal contraptions that looked like the shape of a pony's face. Leather straps hung down jumping gently from the sudden disturbance.

"You little…" Cheerilee growled.

Fluttershy didn't truly understand why the teacher was so bent up but when she took a defensive stance, Fluttershy cautiously took a stance as well. The metal contraptions purpose suddenly clicked inside her head. They were restraints!

"You see we do plan receptions. Though not the type you think of. We go around the lands and take young innocent ones and their caretakers." She added after a pause, "And sell them to the highest bidder! Some we take for our own, purposes. But it's a very lucrative business and-"

Cheerilee shook her head, "You two aren't some reception planners you two are slave traders!"

"Eh." The male one said. "We don't care who want 'em. Some customers are dragons, some are griffons. They pay we give."

"D-d-d-dragons?" Fluttershy whimpered. There was only one reason she could think of for a dragon to want a pony.

The look on Cheerilee's face reddened, turning her color to a red completion that looked like it would stain her skin. Fluttershy on the other hand was bit surprised. She wasn't running away or hiding behind Cheerilee. A small smile pulled at her face with a small glow of pride heating her soul.

"Cheerilee!" A small voice shouted.

The teacher whipped her head around turned quickly to Fluttershy. "Fluttershy. Hold them back a bit. Carl has high anxiety, it makes him lock in place at times."

Fluttershy paled. "What?!"

She turned to the duo in front as they moved to the wagon. Cheerilee ran back to the school and Fluttershy immediately wished that she were back. The stallion had grabbed a metal studded bat and the mare had a whip firmly grasped in her mouth; the grin not impeding her grip in the slightest.

"You wanna do this the hard way?" The stallion asked.

Fluttershy took a step back and looked back. Cheerilee was sitting next to a light grey colt with dark blue hair stuck to his face. The filly was stuck staring at the Reception 'ception with a scared, no, mortified look on his face. Cheerilee was talking to him with a stern but gentle look crafted on her face. She looked back at Fluttershy and her face fell a bit.

This was her time to shine. The spotlight was on her and she felt terrified. Though there was young ones and her bunny friends counting on her to save them. She steeled herself against the spotlight she was in and turned to the intruders to the school grounds. She flared her wings and glared at the two brown ponies in front of her. Her spirits cooled a bit when she saw them chuckling.

"Why lookie here. Someone found their spine." The female taunted. "To save the little innocent fillies? Maybe some nice eagle food?"

She frowned. She knew that she was talking about the fillies and the bunnies. Regardless, she didn't change her stance nor her facial expression. She heard some hoof steps behind her and noticed the female looking behind her. Both her and his stances were relaxed and obviously didn't see her as a threat.

"Ooh. That's where that filly went. He escaped last time, but, not this time." The female smiled devilishly. Fluttershy heard a filly scream behind her. A gasp of air escaped her throat as she resisted the urge to turn around. Cheerile was there. They would be fine. Not that she'd be any help…

"Now if you'd move and let me do my thing; I'll let you go do your thing." The female said. The whip in her mouth didn't impede her speech in the slightest. She walked forward in a slow loping motion.

Fluttershy frowned and held her breath as she moved in front of the pony. To which she frowned.

"Move." The pony said in a dark whisper.

Fluttershy shook her head.

"Fine. The hard way." The female looked at the male who smiled with the bat in his mouth.

With a burst of speed that Fluttershy was not expecting, the male jumped forward and spun around on one leg. The bat came around at an un-comprehensible speed. It came down and connected with Fluttershy's left eye.

A burst of pain accompanied the sound of a crystalline crack. The blow was completely absorbed by her neck, but she shook it off. She looked at the pony holding the bat. Something was in her eye. It hurt like something had etched a design in her seeing orb.

Wait, there was something in her vision. A spider webbed pattern that reminded her of a broken window. She shook her head and something fell from her eye. The pattern was slowing fading. She did this a couple times and the pattern faded completely disappeared. She turned her attention to the two pony offenders and squinted a bit.

The two looked at her in morbid fear. "What—" The female asked but her voice stuck in her throat. Her jaw opened and closed several times but nothing came out.

"What are you?" The male pony asked. The strong confident voice was gone. In its stead lay pure, cold fear.

The yellow pegasus raised her eyebrows. She noticed that she couldn't blink her left eye. But she responded none the less, "I'm a pony. And you aren't getting past me." She growled and leaped forward. The two brown ponies yelped in surprise.

Cheerilee ushered every pony back into the schoolhouse and looked back at Fluttershy just in time to see the male pony smash Fluttershy's head with a bat. Her neck seemed to snap to one side and Cheerilee swore she head a cracking noise. Fear and guilt immediately swelled in her chest; why did she ask Fluttershy to stay back?! What did she hope for—

Her thoughts stopped dead as she watched the butter yellow pegasus turn back to those who had hit her. She shook her head in various intervals while the Reception 'ception looked as horrified as Carl had been when he had seen the two first arrived. After a few secounds Fluttershy pounced forward and tackled the two down to the ground. The struggle that ensued brought up a cloud of dust that seemed to barely conceal them enough for Cheerilee to secound guess the situation.

"Cheerilee! We're missing Angela!" Applebloom's voice shrill from the schoolhouse. Cheerilee frowned and looked towards the playground. She galloped over to the slides and gently coaxed the filly to come down. Once she had gotten her down, she herded the little one to the building. She then started to rush to Fluttershy's aid but found that she didn't need to.

The shyest pony she knew was pulling some rope that was tied to the male pony's legs restraining him entirely. The other female turned out to be a unicorn but had one of the metal restraints tightly on her face a similar rope was also around her legs. Though no magical glow was manifesting itself from the female's skull. It looked like it she wasn't even trying to undo the restraints which seemed very odd to Cheerilee.

She ran over regardless and greeted Fluttershy. "Well, it seems you have everything handled."

The pony merely nodded in reply.

"That one seems to be a unicorn," She said pointing to the brown female. "Why isn't she trying to escape?"

The reply come slowly, "I'm not sure…" Fluttershy replied quietly. "Though I think it's the restraints. I think they restrict magic of all types. So with it on unicorn magic won't work, earth ponies lose their innate strength, and pegasi lose their ability to fly."

Cheerilee gaped, "What? How do you know that?"

Fluttershy only gave her a hopeless look, "I don't know."

Cheerilee was confused. How did Fluttershy not know her own knowledge? She shook her head at the confusing thoughts rummaging in her head.

She frowned, "But she may have a headache or something, but she doesn't seem to be at full strength. Which may be the reason I was able to overpower her. Sorry about that by the way." She added directing the apology to the ponies on the ground.

The female only shuddered in anger and a turquoise glow started to emanate from her whole body. Though it seemed to pop, and the female could only sulk in anger. The male didn't respond in any form that Cheerilee could see.

"Why do you say that?" She asked directing her attention back to Fluttershy.

"She was able to fire energy beams, but she couldn't lift me up…" Fluttershy frowned, "Which should honestly be the easiest thing…" She trailed off and gave a look up to Cheerilee.

Cheerilee noticed that Fluttershy had some nicks from the struggle. Some were bleeding but not too heavily to be of any worry. The only thing that worried her was her leg. It had a sizable burn on the shoulder that extended a little down her foreleg and when she took a step, Cheerilee noticed that she had a limp, "You okay?" Cheerilee asked mentally noting the location of the first aid kit in the school.

Fluttershy lifted her leg a bit, "Other than this, yeah I think so."

"I'll get the first aid kit." Cheerilee galloped away. Once she had convinced the students to stay inside and she had gotten the first aid kit she galloped back over to the pegasus who was sitting down vigilantly watching the two restrained criminals.

