Return of the Ancient Mage

Chapters

Chapter 1: Prologue
Chapter 3: Archive
Chapter 4: Dreamwalker
Chapter 5: Whisper Wanders
Chapter 6: Preparations
Chapter 7: Royal Pain
Chapter 8: Sightings
Chapter 9: Luna's Night Out
Chapter 10: Chasing the Storm
Chapter 11: Book Horse
Chapter 12: A Changing Problem
Chapter 13: Rumors
Chapter 14: Chasing Ghosts
Chapter 15: The Everfree Shade
Chapter 16: Checking In
Chapter 18: Night Raid
Chapter 19: Back to the Forest
Chapter 20: The Alicorn Amulet
Chapter 21: Glimpse of the Past
Chapter 22: A New Problem
Chapter 23: A Path to Follow
Chapter 24: Chasing Smoke
Chapter 25: Midnight
Chapter 26: Reunion
Chapter 27: Trouble with Triplets
Chapter 28: Behind the Curtain
Chapter 29: Demon of the Empire
Chapter 31: Hearth's Warming
Chapter 32: Lost Love
Chapter 33: Hiding in Plain Sight
Chapter 34: Changing Circumstances
Chapter 35: Recollections
Chapter 36: Sins of the Sun
Chapter 37: Clover's Secret
Chapter 38: Ascension of the Princesses
Chapter 39: Final Preparations
Chapter 40: Soul and Stone
Chapter 41: Revision
Chapter 42: Exorcism
Chapter 43: Harmony
Chapter 44: Jailbreak
Chapter 45: Demon on the Run
Chapter 46: Rainbow on the Rebound
Chapter 47: Evil's End
Chapter 49: Pillow Talk
Chapter 50: Epilogue
Chapter 2: Random Fact
Chapter 17: Lessons from a Fairy
Chapter 30: The Ancient Mage
Chapter 48: Coming to a Close

Chapter 1: Prologue

Many moons ago and many miles away from Equestria.

"Don't usually see a pony this far away from Equestria," said a raspy voice belonging the parrot behind the bar counter. "Don't folk like you tend to run in herds."

The golden unicorn stepped up to the bar, having to hop up to get seated on the stool. His green eyes shone out of the shadows cast by his dark green cloak as he looked at the barkeep, "I'm not really one for crowds and ponies tend to break out into song a bit too much for my liking. Plus, their drink tends to be a bit weak. Everyone this side of the ocean says Klugetown has the strongest ale and that parrots tell the best stories."

"HA! HA!" The barkeep bellowed heartily, "well at the very least you know how to make an old sea bird laugh. Talk like that will at least earn ya half a pint," he said as he pulled a small mug from behind the counter and slammed it in front of the pony. "So what drives a small creature like yourself to travel so far from home. You had to know it isn't safe for a pony this far into the badlands."

"It's safe enough," the pony said as he threw back the drink, his hood falling back for a moment, revealing the shaggy brown mane underneath. "Even those dogs that have been eyeing me from the corner aren't sure whether or not I'm a easy mark or an obvious trap," he said as he turned slightly and glared at the diamond dogs that had been watching him since he entered the bar.

The offending dogs, who had been idly picking at their meal as they watched him, quickly decided that their food just became a lot more interesting and began to tear into it with more vigor than they had before.

"Well you certainly got the stones for such a small creature," said the barkeep as he looked down at the pony. "Bet you got quite a story bout you."

"Like none you'd ever believe," the pony said as he chugged down the rest of his drink.

"Whew, I'd be careful if I were you," the barkeep said as he watched the pony finish his drink. "I've seen minotaurs knocked on their rears from downing a drink that fast."

"If you can actually find a drink strong enough to..." Pain shot through his body as he fell backward off the stool, he landed of the ground with an audible *thump*, drawing the attention of the other patrons.

"That's what you get for acting all tough," said the barkeep as he dejectedly shook his head. "I knew a pony wouldn't be able to hold his drink." He walked around the counter to check on the fallen pony. He reached down to where the pony had fallen, checking to see if he was still conscious. His taloned claw had barely brushed the pony's golden fur when he felt a jolt of energy run up his arm, causing him to jump back. "What the?!" The barkeep exclaimed as he shook the numb limb.

The pony began to rise unnaturally to his hooves, staggering upwards as if a puppet on strings. His eyes snapped open to reveal a pupil-less stare as a purple mist poured off the edges of his face. His face cracked a wicked smile as a dark ooze began to pour off his body.

"Crystal...Heart..." the words hissed out from the unicorn's mouth in a voice unlike what he'd used before. The unicorn took a moment to look at the surrounding masses as they slowly retreated from the dark form, their instincts telling them that this was a creature to be avoided. "You dropped your guard, you fool." The sinister presence took a deep breath, ignoring the other creatures around it. "My empire has returned and I WILL reclaim what you took from me."

He started to float towards the door when the green eyes of the unicorn came back into focus, causing the body to fall back to the ground. "No!" He hissed. "Why won't you stay down!?" The misty irises that tore away from the body were shrouded in a fog of mist even as a green light radiated off the unicorn's body. Long and frayed emerald chains stared to come into view, linking the two creatures even as the ghostly form tried to break free of them.

The two entities struggled for a brief moment, playing what could only be described as the strangest game of tug-of-war, when an audible tear was heard coming from the ghost. The unicorn looked on in horror as a piece of the mist tore from rest of its body and flew out the door as fast at it could go. Small drops of blood leaked out from between the unicorn's teeth as it strained to pull in the remaining pieces of the specter. Inch by inch he pulled the rest of it into himself, until its form had been fully smothered by his own.

The golden unicorn struggled to catch his breath as took in his surroundings. One by one, he met the gazes of the patrons who were staring at him with rapt attention. "Ponyfeathers," he cursed under his breath as he turned and tapped a hoof against his shadow. "Wake up," he said weakly to the empty air. "It's time."

If the patrons of the bar were already having a weird day, and it just got weirder as his shadow started to ripple and two glowing purple orbs appeared in the gloom, taking in the surroundings.

"Can't I take a nap without you getting into trouble every five minutes?" Groaned his shadow before shifting to alarm. "What happened to you?!"

"Escaped... headed to... Crystal Empire... must pursue," he wheezed out, taking a strained breath for every word.

"You aren't chasing after anything until you recover," the shadow snapped back, concern painting its voice. "I can't remember the last time I've seen you this worn out."

"They're in danger..." He weakly tried to push himself to his hooves.

"Equestria will have to fend for itself." A silhouette began to step out of the shadows and surround itself with a silvery glow. "First thing's first, I'm getting you out of here."

The silver glow grew brighter and brighter as it enveloped the entire area. Once it became far too bright to see, it suddenly vanished with a resounding snap.

The patrons all looked dumbly at each other, whispers wondering why half of them were on the floor could be heard filling the tavern. They all climbed back onto their paws, hooves, talons, and whatever else the denizens of Klugetown got around on before going about their own business.

As the bartender made his way back to behind the counter, he looked down at the small mug sitting alone on the counter and wondered if someone had been sitting there.

Author's Note

Time to start this ride. Hold on folks.

Chapter 3: Archive

Twilight rushed up to the edge of the hole, Spike close on her heels after they watched Random fall down into the darkness. "Are you ok?!" She shouted down into the hole. With no answer forthcoming, she started to worry. He could be hurt or worse. She started to descend the stairs set into the wall, her horn aglow to light the dark path.

"This is kinda spooky, Twilight." Spike said with a shiver to his voice as he followed behind her. "I mean, who even knew this was down here," he quickly moved closer to her.

"Oh Spike," Twilight said as she rolled her eyes. "I'm sure it's fine. Don't be such a scaredy dragon."

Spike puffed out his chest indignantly as he marched past her, taking the lead, "I am not a scaredy dragon. Stay behind me Twilight, I'll protect you."

They made several revolutions around the room as they descended, all the while Twilight being protected by the big, strong, and definitely not scared dragon. Eventually the stairs opened up to an empty floor. Twilight looked to the center of the room, half expecting to see some sign of Random there. All she found was a large dent in the stone floor. How hard did he have to land to make a dent like that? Or has that always been there?

"Twi... Twilight," called Spike from the other side a doorway that lead out of the stairwell. "I think you should see this."

"What is it Spike?" Asked Twilight as she passed through the doorway. "What did you...?" Her voice got caught in her throat as she stood next to Spike and saw what he was looking at.

They stood on a ledge overlooking a large open cavern that stretched out as far as the eye could see, but the space was not empty. Hundreds upon hundreds of shelves stretched through the space and across the walls filled with thousands upon thousands of books. Every so often the shelves made way for some tables and plush looking chairs that a pony could sit and read for hours without getting sore. Her eyes looked up the walls and she spotted some high walkways going past even more shelves with reading alcoves high in the walls. Reading area's for pegasi, maybe? She even spotted a small fountain and garden off in a far corner. This place was any avid bookworm's dream.

The room was silent except for the sound of shouting that they could hear coming from down another set of stairs set into the ledge they were standing on. The shouting continued to get louder as they made their way further down the stairs. As they reached the bottom, Twilight still struggled to take her eyes off the towering shelves of books that appeared to be even more imposing from this level.

"You stupid stallion! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!" The sound of a high pitched voice could be heard coming from a room within the stone wall. "I ought to put you six feet under!"

"But we're already more than six feet under," came a retort, sounding like it came from the stallion that Twilight had just met.

Twilight and Spike poked their heads into what appeared to be an study of some kind just in time to hear, "Don't get smart with me!" Coming from a little pink light that seemed to be taking some measure of satisfaction from repeatedly pummeling the stallion who was keeping his head low and shielding his ears with his hooves.

"Um...hello?" Twilight said hesitantly as she walked in the room.

Almost instantly the pink light stopped its assault and the intensity of its glow began to dim, revealing a small yellow form with a flowing pink mane. The tea cup sized creature sort of resembled a miniature Fluttershy if it weren't for the long slender wings protruding from its back. Slowly it turned in the air to face the two intruders as it cracked a small smile. "Hi..." It said hesitantly, waving a small hoof at them.

"Holy guacamole, Twilight!" Proclaimed Spike pointing a claw at the small creature. "Is that a fairy?!"

"Yes Spike," responded the fairy snidely while taking on a more formal tone. "I am indeed a fairy. My name's Whisper."

Twilight had stars in her eyes and a manic gleam wash across her face as she watched the little fairy flit about. "I have so many..."

"No, Twilight," Whisper said, cutting her off. "I'm no answering any questions until..." she landed hard on Random head, causing him to flinch. "I get some answers of my own. Feel free to peruse the archives while I have a private word with this insolent stallion," she said as she grinded a hoof into his skull, making him wince.

Twilight, quickly realizing she was interrupting something personal, squeaked out a quick, "sorry," before scrambling for the door and leaving the room.

"You didn't have to be so mean to her...ow!" Random flinched as the fairy on his head began to pull on his ear.

"Don't change the subject!" Whisper scolded him. "Where in the blasted abyss have you been?! And what did you do to your coat?!" She snapped, gesturing to all of him.

"You like it?" He stood up tall and struck a pose. "Figured I'd need a disguise if I want to keep certain ponies from recognizing me."

Whisper flitted off his head and hovered in front of him, "I doubt it. I think there's at least two other ponies in town who've got names sound like yours and unless you start casting extra flashy spells, I don't think anypony will notice or care."

"Regardless," said Random. "I think I'll still keep it up on the off chance I run into a certain pair of sisters."

"I don't think you have too much to worry about on that front," Whisper dismissed. "They hardly ever leave Canterlot."

"Even so," Random continued. "I really don't want to take the chance that they find out I'm still alive. At least not yet."

"Meh," Whisper said as she threw up her hooves. "Suit yourself," she said. "However..." She flew in close to him and placed a tiny hoof on his nose, her expression growing a bit softer, "let me see your real face for a moment."

"It would kind of defeat the point of a disguise if I took it off all the time," he said while glancing out the door.

"Don't worry bout Twilight," said Whisper. "She at least a dozen rows away and found something interesting to settle into. I've been watched her for years. She'll be a couple hours at least." Whisper looked deep into his eyes, her own seeming on the verge of tears, "...please, just for a moment."

Random softened his gaze, "all right, Whisper. Just for you." He closed his eyes while a green glow wrapped around his horn. The magic from his horn washed over his whole body and began to ripple in the dim light. The ripple began to fog and haze until his body looked like you were looking through thick smoke in order to see it.

Gradually the fog began to clear, causing his grey coat to make way for a muted gold color as his mane changed from green to a rich brown. His eyes stayed the same, but he now wore a green travel cloak across his back, obscuring his cutiemark.

Whisper flew in closer and nuzzled into his neck once the spell wore off, tears pouring down her face. "You had me so worried," she cried. "When I heard the Crystal Empire had returned and that it was under attack by Sombra," her tears continued to flow. "I thought something had happened to you."

The golden unicorn leaned his head to the side and nuzzled the top of her head, "I'm sorry to have worried you." His compassionate voice was slightly deeper and richer than it was before he took his disguise off. "He caught me off guard and I wasn't able to completely contain him. He must've been biding his time until he sensed the return of the empire. Not that much of him managed to escape, but I do wonder what happened to that small portion."

Whisper unlatched herself from his neck and began to hover in the air again, "those two that were just in here," She said through a crack in her voice. "Managed to retrieve the crystal heart and with the help of alicorn 'princess of love' Cadenza," she said with eye rolls. "Blew him up into a million pieces!" She said with emphasis, throwing her hooves out to exaggerate an explosion.

The cloaked figure breathed a sigh of relief, "I was really worried about the damage he was going to cause. I was in no condition to chase it... Wait... What?!" he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Another alicorn?! How many of them are running around right now?"

"Oh!" Whisper exclaimed with a hint of embarrassment. "I guess you wouldn't know since you haven't been home in so long. There's currently only four known alicorns in Equestria. You already know the princesses of the sun and moon, there's the one I just mentioned ruling the Crystal Empire to the north," she then waved off in the direction of the archive, "and the princess of books out there just became one last week."

"Well," he started, somewhat flabbergasted as his disguise shimmered back into place. "Is there anything else I've missed?"

Twilight was having the time of her life as she looked through the wide selection of books. She had started off just intending to make a quick look around the whole place; but when she found a whole section dedicated to Isaac Neighton's theoretical and practical applications of the arcane, not just a few books, but a whole section. She just couldn't resist picking out a few choice volumes and finding a place to relax for a bit.

She spent at least an hour curled up with several of the thicker tomes. At some point, Spike had wandered off on his own and returned with a stack of vintage comic books. His eyes lit up in excitement at his recently acquired treasure as he sat down and began to excitedly flip through the pages.

After a while longer, her thoughts drifted back to the fairy that Random was talking to. Fairies were elusive creatures at the best of times, their existence usually being within the realms of myth and fantasy. She was still hoping the small creature would be willing to share something about herself once she finished with her private conversation.

Twilight rubbed at the bridge of her nose, her eyes straining from the lighting down here since she normally read by sunlight. She finally stood up and stretched her limbs. Spike looked up from his comic book as he heard her move, "everything alright, Twilight?"

"Yeah..." Twilight said as she stretched her back, her wings to making small, involuntary flaps. "Think it's safe to check on them?" She looked over in the direction of the study.

Spike stood back up and carefully placed his treasure back on the stack, "I haven't heard any shouting in a while. Maybe it's ok?."

They made their way back through the aisles of books, Twilight still feeling awed by the massive selection available down here, she wasn't even sure the Royal Library of Canterlot boasted a selection this large. As they returned to the study, the silence was broken by the sound of rolling laughter.

"BWHA! You're kidding me!" Came a voice from inside the room. "A changeling queen really attempted a hostile takeover?!"

"That's what I said," came the small voice in return. "She was even disguised as the princess getting married."

Twilight hurried the last couple steps, once she realized what they were talking about. As she came into view of the two creatures, she found Random sitting inside the room on a sofa with a foreleg wrapped around his gut and and tears streaming down his face, a look of unbridled mirth painted his features.

"Please tell me she didn't succeed in fooling everypony," Random desperately asked Whisper. "That would just be embarrassing."

Twilight felt her mood darken as she stood there in the doorway.

"Uh... Random?" Whisper said nervously, having noticed Twilight enter the room.

"What? You gonna tell me she fooled the groom next?" Random quipped.

Twilight gave an angry snort from the doorway, drawing the stallion's attention. "That 'groom' is my brother. And for your information," she continued, annoyed. "He's still a bit uneasy about getting brainwashed."

Random got up from his seat and started to make his way toward the door, "well you'll have to forgive me. The whole situation seems a bit absurd to me."

Twilight watched him in dismay as he left the room, "Hey!" She shouted after him, "I'm not finished with you yet! Where are you going?!"

"To find some food!" He shouted back. "I'm hungry."

Twilight looked to the fairy floating beside her, "is he always like this?"

"Not always," Whisper mused. "I've known him a while and it takes quite a bit to make him laugh like that. He must've found it really funny."

Twilight pouted as she chased after the infuriating unicorn, Spike close on her heels. They began to climb the spiral stairs back to the main floor of the library when she took notice of his scroll shaped cutiemark. Probably has some sort bookkeeping talent or something similar.

"So Random?" She asked quietly.

He looked over his shoulder without breaking stride, "what is it, Twilight?"

Twilight swallowed hard, "you really hadn't heard about the wedding before?"

Random looked back up the stairs, "I've been traveling outside of Equestria for a while now. So I'm sorry to say that I've missed anything that's happened over the last couple years."

Twilight was a bit shocked by this revelation, "really?" She asked. "So what about the longest night?" She had to stop herself from planting her nose in his backside when he suddenly stopped right in front of her.

He was quiet for a moment before speaking, "it would've been hard not to notice the mare in the moon disappearing. Tell me," he said quietly. "How is Princess Luna?"

"She's... adjusting," Twilight said. "It's not easy having been away from Equestria for a thousand years only to come back to everything being so different."

"I can only imagine," Random said solemnly as he resumed climbing the stairs.

They made their way back onto the main floor only to find it pitch black inside. "Strange," reflected Random, confused. "I didn't think it was already this late."

Spike looked around warily, "I'm getting some serious Deja vu, Twilight."

"Same," said Twilight with a smile. "Say, Random. You didn't by any chance run into Pinkie Pie on the way here, did you?"

Random looked at her curiously, "only other pony I ran into was this farmer named Applejack. Although, there was this bouncy pink pony that bolted away like lightning when I bumped into her. Why do you ask?"

"Oh," Twilight said with a menacing grin. "No reason."

As if on que, the lights suddenly came on followed by a shout of, "SURPRISE!" By all the ponies in the room.

A green flash of magic found Random vanishing from next to Twilight, only to reappear on the top of one of the shelves a moment later, a hoof pressed against his chest as he breathed heavily.

"O wow!" Exclaimed the pink pony as she hopped in a small circle. "I haven't never seen anypony so excited by a surprise party like that in a super duper long time!"

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!" Shouted Random from his perch.

"Oh silly," said Pinkie with a dismissive wave of her hoof, "that wouldn't be very fun at all."

"Pinkie Pie does this for all the new ponies in town!" Twilight shouted up to the startled unicorn.

Random took a moment to slow his breath and take a closer look at the changes around the library. There was cake and punch and other assorted party favors strewn across the room, as well as a large banner that read 'Welcome to Ponyville'. Carefully, he climbed down from the shelves and approached the pink power of positively that permeated the party's presence. "You gave me quite a fright."

"Sorry..." said Pinkie, wincing back for only a moment before rebounding with even more energy than before. "Anyway, let me introduce you to everypony!" She proceeded to drag him around the room, stopping every so often to introduce a new pony. "This is Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Derpy Hooves, Time Turner, Cloud Kicker, Blossomforth..." Pinkie continued to introduce the ponies without seeming to stop for a breath, "seems like you already know Twilight Sparkle, our local princess."

"Pinkie!!" Exclaimed Twilight, red with embarrassment.

"And I'm Pinkie Pie!" Proclaimed the pink pony. "Now you won't feel lonely. Look at all these new friends you have!" And then she got distracted. "Ooo, I haven't seen that door in here before. I wonder what's down there?" She then rocketed down the stairs they had just climbed only to come back up them about ten seconds later holding a white and red checkered book. "A new recipe for triple fudge strawberry delight! I'm gonna have to try this later," she said before the book disappeared into her mane.

Random found himself holding his head as he looked to Twilight, "is it wrong I'm getting a headache? Is she always like this?"

Twilight gave a lighthearted giggle, "she's just being Pinkie Pie. You'll get used to it."

"Well, I will say this," the stallion said while looking in the direction of the cake. "That cake does looks delicious." He trotted over and found himself a slice of cake. A couple of mares started to gather round him as he did so.

"So Twilight," said Rainbow Dash as she and Applejack walked up to her. "So where'd you dig him up from?"

"He just showed up at my door." Said Twilight. "I've never seen him before."

"Riiight," Applejack said skeptically with a raised eyebrow. "Ah thought ya weren't gonna start dating until ya got used to bein a princess."

Twilight felt herself become flush with her friend's prodding, "it's not like that!" She pushed her friend away only to be met with laughs from both her friends. "From what I can tell he used to live here," she looked to the large door that lead down into the treasure trove of books, her friends following her gaze. "That showed up the same time he did. The fairy that lives down there seems to be very familiar with him."

Applejack had a concerned look on her face while she seemed to be thinking about something, "well...Ah don't know nuthin bout no fairies. But Ah do know that no ponies lived in this here library before ya Twi. At least, not as long as Ah've been alive. A couple of folk tried moving in once or twice, only to leave town days later screaming about voices. Least that's what granny told me whenever Ah asked her."

"So... Should I be worried?" Asked Twilight with concern.

"Maybe..." said Applejack. "If he had just showed up making wild claims, Ah would've just bunched him up with a couple of them Canterlot folk that were tryin to get with ya back like they were doin back in the city. But," she looked to the open door that led down into the darkness. "Ah don't rightly know what to tell ya if other stuff be happenin as well. Just be careful, Twi."

"Yeah," proclaimed Rainbow Dash as she puffed her chest out. "And if he tries anything funny, you be sure to let us know." She stood up on her hind legs and gave a few experimental punches with her forehooves. "Cause nopony's gonna mess with our friends if I got somthing to say about it."

Everyone was too busy socializing to notice the small yellow form zip across the room and make her way up to the table of refreshments. After Whisper swiped a small chunk of cake for herself, she sprinkled some kind of dusty powder into the punch, a mischievous grin painting her face before disappearing with her prize.

Chapter 4: Dreamwalker

Far away from the party in Ponyville, in the royal city of Canterlot, Princess Luna stood regally as she looked over the nation from her tower. The sun was slowly descending toward the horizon and many of the ponies would soon be heading off to bed. She felt a warm presence make itself known as it entered her chambers, for this was none other than her dear sister, Princess Celestia. "Fare thee well this evening, our dear sister. Hast thou finish preparing for the end of thine day?"

Celestia gracefully sauntered up to her younger sister and gently nuzzled her, "I'll finish putting the sun to bed in a moment. How are you doing, Luna?"

"We have rested well enough, we only await for thee to finish thine duties for the day before we take charge of the night." Luna stated in a professional matter.

Celestia resettled her shoulders as she looked down at her younger sibling, "you know that's not what I meant. Luna," she said tenderly. "How are you doing?"

Luna gave out a long sigh, this wasn't the first time she asked this. "We are still adjusting, dear sister," Luna said with more reserved tone. "One can not be expected to adjust so quickly after a thousand year absence. The world is nothing like that which we left and we don't see ourselves acclimating so easily. How fares thine student? We doubt thee will ever stop fussing over her simply because she now shares a title with thine own self."

Celestia gave a tired breath, whether it was from the burdens of the day or having to watch Twilight adjust to her new role, she wasn't really sure. "She's been having it rough ever since the court drew their attention to her. I knew they would but I wasn't expecting the waves of suitors to start coming after her so soon."

"It was probably for the best that she returned to her home in Ponyville," Luna approved. "These last few nights have found her plagued of fewer dreams involving said suitors. Although," she looked at her older sister, "thy nephew, the self proclaimed Prince Blueblood, seems to be at the forefront of her mind when it comes to suitors."

"Oh?" Asked Celestia, a bit confused. "I was under the impression that she didn't care for him."

"At the forefront of her mind regarding stallions she has no interest in and would rather they cease their advances," Luna said with a small snicker. "Really sister, why dost thou continue to suffer such an insufferable nephew."

"You know Luna," retorted Celestia. "Technically he's also your nephew as well."

Luna scoffed at this, "We refuse to accept him as kin when he finds himself some fifty generations removed. Besides...We did not care much for his ancestor either."

"Neither of you seemed to care for him all that much..." Celestia started to say.

"Sister!" Luna flared her wings as she slammed a hoof down with a scowl, the cracking stone reverberating through the room. "We hope that thou are not treading upon forsaken ground!?"

Celestia winced before bowing apologetically, "forgive me, Luna. I meant no offense."

Luna took several rapid breaths before she managed to regain her composure, "nay, it is us who should be sorry for lashing out. It was many years ago and nothing we do now can change the past. It would be best to, how the common folk say it, let bygones be bygones. Regardless, we fear it will continue to be a sensitive topic for some time. Alas though, dear sister," she looked towards the last rays of the setting sun. "The time for night approaches and we have duties to attend to. We shall see thee upon the morn."

"Have a good night, Luna," said Celestia as she turned to leave. "I'll see you in the morning."

Luna stepped out onto the balcony, her horn wrapping itself in a soft blue aura as she reached for the moon beyond the edge of the world. Gently and ever so slowly, the pale orb peeked over the distant horizon and lifted into the night sky, offering calm rest and subtle reflection for all who gazed upon it.

The first of her duties resolved for the evening, she closed her eyes and reached out with her mind for those who sleep and dream. For with every pony that has a dream of peace and joy, there will always be the ones plagued by nightmares.

Luna made her way through the astral plane, for it was within this space that passage to the souls that slept within the kingdom were connected. The Princess of the Night could easily enter the dreams of these ponies as easily as walking through a door.

She found herself visiting a few of the locations that she would often visit on a regular basis. Usually that ended up being many of the young colts and fillies throughout Equestria and the many fears that would often plague them. Why just now she had, for the third time this week, consoled a little pegasus filly named Scootaloo who kept beating herself up over not being able to fly. Aside from her, there was a lot of young ponies that fretted over ever earning their cutiemarks. There were far many more of these than the self proclaimed cutiemark crusaders that worried about finding their special talents, even if they were by far the most enthusiastic fillies she had seen in a while trying to earn their marks.

It wasn't just the young that struggled with their troubles, even many of the adults had problems that would follow them into their sleeping minds. A lot of them, too many of them, worried about things like money, but you'd always find ponies who's worries lay more with relationships. Whether it was just the desire to get along with their peers or someone that they may fancy pursuing a relationship of the more romantic nature. Something that had plagued their newest princess, Twilight Sparkle, and her dreams in recent days.

Luna sighed as she traveled through the dreams of that night, her mind racing through her own memories. Memories of a more personal nature. She once had some pony she was close to before... well... he would have died many centuries before her return from the moon, if the politics of old Equestria hadn't done him in, then old age definitely would have.

She steeled herself as she continued her nightly duties, she refused to let her past continue to torment her. Even if it was really hard at times.

She was about to approach the passage into Twilight's subconscious when she felt an overwhelming presence begin to push down on her. To say it felt dark and foreboding would be an understatement as the amount of pressure it was emitting felt like it could shatter solid stone.

Luna turned away from Twilight's subconscious, she would have to fend for herself tonight, as she pursued the new sensation through the astral plane. It took some time to hone in on where it was coming from. It wasn't like the malevolence she felt was faint by any stretch of the imagination, but instead it was like it was being shrouded by something. Whatever that something was, she only dreaded to think what it could be.

The pressure grew ever stronger as she felt herself draw closer to the source of the disturbance. She felt like she might soon collapse from the pressure when she found herself standing in front of a set of a very large oaken doors. Now there was several things strange about this. Doors did not usually appear in the astral plane on their own. She usually made the entrances appear as doors if she had to help a pony out on a more personal level since it helped them cope with how she was able to move in and out of their sleeping mind. The only other way a door would appear is if the mind it belonged to erected it themselves. This door in particular went one step further as it was both far larger than it would normally appear and it was heavily engraved with a multitude of runes. Usually that would indicate that the mind behind it was a powerful spellcaster or something much worse.

Her sister needed to know about this, but first she needed to find out more. She needed to find out the nature of whatever threat this may present to Equestria.

Luna rested a hoof against the door with the intention of pushing it open. Her hoof had only rested on it for a moment when she felt a sharp jolt run up her leg, numbing it in the process. She struggled to pull her leg away but found herself stuck fast not only to the door, but rest of her limbs were stuck to the non-existent ground in front of the door.

The runes in the oaken door began to glow with a vicious light as shades of green and purple began to pulsate off of them. Luna continued to struggle with her stuck hoof as the door began to slowly open. When the smallest amount of light broke through the crack of the door, she found her hoof break free of the door only for it to be snapped to the ground to join the rest.

The door swung inward with the sound of grinding metal, which just added to the list of things that didn't make sense about the situation. The gap in the door creaked wider and she found a set of deep red irises gazing out at her. The eyes seemed to grow closer as a space beneath them began to sizzle and crack as the darkness that made up the creature's body split to reveal a maw lined with razor sharp teeth. The muzzle that housed those teeth reached for her even as thick viscous fluid dripped from the teeth and splashed against her coat, leaving a burning sensation that cut down to the bone.

Luna was about to scream when she felt something pierce her body. She looked down to find herself skewered with long purple claws, she started to go into shock as the maw rushed in and bit deep into her neck. The beast lifted her from her cemented position and, paying no mind to the stuck limbs of the lunar princess, practically tore her from where she stood, leaving her with the sensation of flesh tearing and joints cracking as the creature pulled her inside.

Luna woke with a start in her bedchambers, wait, that isn't right. Her bed wasn't this solid. Nor were her bedchambers this light as she felt the light of the sun all around her. She struggled to her hooves as a phantom pain rushed through her body. Why was she feeling so sore.

As her mind caught up with the rest of her, she remembered the events that had just taken place at the door. She felt a shudder rush over her as she quickly inspected herself, only to find herself whole. She sat there for a moment, shivering on the cold crystal ground with her forelegs wrapped around herself as she waited for the terror to pass that was causing her to seize up.