Fluttershy looked up at Cheerilee's return and it made her stop dead in her tracks. The med-kit fell from her mouth and it bounced open on the roughed up dirt path. In front of her was the yellow pegasus that she knew decently well. Though her left eye was not what she was expecting. Rings of little blue squares neatly occupied the space where she expected the iris to be. In the center of the little squares that seemed to light up in certain amounts depending on how big the iris was supposed to be, was a shutter like device that shrunk a little while she was examining it. Around the squares and shutters were shadows hiding different colored wires and other devices that did not strike her as biological. She shuddered as she watched the right eye blink but the left eye remain open, keeping its watch that seemed to see through her.

"What's the matter?" Fluttershy asked gently but firmly.

Cheerilee did not answer but thought about the mirror she kept in the first aid kit in.

"You're acting like those two." She said pointing a hoof at the two on the ground.

Cheerilee was vaguely aware of the question that was posed to her, but she found the object she was looking for. "Okay, don't freak out okay? Well, I mean you probably already know what—" She started to stumble over her words trying to find a good way to say it.

"Freak out about what?" Her voice was still gentle that was tinted with confusion and fear.

Cheerilee waited to hear Fluttershy say something like, oh my eye? That's normal just something I had put in to help me with my animals. Yet that explanation never came. So she sat down and gently raised the mirror.

Fluttershy blinked in confusion and watched in horror as she felt and saw her reflection's right eye blink but the technical abomination in the left socket remained un-blinking. She felt her breath quicken and her lungs seemed to tighten in her chest. She began to feel her heart beat in her head as she began to struggle for air. "What—" She couldn't get the air to talk.

"So much for you knowing." She heard Cheerilee mumble as she lowered the mirror. Though Fluttershy lunged forward and brought the mirror closer to her face. Close enough to have only her left, thing be able to use the mirror.

Yet she was seeing what she couldn't believe. Whatever was in her left socket was her eye. She still could barely breathe trying to understand what she had depended on her entire life.

"Hey. Relax." Cheerilee's strong but gentle voice cut through her thoughts pulling her attention to the magenta pony. "Whatever your eye may be, I know you need to breathe." The smile on the teacher's face seemed to unlock her lungs and she gasped for air; now realizing that she wasn't breathing at all in the last few seconds.

"There you go." Cheerilee said, the smile still on her face. Fluttershy couldn't see any confusion or disdain in the pony's eyes which made her feel better.

"What happened to me?" Fluttershy asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"I don't know…" Cheerilee replied. Fluttershy half blinked, but then realized that Cheerilee was a teacher and probably had some experience dealing with extremely shy ponies to a point to where she could hear even Fluttershy's normal voice. "Though I think I may know some pony who would."

Fluttershy knew the answer immediately, "Twilight?" The name rose her spirits a bit. If anypony could figure out what was wrong with her that was the pony. Even if she didn't know right away, Fluttershy figured the two would be late into the night to figure it out.

"I'll make sure your bunny friends get home safely you just go a see Twilight. Promise!" Cheerilee said sincerely.

Though Fluttershy shook her head. "If you don't mind I would like to take them myself. Even if," the words died in her throat. Even thinking about it made her seize up. What was she anymore? Was she a pegasus? Was she some terrible monster? Or ma—

"Hey." Cheerilee's hoof was gently laid on her shoulder. "That's fine but let's get you an eye patch. After an explanation about what happened, no pony would question it. And don't worry about these two," She gestured to the two still restrained on the ground. They looked like they hoped their light brown coats would help disguise them with the dirt below. "I'll be sure to get them to the guards."

Fluttershy nodded and allowed Cheerilee to fasten an eye patch over her left eye, if it was an eye anyway. Half her vision went dark and she felt better knowing that it was covered up.

"There you go all better! Though you may have to explain yourself to Twilight, I don't think you've ever had a—OW!" Cheerilee had stepped back and was now examining something stuck in her hoof.

"You okay?" Fluttershy asked quietly.

The teacher nodded, "I think so?" She grasped the clear object with her teeth and pulled it out of her hoof in one solid movement. She spat it out on the ground. "Glass? What's that doing here?" She looked towards the schoolhouse suspiciously.

Fluttershy meanwhile took a closer look. It looked indeed like glass, but it looked, more clear than normal glass. If she didn't watch Cheerilee put it on the ground, she would have missed it. The only other marking was a slight dust on the material. Though it wasn't nearly as dirty as it should have been as it was sitting in the dirt. She took a look at Cheerilee and noticed she was closely inspecting the school to, what she guessed, make sure there was no broken windows.

"Cheerilee? I don't think that this is any normal glass." Fluttershy said, drawing the attention of the other pony.

"Why?" The teacher's face was curious, not at all worried that she was next to a pony that might not be a pony. Which made Fluttershy confident enough to speak about her findings.

"This seems to be more clear than normal glass. Look, it's not even that dirty even though it's in the dirt."

Cheerilee blinked, both eyes hidden for just a second. Something that Fluttershy never thought that she'd be jealous for. "You're right." The pony responded, "Take it to Twilight. It may offer a clue to your left eye."

"Huh? You think that it came from me?" Her voice was in a fearful whisper.

Cheerilee nodded carefully. "Yes. I'm not sure hooves can make glass this fine."

Fluttershy frowned, "Magic?"

"Hmm, that's not what I meant but it could be. I meant that nature is much more able to make something this fine than us earth ponies and pegasi."

Fluttershy nodded and gently picked up the shard and placed it in a hidden pouch strapped to her wing. She opened and closed the appendage and was pleased to feel no poking notion.

"Alright, I'll go with you to the schoolhouse. We'll get your little friends and you go right off to Twilight. Be sure to tell me about what you find. I'd be happy to help."

"Even if I'm not a pony?" Fluttershy asked sadly, expecting a different answer to what she heard.

"Of course." The pony beamed, "I just love to learn new things and teach them to young ponies."

Fluttershy looked dumbstruck, "Thanks… That means a lot." Her expression morphed to a smile.

Cheerilee returned the smile and the two walked back to the schoolhouse so Fluttershy could round up her bunnies. The children immediately started to pelt the two mares with questions but a stern look from Cheerilee silenced them. Fluttershy knew she had the eye patch on, but she had covered the left side of her head with her hair just to be safe.

"Alright every pony. It's time for Fluttershy to be heading off. There is some business I have to attend to outside. So, I need every pony to stay inside. If I catch wind of any filly outside it'll be double homework." The class groaned and nodded, "But if you all stay inside there will be double recess tomorrow."

At that the class perked up and Fluttershy was easily able to collect her bunny friends. Now that she looked like a cloud again, the pegasus said her goodbyes and walked out the door with Cheerilee. The two ponies checked on the restrained Reception 'ception and found the two were still there.

"I've got these two. You just get home and go straight to Twilight. Just be sure to keep me in the loop." Cheerilee said taking a letter and a glass bottle from the saddlebags she had brought. She wrote quickly and rolled it up. Then she placed the paper in the glass bottle. She gave it a shake and the letter shimmed and disappeared.

At Fluttershy's inquisitive look, Cheerilee replied, "In case of an emergency, this bottle was link to another bottle to give me the ability to quickly send for help."

"Does it work kind of like Spike?" Fluttershy asked.

Cheerilee pondered on that for a second, "Well, I'm not sure if that's entirely true but it's a similar concept at least."

Fluttershy nodded and jumped when the bottle again shimmered, revealing the letter to have reappeared. She assumed that Cheerilee had gotten a reply.

"Alright, they are sending some ponies over," Cheerilee said relieved. She gave Fluttershy a look, "You 'ought to be going. The sooner you see Twilight the better."