While she still sat there shaking, she took in her surroundings. The crystal ground had seemed out of place in Canterlot, but as she took in the space around her, she found that more than just the ground was made of crystal.

Tall buildings lined the road hewn in the many colors of the rainbow. Each home appeared to be made of a singular crystal crafted into a shape the resident desired. A few larger buildings could be seen here and there, likely businesses and other facilities. All the roads she could see appeared to converge on a large structure in the center of the city, a palace also made of crystal.

She was in the Crystal Empire.

How was she in the Crystal Empire?

She shakily got to her hooves and attempted to teleport herself to Canterlot. It would leave her exhausted to use so much magic after the night she just had, but her sister needed to know about the threat they faced even if it left her too tired to stand afterwards.

Luna started to cast the spell that would send her home only for the magic to quickly unravel itself and fall apart. That was odd. She tried again only to face the same result. She tried a few simple spells, only to find her magic out of reach, which was rather worrisome.

Luna looked to the palace and started walking. Even if her magic was currently failing her, surely Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor could help her send a message.

She had been walking for a couple minutes when she noticed that the palace wasn't getting any closer. As someone who dealt with situations like this on a nightly basis, it didn't take long to figure out what had actually happened.

She was in a dream, she realized as she facehoofed.

Luna looked up at the palace forlornly. Wherever she was going to go, it wasn't going to be in that direction. If her magic hadn't been acting up, she could simply wake herself up. But with the current situation...

She heard some laughing down a side road. Well that was as good a sign as any on where to start looking, she thought to herself as she followed the sound. Rounding the corner, she found the source of the laughter as two little fillies played in the street. Who those fillies were though, momentarily caused her breath to catch in her throat.

It was her and her sister, as simple unicorns. As they would've been before their ascendance.

"Precious aren't they?" Came a deep, dark voice from beside her. "Pity they had to grow up."

Something in the voice sent chills down her spine. Whether it was the cadence of the voice or the sheer malice behind the words. Luna slowly turned to find the owner of the voice, only to find herself face to face with a tall ashen unicorn. He wore a flowing red cape and armor around his hooves. A crown adorned his brow as it kept the flowing black mane pushed back behind him. Sticking out of the crown, where a normal unicorn's horn would be, was a long curved red spike. His red eyes looked down at her, purple smoke pouring from the edges.

"King Sombra!" She gasped as she tried to back away.

"Well," he said with a tone of mirth as he towered over her. "Somepony remembers me."

"What are you plotting this time, you fiend?!" Luna roared at him.

"The same thing I've always been plotting, my dear sweet princess," the way he said those words made her feel sick.

Sombra's eyes narrowed into a scowl, "I want my kingdom back!" He took a few more steps toward her, "I want you and your sister to pay for banishing me into shadow." He was almost on top of her at this point. "And what I want more than anything else, is to be free of the accursed pony that keeps me prisoner here!"

Luna swallowed hard, "you're a prisoner here?"

A sinister chuckle broke from his lips, "not for much longer, thanks to you."

"Me?!" Luna reeled back in shock. "What did we do to grant thee freedom?!"

"You stuck your neck out to feed a hungry beast," Sombra's body began to fog as shadows began to pour off of him. His limbs growing larger as he towered ever higher over her. His mouth began to warp and stretch until it became all too familiar to Luna.

"You!?" she quivered. "You're that thing?"

"Indeed," the growling voice rolled over her. "And once I've finished consuming you, I will finally have the strength to break free of this prison."

Luna's retreat was halted as her hooves once again found themselves fastened to the ground. The fog continued to spill out of Sombra and form the creature in front of her, its maw stretching far wider than it had before as it extended around her. She felt tears run down her face as the hot, sticky breath washed over her face. Every part of her being was in a panic to escape, but it wasn't enough to actually do so.

Just when she though the end would come, two little lights came bounding at the large creature and barreled straight into it, causing the beast to roll across the street and smash into several of the crystal houses.

Luna looked to find the two fillies standing next to her, a look of determination on their little faces as they stood next to her.

"Are you ok, princess?" The two foals asked in unison.

"I...I think so," Luna was heaving for every breath she could get. "My legs though..."

The two fillies turned their horns on her and lit up the ground around her hooves. They started to tingle as they worked and she soon found herself able to move again. "You have my thanks," She said.

"Save your thanks," said her little rescuers. "It's not safe for you here."

"But my magic..." She panted as she tried and failed to light her horn again. "How do I get out?"

"We will guide you," the fillies turned to run. "Hurry!"

Luna chased after them as they ran down the street towards the palace. Whatever was keeping her from getting close to the palace before wasn't holding her back this time. "Was that thing really Sombra?!" She shouted after them as she struggled to keep up.

"Most of him anyway," said the sisters without breaking stride.

"What dost thou mean, most of him?!" Luna exclaimed in apprehension.

"The one defeated upon the empire's return was but a small part of what's chasing us." Their voices grew sad for a moment, "I'm ashamed to admit that some of it managed to escape me."

Luna looked back over her shoulder to see the creature lumbering down the street behind them, quickly gaining ground as it did so. "It's getting closer!" She shouted as she poured everything she had into her gallop.

"Tia!" Shouted the little Luna.

"On it!" Responded the little Celestia as she turned into a skidding stop, just before leaping back the way they came.

As Luna watch the younger version of her sister leap through the air, her body began to shimmer until the little filly was replaced by a pure white lance that continued its trajectory. With a resounding crack, the air around the lance shattered and sent large chunks of the crystal ground flying through the air in all directions.

"Don't stop to look! Keep running!" Shouted the remaining little filly as they approached the palace. "That'll only slow it down and we're almost there!"

Luna was lead into the space under the palace by her younger doppelganger as they came to a stop in front of the Crystal Heart, the legendary artifact of the empire. She looked around in a panic, "where's the exit?!"

"Just a sec," said the smaller version of herself as she stared at the heart. A moment later, a long green chain snaked out of the crystal. "Grab it, that's your..." The rest of the filly's word's were cut off as a large claw came down on it, causing the apparition to disappear into a puff of smoke.

Without further hesitation, Luna leapt for the chain. As soon as she had a hold of it, she felt herself being roughly pulled through the air, the beasts claws just barely missing her hind legs as she was sucked into the Crystal Heart.

"Luna! Luna! Luna!" Came the desperate shouts.

Luna's eyes fluttered open as she heard her name being shouted, a set of hooves pressed at her shoulder as they tried to shake her awake.

"Tia?" Luna's tears ran freely down her face as she rushed into her sister's embrace. "Oh sister!" She cried out, any regal tone she would normally use gone from her voice. "I... I was so scared!"

Celestia, sensing her sister's distress, pulled Luna into an embrace and wrapped her snow white wings around them like a large blanket. "Lulu," she called her sister as she offered her support. "You had me so worried. The moon hadn't moved in so long and I started to worry. I found you in your chambers collapsed and drenched in sweat. What happened?"

"Something... Something's out there... Something terrifying." Luna began to tremble as she felt her sister hold her even tighter.

"Luna," Celestia said calmly. "It's already supposed to be morning. If we delay it much longer, the ponies will start to worry."

"Can... Can you do it please?" Luna pleaded between sniffles. "Just for tonight at least. I don't think I could. Not after Sombra almost..."

Celestia's eyes grew wide with shock at what she just said, "Sombra? Are you sure?"

"Mmm hmm," Luna nodded as she snuggled into her sister's chest.

Celestia gently rubbed the back of her younger sister who had been reduced to a sobbing mess, however her tone was serious, "tell me everything."

Author's Note

This definitely felt a lot better than what I had before.

Chapter 5: Whisper Wanders

Whisper lazily floated between the shelves of the archive. It really had been quite the party and she had thoroughly enjoyed watching that stallion scared halfway out of his mind by Pinkie Pie's antics. The cake had been really good too, the fairy still licked her lips at the memory of the taste. She had never been one to turn down easy sweets and frequently snuck out into the town to pilfer a few of the succulent goodies. That wasn't to say there weren't plenty of opportunities to grab a midnight snack from the kitchen upstairs. Spike was a better baker than he gave himself credit for, and there was always a jar of something hiding somewhere out of sight. It was never hidden well enough to keep her from finding it, though. This was her tree after all and she got more than a little joy from watching the dragon wonder if he had eaten the last cookie himself, or if Twilight had finally found his stash.

Speaking of stashes, Whisper sighed as she found the pile of unread books that Twilight had pulled down for herself and were now collecting dust on the floor. The girl had a habit of leaving a mess behind her, she had seen it happen more than a few times upstairs. Fortunately, she usually returned to clean it later, and if she didn't, Spike would usually come by later to do it for her. Maybe she should stop messing with the earnest little drake so much... But then she'd have to give up on those delicious cookies he made. Oh well, his sacrifice won't be forgotten.

With a playful wink, the mess on the floor floated into the air as the books shook off the small layer of dust they had gathered and closed themselves up. They shuffled among themselves before finding a shelf they liked and sliding back into place. It didn't even take a minute before everything was as it had been before the attack of the bookhorse. Satisfied with the results, she returned to her wanderings.

Whisper made her way upstairs as her thoughts turned to her old friend. How dare he make her worry?! She had seen the lights race across the sky from the north and had her suspicions as to what they were, but it wasn't until she had peeked on Twilight during a boring afternoon that she knew for sure. When she found out that her and her friends had defeated King Sombra, but had heard nothing from the pony that kept him prisoner, she feared something, somehow, had happened to him. She couldn't see how, but after several moons of silence, she had started to give up hope.

The sun was just barely peeking in through the windows when she made it up to the first floor. The main floor of the library had been completely trashed and was even now being tidied up by a Pinkie Pie, who was sweeping away without bothering to wake up. Everyone just kind of assumed that Pinkie lived parties day and night, but it was doubtful that very many knew that the "night" part of it was just her cleaning up her own mess while she caught up on some sleep. It wasn't really her fault that the ponies had partied harder than normal, it was Whisper herself that could be thanked for that.

Sure, it was turning out to be a fun party, but all it took was a little dash of fairy dust discreetly deposited into the punch before it turned into a great... no... a fantastic party.

Nothing was really safe from fae magic. Not dogs or cats, not dragons, and certainly not ponies. Not even the legendary constitution of alicorns protected them from it, as evidenced by the lampshade that had found its way onto Twilight's head and she started giggling like a maniac.

Speaking of Twilight, Whisper zipped up to the newly crowned princess' bedroom to see if she couldn't get some sort of hint as to what might've happened after Berry Punch had shown up to crash the party. She never got tired of watching that mare's antics and while her randomness wasn't as wild as Pinkie's, it had a certain refinement to it that never ceased to be amusing.

As it turns out, Twilight had somehow managed to make it to her own bed, but she wasn't the only one in it. A pair of cerulean wings were poking out from beneath the sheets along with stray bits of rainbow mane. The grin that spread across Whisper's face upon seeing this was trumped only by the joy of seeing that the young alicorn was just starting to wake up, and she was just in time for the coup de grace of this little scene.

"Morning sunshine," said Whisper as she met Twilight's eyes. "Sleep well?"

Twilight sat up as held a hoof to her forehead. "What happened last night?" She groaned as her bedmate reached up and pulled her back down, unwilling to give up the comforting warmth of another body.

Twilight seized up when she realized she wasn't the only pony in her bed. She slowly tilted her head downward to find a set of magenta eyes looking back up at her. Both ponies remained frozen for the longest time, unwilling to be the one to break the silence.

"Awww," cooed Whisper, deciding it should be her that broke the tension. "You two are such a cute couple."

Both Ponies turned beet red as a cackling fairy fled from the room and back down the stairs.

Oh, that had been amazing. She was a little disappointed that she had missed the events leading up to that situation, but that had more than made up for it. Speaking of situations, she really needed to go check up on the other one. She had caught a glimpse of the direction that was heading, but... yeah... Berry Punch happened.

She zipped all the way back down to the archive and around a few bends before she found what she was hoping for. Random Fact was peacefully sleeping in his own bed for the first time in ages, but he also had two pegasus mares curled up on either side of him. Cloud Kicker and Blossomforth, if she remembered correctly.

The fairy touched down on the bedpost, same as she had with Twilight, and watched the sleeping stallion. He had definitely had his fair share of the fun last night, if the current setup was any indication. She had always hoped that he might finally find some peace in this crazy world, but fate had a way of conspiring against him.

He was his own worst enemy more often than not. Years ago, she had warned him that casting that spell could have unseen consequences, but of course he didn't listen. Contrary to her advice, he had created the artifact anyway and then gone off wandering into the world until he finally returned years later with said artifact now missing. It hadn't taken long to see the side effects as they started taking hold. He wouldn't admit it and she had never gotten through to him, but it had left his empathy in such a damaged state, that she felt genuinely sorry for any creature that might stand in his way.

Same as with Twilight, Random began to stir from his slumber as Whisper watched. But unlike Twilight, when he realized he wasn't alone, instead of panicking, he looked up at the troublesome fairy while the other two snuggled up closer to him.

"Finish having your fun?" He asked her, a barely subdued look of irritation gracing his features.

"Oh," she said while thinking it over. "I've just barely gotten started. Just wait until next time. I'll be sure to..."

Whisper leapt out of the way just in time to avoid Random as he lunged at her. She had almost forgotten how fast he could be when he really wanted to be. He had moved like he had just been shot out of a cannon, which left his two nighttime companions to tumble off the sides of the bed in his attempt to catch her.

"Attempt" being the operative word. Not once had he been able to catch her when she got up to her antics. Not now, not then, not even if he went another thousand years of trying would he ever get close to catching her.

She gracefully twirled through the air, making a mocking pirouette as she made for the door. "Catch me if you can!" She shouted behind her, laughing all the while.

Author's Note

First of my revisions to bring this story back down to a Teen rating.
The scene I had described before felt like it distracted from everything else that was happening and the lewdness felt a little too out of place with everything else that was happening.

Chapter 6: Preparations

Random, Cloud Kicker, and Blossomforth were definitely getting a workout this morning. How? Well... When you're chasing a fairy through rows upon rows of shelves and when no matter how fast you gallop, climb, fly, or teleport and you seem no closer to catching her, you start to get tired pretty quick.

"Give it up you guys," giggled Whisper as she dodged yet another diving pegasus. "You'll never catch me."

She ducked around another corner just as Random blinked into existence right in front of her. She gave a small snicker and vanished just in time to dodge the two pegasus that leapt at her. This resulted in a mass of fur and feathers piling up on the ground as Whisper reappeared on a nearby shelf. "You're so slow. At this rate it'll take you another hundred years to catch me." She chuckled as she flitted off the shelf and sailed up and out of sight.

"Well that was fun while it lasted," said Random as he extricated himself from the pile.

"How is she so fast?" Blossomforth said between gasps of air.

"Seriously," said Cloud Kicker, equally out of breath. "I don't even think Rainbow Dash would be able to catch her with the way she zips around."

"We're probably wasting our time," said Random as he brushed himself off. "I've been dealing with her shenanigans for years and I've never once caught her once she gets going."

"Why do you keep trying then?" Blossomforth asked as she dug herself out of the pile of books that had fallen on them in the hustle.

"Because it makes her happy," he said with a smile as he made his way back towards the stairs. "Come on," he said beckoning them to follow. "You don't want to get lost down here."

"What exactly is all of this?" Cloud Kicker looked up at the high ceiling in wonder as they caught up to the grey unicorn.

"My personal collection. I'm ashamed to admit I might've become something of a bibliophile some years back." He admitted sheepishly.

"That's still an absurd number of books though. I mean, how many years we talking?" Cloudkicker said as she inspected him. "I mean, you don't seem much older than twenty-five."

"I'm much older than I look," Random said, not really answering the question.

Cloud Kicker rushed up and pressed up alongside him, her feathers brushing along his side. "Well regardless of age, something about you gets me all charged up. If you ever think about settling down or maybe even starting a herd, you keep the two of us in mind. What do you think Blossomforth? Is he a keeper?"

"Oh definitely," said Blossomforth as she pressed in against the other side. "Even if he was a bit out of it last night, I don't think I've ever seen a pony with that much stamina, especially from a unicorn."

"Wait..." He said, the color draining out of him. "So Whisper wasn't making that all up?"

"Hmmm..." Cloud Kicker thought aloud. "I don't know, Blossomforth. Was she making that up?"

Blossomforth playfully nuzzled the side of his neck, "I think that would be telling."

They both seemed contented for the moment as they rubbed up against him. Random seemingly dumbfounded into silence by their advances. Whisper reappeared in front of him and poked at his nose, getting no response. "I think you girls broke him," she giggled.

They continued nuzzling up against the quiet stallion, enjoying his scent even as he started shaking. "...Get back," they suddenly heard him say under his breath.

That was an unusual thing to say, they both thought as they looked up at him. The tender moment was quickly replaced with confusion as they saw purple smoke leaking off the corner of his eyes.

The confusion made way for terror as a sinister dark shadow began to creep up his face and mask his features.

The mirthful voice of Whisper broke as she practically screamed at them, "get away from him! Now!"

They pushed themselves away in a desperate bid to do as they were told. The two mares only made it a couple of feet before they found themselves lifted off the ground by a shadowy appendage and thrown against the nearby shelves.

"Are you two alright?!" She shouted to the mess they found themselves buried in. Small shadows leaked off their bodies as they laid there, but they didn't seem to do much more than that.

"What's happening?!" Whisper shouted at Random. "It's never got this bad before!"

Random desperate expression was just barely visible through the mask of shadows that covered him.

"Fine," she said as she started to glow so bright that you couldn't make out her body anymore. "But you and I are going to have a serious talk once this is over."

The fairy's glow illuminated the surroundings, causing life to pour into the wood and earth surrounding them. The ground cracked as vegetation pushed its way through the stone. Vines began to climb the shelves as they reached for the erratic unicorn.

Random's body thrashed, the shadows around him slashing at the vines as they grew ever closer.

Whisper's magic forced the vines ever closer as they gradually overcame the shadows pouring from the pony. Once they were close enough to reach his limbs, they began to climb up his legs. As they tightened and dug into his fur, a sound akin to shattering glass was heard as his enchantment broke. Grey fur made way for gold as the vines climbed up and around his torso.

"What's happening to him?!" Came a voice from behind the fairy.

Whisper glanced back for a moment to see the two girls had climbed back out of the pile they had landed in. The shadows surrounding them had vanished as they stared up at the bound unicorn.

"You need to get out of here!" Whisper shouted at them.

"But what about him?" Asked a concerned Blossomforth.

"Go! Now! And Tell nopony!" Demanded the fairy.

Cloud Kicker was the first to move as she beat a hasty retreat, flying up the stairs instead of running up them. Blossomforth took one last moment to look at the golden unicorn before chasing after Cloud Kicker.

The vines creeped up around his neck and begun to constrict, reducing his ability to breathe. As he continued to thrash against his restraints with a demonic fury, thorns began to sprout from the vines and dig into his flesh.

His blood sizzled and popped as it came into contact with the outside air. A few more moments of struggle passed before he finally went limp in the grasp of the vegetation, all traces of the shadows finally extinguished.

The stallion body hung there limply and bleeding profusely as it dangled from the vines. Eventually, pained moans escaped from his destroyed body. "Is it over?" He asked with the small amount of breath his body could summon.

"It is," Whisper said while looking him over critically, the glow of her body returning to normal. "You're lucky you're not a normal pony. You'd be dead by now."

Random struggled in the vines that wrapped his body. Blood ran down and around the thorns that made it past his fur and pierced his skin. He slowly looked up and gave her a weak smile, "I'm a kabob."

"You must be ok if your sense of humor is still working." Whisper shook her head.

A pained smile formed on his lips, "eager to be rid of me so soon?"

"No, I'm not. Besides, you keep things interesting," she crossed her forelegs as she floated in front of him. "But enough joking around. What in the abyss is going on?!"

"Well," he said with some hesitation, earning himself a glare from the annoyed fairy. "My situation may have been getting a bit worse."

"How have you not been exposed yet?" Whisper shook her head with a disappointed sigh.

"Guess I'm just lucky like that," he said with a shrug from his bound position. "If I could just find that accursed amulet, this would stop being a problem."

"Yeah..." Whisper said sheepishly. "About that... I may have an idea of where it may be."

The golden unicorn lunged forward, paying no mind to the thorns that dug deeper into his skin with the movement. "You found it?!" He shouted with a manic gleam in his eye. "Where is it?! Can I go get it now?!"

"That's going to be a bit tricky," Whisper hesitated while thinking over her answer.

"Don't tease me about this!" He demanded vehemently. "You know how long I've been trying to find it?!"

"Geez, still as tense as ever I see." She flew in and bopped him on the nose, making him flinch in annoyance. "All I know is that it's somewhere in the Everfree. Some zebra placed it in a warded chest before hiding it. The townsfolk seem pretty content that it stay hidden, too. Seeing the kind of damage the magician cause when she showed up with it, I can't really blame them. Anyway timeout's over."

The thorn ridden vines slowly retracted from their snared prize. The golden unicorn fell to the ground with a crash once he was no longer supported by the vines. "Ow!" He exclaimed.

"Rub some dirt on it you big baby." The fairy chided him as she watched his wounds begin to rapidly close. "Anyway this plan of yours... I don't see how you're going to get so much done by yourself while keeping that thing at bay. Even with your friend helping," she flew down and poked at his shadow. "Where is he anyway?"

"Oh, hehe," he said while brushing the already flaking blood off his fur. "He was getting bored so he went looking for a meal."

"Even with all the eye candy that was in that bed last night?" Whisper snickered.

"I think you enjoyed your 'special reading' you gave us this morning a bit too much," he jabbed. "How many other ponies in town have you shipped?"

"A couple. A girl's gotta have her hobbies," Whisper said playfully before getting a bit more serious. "Have you considered reaching out to either of the sisters for help?"

"The last thing I want is to draw the attention of the Canterlot court," Random said sadly. "That part of my life is behind me."

"That's gonna be really difficult with the high profile opponent you're dealing with," Whisper observed. "Well that and the fact that you're currently sharing a roof with the youngest of the princesses."

"I'll make it work, and I have just the ponies to help me." He gave her a devious smile, "I finally got the spell to work."

"Pfff... That doesn't really narrow it down," she dismissed, landing on Random's head just as his disguise finished shimmering back into place. "You've always been working on a dozen spells at any given time. You can't expect me to keep track of everything."

Random lit his horn as he stepped into his study. His bags, which had been discarded when Whisper dragged him in here the day before, began to glow with a green aura as the buckle undid itself and three crystals flew out of the bags towards him.

"Wait? Are those?" She looked at him inquisitively. "Wait... wait... That spell?! When did you figure out that monster?! You've been working on that one since..."

"Yep," he smiled while looking at the red, brown, and blue crystals floating in front of him. "Finally had that breakthrough I'd been looking for. It just took a while."

Random floated the three crystals to the wall and settled them into the wood. As he pulled his magic away from them, they started to glow with a soft internal light.

"Ooo, pretty," Whisper cooed.

"Just wait," he smiled as he floated a quill and rough notebook out of the bag. He opened his notes and flipped through the pages until he seemed satisfied. Random began to trace intricate lines around the crystals set into the wood. As he added symbols along each of the lines, the magic in the air began to feel denser, more focused. He continued to fill the space in and around the crystals with runes for several minutes until he finally stepped away, nodding in contentment at his finished work.

"Wow," said Whisper, awed at the way the light from the crystals played across the surface of the wood. "Quite an eye catching piece of work if nothing else."

"Yeah, I'll need to put a curtain over it or something." He admitted while looked proudly at his work. "Twilight comes across as the curious type and I don't need to be explaining what this is."

"You're right about her on that front," the fairy said while continuing to look at the crystals. "So are you going to activate it?"

"Hmmm..." Random thought for a minute while his eyes shot between his choices. His hoof hovered for a moment between the brown and blue crystals before deciding on the blue one. As he pressed his hoof against the smooth surface, magic seemed to lick off his body into little wisps. It gradually flowed down his foreleg and into the crystal beneath his hoof. When he pulled away, the blue crystal separated from the wall and began to spin as it floated there.

With a snap, the crystal vanished, leaving only dimming motes of light as evidence that it had ever existed at all.

Chapter 7: Royal Pain

Twilight Sparkle sat at the breakfast table holding her aching head. Whatever had happened at the "Welcome to Ponyville" party that Pinkie had thrown last night left her feeling sore and dehydrated this morning. That coupled with the "special reading" Whisper had subjected her to when she woke this morning left a burning sensation that rose through her cheeks just thinking about it.

They cuddled.

That's all they did.

That's what she was going to keep telling herself and Tartarus be damned if she was going to believe anything else.

"Oh lighten up Twilight," said Rainbow Dash as she swiped another pancake from the stack. "It's not all that bad."

Twilight smacked her forehead against the table, causing the dishes to rattle. "You're not the one who doesn't remember last night."

"Well I did offer to fill you in on what actually happened," Rainbow poked at her shoulder, making her jump.

"No!" She shouted in frustration. "A thousand times. No!"

"I hear shouting again," Spike said sternly as he came out of the kitchen wearing a chef's hat and apron and carrying another stack of pancakes. "That means you're not eating Twilight."

Twilight's face turned beet red at the way she heard that, her wings involuntarily flaring up and earning a snicker from Rainbow.

"He means pancakes, egghead," Rainbow chortled with tears in her eyes. "Now eat up girl! You were supposed to come flying today."

"Am I gonna having to force feed you like I did that one time you got an A minus?" Spike looked concerned.

"Hmnnn. I thought we agreed never to talk about that again," groaned Twilight as she finally levitated over some breakfast and begrudgingly began to eat.

"Something smells good," came Random's voice as he walked in.

Twilight stopped chewing for a moment as she looked up at the unicorn. She had forgotten for a moment that someone else was living there. "Good morning Random," she greeted after swallowing her mouthful of food.

"Morning Twilight," said Random as he sat down at the table. "You don't mind if I join you for breakfast, do you?"

"Go right ahead," Twilight said with a smile. "Spike makes the best pancakes."

"Does he now," a green light sparked from his horn as he levitated some of the pancakes to a plate. "Crazy party last night. How much does anypony remember?"

"I dunno Twilight," Rainbow said with a smirk while resting her head on her hooves. "How much do you remember?"

"I don't wanna talk about it," Twilight said as she moodily stuffed a whole pancake in her mouth and chewed loudly.

"Whisper got you too, huh?" Random asked casually as he cut into his meal. "I'm not gonna ask. If it's anything like she pulled on me this morning, then it probably isn't good breakfast talk."

"Oh?" Said Rainbow, changing her focus to the stallion. "Who did you wake up next to?"

Random paused for a moment before locating and pouring himself a glass of water. He took a slow, deliberate drink before calmly saying, "not telling."

"It was Cloud Kicker," said the prismatic pegasus enthusiastically. "I bet you anything it was Cloud Kicker. It wouldn't be the first time she's jumped on the new guy."

"So Twilight," said Random, ignoring the curious equine. "Plans for today?"

"Well," thought Twilight, glad they were finally changing the conversation. "Rainbow is suppose to help me with flying lessons today, I haven't quite gotten used to these things yet." She gave her larger than normal wings a few experimental flaps, but her wings only moved awkwardly and out of sync of each other. "After that I was hoping to explore more of what's downstairs if you don't mind."

"Go right ahead. Besides," he said. "It's really up to Whisper where anypony can go in here."

"What do you mean by that?" Twilight asked, but before she could get an answer, they heard a knock at the door.

Twilight turned her attention to the sound, "Who could that be at this hour?" She got up from the table with a yawn and made her way over to the door.

When she opened the door, a red carpet and blaring fanfare came rolling through the open door, and standing in the doorway was likely the most well dressed and well groomed stallion in all of Equestria. His pure white coat and perfectly styled blonde mane blowing in the nonexistent wind while his smile showed off his perfect teeth.

Prince Blueblood stood there proudly, his haughty expression and regal demeanor practically screamed his self-importance to the world around him.

Twilight looked nervously at the tall unicorn stallion that had just appeared. "Prince Blueblood..." She said with a fallen lilt to her voice. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"At last I have found you, Princess Twilight Sparkle," he spoke the words like it was a well rehearsed speech. "I was so distraught when you vanished from the palace. I thought to myself, what could possibly make such a refined and regal lady scorn the elegance and dignity of the castle of Canterlot. Now I see you are driven by your love of literature." He waved to the surrounding shelves before offering a hoof to Twilight, "return with me, princess and I shall see to it that you have a library so grand that it puts this hovel to shame."

Random and Rainbow were watching this exchange from around the corner. "I feel like I'm watching the world's worst marriage proposal." Random mentioned to Rainbow.

Rainbow made an annoyed groan, "I can't believe that loser followed her to Ponyville. We thought he'd have given up by now. Also, what's a hovel?"

Random fought down a snort, "he basically called her home trash. Did he seriously think that speech would work? This is like really bad theater."

"Hey you!" Rainbow shouted angrily as she marched up to the prince. "What's it gonna take for you to take a hint that she's not interested?"

"Rainbow Dash," Twilight turned and shook her head at her friend. "I don't think you need to..."

"I see that one of your maidservants is on hoof," Blueblood shooed Rainbow away. "Very good. Once she has packed your bags, we can be on our way."

"Weren't you listening, bub?!" Rainbow Dash got up in his face looking like she was one step away from throwing hooves.

"I say, Princess," Blueblood made a look of disgust at Rainbow. "Why do you tolerate such insolence from your staff?"

Twilight snarled at the arrogant prince, "Rainbow Dash is my friend. You apologize to her right now."

"I will do no such thing, surely you can find better friends than her," Prince Blueblood said as he continued to stick his hoof in his mouth. "Friends who are influential and friends who are powerful, and who , exactly, are you?"

"I'm Rainbow Dash!" She shouted at him while proudly puffing out her chest. "The fastest, coolest, and most loyal pegasus around, and one of Twilight's closest friends."

"Hmmm..." He mused aloud. "So you're nopony important."

"I can't keep watching this," Random sounded annoyed as marched right up to the intruder. "Prince Blueblood was it? First off, how are you a prince? You know what, nevermind, scratch that. I don't really care. I think you need to leave."

"What makes you think that you can speak to me in that fashion?!" Blueblood turned a haughty glare on the newcomer as he looked down at him. "What makes you think a stallion like you has any chance with one like her?"

"First off," Random said as his irritation grew. "I'm not interested in courting her. Secondly, how have you not figured out by now that not only is she not interested in you, but that insulting her friends is going to do anything other than just make her mad? You're not exactly the brightest pony around, are you?"

"Kick his flank!" Cheered a tiny voice from somewhere in the room.

"You're not helping!" He called out behind him.

"You would not dare lay a hoof on me, anyway," said Blueblood examined his own immaculate hoof. "I have enough power and influence that I could bury you if you tried."

"Call his bluff!" Came the small voice again.

"Why do you want to see me beat up a foal so badly?!" Random shouted again to the hiding Whisper.

"Did you just call me a foal?!" Blueblood marched up to Random until he was standing a head over the grey stallion.

"Yes, I did." Random narrowed his eyes and lit his horn. A green glow appeared around Blueblood as he was lifted into the air.

"What are you doing?!" Shouted the prince as he tried to use his own magic, it fizzled out faster than he could light it up. "Release me you ruffian."

"I think some time out is in order," said Random as the magic surrounding Blueblood disappeared into a puff of smoke. The fate of the prince unknown as they heard something hit the ground.

Twilight and Rainbow stared in shock as they saw the aftermath of what just happened. "What... What did you just do?" Twilight asked nervously.

"Relax," said Random as he retrieved something from within the cloud. "It'll wear off, and hopefully give him some time to reflect on his own actions."

Floating in Random's magic was Prince Blueblood, except he was now much smaller than before and quite a bit younger. "What did you just do to me?!" He shouted down at him in a much higher voice than before.

Twilight stared dumbstruck as she processed what just happened. "An age spell?" She finally realized.

"Hmmm?" Random looked over to Twilight like he wasn't expecting a question. "Yeah, it is. Why? It's not that hard."

"But age spells can only be performed by the highest level unicorns." Twilight looked at Random with a measure of apprehension. He just performed an incredibly difficult spell and acted like it was nothing?

"Maybe now the rest of us can get on with our day," he said as he walked out of the library and up to a carriage accompanied by two armored pegasus. "Is this yours?" He floated the young colt over to them.

"My lord!?" They shouted out in unison as they saw what he was holding. "What happened to you?!"

"What do you think happened?!" The colt turned a teary glare on his oppressor. "Wait until my auntie Celestia hears about this!"

"And you get to tell her exactly what led up to this," Random lectured as he lazily tossed the wayward prince into the carriage. "It'll wear off in a day or so. Then you can go back to being your miserable self. Hopefully you'll be a bit wiser than before."

Young Blueblood just stood in complete shock. Nobody looked down on him like this and nobody dared to talk to him like this. Did this pony really not know who he was?!

"What are you waiting for?!" He finally shouted to his guards. "Get me back to Canterlot!"

With a whinny, the two stallions galloped into the air, flapping their wings madly as they pulled the carriage in the direction of Canterlot.

Random looked back towards the door and saw the two girls standing there with their mouths agape. He might've have overdone it a bit.

"I think I'm going for a walk," he decided aloud and before trotting off into the town. Twilight and Rainbow were left standing there, stunned and wondering what had just happened.

Author's Note

He had it coming.

Chapter 8: Sightings

Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash still just stood there in the doorway completely dumbstruck at what just happened.

"So tell me Twilight," Rainbow asked the purple pony. "Why didn't you send him packing yourself?"

"Believe me Rainbow, I've thought about it." Twilight deflated. "However, Princess Celestia told me I was going to have to learn how to politely deal with ponies that don't interest me. I don't want to end up being known as the princess who deals with her problems like that!" She waved a hoof at the now empty space.

"Well..." Rainbow grinded her hooves together. "If Random hadn't shut him up, I was a few steps away from breaking his nose."

"Rainbow Dash," Twilight snapped. "We cant solve everything with force!"

"What do ya call that then?!" Rainbow pointed a hoof down the road Random had taken, he was almost out of sight.

"That was... I don't know what that was," Twilight sighed as she turned to go back inside.

"Hey Twilight!" Rainbow shouted after her. "Where are you going?! We're still going flying today, right?"

"I haven't forgotten. But I need to at least send a letter to the princess before Blueblood has a chance to spin the story however he wants. Spike!" She shouted to her assistant. "I need to send a letter to the princess right away."

Spike rushed out of the kitchen, enthusiastically sliding to a stop in front of her, quill and parchment already in claw. "Ready."

Twilight started to dictate, Spike scratching down words as she spoke.

"Dear Princess Celestia,"

"I've just finished having a rather unpleasant encounter with Prince Blueblood. Hopefully this letter reaches you before he has a chance to talk to you. He was being just as rude as he was back in Canterlot and his bad attitude caused things to escalate. Please rest assured it was not I that put him into his current condition, but rather a unicorn that just moved into, or as I think I'm understanding, back to Golden Oaks Library. Which brings me to a question. Do you know anypony named Random Fact? He's a grey unicorn stallion with green eyes and mane and has a scroll for a cutiemark. Normally I wouldn't bother you with something like this, except for the fact I just watched him perform an age spell like it was nothing. Did anypony particularly skilled go to your school before me? He only appears to be a couple years older than me."

"You're faithful student and fellow princess, Twilight Sparkle."

"P.S. Aside from this morning, moving back to Ponyville has been very relaxing. I'm glad you suggested I take a break."

"Ok Spike, send the letter." With a puff of dragon's breath, Spike set the letter alight and the green embers flew out the window and towards Canterlot.

"You finished, Twilight?" Rainbow hovered next to her, shaking her shoulder. "Can we go now?"

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, "yes Rainbow, we can go now. You can push me off a cliff or whatever it is you think is going to help me fly."

"Whatever makes you think I'm pushing you off a cliff?" Rainbow grinned widely.

Rainbow did not push Twilight off a cliff, not once. It was, in fact, several times she pushed her off a cliff, and that was just within the first hour.

"Is this really the best way to learn?" Twilight complained as she pulled herself out of yet another hole in the ground. It seems that at some point Celestia had let it slip to her friends, Rainbow Dash in particular, that Twilight's body could take a lot more abuse now that she's become an alicorn. Part of Twilight was wondering if Rainbow was really trying to help her fly, or was just trying to see if she could make a Twilight shaped hole in the ground.

"My folks pushed me off a cloud and I turned out all right," Rainbow offered unhelpfully after Twilight subjected her to another round of grumbling. "We should actually be a lot higher than this, but you're far too heavy for me to carry you."

"Rainbow!" Twilight growled in her embarrassment. "That's not something you say to a grown mare!"

"Don't give me that look," Rainbow defended herself. "It's not my fault you're learning to fly so much later than pegasi usually do. It'll get better if we keep at it."

Twilight scowled, this was going to be a long day.

The next hour did not get much better. In fact, it got much worse when the Cutie Mark Crusaders had stopped by to watch. Maybe if watching was all they did, it wouldn't have been so bad.

"Try flappin your wings like this!" Shouted Apple Bloom as she stood on her high legs and waved her forelegs in a motion that looked nothing like how wings move.

"Apple Bloom, you look like a chicken," laughed Sweetie Belle.

"Who you calling a chicken?!" Snapped Scootaloo as she jumped at Sweetie Belle.

They rolled around in the dirt as Apple Bloom got pulled into their scuffle. "She wasn't talking about you."

The hour after that did start to get a bit better, just not in the way she had been hoping.

Twilight was still having trouble staying airborne for any length of time. However, the landings didn't hurt so much due to ground having been so thoroughly churned up from her previous landings. Somehow that didn't make her feel any better.

"How long has she been at it?" Asked Fluttershy as she watched Twilight crash land off the cliff again.

Twilight was no longer waiting to get pushed off the cliff by Rainbow Dash. At this point she had worked herself into a frenzied routine of jumping off the cliff, flapping her wings like a madmare, crashing, and then teleporting back up to repeat the process.

"I think she's going on four hours now," Rainbow said as she watched the determined Twilight jump again. "It was only in the last thirty minutes that the crazy started."

"It kind of looks like an upset foal throwing their toys down the stairs," Fluttershy commented.

"I wasn't going to say it, but I was kind of thinking the same thing," Rainbow Dash agreed.

After a dozen more attempts, Twilight blinked back to the top of the cliff, collapsed onto her belly, and was now gasping for air. Her mane was sticking out in weird places, dirt coated her body, and several feathers on each wing were clearly broken and now sticking out from the rest of her plumage.

"What am I doing wrong?" She wheezed as she looked over to her friends. "I mean, I tried everything you said and I just keep falling. Not even anything I've read about flying seems to be helping."

"You have a book on flying?" Rainbow asked only to get a flat look from Twilight. "Of course you do."

"You just make it look so easy," said Twilight as she slumped further into the ground, content not to move for the time being.

"Well I am awesome," Rainbow boasted as she struck a pose that quickly turned into a recoil at Fluttershy's disapproving stare.

"Don't worry so much, Twilight," said Fluttershy as she laid a wing across her withers. "You've only had wings for about a week. Nopony going to expect you to start flying so soon. Not even Princess Celestia."

"Thank you Fluttershy," said Twilight, relaxing a bit. "I needed to hear that."

"So Fluttershy," Rainbow cut in. "We missed you at the party."

"Oh," Fluttershy said meekly while twiddling her hooves. "I'm sorry, but Harry wasn't feeling that well and I just couldn't leave him alone."

"That's ok, Fluttershy," said Twilight while sitting back up. "I'm sure you'll meet the new pony eventually. He's actually living at the library."

"Oh my," Fluttershy hid a half of a blush behind her mane. "You have a stallion living with you? I hope he's being a perfect gentlecolt about it."

Rainbow looked at Twilight unsure of herself, "does sending that jerk Blueblood packing count as being a gentlecolt?"

Fluttershy's blush made way for a scowl at the mention of that pony's name, "that big meanie followed you?!"

"He did. However he didn't stay very long. Random Fact, that's the new pony by the way, must've been really bothered by how Blueblood was treating us. He sort of went and turned him into foal." Twilight lifted a hoof to just above knee height, "he only comes up to about here right now."

"So he's a unicorn then," Fluttershy lifted a hoof to her chin and seemed to be lost in thought.

"Something wrong, Fluttershy?" Asked Rainbow.

"By any chance does this Random Fact have a golden colored coat and wears a green cloak?" She finally asked.

The girls looked at each other before Twilight responded, "Random's a grey color. Who are you thinking of?"

"Well," said Fluttershy as she sat ready to tell her story. "A couple hours ago I was feeding my animals, you know how noisy they can get, when suddenly they all got really quiet. They all started staring towards the forest and even Angel Bunny wasn't trying to act all tough. He just started chattering about there being something out there, something that wasn't right."

"This is starting to sound like a scary campfire story," Rainbow noticed. "I thought you didn't do those."

"I don't. This actually happened," she defended. "So I went to the window and saw this unicorn standing on the edge of the forest. I watched him for a few moments before he wandered into the Everfree."

"Doesn't everypony know how dangerous Everfree is?" Twilight questioned.

"Well I didn't recognize him, so I figured he didn't know. So I chased after him. I didn't want him running into whatever had all my animals so scared," said Fluttershy.

"Whoa," interrupted Rainbow. "So you actually wandered into Everfree? By yourself?"

Fluttershy gave a small pout, "I actually go into the forest all the time. It's not so scary during the day. You just have to know what to avoid. Anyway, I had never seen Everfree so quiet. It was scary, it was almost as if the forest itself was afraid of something. I even spotted a pack of timberwolves in a distant clearing." She got close to Rainbow Dash's face and stared deep into her eyes, "have you ever seen a pack of scared timberwolves? Well I have now."

"That's unusual," Twilight said inquisitively. "Every time we've run into them, they aren't afraid of anything."

"That's what I thought," Fluttershy agreed. "Well I found the pony eventually. I couldn't see much of his face under his hood, but what I did see gave me chills. His face was all covered in shadows except for two glowing green eyes. His head swiveled back and forth like he was looking for something. When he finally noticed me and turned those glowing green eyes on me, I felt a chill run down my spine. I ran as fast as could and didn't stop until I got home."

"You should save that story for the next time we go camping," said Rainbow. "That'd make a great campfire story."

Fluttershy pouted as she glared at Rainbow, "this really happened though."

"Doesn't make it any less of a good story though," she jabbed. "Maybe make it more exciting by having the timberwolves be broken piles of wood. Oh, and on fire. And the pony only has three legs."

"Rainbow," Twilight chided. "That's not exactly fair. Fluttershy sounds really scared."

"Yeah, sorry Fluttershy," she said while looking a bit sheepish. "Anyway Twilight, ready to get going?"

"Do I have to keep trying?" Twilight complained. "I don't feel like I've been making any progress."

"Actually Twilight," Rainbow said while shaking her head. "You need to take a break, we're done for today. Princess Celestia wasn't joking about how much tougher you are now. I would've broken every bone in my body by now."

"You're probably right," Twilight looked relieved to finally be taking a break. "Where are we going then?"

"This is going to sound weird coming from me," Rainbow nervously blushed while absentmindedly rubbing one foreleg with the other. "But..."

"Mmm," Twilight moaned deeply as soft hooves pushed down on her.

"Ah!" She cried out as her fully splayed wings were gently caressed while the individual feathers that made up her plumage were carefully massaged.

A shiver ran down her spine as a particularly sensitive spot was found. Her eyes rolled back as she buried her face in a pillow. A hind leg involuntary making small kicks in her ecstasy.

"Vee are glad vat vu enjoy vur special deluxe ving massage so much, Miss Sparkle." Said Aloe, one of the spa ponies.

"Vu are not the first to ve so vocal avout how much she enjoys it." Said her sister, Lotus.

"How was I supposed to know a wing massage could feel this good?" Twilight said in her bliss.

"Vell, ve important ving is vat you know now," Aloe ran her hooves over a particularly sore spot, eliciting another moan from Twilight.

"Vu just relax and let vus take care of vu," said Lotus as she worked her way to the space between her wings. Twilight felt her mind just melt as she felt more relaxed than she had in a long time.

Twilight left the spa feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. Rainbow had left before they got to the spa, saying she had weather duties to tend to, but Twilight was glad she had recommended the wing massage after the flying practice.

"Hey Twilight," Spike greeted her as she got home. "How was practice?"

"Painful," Twilight begrudging admitted. "Although the follow up spa treatment was amazing," she said with a pleasant shiver. "So has Random come back yet?"

"Nah, I haven't seen him since this morning." Spike reached behind his back and pulled out a scroll, "you did get a letter from Princess Celestia though."

"Ooo," Twilight scooped up the scroll. "I wonder what she has to say?"

Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,

Once again, let me say how great it feels to call you that. While the trials you're facing now may seem difficult, one day you'll find yourself looking back on them and laugh. As to your new house guest, I can't say I've ever had anypony attend my school that goes by that name. It's certainly an impressive bit of spell work I'm currently looking at on my nephew. I do think I'll let the spell wear off on its own, give him some time to think things over. Other than that, I'm glad to hear that you're doing well with your time away.

Sincerely, Princess Celestia.

P.S. So he's about your age, is he Twilight? Is he easy on the eyes? Is he available? Maybe you should bring him around for dinner sometime.

Twilight scrunched up her face in indignation, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment as she read the post script, "what are you?! My mother?!"

Author's Note

But Twilight, who else is Celestia going to ship you with if you stay single forever?

The throwing toys down the stairs comment is a shout-out to Cloudy cleavage. Tell that kid to stop breaking their toys.

Chapter 9: Luna's Night Out

Luna had awoken early that evening and was making her way through the hallways of the castle. The danger she had encountered last night still weighed heavily on her and she was having trouble sleeping.

As she rounded the corner to her sister's study, the royal guards standing watch at the door quickly scrambled to stand at attention. Once she drew closer, she found that one of the guards appeared to be biting his lip as he tried to fight down a laugh.

"What, pray tell, dost thou find so amusing this evening?" Luna questioned as she looked down her nose at him

"Princess Luna," the guard kept his salute firm under her watchful gaze. "Princess Celestia is currently in a meeting with Prince Blueblood. As for my lack of decorum, your highness, I found the current state of the prince funny."

"And what is so amusing about the prince?" Luna cocked an eyebrow at him.

The door they were guarding picked that moment to open and out stormed a young colt that couldn't have been more than eight years old. He stormed down the hallway without once stopping or acknowledging Luna's presence.

"Who child is that?" She inquired, curious as to why someone so young would be wandering the castle alone.

"Prince Blueblood, your highness," the guard answered.

"We were not aware that he possessed any offspring," Luna said in disbelief.

"Forgive me, your highness," he offered apologetically. "What I meant is that IS Prince Blueblood."

Luna's eyes went wide with wonder as she turned back to the door. This should be an interesting story.

Luna entered the study to find Celestia penning a letter onto a scroll before rolling it up and with a spark of magic from her horn, it burst into light and flew out the window.

"Ah Luna," she said as she got up from her desk and gave her sister a hug. "How are you doing this evening?"

Luna thought back to her previous night before answering, "We are whole. The events of the previous night may hath shaken us, but we shall remain vigilant as we stand against all that threatens Equestria."

Celestia took a step back and smiled down at her sister, "you know Luna. You don't have to speak so formal when it's just the two of us."

Luna felt a bit embarrassed by her sister's comment. "I," she started, the words not feeling quite right on her tongue. "I am trying, sister. It is not so easy to forget my old lessons when I haven't had the time to acclimate to the modern dialect as you have."

"Relax, Luna," Celestia chuckled. "I was only teasing. You're awake much sooner than I would've thought after the night you had. Are you sure you're alright?"

"We shall endure, sister," Luna said with a huff of annoyance. "Certainly better than your nephew seems to have. What exactly happened to him anyway? Surely he wasn't foolish enough to go poking at Discord?"

"Oh that," said Celestia. "No, nothing like that. Apparently he had gone and chased Twilight to her home where he continued to make his affections known to her," she said with no small degree of sarcasm. "It seems that Blueblood made her new roommate upset and, well, you see the results. However, I am curious where he learned such an advanced incantation though. I didn't think there was anypony left who could cast spells like that."

Luna had a wistful look on her face, "I knew one who could do so with ease..." She said sorrowfully.

Celestia gave a soft sigh, "I know, Luna. I know. I had a bit of Deja vu when I saw another Blueblood in that state after all these years."

"That family did always manage to find a way to irritate him," Luna said with a distant look in her eyes.

"So did you need something from me?" Said Celestia, quickly changing the subject. "I don't mean to be rude, but I still have some work to do before I retire for the evening."

"Sister!" Luna protested. "How canst thou still go on about bureaucracy when the enemy is at our gates?!"

"Luna..." Celestia said softly as she approached her younger sister. "The enemy is hardly at our gates." Her younger sister puffed out her chest as she looked up at her. Celestia reach forward with her hooves and pulled Luna to her chest, wrapping her wings around the both of them for good measure. "Please... I don't want you going back there."

Luna could feel her sister trembling as she listened to her breathing. "Sister?" She asked even as she was being smothered in Celestia's warm embrace. "Art thou weeping?"

"I almost lost you last night," she sobbed. "I don't know if I could survive that a second time."

"But what about Sombra?" Luna asked as tried to wriggle out of the bone crushing hug. "He seemed far stronger in that dream than what the two of us faced before. Surely thou dost not intend to just turn a blind eye to such a danger?"

"And I haven't," said Celestia as she finally let Luna breathe again. "I've already sent letters to the Crystal Empire telling them about what you found. Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor will be keeping an eye out for anything until we can learn more."

"But what of the dream," Luna insisted. "We have a clear path to follow. We know of the place he hides."

"From what you told me, it sounds more like he's being kept prisoner than hiding," said Celestia. "If we're lucky, whoever is holding the keys to his cell will approach us on their own."

"We cannot sit idly by and just wait for that to happen," Luna pushed away from her sister and took several strides towards the door. "I'm not like you, sister. I cannot simply wait for events to happen around me." She only made it a few more steps before a golden glow wrapped around her body and carried her back towards the elder alicorn.

"Luna," Celestia said as she wiped the last of the tears from her face. "When's the last time you left the castle?"

Luna huffed as she floated there, "we do not see what this has to do with anything."

"Luna..." Celestia gave her an unwavering look.

"Last Nightmare Night," Luna finally surrendered. "Why?"

"It's not good for you to stay cooped up all the time," she said. "Have you ever thought about making some friends outside the castle?"

"We have the companionship of those whose dreams we defend. We have little need for much else," said Luna. "Besides, we can hardly wander the town as freely as the simple folk. Our royal stature isn't quite as imposing as thy own, but it still warrants attention that is not as easily dismissed."

"What if you could set it aside for an afternoon? The imposing figure, I mean," Celestia grinned as a scroll popped into existence in front of her.

Luna stopped struggling and grabbed the old parchment in her blue aura, curious as to what her sister was up to. She made one last long glare at her sister before unfurling it and looking at its contents. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the inscribed spell. "Sister... What is this? Where did you get this? Is this safe?"

"It's quite safe," said Celestia cheerily. "I happen to use it on a regular basis."

"Surely thou jests," Luna was still scrambling over the words in front of her.

"Surely I don't," Celestia was giddy with excitement. "Now come on, try it out. I'm curious how it'll make you look."

"Very well," said Luna as she finished looking over the spell she held. "But don't think that thou hast settled the current matter."

Luna set down the scroll and focused on the spell she had just learned. Her horn tingled as she felt her magic slowly wash over her body. Inch by inch it covered her, her body changing and modifying itself to the script presented to it. She gradually began to feel herself shrinking, her wings becoming numb the longer the spell went on. The shock made her gasp for air as the spell finished its work and her eyes shot open.

"How do you feel?" Came the voice of her sister, sounding much more imposing than it did before.

"We feel strange," Luna's voice caught in her throat as she spoke. She sounded differently than she had before. She looked over to Celestia, who now towered a few feet higher than she had before. "This feels weird," she said. "We still feel like ourselves yet we do not."

"Oh!" Exclaimed Celestia. "Let me find you a mirror."

Luna was still feeling a bit dizzy when a mirror appeared in front of her. Staring back at her was a dark blue unicorn of average height with a lighter blue for her mane. Gone were the stars that glittered in it as was the way her mane blew in the ethereal wind. She couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. She held a hoof up to her face and the reflection copied her motions. She turned to look at her flank. Gone were the wings from her sides, however her cutiemark still remained unchanged.

"You'll need a different spell if you want to mask that as well," said Celestia as she saw where Luna was looking. "That spell isn't as taxing as this was if you want that one as well."

"No," said Luna, still unsure of her own body and how differently it felt. "This is fine. What exactly am I supposed to do now?"

"Now," Celestia smiled as she summoned a dark blue dress along with a pink one that was about the same size. "Let's go find out."

To say the situation felt strange would be an understatement. They had stayed in the palace until Celestia could put the sun to bed so Luna could raise the moon, and now they stood out on the street by themselves and with no escort. Celestia had even cancelled the last of her appointments so she could help Luna get dressed.

"So what exactly are we supposed to do now, Celes..." She started only to have her much diminished sister place a hoof to her lips.

"None of that now," said the pure white unicorn with the flowing pink mane. She continued in a hushed tone, "out here we aren't Celestia and Luna, rulers of Equestria. Who are we again?"

Luna straightened up and recited, "I am Moon Drops, unicorn who's new in town, fresh off the train from Manehattan. I came to Canterlot seeking excitement. How's that, sister?"

"Very good," said Celestia as she struck a pose. "And I am Fleur De Lis. Debutant, fashion model, and escort of Canterlot's most eligible bachelor, Fancy Pants."

Luna couldn't help but giggle at how dramatic her sister was being. "Wouldn't it make more sense to pretend to be somepony less conspicuous?"

Celestia shot her sister a mischievous grin, "who said I was pretending? Come along now, Moon Drops. The night is young."

"Wait! Cel... Fleur! What did you mean by that?!" Luna called after her troublemaker of a sister as she chased after her.

"So thou hast really created a second life for thyself?" Luna grilled her sister.

"And I don't see why I shouldn't. Why we shouldn't." She said as she took a sip of her drink. "Castle life can get so boring day after day."

The two sisters had made their rounds of Canterlot's downtown shopping plaza. They had tried on so many clothes and articles of jewelry, and had seen so many of the various trinkets and oddities that could be found here. Through it all, not once had they received the reverend stares and bowing that they had grown accustomed to. Now they were just simply relaxing in a café off the main road.

Luna looked down at her hoof. She still had a hard time believing it was hers. It didn't feel like a simple illusion spell they were using. "So where exactly did you find this spell or did you make it yourself?" She finally asked.

Celestia went quiet as she set her drink down. She slowly turned her cup in her hooves for a bit before answering. "I found it in the archmage's wing of the old castle. It's an interesting spell, I think it was actually crafted specifically for us."

"Well Starswirl was always turning out wondrous new magics. We should hardly be surprised that..." Her words were cut off with a shake of the head from her older sister.

"Not Starswirl," Celestia said quietly. "The other one."

Luna grew silent as she hugged her hooves to her chest, a single tear finding its way down her face. "This is one of his?... He made this?" She said quietly, more to herself than to her sister.

"Come on," Celestia said as she stood up from the table. "We've got one more place to check out tonight."

"The Electric Pegasus?" Luna read the sign out loud as they stood there. "What is this place?"

"It's something the ponies came up with more recently," said Celestia. "They call it a night club."

"We did not realize that public beatings were sanctioned," Luna looked at her sister questioningly.

"Oh come on Moon Drops," Celestia said as she nudged her towards the door. "This'll be fun."

Luna still didn't understand the point of this place. All she knew was that it was full of bright lights and very, very loud music. "So what's the purpose of this place?!" She felt like she practically had to shout to make herself heard.

"What?!" Celestia shouted back, her voice mostly blending in with all the noise.

They found a place beside a brightly lit floor where ponies were frolicking and dancing completely off beat and without any sort of rhythm. After a while they got used to the deafening noise and could hear themselves think again.

"I forgot how noisy these places can get," said Celestia. "They must have one of their wilder DJs working tonight."

"So what exactly are we doing here, Fleur?" Luna asked, remembering to use the name of her sister's cover.

"Socializing," she said as she waved to some ponies that seemed to recognize her. "You've got to get yourself out there, Moon, if you want ponies to notice you."

"I don't see why anypony would notice me though," Luna said as she looked down. "It's not like I appear as anything special right now."

"Well you're never going to figure out who's looking if you keep your head down," Celestia said. "Like that stallion who's been staring at you since you came in."

"Hmmm?" Luna perked up and looked around, curious to see who her sister was talking about.

"Well don't make it too obvious that you've noticed," she said as she scooted in closer and nudged her in the side. "Just over my shoulder, the white pegasus with the cyclone cutiemark. The one talking to a couple of Wonderbolts."

Luna carefully peered in that direction. Sure enough, there was a white pegasus with a silky black mane looking in her direction. She quickly averted her eyes, doubtful that she had gone unnoticed. "What do I do?" She was already feeling nervous with the way they were sneaking around town, but this... She wasn't ready for something like this.

"Go talk to him," her sister encouraged. "Or better yet, get him to come to you."

"How exactly doth one engage in such an activity?" She hissed under her breath. "Especially with all those other ponies around him."

"Head out onto the dance floor," she said insistently.

"Do what?" Luna felt affronted. "We do not pretend to even know what dance they are performing if one would even dare to call that dancing."

"Trust me on this," Celestia was beaming at this point. "Just go out there and bounce to the beat a bit, bob your head, shake your flank. Let's see if he approaches."

"But Fleur..." She continued to protest.

"Oh come on, live a little," Celestia gave her a playful smack on the behind, startling her as she practically leapt onto the dance floor.

Luna stumbled for a moment, but still managed to make it there without thoroughly embarrassing herself. She glared back at her sister, feeling betrayed for being put on the spot just now. All she got in return though was a smile and a "go on" gesture. She looked around at the other ponies around her and while a couple of them glanced her way for a moment, all of them went back to the inane movements they called dancing.

She went along with her sister's suggestion and tried moving with the beat of the music. She felt awkward and sluggish and still didn't really understand what was happening. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long before she felt a tap on the shoulder.

"Come here often?" A voice cut in to break her away from the insane activity she was taking part in.

Luna turned to face the owner of the voice. It was that same pegasus that had been watching her from across the room. "No, this is my first time here," she said.

"I can tell," he said. "You don't seem to like it out on the dance floor."

"No," she said. "It was more my sister's idea. She was trying to..."

"Trying to see if I'd approach once you were by yourself. Perhaps," he said with a devilish grin.

"How did you..." She started to say.

"This isn't my first time on the scene, and it isn't the first time I've seen family give each other a little nudge." He lifted a wing, shielding her from the other dancers. "Shall we find some place better to talk?"

Luna just swallowed hard as he let him guide her out of the chaos of the dance floor. He seemed a bit rough around the edges, but he still acted like a gentlecolt. "My thanks," she said once they were by themselves.

"Well don't thank me just yet," he said as he raised a hoof under her chin and lifted her nose to his.

She soon found herself looking deep into his blue eyes. Wait...? She thought as she looked up at him. Was he really about to kiss her? So soon after meeting for the first time. Were stallions in this day and age really so forward?

"It's a shame I haven't approached you with less than honorable intentions," he said as his mouth was so close to hers that it wouldn't take much to steal a kiss. "I might have enjoyed spending the night turning that blue coat of yours scarlet."

She knew it was cheap, but the scoundrel was still making her blush with his adventurous words. "Then why have you approached me then?"

He leaned in past her face until he could whisper right into her ear. "I've come to warn you," he said.

"Warn me of what?" She didn't know what game he was playing, but whatever it was excited her in ways she hadn't expected.

"Stay away from the dream, Princess Luna. Stay away from Sombra's prison," he said seriously. "It isn't safe."

Author's Note

The idea that Fleur De Lis is really Celestia in disguise came to me some time ago. Both because of Fleur has a striking color resemblance to how I believe she would have looked if she hadn't become an alicorn and I can't help but laugh thinking about when Fleur is hanging all over Fancy Pants when he's talking to Rarity.

Other thoughts I'd like to share. Oh boy, the evolution this event has taken and how many times it's been rewriten. It started with the original's Luna gets picked up on the street by suave gentleman pony boy and treated to a romantic dinner. Then picked up and taken to the club. Then her wandering the town and ending up there on her own. Finally I had to have a sit down with myself and say, "wait... Celestia wouldn't just send her into town on her own. She'd go with her, especially with how much of a troublemaker she can be."

Chapter 10: Chasing the Storm

Luna felt her blood run cold as those words left his lips. "What... What did you say?"