Fluttershy nodded and started down the path, turning only to wave. The wave was returned and Fluttershy was left to her thoughts and bunnies. She talked to the fluffy creatures to help pass the time but her mind was thinking about Twilight's possible reaction. How would she react to seeing Fluttershy with an eye that wasn't an eye?

Would she freak out and run off screaming? Would she take her to the scanning room and give her a ton of tests and scans like she had Pinkie do a while back? Or would she just stare in amazement and confusion?

She had no idea. She just focused on the path in front of her trying to keep her breathing level and her heart rate down. The path slowly transitioned to cobble and then to stoned path as she walked to her cottage. The only ponies that passed her were the guards that Cheerilee had requested. They barely gave her a sideways glance as they galloped past. Something that she was glad for; she didn't want any more attention than normal which was very low to begin with.

She reached Ponyville in little time at all. Though with her absent mind she was still surprised that she had reached it so fast. She took a deep breath and released it. She started to then go into a light gallop which wouldn't be too abnormal. She didn't realize, however, that the wind blowing past her started to reveal her eyepatch that would surely draw attention. She slowed down to a trot and hoped that her hair had hid her eye from view.

She looked around and was glad to see that the others around her only looked and smiled. She returned the smiles hoping no small conversations would begin.

"You look like a cloud!" an excited but shrill voice suddenly existed behind her.

She jumped and a small, "eep," escaped her mouth as she desperately tried to find the source. To her relief, it was just a filly looking at her with subtle curiosity. She couldn't see the filly out of her left eye but she hoped to her lucky stars that the curtain of hair would conceal it.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Carl! What did I tell you about sneaking up on ponies?" A mare rushed over and started to scold her young.

The light blue colt looked down, "To make yourself seen before you ask a question."

"Now what do you say?" the mother pushed.

The little colt turned to Fluttershy and said in a remorseful voice, "I'm sorry for scaring you…"

Fluttershy smiled and braced against the urge to edge away, "That's okay."

The colt smiled and looked overall happier. His mother looked to the pegasus as well, "Sorry about that. Carl has a nasty habit of scaring ponies with random comments and questions. Hopefully, he didn't scare you too badly."

"Uh," Fluttershy paused, how did she respond to that? She was scared of a lot of things. Even her shadow was still on the list of top fears. "It's alright. To be honest, I may have jumped even if he had been in my vision in the first place."

The mother smiled understandingly, "Ah. Well, I wish you well. Got to take this youngling to the market. First time at the market." She added hesitantly. The colt looked ready to jump out of his horseshoes. "I really hope that he can contain his energy for that ice cream I promised him." She placed extra emphasis on the last part and the colt seemed to steady himself, but his face gave away his excitement.

"uh, well, I wish you luck too." She smiled the best she could, her shyness was showing, and she hated it. But the mother seemed to understand and left gently with a smile.

Fluttershy took and released another breath then started off again to her home, hoping for no more interruptions. To which she received none and she couldn't have been happier. The cottage door rushed open as she walked in with a little speed in her pace. She'd have to go through town again if she wanted to get to Twilights castle. Something she wasn't too eager about and was ready to get it done as soon as possible. A quick look at the time made her stop. The visit to Twilight would have to wait for mealtime.

There were a lot on animals to feed as Fluttershy took care of a plethora of both number and types. Though that was not an issue for this determined pony as she had been taking care of the little critters for years now. She also had Sweet Feather Sanctuary to look after but her veterinary friend had been a great help.

The task of feeding her friends had become second nature to her and normally she would just let her mind wander if no animals were asking for extra attention. Though this time she was hesitant to think and was jumpy to help any creature that asked for it. She was a little lenient about the exact food portions which made every creature smile. Fluttershy knew she may pay for that later on but whatever could keep her mind off her—

Stop. She told herself and shook her head. Twilight would know what to do but this was not the time to panic about anything. Her bunny, Angel, noticed and made a small comment about her reaction but Fluttershy merely smiled and brushed it off. Angel gave her a look and asked about her hair.

"My hair?" She replied. She was expecting a pirate comment about the eye patch covering up her… She stopped the thought before it could continue.

The white bunny nodded and motion around his face and head indicating that her hair was messier than usual. Angel also added with a mix of signs that Fluttershy's hair almost never got messy.

Fluttershy frowned and thought of a reply. She wasn't sure that she wanted quite yet to tell her friends that she may not be a pony. "Well, I'm just in a rush to see Twilight that's all."

Angel didn't look convinced.

Fluttershy sighed and put the bag of food back in the food closet and grabbed another. Though the animals seemed disinterested in their meals. Instead, they were intently looking at the pony with inquisitive stares that only Fluttershy could understand. Every creature in the cottage seemed to agree with Angel and wanted a better explanation. Fluttershy sighed, knowing that animals also had a canny ability to sense distraught emotions within ponies. That's why many had pets to help calm them on stressful days. Though at this time, Fluttershy didn't want to reveal the reason why she was so distraught. She pushed her response further by measuring out the next food bag for the next batch of critters but they didn't dive in as usual. They barely even noticed the food drop.

Angel made a gesture that said, Come on, we are all waiting.

"Well, I'll be able to tell you after I visit Twilight," She said only pausing a little.

The animals frowned but seemed to accept her response without much fuss. But Fluttershy knew her friends well. After the visit to her purple friend, they'd be pressing for an explanation. She sighed and started to get some more leafy greens.

It would be another hour before she was once again on her way to Ponyville. She thought about going to the skies as it would be faster, but she was worried about her eyepatch being revealed. The thought made her stop dead in her tracks. Why did she care? If she flew above the clouds, then only pegasi would be able to see her and she was sure that not as many ponies would be in the sky vs the ground. So, she jumped up and flew into the warm summer sky. The breeze felt nice, but she noticed that she couldn't see anything on her left. She shrugged. The worst that could happen would be running into a cloud.

"What's up Fluttershy? Why are you so high up?" a familiarly loud voice sounded to her left.

Or she could run into another pony.

The sudden lack of wind turbulence in her ears made her seize up in fright and she tumbled into the clouds below. Luckily for her she was a pegasus so the clouds were solid. Unluckily for her, the clouds were solid and she skidded to a stop and got her head stuck in the cloud.

She could hear Rainbowdash laughing but she also heard her telling her that she was coming to help. She felt a tug around her middle and with a pop the two ponies tumbled over sending rain droplets skyward.

Fluttershy still couldn't see as some of the cloud stuck to her head and she started to brush it away. She felt a gust of wind and her vision was suddenly of Rainbowdash who seemed to have generated the gust that blew the cloud off. "Thanks." She mumbled as the sudden sunlight blinded her.

Though as her vision adjusted, she saw Rainbowdash staring at her with a curious expression on her face, "What's with the hair?"

Fluttershy blinked, "What?" Was her hair that bad? Bad enough to be commented on it twice?

"It's sticking to your face like you glued it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Can't see your left eye at all! No wonder you didn't see me come up."

Fluttershy put her hoof to her left eye and felt her hair in the way but it was surprisingly solid.

"Here let me help." Rainbow walked up and raised a hoof to help push the strands away. Though Fluttershy couldn't bring herself to stop her but a surprised face is what she saw.

Rainbow tried to push the strands of hair away, but it felt as if she was pushing her head and not her hair. Fluttershy watched as the pony tried to brace two hooves to her hair but to no avail.

"The hay? Did you seriously glue your hair to your face? Where were you going anyway?" The multi-colored pony exclaimed in surprise.

"I was going to see Twilight."

Rainbow pondered that for a second. "You sure you are going to be able to fly alright with that hair in your face?"

"Yeah, I think I'll be alright."

"Well, as much as I would love to see Twilight pry that hair off, I've got to go and perform some cloud busting duties. Let me know how it goes alright?"

Fluttershy sat speechlessly but nodded.