"You heard me correctly the first time," the stallion said as he pulled away from her. "Stay away from Sombra's prison. We don't want to see you get hurt."

"Who are you?" She asked as her mouth hung open.

"Storm Chaser!" A new voice cut in as three other pegasi approached. Luna immediately recognized the one who had spoken as Spitfire of the Wonderbolts. "What'd you run off for? We weren't done talking to you yet... Oh," she said as she saw the situation. "Well I can understand being drawn in by such a charming young lady, but we weren't finished with you. That technique we saw you using above the city could be a huge asset to us."

"It seems I'm needed elsewhere," Storm Chaser smiled as he lifted one of Luna's hooves and gave it a small kiss. "Until next time, my lady."

Luna watched as he walked away, surrounded by three members of Equestria's military. Her eyes quickly shot around the room, looking for her sister. Nowhere to be found. Of all the times for her to play her games, it had to be now.

"Captain Spitfire," Luna called after them, she had made her decision. She couldn't just let this pegasus walk away.

Spitfire turned her head, curious as to why she was being called out by her title. Her fellow Wonderbolts, Fleetfoot and Soarin, were also left to wonder why this random stranger was calling out to their captain.

Luna felt her body begin to grow as the enchantment on it came undone. It only took a couple moments for her to return to her normal stature, wings and all. She looked down at the Wonderbolt captain, Spitfire's eyes growing wide as she recognized Princess Luna.

"Thou shall restrain that individual," she said, her regal form restored. "He possesses information pertinent to Equestria's security."

The three pegasi looked between them at the source of the princess's ire. Storm Chaser for his part just let out a long sigh and shook his head in disappointment. "I was hoping you wouldn't make a scene," he said. "Now I'm gonna have to do things the hard way. Fine by me. I've never really cared for the stealthy approach, anyhow."

The music had stopped and all eyes now stared in their direction. A tension began to build in the room, the kind that usually builds right before the start of a fight. Storm Chaser stood up straight and rolled his shoulders, clearly readying himself ready for something.

"Whatever you're thinking, don't," Spitfire said quietly to him. "We've already got you surrounded and I don't think you want to start a fight with three Wonderbolts."

"Actually, I kinda do," he said, a smug grin splitting his face. "Besides. You'd need at least two more before you'd even begin to stand a chance."

The three pegasi tensed up as they waiting for him to try something. What they weren't expecting was to be blown back by the force of him simply opening his wings. His escorts went tumbling away as any sort of napkins, drinks, or any other loose things went tumbling into the air, leaving a mess of debris around him. The gust of wind settled for a moment as he reared up on his hind legs with his wings rippling behind him. The cocky expression never once left his face as he brushed his nose with a hoof. "Come at me!" He challenged them.

Spitfire was the first to regain her footing as she righted herself and dove at the pegasus, hoping for a quick take down. A bored expression played across his face as he lazily stepped to the side, allowing the captain of the Wonderbolts to pass under the feathers of an extended wing as if he were dancing away from an angry bull.

As his feathers brushed the mare's back, little sparks began to dance in the air between them. As Spitfire's hooves touched the ground, those sparks flared brighter than the dance floor. A bolt of lightning shot between them, the following shock causing Spitfire to get launched into the distant wall like she had been shot out of a cannon.

Storm Chaser turned to face her, turning his back to the other two pegasi. "That was sloppy," He dismissed the captain, sounding bored. "Are you normally this slow or have you perhaps had too much to drink?"

Soarin made a determined dive at the flyer's exposed back, shock painted his face as his opponent backflipped over him. He barely had time to register the dodge before Storm Chaser grabbed him and used the momentum to send him soaring back in the direction he came from, smashing a table upon landing.

Fleetfoot rushed in, hoping he'd be off balance after that move. It wasn't enough though as he danced through the air and brought a hoof around to plant her face firmly in the ground.

"I can't remember the last time I've felt so alive!" He almost seemed like he was glowing, apparently fighting the prestigious Wonderbolts was more of an afterthought to him. As he came down from his high, he started to look bored. "But seriously, is this all you lot have? Maybe I should rethink..." Was all he got out as an errant blast took him in the chest, sending him sailing off of Fleetfoot and skidding to a stop on the dance floor.

Luna stood tall with a look of triumph on her face and a wisp of smoke drifting off her horn from her recently casted spell. "We are not amused. While skilled thee may be, how much did thee believe thy would achieve in the presence of a princess of Equestria?"

Storm Chaser pushed himself up off the ground, much to Luna's surprise. No one should've been able to get back up so quickly, especially after taking a shot to the chest like he just did. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the damage she had done.

A large hole had been blasted out from the middle of his body. Small pieces of crystal fell out from the bloodless wound as he looked down at it, unconcerned with his recent injury.

"What are you?" She said as she took a few steps back, the three Wonderbolts gathering around her as they picked themselves up off the ground.

"Looks like the time for fun and games is over," he said as the color began to fade from his body, starting from where he had been injured. "Guess it's time to get going."

"Protect the princess!" Shouted Spitfire as she and her two companions flared their wings out, cutting off any straight path to Luna.

"Don't worry. She's not my target," said Storm Chaser as he coiled back on his hooves, his wings rippling over his head. "She just happens to be here."

"Princess," Spitfire said without taking her eyes off their opponent. "Leave him to us. You should get out of here. We'll take care of..." Was all she was able to say before solid bolts of lightning shot both her and Fleetfoot away from where they were standing.

Luna looked to the last remaining Wonderbolt as Soarin stood there with a blank look on his face. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed to the ground as all of his colors began draining out of him.

Motes of light flickered off his body and began to coalesce next to Luna. Once they finished collecting, Storm Chaser once again stood before her, completely recovered from her spell.

Luna had no clue what was happening as she tried to back up. He matched her step for step until she bumped into a wall and could go no further. He reached out a hoof and held it to the side of her face, being ever so gentle as he leaned in and stole a quick kiss directly from her lips.

Her eyes grew wide and her breath caught in her throat as he pulled away from her. "What was that for?" She asked, wondering why he picked now to be so brazen.

"Just some emotional blackmail," he said with a wink.

"We hardly think thee have any hope of wooing us after thine performance," she said, a scowl forming on her face.

"Oh it's not you I'm blackmailing. Anyway, I'll be seeing you around, princess," he gave her a mock salute. With that enigmatic statement, he jumped into the air and sailed straight out the front door, knocking it off its hinges in the process and leaving a very confused Princess Luna in his wake.

She pushed herself from the wall as she mentally shook off his bold actions. "Captain Spitfire!" She called out. "Art thou whole?"

Spitfire stumbled her way back, her mane looking disheveled. "It'll take a lot more than that to keep us down. Fleetfoot!" She barked. "Take care of Soarin." She turned back and saluted Luna. "What are your orders?"

"Thou shall assist me," she said as she raced towards the door. "Before he makes his escape."

Luna and Spitfire shot into the night sky and soon caught up with Storm Chaser in the skies above Canterlot. Luna fired several blasts of magic from her horn, hoping to bring this chase to a swift end. However, he made almost no effort as he rolled away from Luna's projectiles and Spitfire's dives as they tried to knock him out of the sky.

"You're definitely a stubborn one, I'll give you that, Spitfire. Maybe in another life I might've fallen for you!" He shouted back with a wink.

"Surrender yourself!" Commanded Luna. "No matter far or how fast you fly, thee shall never escape us!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that!" He then slowed to a stop and began to slowly beat his wings against the night air.

Luna and Spitfire quickly stopped before they ran into him. They had seen him play with electricity and he had already shown them how agile he was in combat, so they were nervous about what else he might do now that he chose to stop running.

He gave one last, slow beat of his wings before snapping them open. Blue arcs of energy raced down his wings and shot out from the tips into the air around him before dissipating into the atmosphere.

His pursuers flinched when the lightning flew but relaxed a bit when it didn't get anywhere near them. "Impressive trick," said Luna as she started to fly closer. "However it seems thy aim seeks improvement."

She got no response in return as Storm Chaser just floated there in the air with his wings still extended. His eyes were closed as he lifted his nose and slowly breathed in the air around him. The wind grew unnaturally still for this altitude just before his eyes shot open and his wings made a single powerful beat against the air.

The air around them began to move as he started making more powerful strokes against the wind. Faster and faster they grew with every stroke until his pursuers were having trouble staying aloft.

"There's just no way!" Spitfire shouted as she started losing her balance. It was taking everything she had just to keep from being blown away. "You can't be causing this wind. It's not possible for just one pony!"

Storm Chaser began to twist in place, the strong winds began to turn with him as storm clouds began to form and billow overhead. Lightning played within the shadows as rain started pouring down on the city below.

They almost lost sight of him as he leisurely flew away, not even seeming bothered by the extreme weather. He looked over his shoulder one last time before a rouge twister reached down from the sky and swallowed him up.

Random Fact had been searching the Everfree forest all day without any luck. He knew his amulet was somewhere in there, he could feel it. However, he couldn't narrow down its exact location due to all the wild magic that flowed through the forest.

Fortunately, ponies stayed out of the forest so he didn't have to explain his presence. Well, except for a shy little pegasus that had followed him for a bit. She had run off the moment he looked her way, so he ended up just dismissing it as errant curiosity.

He was about to return to the Golden Oaks when he had heard the distant rumbling of thunder. He galloped for the nearest overlook he could find and turned his gaze on the distant Canterhorn mountains. A sizeable thunderhead had formed over Canterlot. Under normal circumstances that wouldn't have merited further investigation, but the magic coming off the storm felt way too familiar.

"Admiring my work?" Came a voice from overhead.

Random dragged an exasperated hoof down his face just before turning his gaze skyward to find Storm Chaser looking down at him. "We were going for subtle!" He shouted up at him. "What did you do?!"

The pegasus just floated there with a amused grin on his face. "Oh you think that's bad? Wait til you check this out."

Storm Chaser dove towards Random. His body began to break down into motes of light, the light zipping around like fireflys before being sucked into the unicorn's body. As the last of the light was absorbed, Random found a blue crystal floating in front of him with an unfamiliar cutiemark suspended inside it. He quickly grabbed and placed the crystal in his bag even as Storm Chaser's memories of the night's events began to rush into him.

Random froze as the last of the memories played out in his head. He slowly raised a hoof to his lips as a maddening blush overtook him. "Luna..." He said under his breath, tears building at the corners of his eyes as he felt a weight settle down on his chest. "Did you really go and kiss Princess Luna?"

His shadow began to shift and move beneath him until another body pushed it's way out from the darkness. "Did I hear that right?" The shadow said, making Random blush even worse. "Did he really go and give Luna a little kiss?"

Random tried to push his emotions down, but the damage had already been done. "Yeah..." he finally admitted. "He did."

"Bwahaha," the shadow rolled to the ground and began laughing hysterically. "I can feel how badly you're blushing."

"Knock it off, Spectrum," he snapped at the shadow. "It's not that funny!"

Spectrum stopped laughing for a moment and looked straight at him with his purple irises. "You sent Storm Chaser out to soup himself up with some extra pegasus magic. I can guess from that storm on the horizon that he succeeded. But he also decided to go woo over your princess while he was at it?! Considering the circumstances, you can't deny it is a bit funny."

"He didn't woo the princess," he said in his defense. "He just stole a quick kiss from her so he could bother me."

"Well, I'd say he did a good job then. Cause you certainly seem bothered," he chuckled. "So much for not getting the royals involved. So what now? Is it time to fill them in?"

Random recoiled at the question. "I can't believe you of all creatures would ask me that. You were there when Celestia would set everything in her path on fire."

"I'm also no stranger to change. Everything changes, regardless of whether it's the body or the heart," he said seriously. "And I don't think she's the same pony she was back then."

Random gave a heavy sigh, "we can argue this later." He nudged his head in the direction of the storm. "He made quite a scene over there. Especially around a night club called 'The Electric Pegasus.' Think you can do something about that?"

"What do you take me for," the shadow stepped away from him and did a few stretches. "Just you watch. By morning all anypony is going to remember is the bad weather."

Chapter 11: Book Horse

Twilight... Hurt... Everywhere.

She wasn't sure if it was from how many times she hit the ground or if it was just from not being used to using her wings yet, but everything hurt. From her hooves to the tips of her new wings, everything had something to complain about this morning.

"Unhhh," she groaned as she rested her chin on the breakfast table.

"I thought you got a massage when you were done with practice?" Spike asked with concern as he placed a glass of juice in front of her.

"I did," she moaned as she levitated the glass to her lips. "I don't want to think about how I'd be feeling if I hadn't gotten the massage."

"Hey Twilight, hey Spike," greeted Random as he sat down at the table. "Crazy weather we had last night."

Twilight didn't lift herself from the table but her ears perked up, "the weather?" She asked. "What was so special about the weather?"

"Twilight went to bed pretty early last night," Spike said as he placed a newspaper down on the table. "It was big enough to make the news though."

Twilight slowly sat up in her seat, various groans and pops could be heard coming from her as she did so.

"Freak tornado baffles experts," she read aloud. She went on to read how the storm had seemingly appeared out of nowhere and teams of pegasi had battled the storm long into the night.

Her reading was interrupted by the sound of the front door of the library opening and closing. A moment later, a bedraggled rainbow maned pegasus made her way into the kitchen.

"Hey guys..." Rainbow Dash let out a yawn as she walked behind Twilight, giving her a light pat on the back as she passed.

The casual gesture caused the alicorn to arch her back and give a high pitch hiss as even the light touch evoked agony from her sore muscles.

"Heh, sorry Twilight," Rainbow apologized as she realized the state her friend was in. "I should know better than that with the way you were pushing yourself yesterday. I just wanted to check on you before I head off to bed."

Once her body stopped screaming at her so loudly, Twilight took stock of Rainbow's condition. The prismatic mare had bags under her eyes and was barely maintaining a glassy stare. Her mane, even though she was known for not putting too much stock in her appearance, usually still kept her mane fairly well brushed. Today, however, the mop on her head was all roughed up and sticking out at odd angles while the colors were all mixed into each other.

"Rainbow?!" Twilight exclaimed, concern for her friend pushing her own pains out of her mind. "What happened to you?"

"Huh?" She said, not really registering much of anything. "Oh, don't worry about it. Weather team just got called out in the middle of the night to handle some freak weather. Now let's see about you getting some morning stretches in."

"What are you... Ahhh," Rainbow pulled her up from her seat without warning and began to coax her into various poses. Poses which did not make her feel any better. "Rainbow, I'm worried about you," she said as she found herself with a foreleg stretched across her back and the wing on that side pressed up against her head. "You look like you're about to col... Collapse." Her breath caught as Rainbow flipped her upside down and pushed her into a back bend. "Is all this really necessary?"

"These are a lot of the same stretches they had us do back in flight school," Rainbow said as she sat Twilight back up and helped her stretch her wings as straight as they can go. "I still do these every morning or I just don't feel right. They're also important if you're building muscle or the pain just keeps getting worse."

Rainbow just kept droning on, the far off look in her eyes getting more and more distant.

"How much sleep have you had?" Twilight asked concerned.

"Only about an hour," Rainbow admitted as Twilight found herself bent into a pretzel, not really sure at this point which hooves went where. "Been busting clouds since the middle of the night. That storm in Canterlot was spilling towards Ponyville and we had to get on it right away."

"Any idea what caused it?" Random asked, interjecting himself into the conversation.

"Oh hey Random, didn't see you there," she said with half lidded eyes as she let go of Twilight. Twilight herself collapsing to the ground like a wet noodle. "Nah. Bunch of rumors though. Some thought it was a monster attack, others thought the weather factory was protesting something or other, I dunno. Bit above my pay grade. Good work on that jerk Blueblood by the way. He hasn't come back at all has he?"

"I haven't seen him," Random said nonchalantly. "I also haven't been looking for him."

"Rainbow Dash, you need to go to bed," Spike said as he watched how uneasy she was on her hooves.

"I'll be fine Spike." She dismissed him with a wave of a hoof. "It's not the first time the weather team has had me pull an all-nighter. It would've been a lot easier if Cloud Kicker and Blossomforth weren't out sick."

"They're out sick?" Random raised an eyebrow. "They both seemed fine when I saw them last."

That seemed to give Rainbow a second wind, "Oh?" She said with a cheeky grin. "I didn't realize you were seeing both of them."

"Why do you think I'm seeing them?" Asked Random.

"You responded to their names a bit too quickly," she said. "It's also not every day we get a new stallion in town and you aren't too bad to look at." Rainbow waggled her eyebrows.

Random's eyebrow raised so high it looked like it was going to leap off his face, "thanks? I guess."

Twilight was staggering back to her hooves, a relaxed look on her face. "So what's your plan today?"

"Probably going to go for another walk," he said as he got up from the table, his breakfast finished. He made to walk towards the door only to find a purple princess suddenly in front of him and blocking his path.

"Just a sec..." Twilight said with avid enthusiasm. "I want to know more about that age spell you cast on Blueblood." She took a few steps closer, "how did you make it look so easy?" A few more steps, "what kind of matrices did you use?" Random took a few steps back only to be followed step for step. "I didn't feel that much magic when you did it. What kind of reserves do you have?" She got so close she was practically breathing down his neck. "Where did you learn magic like that?"

Random looked around her in a panic. His eyes met with both Rainbow's and Spike's. Rainbow looked like she was about to bust a gut and Spike, well, he just threw his arms up in a defeated gestured like this isn't the first time he's seen this behavior.

"Is she normally this excitable?" Random asked while attempting to push Twilight away with a hoof.

"Yep, that's our egghead," Rainbow fought back a snort as she watched.

"I'd give it up if I were you," Spike said as he cleared the table, not even phased by Twilight's behavior. "Cause she won't."

Twilight gave Spike an angry snort before turning a beaming smile back on Random.

"This is really bothering you, isn't it?" Random said as he craned his neck away from the alicorn who had stars in her eyes and was very much invading his personal space.

"Only time I've seen somepony cast an age spell is when Trixie challenged me to a duel. Granted she was getting a boost from a cursed artifact." Twilight explained offhandedly.

"Cursed artifact?" Random wondered aloud.

"Alicorn Amulet. Big shiny necklace that makes ponies stronger and a bit violent. Well hidden now. Old news. Now come on, tell me how you did the spell." Twilight continued to be excitable.

Random gave a defeated sigh, "ok. Fine. I guess I can show you what I did."

Twilight gave a wide smile, her wings giving a few involuntary little flaps of joy.

"This sounds like where the egghead talk is going to start," said Rainbow as she staggered her way to the door. "I'm outta here."

"Go to bed!" Spike called after her in a hurry.

"Yeah, yeah." Said Rainbow as she left.

"Is she going to be ok?" Random watched the mare leave with some concern.

"She'll be fine. Now come on. Show me what you did." Twilight started hopping from hoof to hoof.

Random gave Spike a panicked look, who just shrugged in reply.

"Just give it up, nopony's gonna stop her when she gets like this," he said as he went back to cleaning up.

A couple minutes later they found themselves at a cleared off table with two potted flowers in front of them.

Twilight sat there with a notebook and quill while looking particularly eager to start taking notes.

"Ok Twilight," Random pushed one of the pots in front of her. "Let me see you try to cast an age spell."

Twilight looked at him with confusion, "but you haven't shown me anything yet."

"I know, but I'm getting the impression that you've tried this spell before. You don't seem like a complete novice and I'm wondering what's got you hung up," Random deduced.

Twilight scrunched her nose and looked down at the flower. She tried to remember what she did the last time she attempted this. It had been back when Trixie was on that power trip and while Twilight had gotten the spell to work for a few moments when she practiced it on a flower, her magic gave out before the spell would hold.

She hadn't tried to do it again since becoming an alicorn though, so maybe...

She focused her eyes in on the flower, the spell matrices she used from before bubbling up to the forefront of her mind. She pushed her magic out through her horn, sending a trickle of power through the air and down into the stem of the plant.

Twilight magically felt her way around the makeup of what made the flower exist in its current state. In her head she tried to map out the passage of time how something would affect this and then, using her own magic, tried to force it's natural state to flow different.

It was slightly different from transmutation, where you were breaking down the energy and mass of an object, and then using those basic building blocks to create something else.

This was her trying to alter the time of an object. Twilight continued to push her magic into the flower. She was starting to feel some resistance building inside the plant. The pressure in her head was starting to ache and it was progressively getting worse the harder she pushed.

The world faded out around her as all of her attention was consumed by the potted plant in front of her. Her body started to thrum with power as the resistance she was feeling began to weaken. Ever so slowly she felt the wheels of time begin to move backward. She peeked her eyes open and saw that the flower was slowly regressing to a seedling. It made about as far as its bud stage when she felt her magic lock up again.

She pushed harder into her magical reserves when she suddenly felt her hold on the spell begin to fall apart. Far faster than she had woven the spell together, it began to unravel all on its own, and the excess magic she had poured into it dispersed into the air.

Twilight's eyes shot open and she looked up at her horn to see the magenta aura of her magic being intercepted by a green one. Her eyes followed the other magic back to Random's horn where he appeared to be straining from the exertion from whatever he was doing. Sweat began to steam off his coat while he grit his teeth.

What really caught her attention was his eyes. His pupils were glowing a bright green and he was glaring at her with an ire that was only made worse by the glow.

"Ahhh," Twilight recoiled, falling away from the table as she looked up at his intense stare.

His face was all covered in shadows except for his glowing green eyes.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?!" He raged at her. "You could've blown up half the town with as much magic as you were pouring into that! What were you thinking?!"

Twilight recoiled at the force of his anger, instinct telling her she should be very afraid right now. "I'm... I'm sorry... I... I just..."

Random's eyes seem to snap back into focus as he noticed how much he scared the poor girl. He sat up straighter in his seat and placed a hoof to his chest. He began to take a few slow, measured breaths and visibly calmed after a couple moments.

"Listen Twilight," Random said through a forced calm. "I'm sorry if I lost my temper, but do you understand how dangerous it is to overpower spells like you were doing?"

Twilight rapidly shook her head, the tension in the air seeming to have calmed as she picked herself off the ground and cautiously sat back at the table. Fluttershy did say that the pony she saw in the woods had a golden coat. "Usually if I'm struggling with a spell, I just need to use a bit more magic and it works," she offered.

Random rested a hoof against his forehead and scrunched up his face, "ok," he said, seemingly to have finished his thought process. "You've had a lot more magic than your peers, even from a young age, haven't you?"

Twilight nodded as she watch the light in his eyes finish dimming to normal, "that's a good thing though, isn't it?"

"As long as it doesn't cause you to form any bad habits, which is what seems has happened here." He explained. "Pouring excess magic into a spell can work to correct inconsistencies in the framework, but with some spells it just doesn't work. Like with what's left of your flower."

Twilight looked down at the potted plant to find all that was left of it was a pile of ash. She felt a bit sick at the results of her botched spell. "So what do I need to do differently then?"

Random slid the second flower forward, "magic exists in more than just ponies. Magic builds the basic size and shape of what something is and will do its best to maintain that form against outside meddling."

"If that's the case, wouldn't transfiguration be a lot harder, if not impossible." Twilight retorted.

Random shook his head, "with transfiguration, you're taking the energy for yourself before making it into something else. However with temporal spells, the energy needs somewhere to go since you're not really changing the object itself and instead you're just moving it. Follow me so far?"

"I think so," Twilight tilted her head. "So how were you able to cast an age spell on Blueblood then. When I watched you do it, it looked like you didn't use that much magic on him and his own was fizzling out. Why was that?"

"Because it was his own magic doing all the work," he said while levitating a cup of tea to his lips.

"I don't quite follow," Twilight cocked her head at him.

"It wouldn't have worked as easily if he was protecting himself, but here, watch." He sent just the barest trickle of magic down to the other, still living flower, and right before her eyes the flower began to regress to a bud, then a stalk, and finally the stalk receded the rest of the way back into the dirt.

Twilight's eyes practically popped out of her skull and was about to ask something when she stopped herself and thought over what he had just told her. "All the work..." She spoke under her breath more to herself than to him. "So instead of forcing the change like I'm doing, you're providing the spell and the target is providing the magic?"

Random gave her a wide smile, "very good Twilight. I still need to provide some magic since the flower wouldn't have enough for the spell on its own but..."

Twilight's eyes lit up in realization, "but then you don't need to push against an opposing force and instead any magic present is a boon instead of a hindrance!"

"Exactly," he said, pleased to see her understand.

"The potential applications of this could revolutionize how we do magic!" Twilight jumped up from the table all excited.

"I doubt it," Random shook his head. "I bet your friend Trixie knows some of this if she was able to perform an age spell. Anything she might've had on her would just give her a boost, but that's all she'd get."

Twilight looking a bit annoyed, "I wouldn't call her a friend but I think I see what you're getting at. That amulet only really seemed to give her more power than she had before and since you can't force an age spell..."

"Then she must've figured something out on her own. Sounds like quite the clever pony. I'd like to meet her sometime." Random stood up and began to make his way to the door.

"Wait!" Twilight exclaimed. "Where are you going? What about that other spell you cast? How did you stop my magic?"

"Twilight..." He sighed. "I'd love to discuss more of the intricacies of magic with you, but I do have other things to do today."

"But..." She whimpered.

"Go ask Whisper," he said as he opened the door. "I'm sure she could help you find something on the subject."

Random trotted down the streets of Ponyville. It was only late morning by the time he managed to finally pull himself away from the curious scholar. Thinking back, he breathed a sigh of relief that hopefully Twilight would be a little wiser now about what she shouldn't try to do with magic.

His reverie was interrupted when a shadow passed over him. He wondered what it could be as he looked up at the clear day.

He started moving again only to have something collide with his back. The force of the impact planted his face in the ground and had him skidding for several feet before coming to a stop.

Random struggled to pull his face out of the ground, coughing up dirt once he was able to do so. He craned his neck to see what was pressing down on him.

He caught a glimpse of the jasmine mare pressing down on him. Her eyes were bloodshot and the fur on her face was matted with tears.

"I want answers!" Shouted an enraged Cloud Kicker. "What did you do to Blossomforth?!"

Chapter 12: A Changing Problem

Random looked up in confusion as the jasmine mare pressed down on his back, "what are you talking about?"

"Don't give me that!" Cloud Kicker shouted at him. "Blossomforth's been feeling awful all morning."

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said as he finally managed to get his forehooves back under himself. "How is this my fault though?"

Their little scuffle was starting to draw some attention from the other ponies in town. They started gathering at a distance and began whispering among themselves. A concerned mother ushered her child away from the conflict around the same time Random heard someone say "lover's spat" under their breath.

"She was feeling fine before the party and when we got home, but..." she started to sob. "She wouldn't wake up this morning."

"Well... Did you take her to the hospital?" That would be the first response, wouldn't it?

"You know very well why I can't take her there! She's one of your kind after all. I really don't think they would help her." She began pounding on his back in her frustration.

"You're not making any sense!" He shouted back at her. "I don't know what you think I can do, but I'm not gonna figure it out if you don't calm down."

"Don't give me that 'mare in hysterics' line!" She gritted her teeth at him. "I know you have something to do with that dark cloud she started coughing up!"

Random felt his heart stop at that, "did you say dark cloud?!"

"Did I stutter?!" She dug the tips of her hooves into his back, making him to wince. "You heard what I said. I haven't forgotten what happened yesterday!!"

Random narrowed his focus, the situation had just gotten a lot more serious. He didn't want to hurt the poor girl, but this wasn't accomplishing anything and they might now be facing imminent disaster. She needed to get off him, now.

Random arced his back as he let the energy run through him. His fur began to ripple as a tingling sensation ran through it and into Cloud Kicker's hooves. "What are you doing?" She sounded wary as the fur on her legs began to itch.

"Get... Off... Now!" A small arc of electricity jumped from his body and into the unfortunate pegasus. The crowd gasped as she went flying several feet away before coming to a stop on the ground.

Cloud Kicker laid there confused as she was stuck staring at the sky. She felt like she had just kicked a temperamental storm cloud. Small little jolts ran through her numb body as one of her hind legs involuntarily twitched. She was still feeling rather toasty when she noticed the stallion she just had pinned was now looking down at her mere inches from her face.

"I still don't know why you didn't take Blossomforth to the hospital, but now I'm glad you didn't," he said to her in a low voice. "I'll take responsibility and help her however I can, but we aren't going to get anywhere if you get all worked up."

The sound of swooning mares followed by mumblings of "he'd take responsibility" and "he's getting her worked up" brought their scuffle to a close. They both started turning various shades of pink as it sunk in what sort of fuel they had just provided to Ponyville's rumor mill. Cloud Kicker's ears pressed against her head as her embarrassment continued to burn her, the full implications of how this must look to other ponies completely sinking in.

"We need to get out of here," Random said quickly, Cloud Kicker hastily nodding in agreement.

He placed a hoof to her shoulder and with a flash, they both teleported away.

Nearby, an apple farmer hocking her wares had caught snippets of exchange as well as being privy to the whisperings of the bored residents of Ponyville. She'd had one hell of a story to share with the girls later.

They reappeared across town and with Cloud Kicker's guidance, they both quickly made their way to her house. She threw open the door and practically dragged Random inside before slamming the door behind them.

"You know if anypony saw that, that's just gonna add to the rumors that are bound to already be circulating," Random mentioned.

"I think it's already too late for that," she said as she made her way to the stairs. "Anyway, she's up here."

He followed her up the stairs and down the hallway until they reached a door. Random could tell right away that something very wrong was going on behind it. The malevolence radiating from behind the door felt very similar to what he kept locked inside himself.

"This is bad, I can already tell from here," he said to her, already feeling anxious about the situation. "I don't think anypony aside from me is equipped to deal with this."

"Please... Please help her..." Cloud Kicker whimpered. "You wouldn't abandon your own kind, would you?"

"That's the second time you've said something like that," Random cocked his head at her. "What exactly do you think I am?"

Her eyes clouded up with tears, whatever argument she might've made, she was too emotional to make it. She pushed the door open and Random's eyes went wide when he saw the creature laying on the bed.

"A changeling?" He said in realization. Sure enough, there was an ashen bug pony laying unconscious on the bed. He rushed forward and began to inspect her prone form, paying no mind to the shadows that were pouring off her body.

"So can you help her?" The desperation was evident in Cloud Kicker's voice.

Random rested a hoof against her forehead, finding it cold to the touch. "She's not in good shape. I can tell you that much. Changelings are supposed to be relatively warm even when they're at rest."

"So can you help her?" She asked. "She's one of your people isn't she?"

"I'll do what I can, but I'm not a changeling." He asked her as he turned the changeling onto her belly.

"But, I saw you change in the library's basement. That's what changelings do, right?" Cloud Kicker asked cautiously.

Random shook his head, "this is just an elaborate glamour spell. I'm very much a pony beneath it." He drew his attention to her hooves and seemed to pay extra close attention to the holes in them. "She's still got a lot of life left in her," He observed. "She must be passively feeding off your love. You must care for her very much or she'd be in worse condition than this."

"She went to bed early last night, said she wasn't feeling well." She gave a weak chuckle, "imagine my surprise this morning to find something other than a pegasus in her bed."

Random gave her a curious look, "so you didn't know she was a changeling before today?"

Cloud Kicker shook her head, "I was scared at first. My first thought was to call the guard and find out where she hid my friend, but when I noticed how much pain she were in, I hesitated. It took me a moment, but I eventually realized it was actually Blossomforth I was looking at."

"How were you so sure?" He questioned her skeptically.

"I sort of just knew," she said sheepishly. "It was just a feeling."

"Sounds like she's lucky to have a friend like you," Random said as he pulled back the sheets. His eyes went wide at what he saw. "Her carapace is white..." Sure enough, the shell draped across her back was a milky white color.

Cloud Kicker stepped up to the other side of the bed, "is that bad? I noticed that as well since they described the ones that showed up at the wedding differently."

"Changelings change their native colors for a number of reasons," he started explaining. "It can be to indicate their role in a hive or sometimes they'll change it to keep others away if they're sick. However, this right here," he pointed at the carapace. "Is to mark which hive she belongs to."

"You seem to know a lot about them for not being one yourself," she noted.

"I sort of got lucky," he said. "I have some history with this particular hive. I don't have time to get into it right now."

"So what's wrong with her," she looked at her friend who still had the dark fog wrapped around her. "Can you cure her?"

"It's not so simple," Random shook his head. "It's not a disease. She's possessed."

"Possessed?" Cloud Kicker looked at him with confusion. "Possessed by what?"

"It definitely came from me and I'm going to do everything in my power to cleanse her of it before it's too late." He stepped away from the bed after moving Blossomforth to a more comfortable position.

"So this did come from you then?" Cloud Kicker had calmed a bit now that she was getting answers to what was wrong.

Random gave a solemn nod, "the thing I've got possessing me has been making attempts to try and escape for a long time. He must've broken off a small piece again."

"How come you don't appear sick?" She wondered. "I thought unicorns had the weakest constitution of the tribes."

"I've taken steps to keep it at bay, spells and the like. I'm also, shall we say, just a bit sturdier than a normal unicorn." Random gave a small chuckle.

"So... about Blossomforth..." She looked back at her friend in concern.

"She's got at least a couple days before it starts to tear her apart from the inside." He exchanged a look with her, realizing too late that he picked the wrong words to calm her down. "Unfortunately, I'm too weak at the moment to be able to pull that thing back out of her cleanly."

Cloud Kicker sniffled a bit, "what can we do then? I don't know if anypony else could help and who would help a changeling. Is there anything I can do?"

"The best thing you can do is to stay by her side," Random said as he placed one of Blossomforth's dark, hole-riddled hooves in her own jasmine ones. "She'll last a lot longer and be in a lot less pain with you by her side," he said as he turned for the door.

"What're you going to do though?" She looked to him, desperate to have some hope to hold onto.

He sighed as he turned back to her, "if I can get my amulet back, I should be able to fix this easily."

"An amulet?" She looked at him strangely. "How's that going to help?"

"I may as well tell you since you're already trusting me with her safety." He gave her a stern look. "I know it's somewhere in the Everfree. A black metal necklace with a red diamond in the middle of it. It's been lost for a long time due to the trouble it keeps getting involved in, and because of the immense power it gives its wielder, it's come to be known as the Alicorn Amulet."

Chapter 13: Rumors

Twilight made her way down into the archives, curious what she might find here today. She was by herself today since Spike already had plans to go help out Rarity at her shop. She marveled at the store of knowledge that had been contained right under her hooves all this time and still felt a bit overwhelmed as she looked out at it all.

"So Random said Whisper could help me find something..." She muttered under her breath. "I wonder where I can find her?"

As if she were summoned, Twilight heard a light tinkling chime off in the distance followed by a melodic humming that flew towards her through the air.

Shortly there after, Whisper appeared floating above her. "Well..." The little fairy crossed her forelegs as she drew closer. "If it isn't the princess of near disasters."

Twilight was a bit taken aback, "excuse me?"

"Oh I felt that little spell you were warping upstairs," she gave her a stern look. "I'm just glad C... *Cough cough* Random was able to fix it before I had to... again."

Twilight winced at the reprimand, "what do you mean again?"

"Oh I've been stopping you from blowing stuff up since you got here," Whisper flew in and bopped Twilight on the nose, causing her to wiggle it and give a small sneeze. "The worst one was probably that glimmer spell you mucked up."

Twilight remembered that spell. She had given Rarity a pair of butterfly wings for the day. Granted they had burned up when she flew too close to the sun, but Twilight remembered how hard that spell had been, how much resistance she had felt... wait...

"I see the gears turning in your head, bookbutt," the fairy landed on a nearby shelf. "Tell me, what did you just figure out?"

Twilight stopped breathing as the dreaded pieces fell into place, "I really could've hurt Rarity with that spell!"

"Yes you could have," the fairy showed some small approval. "Tell me, Miss Sparkle. Did you ever get around to trying that spell on yourself?"

Twilight shook her head, "no, I just remembered how hard it was and decided to wait until I got better at magic."

Whisper scoffed, "pfff. You're already plenty good at magic. You just need to sort out what Random's trying to teach you. I was sort of hoping you would've tried that spell on yourself later. If we're lucky, it would've left you asking the right questions when you saw how easy it suddenly was."

"So do you have a... OW!" She fell forward as a thick volume flew out and smacked her in the back of the head.

"You're welcome," the little troublemaker gave a wide grin as she watched the purple princess pick herself back up.

Twilight groaned as she pick up and looked at the book that she had just been clobbered with. "Mana Flows for the Grotesquely Uneducated? Hey!" She protested. "Did you just give me a 'magic for dummies' book?!"

Whisper made a rude gesture before zipping off into the distance. "See if I help you again!" She shouted before Twilight heard the distinct sound of laughter.

Twilight took another look at the book in her hooves. Well, it was one she hadn't read. It couldn't hurt to take a look.

An hour later found Twilight back upstairs, still pouring through volume that the fairy had "given" her. Albeit not as gently as she would've preferred.

She made it through several sections on basic spellcasting, honestly just more review for her. She read it anyway, just in case there was something different in there or it started using unfamiliar terms later in the book. She was just making it to the part she was hoping to find about utilizing magic from outside sources when the door opened and Applejack walked in.

"Howdy Twi," declared Applejack as she took a moment to fan herself off with her hat.

"Applejack," Twilight greeted her cheerily as she put the book down. "What brings you here?"

"Just checkin up on ya." She said as she sat down at the table before pulling a couple daffodil sandwiches from a bag. "Also figurin Ah'd join ya fer lunch. If'n you don't mind the company."

Twilight's stomach gave a rumble as she eyed the sandwich hungrily.

"Heh heh, Ah'll take that as a yes," the farm pony said as she slid the sandwich closer to the alicorn.

Twilight floated the sandwich up to her mouth, her body giving a little shiver as she took a few bites. Without realizing it, she had devoured the rest of it a few moments later.

"Hot dang, Twi." Applejack gave an astonished look at the now sandwich-less spot. "You eatin fer two or somethin?"

"No," Twilight said, feeling a bit red behind the ears. "Apparently it's an alicorn thing. I asked Princess Celestia about it and she said it was completely normal. It seems the other three princesses also got increased appetites for the first couple years after ascending." Twilight seemed lost in thought for a moment. "Come to think of it, that sort of explains the extra large meals I always saw Cadence eating whenever she was foalsitting."

"Well, it sounds to me like you need this more than me," she said as she slid the other sandwich over. Twilight looked at it hungrily but was hesitant to take her friend's food. "Ah won't hear of it," Applejack said as she reached up and pulled an apple out of her hat. "Ah'll have to remember that if Ah ever find myself with a lot of extra food." She took a big bite of the apple. "Ah'd still be sure you get some proper exercise though. You been outside at all today?"

"I was going to stretch my legs after a little while longer," she poked at the book in front of her. "I found a new book downstairs that's been recommended I read."

Applejack looked at the cover of the book and gave a small snort after reading the title, "somepony havin a go at you? C'mon Twi, we all know yer smarter than that. Ah may not be the readin type but even Ah can tell when a book is mockin ya."

"Normally I'd agree with you, but it's come to my attention today that I've missed something big about magic," Twilight reflected while placing a hoof on the cover.

"How'd ya figure?" Asked Applejack.

"I saw Random cast an age spell on Blueblood when he showed up on my doorstep... Again," Twilight said flatly. All her friends knew by this point how much that pony was getting on her nerves. "But when I had a chance to ask Random about it and he had me try casting one on a flower, he was downright furious. Said I was doing it all wrong."

"Speakin of Random," Applejack started up. "You missed quite the show in the market, today."

"Hmmm?" Twilight wondered, "What happened?"

"There was some kind of scuffle between him and Cloud Kicker," she went on to say. "Ah'm not rightly sure what exactly happened, but Ah heard folk's sayin they heard her shoutin at him something fierce about Blossomforth and takin responsibility or somethin. Ah don't rightly know all the details. Maybe he went and got somepony knocked up."

Twilight blushed so hard and so fast that her face quickly resembled a bright red cherry. Words failed to leave her mouth as her bottom lip trembled in shock.

"Heh," Applejack chuckled as she gave her a friendly nudge. "Relax Twi, Ah'm just messin. Ya know how ponies can git when there's somepony new in town. Besides," she gave her a small wink. "It'd be way too soon to tell if'n that happened anyhow."

"Applejack!!" Twilight exclaimed, shocked on how casually she was discussing this.

"It's probably just some big misunderstandin. It usually is with stuff like this," Applejack finished off the rest of her apple before she got a bit more serious. "Listen Twi. Ah want you to be careful around that Random feller."

Twilight eyes lit in curiosity, "how come?"

"Well, Ah asked the mayor if'n she ever heard of anypony by that name, especially if there was one who lived here before. She went and dug through them records dating all the way back to the founding of Ponyville and there ain't ever been nopony named Random Fact as far as she can tell, plus there's also..." Applejack went quiet for a moment.

"There's also what?" Twilight looked at her friend in concern.

"Now Ah don't wanna scare you, Twi, but did Fluttershy come round tellin you bout her scared animals?" The farm pony asked.

"She did..." Twilight said apprehensively. "It sounded really scary."

"Well, she came round to our place tellin the same story and Ah tell ya what." She scooted a bit closer and dropped to a whisper. "Granny had quite the story of her own to tell. Seems she remembers seein a pony like that one Fluttershy saw way back when she was round my age."

Twilight swallowed hard, a bit nervous to hear more. "And?" She tentatively asked.

"Well," she continued, a bit more relaxed. "Back when there was no Ponyville and it was just us Apples gettin their start. You heard the story of how she found them zap apple trees?"

Twilight nodded as she finished off the second sandwich.

"Well that wha'nt the only thing they saw in the Everfree that they couldn't really explain." Applejack fell into storytelling mode. "She said that every once in a while, the forest would get unusually quiet. It scared em at first but eventually they used it as an opportunity to gather up the wild herbs in the forest since the more dangerous critters wouldn't bother em."

"Sound's like the Apple family was very resourceful in the old days," Twilight commented.

"Heck, we're still pretty resourceful now," Applejack quipped. "But anyway, a couple times this happened, they'd run into the corpse of a manticore or a broken timberwolf or some other monster you can find out there. They thought bout it a couple times, askin the princess for help, but they knew what they were gettin into with settlin so close to the forest. Well anyway, one of the days it got all quiet, they ended up wanderin in a bit further than normal, and that's when they saw it."

Twilight swallowed hard, "saw what?"

"A unicorn," said Applejack. "His fur was a golden color and you could just barely make out a brown mane and tail from under the green cloak he be wearin. But the biggest thing granny said she remembers... Was his eyes. Bright and green they were. Glowin with the kind of light that made you think that something wasn't quite right with that one. And when he looked at ya, his gaze just seemed to look straight down into yer soul."

"That sounds like what Fluttershy saw!" Twilight noticed.

"Ah thought so too," Applejack nodded. "They saw him every so often after that. He never got close and they weren't bout to test their luck that much. But with the way he looked when they saw him wanderin through them woods, they took to callin him the Everfree Shade."

"The Everfree Shade?" The alicorn questioned.

"Yeah, and fer some reason it bothers me," Applejack concluded. "That this here Shade shows up fer the first time in so long, the same time this new feller comes to town."

"That reminds me," Twilight remembered. "I saw Random's eyes glow green for a moment when he got mad. He also got really scary. Do you think it means something?"

"Ah dunno. Maybe," Applejack gave this some thought. "Ah wouldn't worry bout it too much if he hasn't tried to hurt ya, but Ah'd still be careful, Twi. Celestia only knows what might actually be goin on here."

Chapter 14: Chasing Ghosts

Princess Luna felt groggy the following day as she pulled herself out of bed. This was the second day in a row she had gotten up much earlier than normal and all the excitement last night hadn't helped either.

The enjoyable evening she had spent with her big sister had somehow ended with unscheduled thunderstorms starting up over Canterlot. Even after the pegasus she had been chasing slipped away in all the confusion, she still felt the need to go exploring the astral plane in hopes to learn something more. She was a bit more cautious when she approached the oaken door this time, but she needn't have bothered. The door was tightly bound with additional layers of protection and no amount of prodding would divulge any more of its secrets.

Luna once again made her way to her sister's study. Like before, her sister Celestia was looking bright and cheerful as she tended to the more boring tasks of ruling a kingdom.

"Oh!" Celestia said with surprise as she saw Luna enter. "Good afternoon, Luna. You're up early."

Luna groaned as she sat down. A maid quickly rushed in to serve Luna a cup of coffee before she had a chance to say more. She considered the cup for a moment and took a long drink of the steaming beverage before starting. "Yesterday, as I'm sure you already know, was quite exhausting."

"It was fun though, right?" Said Celestia, smiling. "I've always wondered what it would be like to go shopping with my little sister and now that I have, I can't wait for the next time." She set down whatever document she was working on and looked at her excitedly. "So... Don't keep me in suspense. How did it go with you and that young pegasus after I left?"

How could her sister have the audacity to ask such a question?! "How did it go?" Luna's ire caused Celestia's smile to falter a bit. "How did it go?! Thou picked the absolute worst time to depart. Maybe if the prospective suitor had romance on the mind, thy absence would hath been justified. Hast thou not received a report upon the morn about the conflict that started after you left nor the storm that followed overhead?"

Celestia's eyes went wide with shock as Luna continued describing the events that had transpired when Storm Chaser approached her. The only detail she left out was when he kissed her, her sister didn't need to know that and Luna was still confused about what he meant by emotional blackmail. "Your help would have been invaluable in apprehending him," she said at last. "I doubt he would have escaped with both of us there."

Celestia's face narrowed with concern as she parsed her sister's account of what happened last night. She began to rummage through the stacks of paper on her desk, her worrying expression growing by the moment. "If what you say is true, I wish I had been there."

Luna was incensed. She spread her wings as she puffed out her chest, "sister! Thou canst not believe that we would speak a falsehood on these matters."

"Calm down, Luna. I believe you. It's just... Here. Take a look." Celestia held out a form she had eventually dug out from the bottom of her stack of papers.

Luna took the parchment, still annoyed at her sister, believing that nothing she would read would calm her down right now. She quickly read through the sheet, seeing that it was a weather report regarding last night's storm and the efforts to clean it up afterwards. What caught her attention was who signed it. "Captain Spitfire?" Luna questioned. "It says nothing here about how the storm actually started."

"And that worries me," Celestia's concerned look didn't go away. "That's the only paperwork I've gotten from her this morning. Even though she loves putting on a show and making things flashy, she's a bit of a stickler about following the rules and having her paperwork in order. That's what really got her the position she's in. She would never leave out details like the ones you mentioned, even if it makes her and her squad look bad."

"Something is not right," Luna said as she turned towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Celestia called after her.

"I won't be able to sleep soundly without getting to the bottom of this. I'm hoping that Captain Spitfire might have some of the answers we seek," she said.

"Ok, just be careful," said Celestia as she went back to looking through her desk. "I'll check with a few of my other sources, but I have no idea what we're dealing with."

"I don't know what you expect me to say, your highness." Spitfire said as she looked over the paperwork that Princess Luna had presented her with. "Everything that happened was just as it was written in my report."

"That cannot be though," Luna was feeling a bit distraught. "Surely thou remembers the conflict with Storm Chaser and the fate that befell Soarin."

"Well I recognize the name Storm Chaser." Spitfire gave it some thought. "Our squad was running drills when we spotted him playing with the wind currents above the city. None of us had ever seen anything like what he was doing."

"We remember you said something of that nature to him at, what was the place called again?" She tried to remember the name of the place her and sister had visited. "Ah yes, The Electric Pegasus."

Spitfire looked at her strangely, "you were there last night?"

Luna began to feel a chill run down her spine. Something about all of this didn't feel right. "We are sure of it. We saw Storm Chaser talking with all three of you before everything happened."

"I'm pretty sure it was just me, Soarin, and Fleetfoot there last night." Spitfire was beginning to look uncomfortable with the direction of this conversation. "I mean, we invited Storm Chaser to join us, but he turned us down."

"Art thee truly saying that thou retains no memory of the thorough trouncing that thee received last night?" Luna questioned.

Spitfire looked doubly confused, but for a different reason, "forgive me your highness, but I didn't get any of that?"

Luna took a deep breath to calm herself, realizing that she had fallen too much into the old dialect. "Do you not remember the fight where you got your flanks thoroughly kicked?" She thought she said that right.

"I think I would've remembered losing a fight," she strained her memory as she tried to recall. "All I remember was that we had a night on the town, we drank a few drinks, danced poorly, and Soarin left early cause he wasn't feeling well. After that, we saw the unscheduled storm and worked with the weather teams to get it under control."

Luna settled back into her seat before taking a few deep breaths. There's no way she dreamt this all up, is there? "Where is Soarin now?" She finally asked.

"Probably still sleeping off a hangover. Why?" Said Spitfire.

"We would like to ascertain his condition before we even consider dropping our inquiry," she said. "We remember his condition quite well, He was unconscious and drained of his magic."

"Well he's got an apartment here in Canterlot," Spitfire got up from her desk. "I can take you there."

"You don't have to trouble yourself. I'm sure you have other duties to attend to," said Luna.

"Nothing's more important than making sure my friends and fellow Wonderbolts are ok," she snapped. "And nothing's going to stop me from making sure Soarin's ok after what you just told me."

"Very well," said Luna stepping aside and letting the captain pass. "Lead on."

They flew over the damp rooftops of the city. Here and there they could spot scattered branches and flooded lawns from last night's storm. No matter how she looked at it, it really did seem farfetched that all of this could've been caused by a single pegasus.

Spitfire guided her to a landing beside an ordinary building in a suburban part of the city. The place wasn't particularly big and just had a simple blue door leading in and out of the unit.

"Soarin lives here?" She looked at the place questioningly. "Can't Wonderbolts afford better accommodations?"

"We can, but it can be a lot of hassle when we're on tour." Spitfire stepped up to the door and knocked. "Usually we just stay in the barracks. I think Soarin just needed some place to get away every once in a while."

A few moments later, they heard the distinct sound of the door unlatching itself before swinging open.

If Luna had ever doubted herself more than she did at that moment, she couldn't think of when it could be. For as the door swung open, standing there in front of them was Soarin himself.

They must've caught him half asleep cause it took a moment for him to register who was in front of him. However, once he did notice, he quickly straightened up and gave a quick salute.

"Princess Luna. Captain Spitfire." Soarin saluted them both even while having a confused look on his face. "Is there something wrong?"

"At ease," said Spitfire. "I'm just here following a lead. May we come in?"

Soaring relaxed a bit but then immediately cringed, "it's kinda messy in here." His eyes shot to Luna for a moment.

"We wouldn't wish to intrude on your personal dwellings," Luna was feeling particularly disheartened at this point. Had she just dreamed everything from last night after all?

"I'm afraid I must insist," Spitfire said while staying very professional.

Soarin opened the door the rest of the way, "as long as you don't mind the mess."

"We won't be staying long," Spitfire nodded as she let herself inside while Luna had to duck slightly to do the same.

The space inside was mostly vacant. Luna had been led to believe that the so called 'bachelor pad' would be pretty cozy and comfortable, however this was missing any sort of furniture. All they found inside was a bunch of boxes and empty cartons of instant noodles strewn about.

"It's kinda empty in here," Spitfire observed.

"Yeah, you caught me at a bad time," Soarin rubbed the back of his head. "This is the last of the things I needed before the move. This is my last day here."

"I see," she said as she looked back and forth through the mostly empty room.

"Can I ask what you're looking for?" Soarin looked at her curiously.

"I received a report that you had been injured recently," she said, skirting the truth slightly. "However nothing had been properly filed so I decided to check up on you myself."

"Well as you can see, I'm perfectly fine," Soarin straightened up, only to immediately wince and hold his head. "Well, except for the hangover, but I kinda expected that after last night."

Spitfire nodded, "I see. Sorry to bother you. Good luck with the rest of your move."

She turned to leave and Luna made to follow. Spitfire made it a few steps before turning back to her second, "while we're out here, you wanna grab some pie. My treat?" She asked casually.

Soarin shook his head, "nah. Movers will be here soon and I don't want to miss them."

Both ponies were flying back in the direction of the castle. Luna was thoroughly annoyed with herself that despite what she remembered of the previous night, everything seemed to be fine.

She was about to fly back in the direction of the castle when Spitfire cut off her path and hovered in front of her. "Back to my office," she said quietly and seriously. "And don't act like anything's wrong."

Luna quietly followed the captain back to her office. The silence persisted until they were both inside and Spitfire finished closing and latching the door behind them. Once they were shut, Luna heard the pegasus let out a long tiring sigh.

"We assume there's a reason you wished for us to return with you?" Luna wondered. She had been wondering the whole trip back.

"I'm glad you brought this to my attention," the pegasus said. "I knew something was off, but I wasn't sure until I saw Soarin's apartment. I like to stay pretty involved with everypony in my squad and for the life of me, I can't remember when Soarin actually got an apartment." She moved towards the shelves and began rummaging around.

"Is that a problem?" Luna asked.

"It wouldn't be if it wasn't for the other thing," Spitfire said.

"And what's that?" Luna looked on concerned.

"Everypony's still a bit on edge after the changeling invasion that happened during the royal wedding, and even though it's been a while since that happened," she said. "It's made each of us pay a lot closer attention to each others personality quirks. Soarin, for example, would never give up the chance at free pie."

Luna's eyes went wide with what she thought she was hearing. "What are you saying?"

Spitfire finally located a black folder from the shelf and placed it on her desk before sitting down. "I don't know who or what that just was we just talked to. But it definitely wasn't Soarin."

Chapter 15: The Everfree Shade

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Twilight?" Asked Fluttershy as all their friends gathered outside her cottage.

"Pretty sure," she said as she looked out to the forest and then back to her friends. "It's not too dark yet and we're only going to stick to the safer paths unless we see something."

"Ah understand why you'd wanna meet this Shade Ah been tellin ya about," said Applejack. "But did ya ever stop ta think this might be a bit dangerous?"

"Darling, I quite agree with Applejack," Rarity said as she fixed a shawl over her mane. "The Everfree forest is no place for civilized ponies like us."

"I know Rarity, but I'm just concerned about this turning out the same as the time we all hid from Zecora." Twilight responded.

"How ya figure," Rainbow Dash said with a yawn.

"Well duh," said Pinkie Pie with an eye roll. "Mysterious figure with their face hidden behind a cloak. Their eyes shining out from the darkness as they roam around while being suspicious and mysterious. Any of this ringing any bells?"

"Huh," Rainbow thought it over. "Now that you mention it, yeah. That sounds just like what happened before."

"Exactly," concluded Twilight. "We all remember how that went. How it was all just one big misunderstanding. I think we'd all prefer not to have a repeat of that little episode. I think we should give this pony a chance before we all just make up our minds about him."

"Yeah," said a smug Rainbow. "Besides, when we're all together, what's the worse that could happen?"

Pinkie Pie bolted up to Rainbow dash, a panicked look on her face. "Dashie! You've doomed us all! Do you know the flag you just triggered?!"

"Who's idea was this again?!" Screeched Rarity as they all scrambled over another fallen tree. A pack of timberwolves close on their heels.

They had made it about halfway into the woods when Pinkie felt the need to burst out into song. The song was something about branches and paths and taking the road on the right, or something of that nature. She didn't even make it to the second verse when a deepthroated growl broke through from the underbrush. Needless to say, they probably should've taken the road on the left.

"Less yappin more runnin!" Applejack shouted as she doubled back and kicked one of the wolves that were getting a bit too close. The magical wood that made up its body resounded with a dull thud as it tumbled backwards into the rest of its pack, its body exploding into pieces.

The timberwolves leapt over the body of their fallen companion as they continued their pursuit of the creatures that had wandered into their territory.

"How long are these things going to keep chasing us?!" Shouted Rainbow Dash as she dodged the snapping jaws of a wolf that had just leapt out of the side brush.

"They should give up after we get out of the forest," Twilight breathed hard as her hooves continued to pound on the dirt. "We should get out of here soon as long as we don't run into any more of them."

"Twilight!" Pinkie Pie screamed. "Didn't you learn already not to say things like that?! You'll trigger another flag!"

"Pinkie! What are you...?!" Twilight skid to a halt as several more sets of eyes poked up out of the brushes in front of them.

"More of them?!" Shouted an exasperated Rarity as she nearly tumbled straight into Twilight.

Twilight quickly fired magic from her horn as one of the new wolves ran straight at them. Its body burst into kindling as it was struck by the magical bolt. They took advantage of the momentary distraction as all six ponies made their way through the opening she just made. They would have stayed and fought, but past experience with these creatures taught them that even if they broke them into pieces, it wouldn't take long before they put themselves back together. Even as they cleared the second pack, Twilight looked behind her to see that the pieces of the timberwolf she had just blasted apart was already floating up from the ground and coming back together.

"I don't know what's got them so agitated!" Fluttershy struggled to keep up. "I've never seen so many of them at once before!"

Another wolf jumped at the group of ponies from seemingly out of nowhere. Most of the party was able to dodge it. However, poor Fluttershy collided with the creature and went tumbling through the underbrush.

"Fluttershy!" The rest of them shouted in unison as they all turned around to find their fallen friend.

The rest of the timberwolves had already encircled the downed pegasus by the time they had turned around. Twilight could barely make out her yellow coat through the maze of branches and legs. She began to desperately fire her magic at the monsters surrounding her friend, but for every wolf she took down, two more took its place.

"I'm coming Fluttershy!" Shouted Rainbow as she took to the air. She tried to dive in close to where she had landed but another wolf blocked her off at every attempt to get close.

They all caught a small glimpse of the scared pegasus. One of her legs had ended up wedged under a tree in the fall and her wings and hair had ended up ensnared by the twisting thorns in the underbrush.

Try as they might, they couldn't get any closer to their friend. Fluttershy huddled down on the ground, attempting to make herself seem small in front of the magical creatures. Green fog rolled from the open mouths of the timberwolves as they closed in on her. One of them, eager to make the kill, coiled up on its hind legs and leapt forward, ready to sink its splintery teeth into the exposed flesh.

The forest went deathly silent.

Not the kind of silence that one would expect from predators finishing a hunt, but an eerie sort of silence.

Fluttershy timidly removed one of her shaking hooves from her face, still terrified but was now wondering how she was still alive. As she opened her eyes, the forest suddenly seemed a bit darker. Almost instantly she locked eyes on the timberwolf that had just leapt at her. Its jaw was wedged around something that hadn't been standing there moments ago.

A trickle of blood could be seen leaking out from around the wolf's teeth. It was not, however, trying to maul whatever it had its jaws locked around. If anything, the expression on its face told a story more of shock and dread, than of delight.

She followed the wolf's gaze upward and immediately felt a fresh shiver of fear run down her spine. The pony she had seen the last time she wandered into these woods stood over her. His luminescent green eyes piercing the darkness from within his hood as he looked down with contempt at the thing that had just bitten him.

The sound of rattling sticks could be heard all around them as the rest of the wolves dropped low to the ground and began to slowly back away. Not once did any of them take their eyes off the group standing in the middle of their pack as they watched for any sign of weakness in the true monster that had been invading their territory.

"Don't move," the Shade said calmly to Fluttershy as the wolf fastened around his leg began to smolder. Smoke beginning to rapidly pour out from in between its joints as the light faded from its eyes.

With a pop, the timberwolf shattered into splinters. Every stray piece of wood that made up its body igniting into a green magical fire before it even reached the ground. The pieces quickly burning to ash as they settled onto the damp forest floor.

Twilight and the rest of her party watched in awe as the downed wolf actually stayed down. Was that how it worked? If you burned them they didn't come back? The shade slowly lifted his gaze to the rest of the ponies, Twilight suddenly understanding what Fluttershy had meant about his eyes. The way he looked at you felt like he was staring deep into your soul, everything that made you what you are was on full display to his piercing gaze.

The shade turned his gaze back on the wolves that had surrounded him. The wolves, suddenly deciding that their hunt was over, began to scramble over each other in an attempt to get away from the much more dangerous predator as fast as possible. He turned his gaze back down to the trembling Fluttershy one last time before sighing and slowly stepping away from her.

"Fluttershy! Are you alright?!" Cried Twilight as she and the other four ponies galloped up to Fluttershy and with their combined efforts, freed her from the underbrush.

Fluttershy threw herself at her friends the moment she was freed. A moment was spent with her practically being crushed under their loving embrace. "I'll be ok," she finally answered.

Twilight turned to look at the Shade. He currently had one of his golden legs raise to his mouth. A ring of blood could be seen dripping from an open wound as Twilight saw him use his teeth to pull a long thick sliver of wood from his leg, most likely from the timberwolf that bit him.

"Thank you for saving Fluttershy," Twilight gave him a small bow. She looked at his leg as she lifted her gaze, "are you going to be alright?"