The blue pony grinned and flew off. Fluttershy traced the rainbow for a few seconds trying to understand what had just occurred. She shook her head and moved the clouds to see below. The castle was not too far away so she made the hole wide enough for her to slip through and glided over to the front door of the massive crystal castle.

She knocked twice and saw the doors open after a couple of minutes. Though it was Spike who opened the door.

"Hey Fluttershy, what do you need?" Spike asked in a slightly out of breath voice.

"uh, hey Spike. Is Twilight there?" Fluttershy asked in a low voice. Spike was eyeing her oddly but she hoped it was just her hair.

"Uh, yeah. But she's with the Princesses at the moment. They are having a monthly meeting to try to talk about what is happening in Equestria."

"Oh. Um, when will that be over?"

"Twilight said that it'll probably take all day, so I loaded up with comics and ice cream. Best day ever."

Fluttershy smiled but then frowned. As much as she didn't want to intrude. She had to get answers. What happened if her leg was metal? "This is really important Spike. Is there a way you could get Twilight?"

Spike eyed her with concern, "Is everything okay?"

She let out a breath and replied, "I'm not sure."

Spike immediately ushered Fluttershy into the large building. She then followed the dragon down a couple of hallways and the two arrived at a door where Fluttershy could hear three familiar voices on the other end.

"Wait here. I'll bring Twilight out." Spike said hurriedly and rushed into the room.

Fluttershy heard Twilight protest at Spike's appearance but the voices quickly died down to where Fluttershy couldn't make out words but could hear only sounds of ponies talking.

Twilight burst out into the hallway her face contorted into concern and worry but it mellowed slightly when she saw Fluttershy. Her mane was still settling from the sudden gust it was subjected to. Her wings were also slightly flared in the sudden distress.

"What's wrong Fluttershy? I'm in the middle of an important meeting." She asked, voice thick with concern.

"Well, it's hard to explain," Fluttershy said quietly. She went to push her hair away but paused when she remembered the solid touch from earlier.

"Well, I'm willing to listen," Twilight said her concern still in her voice. "It's not you to interrupt anything without any good reason."

"I know. It's a lot easier to show than explain." Fluttershy started to push the hair from her face and was surprised it moved with ease.

"What happened?" Twilight exclaimed seeing the eyepatch, "Did everything go alright with the students and the bunnies?"

"Yes, it went fine. Just some complications, after the visit." Fluttershy said quietly. She was trying to figure out how to take off the eye patch.

"You really should go to the hospital!"

"I'd rather not to," Fluttershy replied feeling the clip to the patch. "Just don't freak out okay?" She added as she carefully began to remove the eyepatch.

"Why not? I'm good with magic but medical magic has its downsides. It's a lot better to assist the natural healing…with…the…the…" The words died in Twilight's throat as she stared at the change in Fluttershy.

Catalyst

Author's Note

Authors note: Helloo everypony! Sorry for the extremely late update but I've built a new computer yay! That and other things with work and moving so yeah, hope y'all are doing well in these, interesting times. Stay safe! Also, I'm considering on also posting this story on FIMfiction so I can get some feedback though that will be at a later date. Don't worry though if you'd rather stay here. I would be posting to both areas. Also got the next chapter drafted so the time between chapters won't be the long! I Pinkie promise! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is magic. It and any respective characters belong to Hasbro and other respective owners.

Catalyst

Cheerilee was continuing her class. Trying her best to keep the class normal after the earlier excitement. Though she found that it wasn't very hard as the class didn't know the full details of what happened. The fillies were busy coloring away on their art assignments she had given them to help her gather her nerves. None gave her too much attention.

The air was filled with the crayons and pencils scratching on paper. Though Cheerilee was only reminded about the eye that Fluttershy had revealed. It was definitely not natural, but she couldn't help but recognize the piece. The iris had reminded of a camera, she thought, but her mind gave her a big red X. The two were similar in nature but the technology in her friend's eye wasn't a camera.

"Well," she mumbled, "not just a camera…" She frowned. She had seen that device before just, not in a pony's skull. The memory that she was trying to foucus on had a device the size of her foreleg, well maybe a tad smaller. It was an orb that had a clear side that she could vividly see Fluttershy's new look. The only thing she could remember was a large rectangular cable that extended out of the steel side.

Why was she there though? She'd remember if she had made it. Was some pony showing her?

"Cheerilee?"

The magenta pony blinked and pulled her mind to reality. A student of hers was holding up a picture. Kid drawn with wobbly lines and color spilling out of them. Yet, Cheerilee could easily make out who it was. "What's this?" She asked looking closer at the paper. Yellow and pink made a pegasus named Fluttershy. Calm blue eyes were staring at Cheerilee. She merely blinked as the color morphed slightly to what she'd seen but the eyelids quickly reset her view.

"It's for Fluttershy. It's a thank you for the bunnies and for stopping the Reception 'ception." Carl responded. The fear from his face had disappeared and was replaced with a beaming expression of relief.

Cheerilee smiled, "That's really kind and I'll be sure to deliver it to Fluttershy." She carefully got some red ribbon to wrap up the letter like she normally did but Carl shook his head. He passed her a pink ribbon. Cheerilee smiled; using the pink ribbon and placing the letter in her saddlebag so she could deliver it to the pegasus later.

Carl didn't say anything else but that was his nature. The fact that he'd come up to her in the first place was groundbreaking for him. Her smile was still on her face when she was closing her saddlebags but it mellowed slightly when a piece of paper caught her eye.

It was old, wrinkled, and made rough noises coming out of its slumbering place. Yet Cheerilee recognized it immediately. It was a note of acceptance from an inventor from Canterlot. This inventor had been striving and Cheerilee had been teaching about physics. A fun field trip idea had pushed her to reach out to the inventor and ask for a tour. The mare had said yes giving Cheerilee a sample tour of the workshop.

She stiffened making the connection. That's where she had seen Fluttershy's eye before! But why did that alarm her? She thought about it for a moment and saw Fluttershy's shock and surprise at seeing the orb in her socket. Did the inventor put it into Fluttershy's skull without permission? Or was Fluttershy a creation of that inventor?

The frown on her face deepened as she tried to remember to name of the inventor but a quick look at the paper revealed it. She immediately placed it down, got another piece of white parchment, and filled the air with furious scribbling.

-In times of stress, we find secrets about yourself. Some we may like, others we may not.

Fluttershy was staring at Twilight the same way she was staring at her. Both were very interested in each other but for different reasons. Well, hopefully, different reasons. Fluttershy was hoping the alicorn wouldn't run away screaming. Yet the look on Twilight's face said another story.

Twilight's face was scrunched up not in fear, but curiosity. Fluttershy could almost see the gears turning in Twilight's head as she pondered on what to say.

"Uh, Twilight?"

There was no response.

"Twilight?" she said a little louder.

Yet the alicorn did not respond. So Fluttershy covered her eye again and that seemed to break the spell on Twilight.

"uh, what?" Twilight asked awkwardly.

"Is everything okay?"

The purple pony frowned, "I should be asking you the same question. I'm not sure what you showed me is but it's important enough to interrupt a meeting with the Princesses."

Fluttershy started to skitter away, her confidence failing, "I—I'm sorry. I'll just…eep!" She started to glow as Twilight pulled her back and placed her in a sitting position.

Twilight herself sat down defiantly, "No. You are going to tell me what happened with Cheerilee. Detail by detail."

"But your meeting—"

"Can wait." Twilight said strongly, "You are worried about this eye of yours why?" She added in a more gentle tone.

Fluttershy sighed and recounted what had happened at the schoolhouse. "Everything was going well. Just as you planned!" She said beaming. Twilight smiled and nodded but motioned her to go on.