"I've had worse," the Shade's voice sounded deep and rich, like a pony that could easily command respect from his peers.

Fluttershy had broken out of the group hug and was pushing past Twilight. She had a look of concern on her face as she approached the cloaked pony. It was clearly taking no small amount of courage to do so, if the way she was shaking was anything to go by.

"Thank you for saving me." She looked down at his bloodied leg, "oh but you got hurt because of me."

"It's fine," he shifted his cloak to hide the leg.

"Nonsense darling," said Rarity as she trotted up alongside Fluttershy. "A nasty wound like that needs to be bound up right away." She reached down with her magic and pulled the injured leg in front of her. She pulled off her shawl, ready to use it to bind the leg, but as she inspected the leg, her jaw dropped. "That's just not possible!" She exclaimed.

The bite into the leg had already sealed up and the blood that had been soaked into the surrounding coat was already dry and flaking off. "I told you it was fine." He pulled his leg away from her and out of sight, "what I want to know is what you lot think you're doing out here if you can't defend yourselves?"

"We were actually looking for you," said Twilight as she looked suspiciously at the now healed leg. When did he cast a spell? Come to think of it, she hadn't seen how he set that timberwolf on fire either.

He looked up at her and tilted his head, "and why exactly were you looking for me?"

"Curiosity mostly," Applejack interjected. "Mah family's got stories bout a pony wanderin these woods that fits yer description."

"And to invite you to a super duper awesome party where you can make a whole bunch of new friends," Pinkie cheered.

"Sounds to me like you all took a stupid risk that almost got one of you killed," his eyes swept over them. Each of them felt themselves flinch as they made eye contact with him.

"Hey!" Protested Rainbow Dash. "I could've taken them if there weren't so many."

The shade took a few steps forward until he was looming over the rainbow pegasus. Rainbow shirked away from him a bit but was seeming to do her best to remain firm. "Excuses don't bring back the dead," the stallion finally said.

"Um..." Fluttershy timidly said. "It's true though. I've been into the forest many times and I've never seen so many timberwolves at once."

"That's most likely my fault," the shade said apologetically as he stepped away from Rainbow. "My presence in the forest seems to have agitated them."

"What exactly are you doing in the forest?" Asked Twilight.

"Searching for something," he answered.

Twilight swallowed hard, "what are you searching for that would be in the Everfree forest?" She asked nervously. "Maybe we could help you find it."

The Shade turned his eyes on her, once again sending an unsettling feeling racing through her that seemed to happened whenever those glowing eyes looked at her. "No, what I'm searching for is very dangerous and I'd rather not have other ponies affected by it," he answered. "It's my own problem to deal with and it's clearly too dangerous out here for all of you. Come with me, I'll see you out of these woods."

The group slowly made its way out of the forest, the mares in the group warily looking at the trees surrounded them for signs of danger. Once or twice, Twilight could've sworn she had seen something move in the underbrush, but so far nothing seemed to want to bother them.

Twilight looked ahead to their guide, he hadn't once looked back at them since they started following him. It seemed he wished to be left alone for the most part, but Twilight's curiosity got the better of her.

"Um..." Twilight hesitantly broached the silence. "Mister Shade, sir?" She asked.

The stallion stopped and turned his head to her. The unsettling feeling was still there, but this time it seemed a bit more curious. "Mister Shade?" He asked with a questioning tone. "There's a name I haven't been called before. Is something bothering you?"

"I was just wondering," Twilight took a few steps closer, her curiosity overtaking her fear. "Do your eyes always glow like that?"

"Oh this?" He said without slowing his pace. "It's just a little trick I've picked up over the years. It lets me see the magic in the world around me in greater detail. You can't be too careful in the wilder areas of the world and it helps me with my search."

"Wait," Twilight was astonished. "You can see more than just unicorn magic?"

"Yes," the shade said as he walked away from her, seemingly annoyed with the questions.

"Can you teach me?" Twilight asked enthusiastically. "I'd love to learn how to do that."

"No," he said flatly as he continued down the path.

Twilight puffed out her cheeks in annoyance before chasing after him.

It was evening by the time they reached the edge of the woods near Fluttershy's cottage. They all heard the Shade give a sigh of relief as the light in his eyes dimmed down to nothing.

"I trust you all can avoid getting lost from here," he said.

Twilight nodded as she saw his eyes for the first time without the light obscuring them. They were a deep green, and the parts of his face that she could make out looked quite young. She didn't think this could possibly be the same Shade that Granny Smith saw all those years ago.

"We'll be fine from here," Twilight said. "Are you sure you don't want our help? How do you even know what you're looking for is in the forest?"

The Shade looked at her, his eyes no longer having the unsettling feeling they had before when they were glowing. He seemed to be considering her for a moment, "I'm sure." He finally said. "You all seem like a nice bunch of girls and I wouldn't want to see you get hurt. As for how I know it's here, I've been tracking the amulet for a while. I came out this way cause I heard stories of a traveling magician who stirred up all sorts of trouble here in Ponyville with some sort of amulet she found. Figured I'd come out this way and see if its the same as the one I'm looking for."

"Hey Twilight," Pinkie jumped in. "That sounds like..." Was all she got out before she found a cyan hoof slapped over her mouth.

The Shade turned to Rainbow Dash, "is she ok?"

"Yeah," said Rainbow while doing her best to keep Pinkie from talking. "She just gets a bit jumpy if she's missed lunch."

"I see," a slight rumble could be heard coming from underneath his cloak. "I could probably go for a good meal myself. I'll see you around Twilight Sparkle." With a snap of green magic, he vanished right in front of them.

Pinkie a loud, possibly exaggerated gasp, "he's gone!"

"Pinkie..." Twilight face hoofed. "That was just a teleportation spell. You see me do that all the time."

"Oh yeah..." Pinkie quickly shifted into a cheery smile as she bounced away.

"Enough of that," Applejack jumped in. "Twi, Ah know if'n Ah caught what it sounds like he's lookin fer, then Ah'm sure ya'll did as well."

Twilight's face narrowed in consternation, "I did, Applejack. That worries me. He seems powerful enough already with the way he easily dealt with the wolves. I'd hate to think what would happen if he actually found the Alicorn Amulet."

"We all remember how bad Trixie went when she was wearing it," said Rainbow. "We're just lucky that she only used it to show off."

"What are you thinking, Darling?" Asked Rarity as she caught Twilight contemplating something.

Twilight looked up at the setting sun, "nothing tonight. It's getting awfully late and I don't wanna run into more timberwolves so soon. I don't think there's any real danger of the Shade finding the amulet, we did hide it pretty well. But I think I'll go see Zecora in the morning just to make sure."

Chapter 16: Checking In

With a pop, Random reappeared back in Cloud Kicker's house.

He didn't bother to put his disguise back on. It was getting tiring to keep reapplying it and since the other ponies in this house had already seen him without it, there wouldn't be any point to putting it back on.

He made his way to the upstairs bedroom to find both the pegasus Cloud Kicker and the changeling Blossomforth still lying in bed together. Cloud Kicker looked like she was about to bolt out of bed when he entered and she would have if she hadn't recognized the stallion she had last seen covered in vines.

"You startled me," she said. "I wasn't expecting you back so soon."

"It's evening," the golden unicorn said. "I was last here this morning."

"Is it?" Cloud Kicker strained to look out the window but forgot that they had drawn the curtains for privacy. "I must've nodded off."

"How's she doing?" Random came in and laid down down beside the bed. "Has she woken up at all?"

"She did for a little bit," she leaned in and placed a soft kiss on the changeling's forehead. "She must still be really out of it." She gave a small chuckle, "I was kind of expecting her to panic when she woke up as something other than a pegasus, but she just nuzzled into me and went back to sleep after a few minutes."

"She must really trust you if she still feels safe even when she's exposed like this," he said.

"We've been friends for a really long time. I'm sure she's had her reasons why she didn't tell me." She leaned up and looked at him, "so this is what you really look like? I only caught a glimpse of it before back at the library."

Random lowered his hood and nodded.

"You look good." She blushed a bit. "Grey and green aren't really your colors anyway. You must have your own reasons for wanting to stay hidden. I'm not gonna pry though."

Random chuckled a bit, "I appreciate that. It's nothing too exciting though. Just know that there are certain ponies that would recognize me in an instant and that's something I would rather avoid right now."

"Well I know you can't be a bad pony," she said. "A bad pony would've left us to our fate. You even went and found a doctor that can keep quiet."

"Doctor?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Doctor Smokey?" Cloud Kicker looked at him nervously. "You did send for him right? Blossomforth started breathing easier after some potion he gave her."

"Oh him..." Random quickly amended while starting to sweat a bit. "Sorry, it's been a long day."

"How did you find a pony that knew how to treat changelings?" She asked.

"Oh you just have to know who to ask the right questions." He started sweating a bit. "Where is this doctor now?"

"Did you not see him on the way in? He said he was going to wait for you to return," She said.

"I must've missed him on the way in," he opened the door and stepped back outside. "I did teleport right to the stairs. I'll go talk to him now. You get some rest."

He quietly closed the door behind him, not giving the pegasus a chance to ask any more questions. As soon as the door was closed, he raced down the stairs and began checking every room. The place was small and he didn't have to look for very long before he found the doctor just relaxing in the kitchen while playing with vials of various components.

"Doctor Smokey, I presume?" He asked with an annoyed tone.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," said the light green earth pony stallion wearing a white lab coat and silver spectacles. He rustled his blonde mane as he blew out a small puff of smoke from the lit cigarette in his mouth. "I was starting to think you forgot about that poor nymph."

"How are you up and about?" Random looked at him, confused. "I know I only activated Storm Chaser's crystal."

Smokey used some tweezers to pull some sort of plant out of a boiling pot before adding it to one of the vials. "I think you can thank Whisper for that," he said as the liquid changed colors. "She must've seen the trouble you were in and sent help."

"Does she have to stick her nose in my problems?" Random asked no one in particular.

"She's worried about you," Smokey said quietly. "She's worried that holding onto that thing for so long is having an effect on you."

"What do you mean?" He raised an eyebrow at him.

"She saw the way you snapped at Twilight," Smokey observed. "She hasn't seen you lose your temper like that in a long time."

Random turned away, embarrassed, "she's probably right. It has been taking a lot out of me just to keep him restrained. It probably would be easier if I just got some help like she keeps telling me to."

"So why don't you?" Smokey asked somberly as he went back to stiring.

"I can't really forgive the way the Equestrians betrayed me," he recalled. "Nor can I so easily forgive Celestia after what she did to Luna."

"What do you think Starswirl would think of your actions?" Smokey asked him.

"Heh," Random laughed. "He'd probably still be berating me for making the amulet in the first place. He was always worried what would happen if I lost it."

"As it turns out, he was right," a small smile found its way onto the earth pony's face. "That thing has been nothing but trouble."

"Laugh it up," said the unicorn. "Go on about how losing it was the worst thing that could've happened, second only to creating the thing in the first place."

Smokey took a long draw on his fire stick, "nah. Berating you may have been enjoyable once, but it got old some time ago."

Random gave Smokey an annoyed look, "anyway. There's also the mess that Storm Chaser started up," he said, changing the subject. "He went and started a brawl in Canterlot while finishing his mission."

Smokey chewed on the end of his cigarette, "did he now?" He seemed unsurprised, "well you did foresee some trouble once you got our spell working. How badly has that blown up?"

"It's not that bad," Random continued. "It happened in the middle of the night and Spectrum's already cleaned it up before too many had a chance to notice."

"Hmmm," Smokey nodded along. "He finished his mission though?"

"He did," Random said hesitantly. "But then he had to go steal a kiss from Luna while he was at it."

Smokey's face lit up, showing more emotion than he had up to this point. "Did he now?" He said with a smile. "I bet that's got you all kinds of bothered. Anyway, I've already spotted a pony with the magic I need to power our... Contingency."

Random raised an eyebrow at this, "already? That was fast. Did you already...?"

The earth pony shook his head. "I'm not Storm Chaser. I'm not about to go and start a mess unless it can't be helped," he said. "That pegasus has always been a bit impatient. That's not a problem I should have to deal with though."

"Good thing too," the unicorn said as he flinched before quickly drawing the lower part of his cloak around him. "Spectrum may be really good at what he does, but I can't expect him to be in more than one place at a time."

The action didn't go unnoticed as Smokey gave him a serious look and held his hoof out to Random. "Let me see it," he said.

"It's fine," Random insisted. "I just got bit by a timberwolf earlier."

"You're a terrible liar," said Smokey as one of his hooves shot into the cloak. "You and I both know that flesh wounds hardly bother you."

As the injured hoof was pulled from inside the cloak, Smokey's eyes went wide as Random looked away, ashamed. Shadows were crawling all over his golden fur and a foul stench was coming off it. "How bad is it?" The unicorn asked.

"You know how bad it is," Smokey said seriously. "But since you want me to tell you the bad news, I will. I give you a day at the most before the seal breaks completely. Less if you keep pushing yourself."

"I guess I better hurry then," said Random as he once again vanished from the room.

Chapter 18: Night Raid

Princess Luna flew through the night sky above Canterlot once she had finished raising the moon. For a moment she thought about making this night darker than normal. However with what they had planned for tonight, it was more important that nothing seem out of place so as not to alert their target.

She flew low over the tops of the building as she made her way to the designated location. Only a few houses still had their lights on since many ponies would already be in bed this late. Once she made her way over one last rooftop, she found the flat where the royal guard and a great number of her own night guard were milling about. The bat ponies could be seen taking off and landing at regular intervals. They were wearing their customary night guard armor, the darker hues of their outfits barely catching any of the moonlight as they flitted from place to place.

Luna quietly landed and was soon approached by a pair of unicorns, they both wore darker garments in order to obscure their much brighter coats. Luna could see hints of yellow and orange peeking in around their black masks so she could assume the camouflage was necessary.

"Halt," one of the unicorns said in a quiet voice. "You may only pass once we've verified your identity."

Spitfire had told her about the checkpoint she'd have to pass once she landed. They were all operating under the assumption that they were dealing with a changeling incursion and that everyone would have to undergo a magical screening when they arrived on site, royalty was no exception.

Luna stood still while she let the two guards do their jobs. The unicorn that hadn't spoken stepped forward and cast a soft blue field over her that made Luna's fur tingle for a moment before withdrawing. Seemingly satisfied, the unicorn stepped back and nodded to their companion.

The first unicorn gave Luna a curt salute, "my apologies, Princess Luna. Security's tight right now."

"We shall not fault thee for only performing thy duties," Luna maintained a stern demeanor, it was all business tonight. "Take me to the command tent."

"Right away your highness," the unicorn beckoned for her to follow. "This way."

Luna got a good look at the makeshift camp as she was guided through it. Ponies of all tribes could be found throughout it, all wearing dark outfits similar to what her escort was wearing. The only ones dressed differently were the bat ponies, which were here in great number. She could see them ringed all around the edges of the roof, their yellow and red eyes constantly sweeping the streets below and the skies above. They were chosen for this duty mainly for their ability to operate so well at night. Their ability to fly silently as well as their natural night vision were immense assets with the stealth they needed tonight.

She was escorted up to the edge overlooking Soarin's apartment where another dark robed pony was quietly giving orders. The two guards at her side gave the pony a salute, "we've brought you Princess Luna."

"I'll take it from here," came the voice of Spitfire from behind the mask. "Return to your stations."

"Captain Spitfire," greeted Luna once her escort had departed. "How does everything appear this evening?"

"Unnervingly quiet," She beckoned in the direction of the lit room down below them. Inside they could see Soarin, or more accurately, the imposter pretending to be Soarin sitting comfortably and reading a book. "The more I watch him, the more I'm convinced that isn't Soarin. He's never been the 'sit quietly and read' type. Plus we did a little digging on this residence."

"Did you find something?" Luna asked curiously.

"We did," Spitfire said incredulously. "According to the landlord, Soarin's been living there for half a year. However, when we checked on the utilities that this place uses, it all came up empty."

"Empty?" Luna raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Spitfire nodded. "According to them, Nopony's lived here for about two months. Same goes for the paper route and local market. They've only started seeing Soarin today."

Luna took another look down at the apartment, everything still seemed very quiet. "What's your professional opinion?"

"That whoever is down there set this place in a hurry and wasn't too concerned with covering all the details," Spitfire reported.

"How long until we proceed?" Luna asked calmly.

"Now that you're here, we're just waiting on our last patrol to check in," she said. "Hopefully there won't be anything for you to do. We just needed either you or Princess Celestia here in the event we encounter Queen Chrysalis."

Luna gave her a nod, "so we're operating under the assumption that this is another invasion attempt."

"We don't want to take any chances. Everypony's still on edge with how badly we were beaten during Princess Cadenza's wedding." Spitfire looked up into the sky, "here comes the last patrol."

A bat pony touched down near them. Luna instantly recognized her from among her night guard due to her being one of the ponies with a bit more color to them. She had streaks of red, black, and purple running through her mane and her red eyes almost glowed in the moonlight.

The mare approached and gave them a quick salute, "Private Jimmy Hook, reporting in."

"At ease, private. Give us your report." Spitfire saluted back.

"At once ma'am. Skies still remain clear with no signs of additional movement from within the residence. Everything still seems a little too quiet." Jimmy concluded her report.

"How long have you been on patrol tonight?" Spitfire asked.

"Four hours, ma'am," reported Jimmy.

"You're relieved for now," ordered Spitfire. "I want you rested and ready to mobilize at any time if this turns into a shit show."

"At once ma'am. Thank you ma'am." Jimmy then turned to Princess Luna and gave one last salute, "it's an honor to have you with us tonight, Princess Luna."

Luna gave the energetic guard a nod along with a small smile, "the honor is mine to have such loyal guards serving us in this time of need."

While they finished their little exchange, Spitfire sent out runners to the various corners of their makeshift camp. The operation would soon begin.

"On my mark. Three... Two... One. Go Go Go!"

On Spitfire's command, the unicorns that had spread themselves out around the complex all fired off a series of magical blasts in through the windows. The spells detonated and filled the night with a blinding light while the earth ponies quickly broke down the front door.

All at once, the remaining flyers swarmed over the building as earth ponies and unicorns rushed in to secure the residence.

"Residence has been secured," reported a unicorn stationed at the command tent, his horn alit with the communication spell.

As the flash of light died down, they could see Soarin still relaxing as he had been all evening, not once seeming to care about the intruders. Commands to surrender that they could hear from their station were being completely ignored.

"Living room is secured but the target is refusing to acknowledge us," came the report.

"Take them down," ordered Spitfire.

"At once," the unicorn saluted before relaying the order.

The shouts and grunts came from below were soon followed by shouts of outrage and confusion.

"What's happening down there?!" Growled the captain.

"I'm... I'm not sure..." The unicorn seemed to strain his eyes in concentration. "Report's coming in." His jaw dropped, "the target is incorporeal! I repeat, the target appears to be some kind of illusion! We are currently searching the remainder of the residence."

"What?!" Shouted Spitfire in outrage. "Have we been guarding an empty building all this time?!"

"Reports are coming in, ma'am," the report continued. "Two hostages have been found bound in a bedroom closet and... uh..."

"What is it?!" Demanded Spitfire.

"Ma'am," the unicorn saluted, even as sweat started to roll down his face. "The hostages have been identified as lieutenant Soarin and private Jimmy Hook."

"What?!" Roared Princess Luna as she whipped her head around and tried to locate the member of her night guard she had just seen. The red streaks of her mane should have her stand out from among her fellow bat ponies, but no matter how hard the princess looked, she could see no sign of her.

Spitfire shouted out to the rest of the camp, "everypony scramble! Find that bat pony and bring her to me!" She pointed a hoof at the unicorn with the communication spell, "I want those hostages immediately processed and brought into camp!"

A few minutes later found them sitting in the medical tent. Lieutenant Soarin, the real Soarin, was stretched out on a cot while medics looked him over. Not much could be made out from what they were saying, but it was clear they were completely baffled by his loss of color and missing cutiemark.

Several paces away found the now naked member of the Lunar Guard wrapped in a blanket. Luna sat directly next to the shaken Jimmy Hook, the wing she wrapped around her bringing a small blush of embarrassment to the bat pony's face.

Spitfire took a few deep breaths as she approached the rescued member of the night guard, "ok private. In your own words, tell me what happened."

"Ok," Jimmy said timidly. Between losing her armor and being this close to the night princess, she was feeling more than a little vulnerable at the moment. "I arrived with the rest of the guard and we were screened for changelings the same as everypony else was. I started my patrol and everything stayed pretty quiet at first. About an hour into my patrol I started having trouble seeing, despite it being such a clear night." Jimmy started to strain, apparently having trouble remembering clearly, "I felt a sharp pain in my hind leg and the next thing I knew, I woke up bound and gagged and hovering over me was my twin wearing my armor." She shuffled nervously, "it was really unnerving."

"This isn't good," Spitfire pondered. "This means somepony else has been making your reports for at least the last three hours. And you didn't get close to the estate the whole time you were airborne?"

Jimmy shook her head, "no, I stayed a good distance away. I don't know how they managed to get the jump on me."

Their questioning was interrupted by another member of the night guard poking their head into the tent, "Commander Spitfire. We found something." They said just before passing a folded piece of paper over to her. "We found this on a discarded set of night armor several blocks away. The armor is currently with the magic division while they inspect it for tampering."

Spitfire opened the note and read aloud. "Nice try. You ponies are way out of your league if you ever think you're going to get the jump on me. I had fun watching you all scramble about, but better luck next time. P.S. Next time try giving me a bit more of a challenge."

Spitfire turned the note over a couple times before slamming it down on the table, "that's all?! No demands, no ransoms, no threats, nothing?!"

"Are you going to be alright?" Luna asked, already feeling tired despite how early the night was.

"I don't like feeling like somepony's plaything," Spitfire sighed as she sat down, exhausted. "At least I got my lieutenant back, even if he hasn't woken up yet."

On the opposite side of the city, far away from the botched night raid, a red streaked bat pony stepped out of the shadows. She rolled her shoulder before her form was overtaken by a flicker of green fire. The torch completely consuming her form before snuffing itself out and leaving a slender pink unicorn in its place.

"Well that was a fun little distraction," she said to herself before disappearing into the city.

Author's Note

The bat pony OC was created by JimmyHook19.
I only had so much to go on regarding her personality so I hope I did ok with her.

Chapter 19: Back to the Forest

The next morning Twilight Sparkle made her way to the edge of the forest. She needed to see Zecora about the Alicorn Amulet and make sure it was still safe.

That wasn't to say her trip across town wasn't interesting. After her "lesson" with Whisper last night, she discovered that she could consciously turn the ability on and off based on how deeply she tried to look at something. It didn't work like a normal spell, which still needed to have form and intent behind it. However, it still gave her a mild headache if she kept it running for too long. Maybe it was something that got better with practice.

She had quickly turned it off after leaving her home. As interesting as it was to see the little lights dancing all over everyone and everything, the glares she was getting from her neighbors made it pretty clear how much it unnerved everyone else.

Twilight made her way to the edge of the forest that was closest to Zecora's home. However, she was surprised to find Rainbow Dash waiting there for her.

"Hey Twilight," Rainbow looked a bit nervous. "You're heading to Zecora's, aren't you?"

Twilight could tell just by looking at her that this was one of the few times that Rainbow was waiting for something. "Do you want to come with me?" She finally asked.

Rainbow Dash nodded nervously, "yeah. I still feel kinda bad that I was so useless when Fluttershy was in trouble and I just wanna make sure you're ok."

"Thanks Rainbow," said Twilight, giving her friend a hug. "I don't think you're useless though. Yesterday was just a very unusual situation."

"That doesn't make me feel any better though," she said. "So I'm going to make sure you make it to Zecora's safely."

"Thanks again," Twilight looked out at the forest. She started to wonder what the forest looked like with her new vision, so she flipped the mental switch she had discovered and...

"Wow," she sat there just taking it all in. If the way the lights danced was anything to go by, then the forest was absolutely overflowing with magic.

"You say something Twilight... Whoa," Rainbow jumped back as she looked at her friend's face and saw the glowing purple eyes. "That's so cool Twilight. When did you learn to do that?"

"Last night," she turned her gaze on the pegasus. She could see the way the magic flowed through the cyan pegasus's body like a sea of blue stars. She watched the way the blue lights flowed down her back and made its way up into every wingtip.

Rainbow recoiled under Twilight's gaze, "no offense Twilight, but that feels weird when you look at me like that."

"Really?" Twilight asked curiously. "How would you describe it?"

Rainbow gave it some thought, "it kinda feels like I'm exposed. Like you're getting way too personal. Sort of the same feeling I got when the Shade looked at me. Although his felt much stronger and kinda made me wanna hide."

"Interesting," Twilight put a hoof to her chin and pondered.

"So does it do anything or just glow and look intimidating?" Rainbow was shifting around Twilight and looking at her from different angles.

"Apparently it lets me see the way magic moves in the world around me, or something like that. I don't know. This is all very new to me," she admitted.

"Whoa," Rainbow looked shocked. "Never thought I'd see the day when Twilight Sparkle didn't know something. So how did you figure it out?"

Twilight cringed as she remember her frustrating lesson from last night. "Let's just say it wasn't easy. Come on," she beckoned. "Let's get to Zecora's."

The trip though the Everfree was far less eventful than it had been the day before. After a few minutes, Twilight had to turn the magical eyesight off again due to how bad the headache was getting. The forest was absolutely fascinating with the new perspective it gave her and she made a mental note to study it in more detail when she had more time.

Zecora's home was a hollowed out tree very similar to the one that Twilight lived in, albeit a bit smaller. It appeared to be undisturbed except for the smell of something cooking wafting out from an open window. The place around her home was usually pretty quiet despite it being located in the Everfree forest. All they could usually hear around her home was the buzzing of insects and the croaking of frogs.

They knocked and they soon found the zebra answering the door.

"What is this I see?" The zebra greeted them with a smile. "It's two little ponies outside my tree."

"Morning Zecora," greeted Twilight as she stepped inside. "I hope we're not disturbing you."

"The day is young and your company is rarely a bore," said Zecora. "I hardly consider the intrusion a chore."

Twilight looked back to Rainbow, who was just standing in the doorway. "Rainbow, are you coming in?" She asked.

Rainbow took a few steps backward, "if it's all the same to you, I'm gonna just wait out here. No offense Zecora, but your home still kinda weirds me out."

"I do not easily offend, for such wounds are hard to mend," Zecora said with a smile. "While so few are accepting of me, even fewer wander into Everfree."

"Right... I'm just going to be out here then," said Rainbow as she closed the door behind her.

"I'm so sorry, Zecora," Twilight apologized. "I didn't realize she was still uncomfortable out here."

"I did not jest when I said I did not take offense," said Zecora. "But enough about me. What brings you to my residence?"

"The Alicorn Amulet," started Twilight, the smile disappearing from Zecora's face at the mention. "Do you know if it's still safe?"

"I would know if somepony had disturbed it's resting place, but why an interest in such a case. The trouble it caused has long since past, unless you now believe it shall not last?" Zecora inquired.

"Me and the girls think the Everfree Shade is after it," she said. "Have you seen him around the forest?"

"I'm not acquainted with the one of which you speak. However, for the last few days this week, a pony with a coat of gold wanders these woods in a cloak so old. I have kept my peace when he is near, for it is him the forest seems to fear." Zecora moved back over to stir the pot in the center of the room that was always bubbling with something every time Twilight had been here.

"He's the one we're worried about," Twilight said as she sat beside the pot. "Although," Twilight had to sort out her thoughts a bit. "He didn't seem like a bad pony, just scary. I mean, he did save us from timberwolves. I'm more worried about what the corrupting influence of the amulet would do to somepony like him."

"Do you know the reason for what he seeks?" Zecora asked. "For what you have seen of him seems to be limited to just a peek."

"He did seem to want to avoid sharing anything about himself," Twilight reflected.

"As for the fear he exudes, it may not be from evil that it intrudes," Zecora stepped away from her stirring and stepped over to some herbs on a nearby table. "A life full of either adventure or woe, can make the softest of hearts appear to be foe. He may just see it as his own burden to bear, and is not used to having others who care."

"You think about this kind of thing a lot, don't you?" Twilight asked.

Zecora gave a small chuckle and tossed a few more herbs into the pot before she resumed stirring. "I have much time to meditate on the facts of life, so it is not hard to imagine one who deals with strife." Zecora seemed to freeze for a moment, "I now have a new concern about your stay. Are you sure you were not followed here today? For the sounds outside my home have grown quiet. Usually the forest is stirring up quite a riot."

Twilight grew still as her ears swiveled to catch the sounds of the forest that had been ever present on their journey here. She only found silence as her eye's narrowed to pinpricks. She was about to break the silence when...

"Hey! Get away from there!" Came Rainbow's shout from outside.

Twilight broke into a run as she scrambled for the door, Zecora close on her heels. She threw the door open and jumped outside and hastily began to look for the source of the shouting.

"This isn't your house! Don't think you can be messing with it!" Came another shout from Rainbow.

Twilight looked up into the branches of the tree to see Rainbow hovering close to a pony wrapped in a green aura and floating by the upper branches of Zecora's home. There was no mistaking who it was. The green cloak obscuring his features and the glowing green eyes were a dead giveaway.

The Everfree Shade was rummaging around a bunch of various containers that had been secured in the upper branches of the tree. He seemed particularly driven with the way he was moving, like a pony who had a very good reason to get excited. "Stay back, Rainbow Dash. This doesn't concern you," the Shade said as he continued to look through the multitude of containers strewn throughout the branches.

Twilight looked to Zecora, "it's up there isn't it?" She asked only to get a nod in return.

"I do not know how he knows it is there," she said. "Of its presence, he should not be aware."

"He can see magic," Twilight pondered to herself as she activated her recently acquired ability. As she looked up into the branches of the tree with her newly enhanced vision, her gaze passed over the Shade. What she saw made her blood freeze in her veins. She snapped her gaze to Zecora, "where is it? We need to get it away from here, now!"

Zecora didn't stop to question what Twilight was doing with her eyes, but instead shouted up to Rainbow, "Rainbow Dash, if you would be so kind, bring me the box wrapped with twine!"

"On it!" Shouted Rainbow as she zipped ahead of the Shade and scooped up something from the top of the tree. "Is this the one?!" She quickly flew down from the tree carrying what appeared to be just a simple package.