"Okay. Well, we had finished the assignments that Cheerilee had given and we went outside to play with the fuzzy creatures. But two ponies came up and interrupted. They called themselves the, Reception 'ception, and wanted to take us all for reasons I really don't want to talk about…"

Twilight had a confused face on but noticed that Fluttershy had noticed and smiled, "No go on. I'll ask questions after the narrative. Need all the information."

Fluttershy nodded, "Cheerilee had to go help Carl—"

"Carl?"

"uh, he was a student that seemed to freeze when the two showed up."

"hmm, probably anxiety."

"Yeah. Well, that's what Cheerilee said. Anyway, I was left alone to fight the two ponies. I was terrified."

Twilight smiled and nodded, "Rightfully so."

"Though I got my courage up and faced them. Though one of them hit me in the eye with a studded bat."

Twilight merely blinked, "Studded? With metal bits to increase the effectiveness of the bat?! And you were fine?"

"How did you know I was fine?"

"You said that with such calmness. That and you are talking to me without a visit to the hospital."

"Well, I was kinda fine." She paused and pulled the shard from the pouch on her wing. "Cheerilee thinks this came from my eye. It would make sense that the bat would knock it out."

The clear piece glowed purple and was lifted up into the air. Twilight brought it close to her eye and examined it. "It looks like really clear glass. This kind of stuff would take quite a while to be manufactured not to mention expensive."

The mention of glass sparked her mind. The pattern she saw when she first got hit by the colt. It looked like cracked glass! "Well, Twilight. After I got hit by the bat, there was a spider-webbed pattern in my vision. I wonder if that was the glass in my, um, eye." The phrase felt odd on Fluttershy's tongue.

Twilight nodded, "It just cracked? Not shattered into a million bits?"

Fluttershy shook her head, "No. I had to shake my head to clear the pattern. The glass probably fell out."

Twilight examined the glass further, "Then this is not any ordinary glass. In normal circumstances, glass hit by a bat would shatter but this stuff seems to be quite resilient."

"Yeah, I guess."

"What happened next?"

Fluttershy looked up as she recalled the event, "Well, I'm not sure. The Reception 'ception looked terrified. Though probably because they saw my eye. But after that I just, well, tackled them."

"You. You tackled them." It was more of a statement rather than a question.

Fluttershy nodded, "Yes, me and them fought. I was trying to make sure they did get anywhere near the bunnies or the fillies."

Twilight brought a hoof to her chin, "Fluttershy, you are a mare. That could be chalked up to a mother's instinct to protect young. Though I have a hard time truly believing you tackling anypony, it isn't impossible."

Fluttershy nodded. That could be where she found her courage to face the Reception 'ception at all, "Probably, but that's not the strange part. One of the ponies turned out to be a unicorn and was able to fire lasers at me. A couple hit but I was fine. Though when she tried to pick me up, she was unable to."

Twilight squinted her eyes, "Okay…"

"While she was struggling to lift me up I was, somehow, able to grab one of the restraints in their wagon and put it on her."

"That's not so strange Fluttershy."

"I guess. But none of my hooves were free! I was grappling with the other pony, the one with the bat. I had looked at the mare struggling to pick me up then at the restraints. The colt tried to hit me with that bat again so I had to defend myself. But when I glanced back I saw the mare with the restraint on her face!"

Twilight nodded, "Alright, I can understand why it's strange but maybe she accidentally put it on. I mean a battle can add disorientation to the mind and simple tasks can become nightmares."

Fluttershy shook her head and quivered, "Maybe in another battle but not this one. From the moment I laid my eyes on those restraints, I knew that they were magic proof. These things were meant to subdue the magic of all ponies. The flying abilities of pegasi, the strength of the earth ponies, and the magic of unicorns!"

"How did you know that?!"

Fluttershy looked down, "I don't know… But it worked. That mare couldn't use any magic when that restraint was on. She couldn't even take the thing off with her hooves."

"What about the other one? What kind of pony was he?"

"An Earth pony."

"Did the restraint work on him?"

"I didn't use the restraint on him."

"How did you stop him then?"

"I, uh, tied him up." She said the last bit in a whisper. Though it had seemed that Twilight had been around her enough to hear even her quietest of voices. Though only if she was paying attention and it seemed all of Twilight's attention was on the yellow pony.

Twilight looked flabbergasted, "You just tied him up?"

Fluttershy nodded, she could feel her face getting red.

"I need a time machine. Because I have way too many questions."

"Me too Twilight, me too."

Twilight just stared at the floor for a minute pondering the situation. Fluttershy also didn't say anything but waited for the alicorn's reply.

"Well," Twilight started, "I really think that you really felt the full force of the mother's instinct. You saw things happen and made snap decisions. You may not even remember the whole battle because your mind was in overload trying to fend off those two. So, the gaps or inconsistencies could be waved off on that account."

Fluttershy merely blinked. Well, half blinked. Why was Twilight so chill about her eye? If that even what it was.

"Though I'm getting the impression that that's not why you came to me." Twilight said thoughtfully looking Fluttershy dead in the eye.

The yellow pony shook her head, "I'm honestly surprised at how well you are taking my eye. It doesn't look natural at all!"

Twilight nodded, "Well yeah. I know some ponies will augment themselves with magical devices to help them with various activities. Metal wing replacements, night-vision goggles, and many other various things. Though implants are still relatively new; they aren't unheard of. Even if you aren't the kind of pony to get one."

"Twilight. I didn't have this eye implanted."

Twilight merely blinked her brain trying to compute what Fluttershy had said, "What?" She merely asked flatly.

"I didn't know I had this eye till that bat revealed it to me." She paused, "I was hoping you'd be able to find out if I'm still a pony."

Twilight responded without any hesitation, "Of course Fluttershy. Though if I find out that you were experimented on…"

Fluttershy had seen that look only once before. It was the time at Froggy bottom bog where Twilight had gotten so angry that her mane had turned to fire. There was no fire this time but Fluttershy could feel the heat radiating from Twilight's coat. Flames flickered in her eyes and Fluttershy suddenly felt very sorry for the pony that had implanted the device currently in her face.

"Though first I think we should let the other Princesses take a look. They may have some insight. After all, they've seen technology blossom from the very beginning. Well, one of them anyway."

Fluttershy merely nodded and the two walked in the room Twilight had been in. Fluttershy almost jumped out of her skin when she realized Spike was behind her, closing the door. He must have been there the whole time. She frowned at that and looked at the floor. Though she felt a claw on her shoulder. There was no pressure in the action, so she looked to her side.

Spike was there smiling. Giving whatever comfort he could. She smiled back and looked up.

They were in a large room with a large table. It looked like a mini cutie map with various papers and scrolls laying on top. A large version of Canterlot was hovering over the table in a translucent state that allowed every pony to see the details the picture was displaying like the number of towers or the mini representations of guards walking their routes. Though it was barely able to block whatever was behind it. This time it was doing a poor job of blocking the faces of the sun and the moon and Fluttershy merely frowned in response.

"Celestia, Luna." Twilight started, "Fluttershy interrupted our meeting on a good reason."

"What reason would that be?" Luna asked. There was no venom in her voice, only worry.

"Fluttershy?" Twilight asked quietly.

Fluttershy took a breath and pushed her hair out of the way.

Surprise and curiosity bloomed on Celestia's face, "My goodness…"

Luna's expression was different, however. An element of confusion and suspicion lay flat on the dark blue face though no words were spoken.

"Now, to clear something up. Fluttershy has no knowledge of this eye being given to her."

This prompted the royalty to change their expressions. Celestia frowned in concealed anger while Luna's expression softened ever so slightly.

"Do you guys have any ideas who could have done this?" Fluttershy hesitantly asked.

While Celestia pondered, Luna spoke up, "Indeed I do. Though I must ask again that you truly didn't know of the existence of the orb you call your eye?"

Fluttershy nodded, confused. "Of course not."

"Hmm." Luna's expression drained of suspicion, "I have seen that device in a dream. Or more accurately, a nightmare."

"Nightmare?" Celestia asked.

Luna nodded, "It was the nightmare of an inventor. Though it has been many years since I have seen it."

"What was the nightmare about?" Fluttershy asked, worried.

"The inventor was worried that, er, his or her, I can not remember. "She paused looking for an appropriate label. "They were worried that their plans would be stolen and used for evil purposes." She looked at Fluttershy, "I do not worry that you stole those plans. Though, I worry for the one who did. And for what plans may lay in store for you." She directed the last phrase towards Fluttershy.

"So, some inventor made plans for an artificial eye?" Twilight asked in awe.

Luna nodded but it was Celestia who spoke, "Indeed. Such technology has existed for quite some time though it ran into a wall when batteries were too large to be of practical use on a pony. Last I remember," she paused, "They were trying to link electro-magical devices with the magic of a cutie mark. Such use would grant a near infinite power source. I wonder if Fluttershy is a successful attempt at that concept."

Twilight looked ready to burst with excitement. "Ooh! This is so exciting!"

Fluttershy merely looked to the ground and frowned. None of this was very exciting to her. She felt a little better knowing that the device was an implant designed to augment a pony and not replace a pony with all metal and gadgets of varying kinds.

"It doesn't seem that everypony can share in your excitement Twilight Sparkle." Celestia's tone was gentle but had a reprimanding tone hidden below layers of syllables.

Twilight immediately turned to her friend and embraced her in a tight hug. "I'm so so so sorry!"

"It's okay.." Fluttershy replied meekly.

"It's not okay! Here I am geeking out and you are over there wondering if you are a pony!"

"Well, there might be a simple test for that," Celestia said and got up from her chair. She walked over to Fluttershy. "Here let me see your eye."

Fluttershy gulped and raised her head to the Princess of the sun. Her presence was strong and was giving Fluttershy mixed emotions. She wanted to give her a hug but also wanted plaster her face to the floor in a bow.

She watched as Celestia's horn started to glow a brilliant yellow. Then she felt her bottom eyelid lift up and fold outwards. She twitched but didn't dare move.

Celestia's face morphed into a fascinated expression, "Interesting."

Celestia's magic released Fluttershy's eyelid and it folded back into position. Fluttershy attempted to blink but realized that she couldn't. So she used her hoof to again flatten her eyelid more comfortably.

"What is it?" Twilight asked, looking at Fluttershy.

"Well, I saw two things. A very intricate web of blood vessels but also lines of very thin metal. They almost looked as if they were tubing of some kind."

"So, does that mean that I'm a pony?" Fluttershy asked hopefully.

Celestia looked down at Fluttershy with a small pity, "I do believe that you are a pony. Though not fully a pony as I'm pretty sure that eye isn't the only piece of electro-magical equipment you have. I wouldn't be surprised if your other eye is the same."

Fluttershy looked stone-faced but, on the inside, she was screaming. "Spike? Do you have a crystal I could use?"

Spike jolted to attention as his name was called, "uh, yeah." He pulled a small crystal from the purple pouch he had slung around his arm and placed it in Fluttershy's outstretched wing.

Fluttershy thanked the purple dragon and used both hooves to hold her right eye open. She steeled herself and threw the crystal at her exposed orb. Her eyelids tried to close but she held them open defiantly. The small crystal made contact with a small, tink. It fell to the crystal floor with a similar sound.

The room was silent as Fluttershy slowly put her hooves to the ground, dumbstruck.

The room was silent. Quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Quiet enough to hear the front door open from the room they were in. The sound merely didn't register with Fluttershy. Instead, she dropped into a sitting position staring at nothing in particular. Her whole life had been a fabrication of some other pony. How did she know what she was? Were her parents truly her parents? What about her brother? Was everything she saw and heard just a reality created by some other pony?

The silence was broken by Luna's slow steps to Fluttershy. Quietly she lifted Fluttershy's head to have her look deep into the blue eyes that held a depth that acted as a drain to Fluttershy's chaotic thoughts.

"I know thou are a pony. I have seen thy dreams. It is not a skill of mine to see the dreams of machines if they exist at all." Luna said quietly.

Fluttershy sniffled, "Okay…but what am I now?"

"You are Fluttershy. My friend." Twilight said embracing her friend in a tight hug. "And she can be whatever she wants to be. Just because you have some electro-magical what's ma-call-it isn't going to put any distance between us."

"Preach sister!" A shrill sudden voice shattered the tender moment but not in a bad way. The voice belonged to Pinkie pie and only made Fluttershy's soul sing but her heart sank.

"But whatever happened to put any distance between you and Twilight?" Rarity asked gently.

Fluttershy bit her lip, not wanting to show her friends what she had become. Or rather what she truly was. Though Twilight smiled and loosened the hug much sooner than Fluttershy wanted. She then motioned towards their friends and smiled.

Fluttershy merely sighed and nodded, "Don't freak out okay?" She then allowed Twilight to rotate her around to face her friends. It was odd to see them all here out of the blue. But she didn't question it. Weirder things had happened, were happening, and would happen. It was Ponyville. The day nothing exotic occurred would be the day the sun exploded. She smiled from the memories that flurried to the surface of her mind but it faded as Twilight used her magic to reveal the electro-magical eye that had been in her head for many years. She looked up at her friends to see their reactions and was a little surprised to see the results.

Pinkie blinked once but remained quiet.

Rarity stared with squinted eyes trying to make out fine details that only she could see.

Applejack looked bewildered but chuckled.

Rainbow merely started to laugh, "Gee. Here I rounded every pony up to see the end results of that hair glue."

"Hair glue?" Twilight asked with surprise.

"Yeah. I found Fluttershy like ten minutes ago with her hair stuck to her face. She said that she was going to meet you, so I guessed it was to fix that hairdo. Though I think that wasn't the case."

"Nope. Though if you think that some little eye is going to stop our friendship that ya better forget it. It may be surprising but it ain't world breaking." Applejack said with the others nodding their approval.

"Though I can't help but see something familiar in your eye sweetie…" Rarity said trotting closer. She sat right next to her and said quietly, "Now, I'll only be in your bubble for but a moment. Though do try not to move."

Fluttershy nodded and held still as Rarity got closer to her face. Eyes examined each other for a brief minute then Rarity withdrew holding her head with a hoof.

Suddenly Pinkie was in her vision staring at her in an upside-down sort of fashion. She merely blinked when she realized that the rest of the pink pony's body was in her mane. Though she didn't even care.

"Wow. It looks just like I'm looking into a camera but shaped like a Fluttershy!" Pinkie said in her usual demeanor with outstretched legs in a presenter sort of fashion. It managed to crack a smile from the yellow pegasus. Pinkie smiled in return and withdrew back into Fluttershy's mane. It tingled and Fluttershy noticed that Pinkie was back where she started.

"Mission accomplished!" She said triumphantly.

"And what mission would that be?" Applejack questioned.

"Make Fluttershy smile!" The pink pony responded and started her normal bounce.

The ponies merely chuckled not even questioning how Pinkie had gotten into Fluttershy's mane without moving.

"Anyway," Rarity said after a few moments, "I know I've seen something like the eye our friend has or at least when it was on paper. Back in Canterlot, several years ago, I met an inventor at one of our elegance parties. This inventor was quite the vision. Using electro-magical equipment for the search and rescue effort. Artificial legs that could lift large boulders, replacement wings for pegasi that had lost them or were never able to use them in the first place, and eyes that could pierce even the darkest of night." She finished looking at Fluttershy. "I do believe that those eyes are the same."