She had only made it halfway down when the Shade leapt off the tree, hooves outstretched as he grabbed onto the other end of the box. Rainbow, not expecting to be carrying the extra weight of another pony, was pulled down to the ground in an awkward tumble of fur and feathers.

Twilight, not wasting any time, teleported forward and lunged for the box. She managed to wrestle it away from them in the chaos and quickly teleported away with the box in hoof. Rainbow, having recovered from the shock, quickly jumped away and flew over to where Twilight had reappeared near Zecora.

Rainbow looked at her friend and immediately noticed how pale Twilight face was looking beneath her magenta glowing eyes. "What's wrong Twilight? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Twilight raise a hoof shakily as she pointed it at the form standing across from them. She had seen something in her magical vision. Something that chilled her down to her very soul.

The Shade was shrouded in shadow, shadow that wrapped all around his body. However what really made it feel like her heart would stop, was the face she could see transposed over his own. Those eyes, that mane, and especially that horn, she knew who they belonged to. That face belonged to King Sombra.

Author's Note

Not gonna lie, Zecora dialogue is annoying to arrange.

Chapter 20: The Alicorn Amulet

Twilight had flown into a panic when she had seen the shadow that wrapped around the shade. Those green eyes within the shadow that leaked purple mist were unmistakable. But the biggest thing she couldn't understand was how could King Sombra be here?

"King Sombra!?" Twilight shouted in her confusion. "What do you want?! How are you here?!"

The pony slowly walked towards them, fear continuing to permeate the forest as he drew closer. "You should not be able to see his ghost. However, his fate is not your burden to bear. Give me the Alicorn Amulet." His deep voice carried a menacing edge as the command rolled over them.

"What is it, Twilight?" She heard Rainbow whisper over her shoulder. "Do you see something? Did I hear you right? Did you say King Sombra?

"I don't know how it's possible," Twilight kept her eyes locked on the Shade as he advanced towards them. "But I can see King Sombra wrapped around the Shade."

"What?! I thought we defeated him though?" Asked a confused Rainbow.

"I don't know," said Twilight. "All I know is that we can't let him get the amulet."

"Give it here," Rainbow said as she stretched her wings. "Once I get clear of the trees, no pony should be able to catch me."

Twilight nodded as she floated the package back to Rainbow. "Be careful," she said. "Once you get free, find some place to hide it."

"You gonna be alright, Twilight?" Said Rainbow.

"He shouldn't be able to follow me if I teleport away. Now go!" She shouted as she leveled her horn at the shade and fired a concentrated burst of magic at him.

Rainbow took off into the air, carefully navigating the tightly packed trees while seeking open skies. She only made it about a dozen feet before she felt an impact at the back of her skull. Rainbow fell limp right there, only held aloft by the green glow of the shade's magic.

Twilight whipped around, shocked to see Rainbow suddenly unconscious. She was even more shocked to see the shade floating right next to her body as they both floated towards the ground.

Twilight looked back to the place she just fired her magic, only to find it empty. "What? How?" She mouthed as her brain caught up with the rest of her. "Rainbow Dash!" She exclaimed as she saw her friend's limp body. "You better not have hurt her."

"I have not hurt your friend, Twilight Sparkle. Not much anyway. She may have a bit of a headache when she wakes up." The Shade said as he unceremoniously dumped the pegasus on the ground. "You really shouldn't have discuss your escape plan in front of me."

Twilight watched him as he tucked the package he had stolen from Rainbow under his cloak. The ghost of Sombra was growing clearer as it dug it's claws into the Shades body. He flinched for a moment when the ghost opened its jagged maw and sunk its teeth into his neck. "What are you going to do with the amulet?" She asked as he turned to leave.

The Shade looked at her for a moment, a tired expression on his face, "it isn't really any of your business. Go home, Twilight Sparkle, and forget what you saw here today." With a quick flash of magic, he then disappeared from the forest.

Twilight felt like she wanted to break down and cry with how badly that went, but was stopped when she felt a hoof rest on her shoulder. She looked up to see Zecora looking down at her.

"Dry your tears and make haste for there is very little time to waste." Zecora beckoned her to follow.

After picking up the unconscious Rainbow in her magic, Twilight followed the zebra back to her home.

Once inside, she gently set Rainbow down on the bed inside, "is she going to be alright?" She asked.

Zecora came over and did a quick check of Rainbow's condition. "We can only hope he spoke true of the words he said to you. But we cannot wait for your friend to wake, we must take care of what's at stake."

"What's at stake?" Twilight was confused. The Shade had already gotten away with the Alicorn Amulet.

"I see your look of confusion. Did you not think I planned for such an intrusion?" She said as she started to rummage around some boxes on a lower shelf. "If I recall what you claim you saw, then into his hooves the amulet must not fall."

Twilight's eyes went wide as Zecora pulled out the amulet from a back shelf, "but what? How?" Was her shocked reply.

"A simple ruse, I must admit, but now we should make the most of it. If miss Dash had escaped her fate, then we'd have more time to vacate." She held the amulet out to Twilight, "before our foe once more shows his face, then away from here you must race."

Twilight wrapped the amulet in her magic and drew it closer, "I don't know if I can get away in time. You saw how fast he dealt with Rainbow."

"A simple deterrent is all you need, if you can't get up to speed." She pointed at the amulet. "It would be simple to keep this in check, if it were securely around your neck."

Twilight looked at Zecora in shock as she held the amulet further away from her, "you can't be suggesting I put this thing on?!"

"I understand your reason for alarm, but I do not think you'll come to harm. Malice may find it hard to get its start, if you remain true of heart." Zecora encouraged her.

Twilight looked down at the amulet, dreading that she was even considering this, "ok Zecora, I'll try," She eventually decided on. "But I'm taking it off at the first sign of danger."

She levitated the amulet close to her neck, swallowing hard as it rested against her chest. She started to sweat as she moved the clasp behind her head. After first screwing her eyes shut, she braced herself as she latched it in place. Now only Twilight would be able to take it off due to the enchantment it carried.

Nervously she peeked an eye open and half expected to hear dark whispers filling her head. After a few moments of nothing happening, she relaxed a bit. Maybe she should stop taking all those novels about cursed artifacts so seriously.

"Nothing's happening," Twilight nudged the necklace around her neck with a hoof.

"Now you must flee and don't dally, before your foe's efforts come to rally," said Zecora as she pushed her out the door.

Twilight galloped through the Everfree forest, the Alicorn Amulet resting snuggly against her chest. So far nothing had happened to her while she was wearing it, however, she didn't want to take any chances. As soon as she could, she needed to find a new place to hide it. She also needed to get a letter to Princess Celestia about the appearance of Sombra as soon as possible.

So much had happened in the last day and she didn't want to think about how much worse it could possibly get.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she saw the edge of the forest. She had gotten slightly lost in her haste, but with the edge of the forest in sight, it would only take a few short teleports to make it home and have Spike send a letter.

The clearing was in sight and she could even make out Sweet Apple Acres in the distance. She was about to cross the last line of trees when the forest behind her went eerily silent.

She froze, a sense of dread started to wash over her. She probably should've just kept running, but curiosity got the best of her as she slowly looked behind her.

Blazing green eyes stared out at her from the darkness. She didn't even have to guess what that was. This time though, instead of just being scary, the air around them seemed downright angry.

"That's mine!" The voice roared from within the darkness. "Give it back!"

Twilight wasn't even using her magical sight as she saw ghost of Sombra barrel towards her. Savage teeth filled his jaws as rancid sludge dripped and burned the forest floor.

"Ah!" A small scream escaped her lips as fear crept into her bones. She had to get away and now!

She fed a spell into her horn, her normal magenta glow had traces of red streaked throughout it. The gemstone embedded in the amulet glowing brighter as she cast her spell.

With a flash and a pop, Twilight disappeared from the forest.

It was a pretty typical day on the farm. Applejack was running around doing her daily chores, Applebloom was in school and would be for a while yet, and Granny Smith was taking a nap in her favorite rocking chair on the porch. Big Macintosh was running a bit late from running deliveries, but that could be explained by any number of things and wasn't any reason to worry just yet.

She was just about to get started on harvesting the southern orchard when a flash of magenta light about made her jump halfway out of her skin. "Landsakes, Twi!" She exclaimed. "You can't go appearin outta nowhere like that and scarin good ponies." A glint of the sun caused light to reflect off of the amulet that Twilight was wearin, "and what in tarnation is that thing doin round yer neck."

Twilight struggled to catch her breath as she seemed a bit disoriented. She had never teleported so far in one jump before. She swallowed hard before answering, "no time to explain. The Shade he's... Sombra is... He..." were all the words she got out before she disappeared in a green flash of light.

"Gosh darnit, Twi. What was that all about?" Cursed Applejack as she tried to figure out where she had run off to.

Twilight didn't feel so well. The Everfree forest had suddenly reappeared around her along with a very uneasy stomach. She staggered over to a nearby tree and began to wretch and heave. Somehow, she managed to keep her breakfast down, but she was still very disoriented.

"You fool..." The voice the insult came from sounded very weak.

Twilight lift her head to find the shade laying on the ground. The shadows wrapped around him had almost completely consumed his body. "What's happening to you?!" She shouted in panic.

The Shade gave a few weak coughs. "Pulling you back from that teleport was a mistake," he said as the shadows crept into his eyes. "You should have just given me the amulet. None of you can fight this thing." The shadows washed over the rest of his body until he only resembled a dark lump in a puddle. A moment later, he didn't even resemble that much as his body melted, becoming one with the rest of the void.

A pulse of power rippled through the surrounding area that made Twilight's fur tingle and left her feeling increasingly uneasy. She started to back away from whatever was happening. Something inside her told her that even with the magic of the amulet strengthening her own, what was coming was far beyond anything she'd dealt with before.

A single step was all she got before all four of her hooves fastened themselves to the ground, refusing to let her move. She struggled and squirmed against whatever was holding her. Twilight looked down and found that dark spindles of shadow had wrapped themselves around her legs and were slowly climbing their way up the rest of her body.

The evil king who had once enslaved an entire empire began to climb his way out from the darkness one hoof at a time. He did not appear as a shadow, the way Twilight saw him back in the Crystal Empire, nor as a ghost, the way she had just seen him wrapped around the Shade, but with an actual physical body. Shadows licked off his ashen fur like flames and metallic armor began to materialize all over his body. The darkness continued to ripple as the rest of his body willed itself into existence and covered itself with the same armor before a regal red cloak draped across his back.

Twilight tried again to get free before Sombra had fully revived himself, the shadows trapping her legs responding by climbing ever higher up her body. She began to frantically fire spells from her horn at them. They didn't even try to stop her or even dodge out of the way of the attacks as they continued to further bind her.

Green eyes and red irises began to bleed through the shadows as his head came into view. A malevolent grin painted his features as he opened his mouth and began to laugh.

That laugh... That laugh wormed its way under Twilight's skin as she froze up. Thoughts of escape getting further away from her even before the shadows started climbing her neck.

"Finally!" The revived Sombra trumpeted his success as he stepped forward. The shadows poured out behind him like he had so much darkness that he couldn't possibly contain it all. "After one thousand years, I'm finally free." He began to laugh manically, the shadows surrounding him visibly shaking with his delight. "If only I had known what I was up against, I might've found a much more subservient host.

Twilight was at a loss, she had no idea what to do in this situation. What could she do? The shadows had made their way up to her horn and she could feel her magic draining away. All she could hope for was that he'd forget she's there and walk away.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you," Sombra's voice washed through her, making Twilight tense up. The shadows that bound her lifted and carried her towards the source of her distress leaving Twilight to find herself herself hanging limply in front of him.

Sombra took a step closer to her as he reached out and gently stroked Twilight's mane. "I really should thank you," he said with a sickening amount of delight. "Our contest was so close for the longest time. If he hadn't been so focused on you, I might never have finally overpowered him." His hoof ran slowly down the side of Twilight's face, making her skin crawl with the intimacy the dark king was showing her.

He leaned and whispered close to her ear, "deeds like this should not go unrewarded. I could make you my queen. A creature like you would do well at my side."

The shadows loosened around her neck just long enough for her to form words. "Never," she said adamantly. "When Princess Celestia finds out, she'll stop you."

Sombra gave her a disapproving look before the shadows tightened back around Twilight's throat. "Your precious princess isn't as almighty as she would have you think," he said as he slowly traced a line from her chin to the nape of her neck. "I think I shall have to take my time as I enjoy breaking you. Perhaps my offer will seem a bit more enticing when I ask you again."

Twilight wanted to run away the further down she felt his touch go, however she couldn't escape with how thoroughly bound she was. Just when she was about to give up and her mind started playing all sorts of terrible scenarios out in her head, Sombra suddenly stopped his advancement.

Twilight felt a sharp tapping against the metal resting on her chest. "I never did figure out what was supposed to be so special about this thing," Sombra said, his curiosity showing in his voice. "The most I could ever learn was that he made it himself."

What?! Twilight thought to herself. The Shade actually created the Alicorn Amulet?! If that's true, does he have any idea how much trouble it's caused?

Dark tendrils stretched outward from Sombra's body as they probed the artifact beneath his hoof. A moment later, his face lit up in delight at what he found. "Hehehe," rolling laughter escaped his throat as the gem of the amulet began to glow brighter. "You had some of my darkness still sequestered away. My old foe, what a fool you have been to come so far only to fail now."

The red glow began to pull itself away from the amulet before snaking around Sombra's hoof and making its way to the curved horn upon his head. The magic seemed to grow brighter the long he stayed connected. "Oh, this is completely invigorating," he trembled with delight. "With this and the strength I've been able to to slowly gather over the last millennium, nothing shall stop me. Not you, not your precious princesses, and certainly not this clever little pony that kept me prisoner for so long."

Twilight slowly sunk into despair. Sombra seemed a completely different than when they had dealt with him in the Crystal Empire. From the way he talked to the way his presence was completely overwhelming, everything about him made her want to run and hide, and here she was completely at his mercy. If only she had known what the Shade had planned and why he wanted the amulet so badly. His actions didn't seem to suggest that his goal was to revive this monster. She just had to hope that someone... Anyone... Would come to her rescue.

"There's more?" Sombra seemed astonished. "This trinket holds more magic than just my own? Very well, It now belongs to me."

Twilight's eyes grew wide as the red light of the amulet shifted to green and he began to absorb that as well. Would even Princess Celestia be able to stop him by the time she found them?

"WHAT?!!! HOW?!!!" The dark king cried out in surprise.

Twilight was pulled out of her downward spiral of depression by the sound of Sombra's pained outcry. She lifted her head, now free of the binding tendrils and looked down at her chest. The green magic was no longer slowly trickling out, but was instead rushing out of the amulet like a dam had just been broken. So powerful was the force of the magic, that it reverberated through her entire body and left her feeling numb. The ashen hoof at her chest was slowly being peeled away like an overripe piece of fruit as the golden hoof that lay beneath it pressed harder into her chest. The rush of energy was devoured by the creature under Sombra's skin as more and more of him was torn away.

When the sinister visage was finally pulled away, she saw the Everfree Shade properly for the first time. He really did look just like any other pony you'd see on the street. He looked familiar as the magic played across his golden fur and through his brown mane, and when he looked at her with those green eyes, she knew.

She knew this pony, she'd only known him for a short time, but at that moment, there was no doubt in her mind. "Random?" She voiced aloud.

His eyes grew wide as she spoke. "Hold on, Twilight," he said, determination filling his face. "We're not out of the woods yet."

Twilight heard the sound of shattering glass as the pressure against her chest lessened. She looked down just in time to see the last remains of the Alicorn Amulet crumble into dust.

His body began to glow as the last of the light was absorbed. One last burst of light billowed out from under his green cloak as the shadows that made up Sombra's body were completely extinguished.

Twilight lay in his grasp in a daze, feeling completely disconnected from her own body after being so close to whatever had just happened. As she lay there and looked up at him with the radiant light still pouring off his body, she only had one question she could voice before she lost consciousness.

"Random... Who exactly are you?"

Author's Note

RAWRRRRRR
GAH, I've lost so much time re-re-re-resorting this chapter out.
My poor brain.
On we go!

Chapter 21: Glimpse of the Past

"What are you doing awake, little one?" Said the wizened old stallion.

Little Luna looked up at Starswirl, "Woona couldn't sweep. She finished waising the moon and couldn't go back to sweep."

"I keep telling you, old timer," said the golden pony cloaked in green as he stood next to Starswirl. "She's gonna be nocturnal if she keeps raising the moon by herself."

"Who are you calling old timer?" Said Starswirl as he stroked his beard.

"The one who decided to grow a beard," he snapped back, a smile on his face.

Little Luna skipped up to the cloaked pony, "your pwincess wequires assistance." She fluttered her tiny wings. "My wings need a pwoper pweening and the castle sewvants don't do a vewy good job.

The cloaked pony looked over to Starswirl, "there's at least a few pegasi on staff, isn't there?"

Starswirl gave a hearty chuckle, "there is, but I think she's made it clear she wants you to do it."

Little Luna looked up at her favorite pony and puffed her cheeks out in a pout as she batted at his foreleg, "Pwincess Woona wants you to do it."

The stallion gave a light sigh as his horn flashed and little Luna felt herself be picked up in his magic and deposited on his back. Once there, she hugged and nestled the nape of neck. She was always happy to have him so close.

"I guess I'll see you in the morning, you old fogey," he told Starswirl as he turned to leave.

"What's a fogey?" Little Luna asked as she looked up from his back.

The pony smiled back at her, his kind eyes shining like emeralds, "a fogey is what we call a pony whose beard gets too fluffy."

"I heard that!" Starswirl shouted after them. "And nothing good will come from you spoiling her like that."

"Somepony has to do it! Everypony else is too busy spoiling the older sister!" He shouted back as he opened the door to the room.

"Big sister Cewestia ate all the cake again. Woona didn't even get a swice this time," little Luna pouted.

"Then I guess we don't have to share any chocolate with her," he said as he closed the door behind them.

"Yay! Chocowate!" Cheered little Luna.

She was carried back to her room and deposited on a pile of pillows as the pony sat down on the floor beside her. As he made himself comfortable, little Luna resettled herself in front of him and spread her tiny wings out for him to see. She gave them a few flutters to make sure he was paying attention.

"Oh come here you little scamp," he said as he pulled her closer, a delighted squeal escaping her.

She squirmed a bit as he pushed his nose into her plumage, small giggles escaping her as his breath tickled her sensitive feathers. He meticulously made his way down each wing and every feather he deemed out of place was caressed and smoothed until her wings once again rested against her back like a warm blanket as opposed to a scratchy one.

Little Luna yawned as he finished up, "you don't have wings, how awe you so good at this?"

"That's a secret," he nuzzled the top of her head. "If I tell you, how else can I be dark and mysterious?"

"You silwy," she moved to his side and curled up next to him. "I wike it when your silwy though."

Luna was startled awake as she felt something in the world change. She wasn't sure what it was, but she hoped her older sister would have some answers.

She quickly climbed out of bed and donned her royal attire. A hasty brush of her mane and tail later and she was out the door.

The clattering of armor could be heard as she stepped out into the hallway. She couldn't blame the guard for being surprised, she didn't usually rise this early and she hadn't been in bed for all that long. She acknowledged their quick salute and took off down the hallway at a gallop.

She found Celesita on the castle balcony, she was looking over in the direction of Ponyville. Luna followed her gaze and her jaw dropped as she saw the light gathering over the Everfree forest.

"Luna," her sister acknowledged her presence. "You're awake. I guess you felt that?"

"Indeed we did sister," said Luna as she stood beside her. "What do you suppose it is?"

"I don't know," came the words that Celestia rarely spoke. "Whatever it is though, it has a lot of power and it wouldn't surprise me if Twilight has something to do with this."

They continued to watch as the light died down. They felt something unusual in the world but they couldn't quite figure out what it was. After a few more moments of nothing else happening, they went back inside.

"So do you plan to ask your student about it?" Luna asked.

"No," Celestia shook her head. "Twilight will send me a letter if it's something I should know about and I don't currently see any Tartarus-spawn rampaging through the countryside." She said as she found a place to sit.

"I worry sometimes with your whole 'hooves off' approach to things," said Luna as she sat beside her.

"My student will never grow if I'm always holding her hoof," said Celestia. "Besides, she's a princess in her own right, now. She should be capable of handling one or two anomalies on her own."

Luna was about to say more when both she and her sister felt something in the world move again. This time it was much deeper. They both jumped up from their sitting position, a tingle running down both their spines.

"I know I didn't imagine that just now," said Luna. "That felt very similar to Twilight's recent ascension."

"It kind of felt like that," said Celestia as she looked confused. "Something felt off about it though. I should probably check just to make sure."

"While you're off gallivanting in the plane of ascension," said Luna. "We shall make a quick search of the rest of the astral plane. May haps the dreamer we've been searching for is connected somehow. There certainly has been a lot happening recently."

"Indeed there has. I'll see you soon, Luna." Celestia said as a golden glow lit around her horn.

Luna glided down the stellar winds of the astral plane. There was not much to see this time of day except for a few resting souls that she could see here and there. But again, most of Equestria was awake this time of day.

Luna could tell the further she traveled that something was definitely not quite right here today. Something in here felt highly charged and it wasn't caused by her.

After traveling for some time without finding anything amiss, she eventually saw a light in the distance. She chased after it without hesitation, sure that whatever it was would provide some answers to what she and her sister had just felt.

She found the source of the light, but what it was coming from stopped her in her tracks.

Luna once again found herself standing in front of the oaken door. Unlike before when she found it either closed or reinforced, this time she found it wide open. Fearing that the monstrous form of Sombra had escaped his prison, she was just about to run and inform her sister before she found herself in a dire situation again. However, when she saw the actual source of the light, in the form of an glowing emerald chain that extended out from the open door, she paused for a moment.

Confusion had been her constant companion in recent days as she tried and failed to puzzle out exactly what was happening. Luna began to follow the chain while keeping a watchful eye on the open doorway. The last thing she needed was another violent encounter from Sombra or whatever that thing was. She didn't have to follow it for very long through this empty space before she found it entering a different doorway. As she got closer, she could see that the chain entering this new place was vibrating violently, as if someone or something was struggling with them on the other end.

She was about to step inside this other dream when the chain suddenly fell slack. Luna jumped back, on guard for whatever was going to happen next.

Slowly the chain began to rise and once again became taut. The sound of grinding metal began to permeate the empty space of the astral plane as it began to slowly retract from the passageway.

Luna began to prepare a spell, determined that if whatever came out of there was dangerous, that it wouldn't get very far. Whatever spell she had been preparing faltered when she saw what, or more importantly, who stepped out of the doorway.

A stallion stepped out from within the dream garbed in green while a bright gold shone out from beneath his cloak.

"It can't be," Luna said, her heart catching in her throat.

He must have heard her because he paused for a moment and looked up at her. Bright green eyes looked back at her from the darkness and time seemed to stop for a moment as they stared deeply into each other's eyes.

A feeling came over Luna in that moment. She wanted to run to him, embrace him and find out where he had been all this time. However, reality has a nasty habit of rearing its head at the worst times. "No, you can't be him," she said somberly to herself. "How could you still be alive?"

Her companion reached up and pulled his hood further over his face as he turned away, his focus returning to the passageway he just walked through.

Luna's reverie was further broken as something else came through the doorway. It didn't walk through like the impossible pony had. Instead, it was being roughly dragged.

At the end of the length of chain, a dark form began to emerge. It appeared to be bestial in nature as it thrashed around. Sharp teeth could be seen in its powerful jaws, even though it could only open them a few inches at a time due to being heavily bound in emerald chains.

The chain continued to withdraw, dragging its raging inhabitant with it while Luna followed very carefully at a safe distance. She didn't want to get too close, but she still wanted to know more about the pony that joined her in traversing the astral plane.

He didn't once look back at her as he escorted his captive back towards the oaken door. When they arrived back where this whole mess had started for Luna, additional chains poured out from the open doorway and fastened around the monster, further binding it. The creature was then forcefully dragged through, only stopping for a moment when it had temporarily managed to latch its claws onto the door frame.

As it finished crossing the threshold, Luna made to follow them, only to be stopped by a sudden wave of force. Luna pressed hard against the wave of power preventing her advancement, determined to get some answers after all these days of searching.

She looked up to see the pony staring back her and shaking his head. It may have just been her imagination, but Luna could've sworn she saw a single tear drop from its eye. He raised a hoof in her direction, the force that pressed against increased until she was thrown clear of the passage. Once she was clear, the door slammed shut with a resounded thud.

Luna awoke in the castle, her sister sitting in front of her, a look of concern on her face.

"Are you ok?" Celestia asked her in a soft voice. "You were crying a moment ago."

Luna wiped her face with a foreleg, not completely surprised to see it come away damp. "We... We are whole," she answered, getting choked up for a moment.

"What did you see?" Celestia asked her.

"I... I don't know," Luna said as she stood up and made her way to the balcony. "Forgive me dear sister, but I need some time alone to process what it is I just saw." With that said, she leapt off the balcony and flew in the direction of Ponyville.

Celestia grew concerned as she watched Luna fly away. "Luna, what did you see?" She asked the now empty air.

Chapter 22: A New Problem

"Uhhh," Twilight moaned as her eyes slowly fluttered open.

"She's waking up," came the voice of Fluttershy from beside the bed she found herself in.

"Ah'll go tell everypony else," came a small voice from the doorway. "Hey Applejack!" Shouted the voice she now recognized as Apple Bloom. "Twilight's awake!" She shouted through the house as Twilight heard the rumble of hoofsteps running up the stairs.

Applejack entered the room and looked concerned at Twilight, "ya feelin ok there, sugarcube?"

"What happened? How long was I out?" Twilight moaned as she pushed herself up from the bed.

"You've been outta it fer a couple hours," Applejack stood beside her and rubbed a hoof on her back. "We was kinda hopin you could tell us. After you showed up and disappeared, there was this fancy light show out over the Everfree forest. I was bout to go check it out, but then you went and showed up passed out on our doorstep."

Twilight pushed herself up to a sitting position, her head pounding slightly with the sudden movement. "I don't know," she finally answered. "Too much of what I saw doesn't make any sense."

"Was it the Shade?" Asked Fluttershy, who had been mostly quiet up to this point. "Rainbow Dash mentioned something about him."

"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight perked up as the rest of the earlier events came rushing back. "Where is she? Is she alright?"

"She's downstairs with the others," said Applejack. "She's alright, but Ah think her pride is a bit hurt though." Applejack said solemnly. "What exactly happened to you two?"

Twilight slowly climbed out of bed, still feeling a bit groggy, "let's head downstairs. I'll tell you all what happened."

"Heh," Rainbow Dash gave a small chuckle after Twilight finished telling her story. "Sounds like I got off easy."

"You still don't sound like you're ok, darling." Rarity said, still looking a bit concerned for the prismatic flyer.

"No," she pouted. "I'm supposed to be the element of loyalty and that's twice now I've let my friends down."

"Awww, cheer up, Dashie!" Said Pinkie Pie shortly before scooping her up into a bone crushing hug. "Nopony likes a pity party." She gasped. "Unless the party's got cake and punch and streamers and..."

"Not helping," said an annoyed Rainbow as she attempted to squirm out of Pinkie's grasp. "Anyway, Twilight. What's the plan? We're not gonna just take this laying down, are we?"

"RD's right," Applejack cut in. "We need some kinda plan, but..." She hesitated a bit. "Ah dunno Twi. Ah mean, after what you just gone and told us, bout King Sombra and all that. Ah know we usually take care of our own problems." She took off her hat and rubbed at the back of her head. "Don't ya think this is somethin we should go to the princess about?"

Twilight winced at the suggestion, "I really don't want to bother her, but... Yeah, you might be right. We just lost a particularly dangerous artifact to somepony who was not only able to destroy it, but if what King Sombra claimed was true, then the Shade actually created it in the first place."

"The fact he was able to overpower you so easily is worrisome as well," said Rarity. "I mean, you were already a cut above the rest back when you were still just a unicorn. Look at you now, darling." Rarity gestured to Twilight with both hooves. "You're a dang blasted alicorn," Rarity burst out only to realize what she said and look embarrassed. "Pardon my language."

"What about the Elements of Harmony?" Asked Pinkie, finally contributing to the conversation. "They work on all the meanies we've dealt with."

"I do have them back at the library," Twilight perked up. "Could be worth a try."

Applejack looked a bit uncertain. "Didn't you just finish tellin us that you thought that feller Random was actually the Shade?" She asked.

Twilight nodded, "he did seem to respond when I called out to him."

"Well... Doesn't he also live at the library?" She asked.

Silence washed over the room while what Applejack said had a chance to sink in. A moment later all six of them were scrambling to get out the door.

"No, I haven't seen him for a while. I haven't seen Whisper either." Spike said as he looked up from his comic book. "Did Random do something?"

Twilight was panting and out of breath from dashing across town at a mad gallop. She was certain that she was going to find something amiss when she made it back to her home.

"No time to explain," she said once she could breathe again. "Where are the elements? Are they safe?"

"They're right where they always are," Spike went over to the stairs and started pulling a large chest out from under them.

Twilight pulled the chest the rest of the way out with her magic, causing Spike to trip in the process. He quickly bounced back up and ran to Twilight's side, although he was looking a bit annoyed.

She threw the lid open and looked over the chest contents. Five necklaces laid inside the chest within velvet alcoves, each of them bearing a different colored gemstone cut to resemble the cutiemarks of each of her friends. When she looked up to where the crown that bore her mark was supposed to lay, she was greeted with only an empty space.

"It's gone..." Twilight sat back in shock. "The Element of Magic is gone."

"What?!" Came the collected voices of everyone else in the room. They all pushed to huddle around the chest, none of them being able to believe their eyes.

"Oh my," said Fluttershy.

"Darling, are you ok?" Said Rarity.

"I don't understand," said Rainbow Dash. "I thought Princess Celestia cast a spell so they couldn't be stolen again?"

"Oh..." Twilight still stared at the empty chest. "I think she said that spell was only to keep Discord from stealing them. There's nothing stopping anypony from just walking off with one of them."

"So what are we gonna do, Twilight?" Asked Pinkie Pie. "We can't use the elements if one of them are missing."

"I don't know," she sighed as she sagged her shoulders. "But we better at least tell the princess about this. Spike, take a letter."

Spike stepped up proudly and pulled out a parchment and quill, "on it."

"Dear Princess Celestia..."