"How do you reckon?" Applejack asked walking up to Fluttershy to examine the new addition to her friend.

"Just above the little blue squares is an inscription, an author's mark if you will. It's identical to the mark from that inventor. A small flying bird flying through a silver aura."

Applejack merely squinted at Fluttershy trying to see what Rarity meant. "Ah can't see it…"

"Here, let me help." Celestia offered and a glowing ring of magic appeared out of the air. It hovered over to Fluttershy's left eye and the engraving was instantly clear. A small bird that looked like a dove flying with a large aura around it. With the assistance of magnification, the ponies were also able to see a wrench in the bird's beak.

"Ooooh!" Twilight exclaimed with interest, "What's this spell?"

Celestia merely smiled, "It's a magnifying spell for when you don't have a magnifying glass. It was incredibly handy in the days of maps where few ponies truly cared about the organization of those maps. So legends and keys were scribbled just about anywhere they could fit. Though it was Luna's idea to add illumination to the spell to help light up what you were trying to inspect."

Luna nodded and looked at Fluttershy, "Yes, it would seem that we have a location and a mark to go by to try to find this inventor."

"Shouldn't Fluttershy already know? Since you know, she has one of her inventions?" Rainbow asked, mirroring the sudden confusion in the room.

"I didn't know I had such an eye before today." Fluttershy murmured.

For the second time the room went quiet. Though this time it was filled with anger not dread.

"So, you're telling me that somepony, without your permission, put that device in your head?"

Fluttershy merely shrugged, "Maybe. But I don't know. It may be that I agreed to this but lost my memory of the event. Or maybe I wasn't born but…built…"

Luna shook her head, "I do not believe technology has become advanced enough to simulate dreams vivid enough for me to enter them."

"Agreed. We've come a long way in the last thousand years but most of the technological power is in the hands of a select few such as the Flim and Flam brothers." Celestia said looking at her sister to Fluttershy. "You were a pony that seems to be augmented with certain devices. Concealed enough to even fool nature."

Fluttershy frowned, How was she going to explain this to her animal friends? They were sure to react differently than her friends right? But then again, she had expected her friends to freak out and run off. None had done so thus far.

Celestia frowned, "Concealed enough to fool nature. It would seem that whoever placed the equipment inside our friend was very cautious about doing so. Making it so no pony could see through its disguise. That worries me."

"I have to agree with my sister," Luna said nodding, "One doesn't go through this much to merely augment another. Such as a pony with metal wings. Such devices have been in use for some time yet those are very poorly concealed. In the case of our friend, it took the device to break to reveal its true nature. And I can't honestly tell the difference between her right eye and my own. They look completely normal."

Twilight suddenly lit up, "Crystal lattice!" Then lifting up the glass shard Fluttershy had brought and brought it close to the mare's left eye. "Hold still," Twilight asked and proceeded to lift the shard mere inches in front of the lenses of the un-natural eye. The shard then went closer till, suddenly, the little squares in the device lit up and the shard was filled with color. It looked as if some pony had taken Fluttershy's eye and made a puzzle out of it. There standing out of the grey metal was Fluttershy's original iris.

"oooh!" Pinkie cooed, "Move it around!"

Twilight obliged and mapped out the original look of the eye. Then repeated the process with a mirror to show Fluttershy.

"Well done." Celestia marveled, watching her student figure out such a complex device off the fly.

Twilight beamed for only a second, "Now we go to Canterlot to find this inventor."

Luna frowned, "It may be difficult. Even with an inventor's mark, there are a lot of inventors in Equestria. Marks can change over time."

Rarity nodded but smiled, "Agreed but we have a mark and where they are from."

"Agreed. Canterlot is a good place to start but I can't remember the looks of the pony that was worried about their invention being stolen. I'm not even sure if they were a mare or a colt."

Rarity frowned, "I myself do not remember what the inventor looked like as well. I just remember the eye very vividly." She paused thinking, "Though I do know they were popular enough to draw a crowd."

Celestia nodded, "Then I can think of two inventors. One is a pegasus mare and the other is a unicorn colt. Each have shown popular inventions over the years, but the mare is a little out of it in latter days. I don't believe she is even open anymore."

"It may still be worth it to stop by. We aren't sure how long Fluttershy has been, erm, gifted." Rarity said giving Fluttershy an apologetic look.

Fluttershy nodded knowing her friend meant her no harm.

"Then lets stop sitting around and get looking. Its only two stops and that can be done ten seconds flat!" Rainbow dash said clapping to hooves together.

Applejack shook her head smiling, "ah half agree with Rainbow. The less we move the less we find out."

"Then it's decided," Celestia said watching the other ponies nod. "We will meet you all in Canterlot."

"So much for that meeting huh?" Twilight said smiling.

"Such meetings can be pushed to another time. Problems from friends don't always have the same flexibility." Celestia said returning the smile.

"Do not worry about cleaning up," Luna said looking at the table covered with papers and various charts. "Sister and I shall do so. You and your friends rush to Canterlot."

Twilight nodded with her friends and they all rushed out the door. Fluttershy only paused to return and recover the eye patch. She trusted her friends with her new look but didn't want the whole thing to become common knowledge. She also looked at the two royal sisters, "Thank you." She said with a smile. The two alicorns return the smile and gave Fluttershy a half bow. She returned it and rushed out the door to catch up with her friends.

Rarity was speaking, "The next train to Canterlot is in just a half-hour. We should be able to make it provided there are no delays. Oh, dear, let me help you with that." Rarity said noticing Fluttershy struggling with the eye patch. Her white horn lit up and the eye patch tied itself neatly around Fluttershy's head. Fluttershy felt her hair move as well as to not get caught in the knot Rarity made.

"Too tight dear?"

Fluttershy shook her head, "It's quite comfortable."

"Great. Off to the train then."

"Yeah! First one there is a rotten egg!" Rainbow cried pushing open the front doors and speeding in the air towards the train station.

Though she didn't get far. A snap of magic and Rainbow was suddenly plummeting to the ground with a metal restraint around her muzzle. She also looked dazed as she struggled to get up.

"Rainbow!" Twilight shouted and the group raced over to help. However, the restraint was connected to a chain that suddenly pulled taut.

Rainbow tried to pull back from the directional pull but was easily overwhelmed. Twilight tried to blast the chain with her magic but the magic bolt sparked and faded when it touched the chain. It didn't even leave a visible mark. The chain pulled Rainbow, now limply on the ground, to a wagon that looked terrifyingly familiar.

Fluttershy gasped as the chain pulled Rainbow into the wagon after which the cover snapped together hiding the blue pegasus entirely. Connected to the wagon were the two brown ponies from the school. "The Reception 'ception!" Fluttershy squeaked.

Twilight growled in anger. The others followed suit.

The Reception merely smiled and took off with their prize, pushing ponies out of the way as they ran by.

The group took chase but Applejack flipped up her hat and it landed neatly on Rarity's head, "Take care of ma hat alright?"

Rarity nodded and the hat glowed blue as she used magic to adjust it more firmly on her head.

Applejack snorted and increased her speed. She took the lead in the chase and left the rest of her friends in the dust. The times she had put into the running of the leaves and all the work at the farm had given her speed and stamina to catch up to the wagon with relative ease. She galloped over to the ponies pulling the wagon and shouted, "Ya think y'all could get away with ma friend?"

The colt smiled, "Didn't want to." He then ducked as his unicorn accomplice shot a magic projectile right at his face. However, the ducking placed Applejack's face in the danger zone with no time to react. The green magic blew into Applejack knocking her out entirely. She started to tumble but was lifted up into the air and placed neatly in the wagon. Fluttershy was able to glimpse a restraint being placed on the orange earth pony's face. She frowned. Applejack and Rainbow were the fastest of the mane six. Well, maybe with the exception of Pinkie but it seemed that she wasn't going to pull a fast one without some backup. They needed some way to keep the wagon in sight or at least-

A click and a soft whrrrrrrr suddenly sounded in her head. And quite suddenly her mouth was getting smaller. Something was pushing down from the roof of her mouth and eventually caused her to open her mouth. She coughed and sputtered as the object cut off her air supply, yet, something kept her running straight and staring intently at the wagon in front of her. A blue circle with lines extending from the top, bottom, left and right sides appeared in her vision. There was a beep and rush of air as if she just spit something with a lot of force. The circle was then replaced with the words: Tracker set. Then she tumbled over coming to stuttering halt.

She stayed there for a moment listening to the sounds in her head as the device slowly returned her mouth to its normal size. Air was suddenly able to return to her lungs and she coughed, taking deep breaths.

"Go! I'll stay and make sure she's alright!" She heard Rarity say and then heard the thundering of galloping. She also felt a hoof on her shoulder.

"Dear, what happened?" Rarity asked.

Fluttershy got up and looked at her friend explaining on how her mouth had shrunk letting some thing down. She then used her tounge to feel the roof on her mouth. She felt no seams that would indicate an opening. Just the wrinkled feeling that she had become accustomed to.

"Well, that sounds unpleasant." Rarity said staring at Fluttershy lost in thought.

"It's okay. I'm fine now and that's what matters. We need to catch up!" Fluttershy said worriedly.

"Agreed. Though I'm afraid the wagon is not in sight anymore." Rarity said with a frown. She also rearranged the hat that sat on her head, "Oh dear. This hat needs to be reformed. It's lost its shape!"

Fluttershy let that comment slide off her ears. Trying to think where the wagon may have went… Suddenly she knew. It was 800 feet due 54 degrees from her location. Her head moved slightly to the left. She was sure that's where the wagon was.

"Follow me!" Fluttershy said and took off.

"Uh, hold on! We don't even know where we are going. I can contact Twilight to tell us where they are at." Rarity replied following her yellow friend.

Fluttershy looked at her friend as she matched her own pace, "I'm not sure how. But I know where the wagon is."

"Okay?" Rarity said hesitantly, "Where is it?"

"It's due 57 degrees at about 725 feet."

Rarity merely looked bewildered, "My goodness. I'm not even sure what that even means…"

"Me either." Fluttershy said sadly, "I just know its in that direction." She motioned with her head.

"Well, lead on!" Rarity trumpeted.

Fluttershy smiled and did so, weaving in and out of buildings. Untill they reached the border of Ponyville. To which Fluttershy skidded to a stop.

"What's wrong dear?" Rarity asked also coming to a stop.

Fluttershy didn't immediately respond. Instead she was slowly turning her head left, following an imaginary line. In her eyes she was watching the degrees change as the wagon was taking a left most direction.

"I think they are taking the left side exit. If we cut through the town we may be able to cut them off." Fluttershy said quietly.

Rarity just nodded with a befuddled look on their face. Though followed Fluttershy through the trees regardless.

Fluttershy weaved in and out of the trees and buildings, knowing them by the back of her foreleg. Every now and again she looked behind her to make sure Rarity was following her. Every time she looked, she saw Rarity nod with her horn illuminating the area. It was slightly odd to see Rarity wearing Applejack's hat but that memory just made her more determined to free her and Rainbow. She blinked noticing that the wagon was only 200 feet away. She smiled. The shortcut had worked! She continued to follow the internal compass that somehow knew exactly where the wagon was.

However, they were past the small town of Ponyville and now in the thicket of the Everfree forest. Though they had been in it enough times for Fluttershy to not be skittish. They had faced the likes of Tirek and Starlight Glimmer. She was sure she could handle a few trees, be it scary trees; but they were still trees.

There was a magic explosion that detonated nearby though the two ponies were already heading in that direction.

"That was probably Twilight though that sounded quite strong. Are they still moving?" Rarity asked behind her.

Fluttershy noted the fluctuating degrees and nodded.

"Well that might be a tad bit of a problem. If that wagon can stand up to Twilight's magical might then it may be unbreakable." Rarity observed, slightly out of breath.

Fluttershy frowned. That would be true. Of all the mane six, Twilight had the most potential attack power. Next would be Rainbow and Applejack. Both of which were in the wagon they were trying to stop.

The wheels! If they could jam a stick between the spokes then the wagon would be either slowed drastically or incapacitated. She explained her plan to Rarity who pondered it for a couple of secounds.

"I think that could work. Though to find a stick that would be able to stop said wheel…"

Fluttershy slowed down and looked around for a large stick. There were plenty around. Though many had curves and bends to them that made them awkward to hold.

"Oh!"

Fluttershy took a glance behind her to see Rarity holding a large stick that was straight like a javelin. The blue glowing stick was a tad longer than she was tall. She smiled and picked up her speed. After a few moments, she could hear the wagon wheels spinning on the ground. They both jumped out of the trees and were in the stride with the wagon.

"What?!" The mare pulling the wagon exclaimed.

With a huff, Rarity directed the stick she was levitating into the wheel. It bounced off but she tried to again.

"No you don't!" The mare shouted and directed lasers in their direction.

"Oh, dear!" Rarity jumped and avoided the laser aimed at her hooves. Fluttershy jumped into the air and started to fly but the wagon opened up and start to click. She snapped her wings back to her sides and landed. The wagon closed and the clicking ceased. She frowned and looked behind her to Twilight and Pinkie.

Twilight nodded and closed her wings.

Fluttershy returned her attention to the wagon and noticed Rarity had taken shelter from behind the wagon. She still had the stick in her magical grasp.

"Take that!" She shouted and tried again to jam the stick into the wheel. This time it succeeded but didn't have the results the two expected. The wheel ate the stick with very little hesitation. The whole wagon jumped up as the stick was ripped to splinters. Though as the wagon jumped it slowed down into Rarity. The sudden impact knocked Rarity off her hooves and she started to tumble with a little, "oh!"

"Rarity!" Fluttershy exclaimed and started to slow down to try to catch her. Though she glowed a light purple as she got caught in Twilight's magic and was set gently on her hooves.

"Thank you, my dear." Rarity said getting her stance again.

"Anytime. Though now we have to worry about catching up again. You'll have to tell me later how you managed to track that thing but not now…" Twilight responded. She sounded winded obviously from the magic and running she had been doing.

"I think I could catch up but if I were to go alone I may just get caught like Applejack. I don't really have any defense against unicorn magic." Pinkie said. She didn't look tired at all but had a point. She could be easily taken down. Well, they didn't want to take the chance. Who knows what other tricks the two could have?

"To make matters worse, they are heading deeper into Everfree! If they get much deeper, we might lose them!" Twilight said worriedly.

"Oh dear, we may lose them right now!" Rarity exclaimed looking ahead.

The wagon was approaching a two turned pass.

"Watch where they go!" Pinkie exclaimed. The group stared intently stared at the wagon making careful note of its direction.

However, the opposing ponies had a different plan. The back of the wagon started to expel green smoke. It then exploded with a large thick cloud of said green smoke with a startling bang. Fluttershy and her friends ran right into the cloud and found it wasn't breathable. All concentration was lost as they struggled to exit the cloud, soon coming to a sputtering stop. Twilight growled and her magic flared in a small explosion that blasted the gas outward giving the ponies precious air.

After a couple of minutes of coughing and trying to breathe. Pinkie looked at the pass and shouted in frustration, "Gahh! Which way did they go!?"

The air held silence for her answer.