Several minutes later, they all stepped back out of the library. Spike had just sent a very lengthy letter to her mentor about the recent happenings and more importantly, to inform her that the Element of Magic was currently missing.

"So what happens now?" Asked Rainbow Dash.

Twilight looked around at her friends. They all looked expectantly at her, hoping for answers that she wasn't even sure that she had.

"It might be a while before we hear back from the princess. In the mean time, we need to find Random," she said as she steeled her determination. "I'm still convinced that he's the Shade and we need to find out what he's up to."

"Are you sure he's capable of everything that's happened?" Rarity asked. "You said he was a perfect gentlecolt during his welcome party."

"He behaved himself just fine at the party," said Applejack. "But Rares, we still barely know anything about him."

"Aw come on, he can't be all bad," complained Pinkie. "I did get this awesome cake recipe that night he showed up."

"Pinkie..." Facehoofed Rainbow. "Just because he had a book with a cake recipe you like, that doesn't mean anything."

"Well, Ah know the first place we could check fer him," said Applejack, getting the conversation back on track. "Remember Ah saw him hanging around Cloud Kicker the other day. Might be a good place to start."

"I'll go check that out," Rainbow volunteered.

"Now RD," said Applejack. "Ah know yer still awfully sore bout him kickin yer flank, but ya shouldn't go picking another fight. Especially if he's as dangerous as all that. You shouldn't go alone."

"She wont be... Alone... I mean," said Fluttershy, breaking her silence she'd kept up to this point. "Eep," she flinched once all eyes landed on her. "I'm going with her. Besides, Cloud Kicker may have a bit of a temper but Blossomforth's a bit on the shy side. It would make her really uncomfortable to have so many ponies show up all at once."

"That's not a bad idea," said Twilight. "We can cover more ground that way. I'll go check..." She staggered a bit, shaking her head in an attempt to dispel a light dizziness that took her over for a moment.

"Darling, are you quite alright?" Asked Rarity, looking concerned.

"I think so," said Twilight. "I'm not sure what that was just now."

"You've had a bit of a traumatic day, Twilight. You should probably go to the hospital and have them check you out, just to make sure you're all right," said Rarity

"I'll be fine, Rarity. I just..." She started, only to be cut off.

"No buts," Rarity cut in. "As important as it is to find out what is going on, it's equally important that you take care of yourself."

Twilight looked to her other friends for support only to find them all nodding along with Rarity.

"Don't you worry yer little head, Twi," said Applejack. "Me and Pinkie can look around the town, see if we stumble cross anythin. Ah need to find where mah brother's run off to anyway. He went to do a delivery this mornin and Ah ain't seen him since."

"Just be careful," said Twilight as Rarity started herding her in the direction of the hospital. "If anything happened to you girls, I don't know what I'd do."

"As far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with you Miss Sparkle," Doctor Horse said as he looked her over.

"Are you sure?" Asked Twilight. "I don't usually get lightheaded like that."

"You have been through a particularly traumatic experience today," Rarity offered. "It might just be stress."

The doctor shined a small light into her eyes as he inspected her pupils, "that would be my prognosis. Excessive stress can have that effect on some ponies and you do have a history of letting stress get the better of you. Tell me, princess, are there any gaps in your memory?"

Twilight thought it over, "no, I don't think so. Unless you count the time I was unconscious."

"Then as far as I can tell, you're in perfect health." He put his light away and scratched away at a clipboard. "I'll be perfectly honest with you, we don't have any records on what an alicorn can be afflicted by, what they're sensitive to, or even if they have any unique allergies."

Twilight shook her head, "sorry. I don't really know any of that." Twilight thought it over for a bit, "maybe I should ask the princess about this. Oooh," she started getting excited. "Maybe I could start my own study on it."

"I'm sure that would help at some point," said Doctor Horse. "We can always use more ponies adding to the studies of medical science."

"I'll think about it," Twilight scratched her head. "Princess Celestia has kept me pretty busy lately learning about castle politics."

"I see. Well, I'm sure she knows best. Now if you excuse me, we've had a very busy day." He turned to leave and made it a few steps to the door before he seemed to get lost in thought. "Actually," he said, turning back again. "Maybe you could help us with something."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "what is it?"

"We've actually been spending the better part of the day making sure we didn't have a new disease on our hooves. We have an unusual patient in today and we were just about to contact the family about him now that we know it's not contagious." He explained.

"Oh? Anyone I know?" Twilight asked.

The doctor nodded as he led her down to a room at the end of the hall, "we had an out of town physician drop him off this morning. No one I recognized, but he was a bit unusual himself."

"How was he unusual?" Asked Rarity who was still tagging along.

Doctor Horse raised an eyebrow as he looked back at them, "he smelled like he had been smoking. It's very unusual to find any ponies in our line of work that would do that to their own bodies. Here we are," he said as he opened a door at the end of the hall.

He led them in to a bed with a curtain draped around it, "we're completely stumped as to what has happened to him. It's most likely magical in nature." He then pulled back the curtain.

A shocked gasp escaped both of the mares as they saw the stallion on the bed. His large frame was unmistakable, but his colors... It was like something had drained all the color out of him, not even sparing his cutiemark.

Applejack's older brother, Big Macintosh, lay unconscious on the bed in front of them.

Chapter 23: A Path to Follow

Applejack stood crying over the bed her brother rested in while Twilight laid a comforting hoof on her shoulder.

"What happened Big Mac?" Applejack sobbed into the sheets. "What happened after ya left this mornin?"

"I had Spike send another letter to the princess," Twilight said. "Too much has been happening and I still don't know what to do." Twilight's shoulders sagged, "I still haven't heard back from her on the other letter though. I was hoping she'd write back right away."

"Darling, I'm sure there's a good reason she hasn't written back yet." Rarity said consolingly. "I imagine we're not the only ones she worries about."

"I know," Twilight slumped down on the floor. "I just feel so lost right now."

"Ah'm not hearing anything that brings us any closer to helpin poor Big Mac," said Applejack, not once taking her eyes from her big brother.

"Ooo," said Pinkie as she began to hop through the room. "Maybe that super special magic that Twilight just got can help us somehow." She held up two hooves. "The stuff that was over here," she shook one hoof. "Is now over here," she shook the other hoof. "Maybe they're connected like a BIG piece of bubblegum," she held her hooves out wide and slapped them together. "I once got some gum stuck in my coat once. It was the worst. Not near as bad as that time it got stuck in my mane though." She ended with a big smile.

"Anyone else have trouble following that?" Said Rainbow. Everyone else in the room nodded along.

Pinkie gave an exasperated sigh, "ugh. It's like when you know there's a cake being cooked somewhere and you just gotta follow your nose until you find it."

"Forgive me, darling. But why are we now talking about baking?" Asked Rarity.

Pinkie stomped a hoof on the ground in frustration, "why do you girls gotta be so difficult sometimes." She got up behind Twilight and grabbed her head with both hooves. She then bodily dragged Twilight until she was standing right beside the bed and facing her head towards the stallion lying on the bed.

"Pinkie!" Complained Twilight. "What are you..."

"Less talking, more glowy magic voodoo eyes," ordered the bouncy pink menace.

Twilight's eyes grew wide once she realized what Pinkie was getting at, "you're a genius!" She exclaimed

"No I'm not," said Pinkie as she stepped away, annoyed. "I'm Pinkie Pie. Geez, Twilight, I figured you'd get my name right by now."

Twilight shook the madness from her head and refocused on the figure on the bed, "I'm gonna try it. Maybe we can get a clue."

"What exactly are ya tryin, Twi," Applejack looked up, only to jump back when she found two brightly glowing eyes looking in her direction. "Whoa nelly!" She exclaimed. "Warn a mare when you're gonna be tryin crazy stuff like that."

Twilight looked down and into the still form of Big Macintosh. It was strange. Unlike the other ponies she had looked at with this ability, his body seemed strangely hollow. It was like someone had removed all the magic from his body. Well, almost all of it. She could see a little bit of it still left deep in his center, probably centered around his vital organs.

"How strange," she noted aloud.

"What is it, Twi? What do ya see?" Asked Applejack as she watched with growing concern.

"The way the magic has been removed almost seems clinical. It's like whoever did this purposely stopped right before going too deep." Twilight said as she continued to inspect him.

"Can Ah get that in proper equish?" Applejack raised an eyebrow.

"Big Mac's not in any immediate danger. There's just enough magic left in him to keep him breathing." Twilight amended.

Applejack sagged backwards as she breathed a sigh of relief, "you don't know how relieved Ah am to hear that."

"Hmmm," Twilight thought aloud as she continued looking at the magic lingering inside him. "That's odd."

"What? What is it Twi?" Applejack stood back up at full attention.

Upon closer inspection, Twilight could see a small tether of magic leading out from his center and it was making a straight line through a nearby wall. She walked along the line and looked back at the bed, "some of his magic is forming a path of some kind. What's in this direction again?" It was hard to tell while they were indoors.

"I think the park is in that direction," said Rainbow Dash.

Twilight nodded, "we might learn something if we follow this." She gestured to the line of magic that only she could see.

"Well let's not waste anymore time then," Applejack said as she adjusted her hat.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay here. We would understand if you did." Said Fluttershy.

"No can do," Applejack said firmly. "Ah'm not gonna mope around here when Ah can go out there and do something about it. That bein said, can Ah ask ya a favor, RD?"

"What is it, Applejack?" Asked Rainbow.

"Can you quickly swing by Sweet Apple Acres and tell Granny what happened to Big Mac." She said. "Ah need her to come up with somethin to tell Apple Bloom and Ah sure as shootin don't want my little sis seein her big brother like this."

Rainbow looked into Applejack's eyes, and saw how much her friend was hurting. "You can count on me AJ. I'll swing by there really quick and then meet up with you later."

"Thanks pardner," said Applejack. "Ah appreciate it."

"So you didn't find him there?" Twilight asked Fluttershy as they ran down the path.

"Not that I could tell," Fluttershy shook her head. "Cloud Kicker said he wasn't there, but she did say that Blossomforth has been a bit sick lately and that Random has been helping take care of her."

"Fluttershy dear," said Rarity. "Do you think she may have been lying?"

"I dunno, maybe," Fluttershy reflected. "Rainbow Dash was giving her that look like she was ready to start a fight."

Twilight would've facehoofed at that except that all four of hers were being used to run. She caught a look of Pinkie out of the corner of her eye, who actually was facehoofing and still keeping up with just three hoofs. The effect was ruined by the goofy smile she had though.

"Do I want to know what you're smiling about?" Twilight dared to ask.

"Cherry Chongas," she said as she kept smiling.

"Sorry I asked," she said, but she still found herself smiling at the response.

They continued to follow the trail that Twilight was following, her eyes lit up the whole time. They drew a few curious glances from the other ponies they passed on their way into the park. However, most of Ponyville had learned by this point that if those ponies were running together like they had somewhere to be, it was best to just stay out of their way. Trouble managed to start up around them a bit too often.

The trail eventually led to a small hill with a tree atop it. Laying beneath the tree was a pony they had never seen before. He had a light green coat and a blonde mane. They could easily see his cutiemark despite the fact he was lying on his back. It was a strange one though. It looked like vines with smoke curling around them. That may explain why he currently had a cigarette sticking out of his mouth as he relaxed in the shade. Next to him was a folded up lab coat with a pair of silver spectacles laying on top of them.

"Twilight, do you see that," Rarity said. "The doctor said something about an out of town physician that smelled like smoke."

However Twilight wasn't listening. The trail she was following pointed directly at the earth pony laying there. Not only that, her magical sight revealed him to be completely hollow except for a brown crystal she could see inside him. What really caught her attention though, was the sight of Big Mac's cutiemark suspended inside it.

Author's Note

Leave it to Pinkie to make the most sense and no sense at the same time.

Chapter 24: Chasing Smoke

"Twilight," Applejack looked concerned. "You alright, girl? You just froze up fer a moment."

Twilight took a deep breath before pointing at the stallion who appeared to be doing little more than sleeping. "It's him," she said. "I think he's the one, but..."

"But what, Twi?" Said an anxious Applejack. "If he's the one who hurt mah brother then we should..."

"It's not just that," Twilight shook her head as she held a hoof on Applejack's shoulder. Twilight could feel how tense her friend was, like she might pounce at any moment. "I mean, I can see Big Mac's cutiemark inside him, but I'm not really sure what I'm looking at."

"So what's the plan then, Twi?" Applejack said through gritted teeth. "Cause Ah'd really like ta go kick his sorry flank if he's gone and hurt mah family like that."

"Let's try talking to him," she finally said after a moment of consideration. "I don't know what we're dealing with or what sort of magic could do that to another pony and I don't want to risk him doing it to somepony else as well. Let's see if we can't get him talking though. Maybe we can learn something."

"All right, Twi," said Applejack, relaxing a bit but not once taking her eyes off him. "We'll try it yer way, but Ah don't know how long Ah'm gonna be able to hold myself back from kickin' his teeth in."

Twilight looked to her other friends. Rainbow Dash hadn't yet gotten back from telling Granny Smith about her grandson. She had to hope she didn't try to start a fight when she showed up. Rarity and Fluttershy were both watching her closely, both of them nodding their silent agreement. Pinkie was... Where was Pinkie?

They all looked up the hill, shocked horror painting their faces as they saw Pinkie bouncing up the hill. Mostly likely going to say hello to the potential powder keg.

"Pinkie!!" Twilight shouted in a forced whisper. "What are you doing?!"

The rest of them rushed up the hill as quietly as they could, spreading out around the pony as they got closer. They had almost caught up to Pinkie when...

"Hi!" Said Pinkie in a not so quiet voice. "I haven't seen a pony like you in town before. Are you new? Oh silly me," she said with a chuckle. "If I don't know who you are, then of course you're new."

The rest of them skidded to a stop as the stallion opened his eyes. He slowly picked himself up off the ground and yawned as he sat up. They watched his rich brown eyes focus in on Pinkie as he scratched the back of his head. Twilight felt some momentary panic start to creep up on her, unsure of what he was about to do.

"Well aren't you a regular ray of sunshine," he said with a smile as he talked around his cigarette, small wisps floating off of it as he talked.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Pinkie Pie," Pinkie said cheerily. "And what's your name?"

"Well Pinkie, my name's Smokey Vines," said Smokey as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "But my friends call me Doctor Smokey." His eyes were half lidded as he peeked around Pinkie and looked right at Twilight. He seemed to consider something for a moment, but maybe he was just waking up. "Friends of yours?" He nodded in their direction.

"Yepperooni!" Pinkie cheered right before Rarity and Fluttershy had a chance to drag her away.

Smokey watched the pink bundle of energy as she was removed with a raised eyebrow. "That one's got a lot of energy," he said as turned to look at Twilight. "You're the new princess aren't you?" He asked while sounding mostly uninterested. "Princess Twilight, right? Something I can help you with?"

Twilight nodded, swallowing hard as she did so. "I have a question for you, Smokey."

"Ok, shoot," he said as he unfolded and resettled his white coat over his shoulders.

"Are you the one who brought Big Macintosh to the hospital?" Twilight asked.

Smokey paused for a moment as he settled his glasses on his face, "big guy? Roughly bout this tall? Wears a yoke?"

"Yeah," Applejack snorted grumpily. "That's him."

Smokey looked cross-eyed at Applejack and then back to Twilight, "did I do something to make her mad? Yes I found an earth pony and took him to the hospital this morning. I wasn't about to let him lay around in the streets."

Twilight exhaled slowly, she was sure this was going to provoke him. "Are you the one who hurt him?" She asked.

Smokey narrowed his eyes at her, "I don't appreciate the accusation. No, I did not."

"Why do I see his cutiemark floating around inside you then?" Twilight dropped the question.

Smokey looked down at his chest, confused, "you can see that, can you?" He looked back up and seemed to notice her glowing eyes for the first time. "Huh... Your eyes are glowing," he observed with a puzzled look. "When did you learn that trick?"

"Twi..." Applejack growled, "we better cut the small talk and Ah better get some answers Ah like soon." Her eyes never once left Smokey, "Ah wanna know two things before Ah kick yer face in. What did you do to mah brother and how do Ah fix it?"

Smokey's drifted his gaze over to her, "he's your brother, is he? I'm sorry to hear that. If it's some comfort, he'll wake up when I'm done using his magic."

"Ah don't like that answer." Applejack's eyes narrowed to pinpricks. "What if Ah just decided to beat it out of you."

Smokey scratched under his chin while he appeared to think it over. "I suppose that would do it, too," he said.

Twilight was too late to stop what happened next.

Applejack dove at Smokey, her anger finally winning out as she went in with her hooves swinging. Smokey just looked largely unconcerned as they heard him inhale a sharp breath through his nose. A moment before Applejack would have struck his face, he exhaled.

A thick blue smoke rolled out of his open mouth, causing everyone else to jump back in surprise. The apple farmer, wasn't so fortunate due to being so close to the pony at the time.

Twilight watched on in horror as the smoke fully enveloped her friend, obscuring her from view. A violent coughing fit could be heard from within the cloud, the cough slowly grew quieter until it was barely audible.

A few moments later, the smoke cleared. Leaving Smokey as the only pony still standing with no sign of Applejack.

The four remaining ponies stood there in shocked silence from what they just saw happen. Not even Pinkie looked like she was in the mood for jokes.

"What did you do to Applejack?!" Rarity was the first to say what they were all thinking.

Smokey didn't have an answer for them, he was looking around himself, seeming a bit confused. "I'm not really sure what I did?" He seemed to spot something on the ground. "Ah!" He exclaimed. "Here she is."

He reached down and scooped up a small figure off the ground. A very small Applejack rested on his hoof, looking very disoriented. "So I guess that's how she reacts to poison joke then," he said with a clinical interest.

"Poison joke?!" Twilight and her friends suddenly grew a bit more wary as they eyed him carefully. They all remembered the last time they had dealt with the troublesome plant before and weren't keen to repeat the experience..

"What did you think I was smoking? Tobacco? Nah, that stuff will kill you." He looked at the small pony in his hoof and carefully set her on the ground next to the tree he was resting besides. "I'm not really much of a fighter. If it's all the same to you, I'd rather this be the end of our little confrontation."

He started to walk away, but only made it a couple steps before a prismatic blur slammed into him from the sky. A cloud of dust was churned up from the impact as the pair slid several dozen feet away.

Twilight galloped after them with her friends right behind her. She hadn't been expecting Rainbow to make such a spectacular entrance and neither did Smokey from the looks of it.

They came to where the dust stopped moving and waited for it to settle. None of them were expecting what they saw when the dust finally cleared.

Rainbow Dash was there on top of Smokey. At first it seemed like she had him pinned down. However when they looked closer they realized it wasn't exactly what they thought it was. Smokey had his forelegs wrapped around the back of Rainbow Dash's head and had his lips very clearly locked with hers.

"Oh my," said Fluttershy as she proceeded to turn red.

Rarity looked like she was trying to bite back a laugh.

Pinkie immediately started to roll on the ground, giggling madly.

Twilight just sat there with her mouth agape at the absurd thing that just happened.

Rainbow struggled in his grip and eventually was able to wriggle free. She stumbled backwards and began spitting to the side every couple steps. "What was that all about?!" She shouted at him as she rubbed at her nose like she had just tasted something foul. "And did you have to use tongue?!"

Rarity finally broke as she collapsed to the ground with tears in her eyes, joining Pinkie in her hysterical laughing fit.

"Ewww, what's this stuff," Rainbow complained as a purple sludge began to dribble down from her mouth.

Smokey picked himself off the ground and walked over to Rainbow, "ok," he said with a scowl. "I didn't want to have to do this, but you've forced my hoof." He grabbed Rainbow by the foreleg and using his own weight, threw the confused and off-balance pegasus airborne in the direction of the rest of her friends.

Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie saw Rainbow flying towards and quickly got out of the way. However, Rarity was too caught up in the giggles and didn't see Rainbow until right before she landed on top of her.

An explosion of purple smoke enveloped the two of them as their bodies collided. The smoke roiled and twisted as small tendrils formed within the smoke and began to weave in and out of the miasma they found themselves trapped in.

A couple screams could be heard coming from within the dense fog. They were short and distorted and continued to sound more warped as time went on. When the smoke finally cleared, only a single pony could be found left inside.

The pony had a pale blue coat and a rainbow mane done up in large curls. The only thing that shocked Twilight more than the fact that this new pony had both wings and a horn, was the cutiemark. It looked like someone had taken both Rarity's and Rainbow's cutiemarks and mashed them together into some sort of weird combination of the two.

"Rarity? Rainbow Dash?" Twilight approached with a sense of dread hanging over her. "Is that you?"

"What my goodness just happened?" the new pony said. The voice was very oddly distorted and the words that came out didn't make a whole lot of sense. She apparently noticed the strange distortion and began to look herself over.

"How is this possible?!" Twilight began hyperventilating.

"How should I no idea?" The pony said as it simultaneously tried to turn and take a step forward at the same time. This resulted in a trip and a faceplant that left her groaning on the ground.

"Twilight!" Came a diminutive voice.

Twilight looked to see a small orange form hopping through the grass.

"Applejack! Are you feeling ok?" Twilight asked.

"Ah didn't like it the first time this happened neither," said Appletiny. "Didn't anypony notice that Smokey ran away in all the commotion?"

Twilight whipped her head around, determined to find the pony that did this to her friends. However, they were the only ones left on the hill.

"Where did he go?" Twilight questioned no one in particular.

Back in town, Smokey had ducked into the alley between two buildings. He was tired from running and he knew his head start wouldn't last forever.

"Having trouble there?" Came a tiny voice floating next to him.

"Whisper," he sighed. "I should've known."

"Hmmm," the little fairy pondered. "Should've known what?"

"You showed Twilight how to see magic, didn't you?" He accused. "Why?"

"Don't fault me if I decide to teach somepony something just because I feel like it," she landed on the wall and casually danced across it. "Why? Is it causing you some trouble?"

"I was so careful about nopony seeing me and she wouldn't have found me without it," Smokey said in his agitation.

"Were you hoping to be able to carry out his plan without any real resistance? That's way too optimistic." She looked down the entrance to the alleyway. Smokey followed her view and found nothing there. "Looks like Pinkie found you. She really is the best at hide and seek," she kicked off the wall and disappeared. "Bye-bye now," her voice hung in the empty air.

"Wait!" Shouted Smokey too late, the fairy had already disappeared.

"Wait for what, silly?" Came another new voice from behind him.

Smokey snapped around, surprised to find Pinkie already beside him. "Where did you come from?!" He said in shock.

"Well... If you really want to know." Pinkie rubbed her chin. "When a mommy and daddy love each other very much..." Pinkie began only to find a hoof slap over her mouth.

"Stop.... Just stop," he cut her off before that train of thought could go any further. He reached into the pocket of his coat and fished out a brightly colored gumdrop. He held it out for a moment, waiting until the pink pony saw it before popping it in his mouth.

"What's that? Is it tasty?" Pinkie's asked, curiosity evident on her face.

Smokey reached into his pocket and pulled out another one. He waved it back and forth in front of the pink pony, her head following his movement like a snake being charmed.

She was about to jump at his hoof, when with a quick flick, he popped that one in his mouth as well.

"Hey?!" She complained, her face forming into a pout followed by raptured attention as he pulled out yet another one.

He turned as he heard heavy breathing coming from the entrance to the alley. Twilight and Fluttershy stood there panting, most likely from running there straight from the park.

"Stop... Right there," Twilight said as she tried to catch her breath.

"You girls aren't going to stop chasing me, are you?" He said as he popped another gumdrop in his mouth, just narrowly pulling it out of Pinkie's reach just before she would've grabbed it.

"Meanie," she complained as she scrunched her nose in annoyance.

Smokey suddenly found himself wrapped in a magenta aura as he was lifted into the air. He sighed dejectedly as he looked down to see the same magic radiating from Twilight's horn.

Twilight had a confident look on her face as she looked up at him. "Caught you," she said smugly. "Now, we're going to have a talk about what it is you're doing after you tell me how to change Rarity and Rainbow Dash back."

"I take it that's the names of those other two?" Smokey looked bored as he tossed one last gumdrop in Pinkie's direction

Pinkie deftly caught the flying treat and began to chew on it happily while humming to herself.

"Pinkie!" Exclaimed Twilight. "Don't eat that!" She looked back at Smokey just in time to see a white ball flying in her direction. She reflexively refocused her attention into throwing a shield around herself. The ball contacted the shield and exploded into a puff of smoke.

A white fog rolled over them and through the rest of the alley, obscuring everything from view. She heard a panicked cry from beside her in the direction of Fluttershy follow by the sound of a body hitting the ground.

"Fluttershy!" She cried as she dropped her shield. The smokescreen rapidly filling the gap left behind by her shield. Twilight began to cough as some of the smoke entered her lungs.

"I'm ok, Twilight," Fluttershy said through the smoke, her voice sounding a bit raspy through the smoke. "It feels like I got stung by something though."

Twilight cast another spell, this time blowing the smoke away from them and clearing the alley.

Once she was able to see again, she quickly searched for the troublesome earth pony. He was gone again, most likely slipped away when they couldn't see anything.

"Um... Twilight?" Fluttershy said in much deeper voice than she normally had. "Something's wrong."

Twilight looked to Fluttershy and her jaw dropped. Her friend's shoulders were thicker than they had been a moment ago and her jaw was a bit firmer as well. She currently had her wings unfurled and was doing her best to cover herself with them.

"Fluttershy? Are you... Are you a stallion?" Twilight asked with wide eyes.

"Mmm hmm," Fluttershy nodded as she turned more and more flush under her friend's gaze.

Twilight looked at how she was covering herself, turning a bit flush herself when she realized what Fluttershy was covering up.

"Eep," she crouched close to the ground as she saw where Twilight's eyes had wandered to. She peeked an eye up to look in the direction of their other friend. "Is... Is Pinkie ok?"

Twilight looked back to where Pinkie Pie was standing. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her friend was unchanged. "Oh thank Celestia, you're ok."

"I think I'm ok," Pinkie looked herself over. "I do feel kinda funny though." Pinkie happily trotted over to them, but then froze when she saw Flutterguy. "Fluttershy's a stallion?"

"Seems that way," Twilight turned to leave. "I think she'll be ok, though. Rarity and Rainbow Dash have it far worse right now."

"Fluttershy looks really good as a stallion," she heard Pinkie say in a sultry voice. Twilight looked back to find that Pinkie was slowly approaching Flutterguy, deliberately swaying her hips as she drew closer.

Flutterguy's eyes went wide as he jumped back to his hooves while his wings flared back. By that point, Pinkie was right next to him and rubbing up against him like a cat. Pinkie slowly made her way around Flutterguy, rubbing against him with every step. At one point, she even lifted her tail and ran it under Flutterguy's chin, a couple of the stray hairs tickling his nose.

"Oh my," said Flutterguy as his nostrils went wide for a moment, breathing in Pinkie's scent.

Pinkie made her way back to the front and looked deep into Flutterguy's eyes. Little hearts could be seen forming in her eyes. A deep blush was painting her features and she was exhaling small warm breaths that tickled Flutterguy's fur.

Flutterguy attempted to backpedal away from Pinkie, Pinkie matching him stride for stride as she kept advancing on the mare turned stallion. "Twilight..." Flutterguy whined. "I think we have a problem."

Twilight looked at them, dumbfounded. One of her eyes twitching as a chuckle escaped the side of her mouth.

The door to the library burst open for the second time that evening. Twilight rushed in, a manic look on her face as she levitated in a drooling and very aroused Pinkie Pie.

Flutterguy was panting hard as he quickly closed the door behind them. He was feeling a lot more self-conscious than normal and pretty sure that absolutely everyone was watching him as they ran across town.

"This is fine. Everything's fine," Twilight sounded a bit off as she dumped Pinkie on the floor.

Once Pinkie was free of Twilight's magic, she wasted no time making a beeline for Flutterguy.

Flutterguy, who had more than enough of the extra attention he had been getting, picked up Pinkie once she was in range. Using the added momentum, he proceeded to flip Pinkie over his head and pin her to the ground.

Pinkie didn't seem to mind the rough treatment she was getting. Instead, she just continued to carry a goofy expression like her birthday had come early.

"What's wrong with them?" Asked a worried Spike from across the room. He was currently sitting beside the Rarity-Rainbow combo and dabbing her forehead with a damp cloth as she lay on her side panting.

"Nothing you need to worry about, Spike. I'll tell you when you're older. Hehe." Giggled Twilight as she staggered over to the table and planted her face on it.

Spike looked over to Flutterguy, who had Pinkie thoroughly subdued at this point. "What's wrong with Twilight?" He asked with no small measure of concern.

The new stallion shared Spike's concern as he looked over to the alicorn sitting at the table. "I think she's more than a little stressed. She's been like that since Smokey got away." He did a quick survey of the rest of the room. "Where's Applejack?" He asked.

"She's in the bath, we had some of the poison joke remedy left over from the last time everypony stepped in it," Spike explained.

"That's great... Just great," Twilight had little pieces of her mane sticking out at odd angles as she picked herself back up from the table. "At least we can do something about Applejack... Haha." She sharply jabbed a hoof in the direction of each of her remaining friends. "But what about everypony else! Fluttershy's suddenly a stallion, Pinkie can't get within a few feet of one without turning into a love-drunk idiot, and them..." Twilight gestured to the remaining mare laying on the floor, "I don't even know where to start with that! GAH!" Twilight was holding her head and slumped back down at the table.

"I lost the Alicorn Amulet, even though I was wearing it. I've had to deal with Sombra today..." She was sobbing at this point. "We can't even use our elements right now if mine's missing. What's Princess Celestia going to think of me?" Some dread could be heard making its way through her voice. "Am I a disappointment? I must be. She hasn't returned any of my letters."

"Twilight... You're not a disappointment to anypony," Spike slowly approached the depressed alicorn. "We've dealt with some crazy things since coming to Ponyville and we'll figure this out too." He placed a comforting claw on her side, hoping to cheer her up.

His claw only rested there for a moment before he quickly pulled it back with a yelp of pain, sparks of pale blue magic jumped off Twilight's fur where his claw had rested. "Ow!" Spike held his now numb claw as he looked up at her, "Twi... Twilight?"

Silence reigned over the room as Twilight slowly looked back up from the table. She heaved lungfuls of air through gritted teeth, her purple eyes began to take on a pale hue to the point they were almost pink. She no longer seemed to notice the tears that were freely flowing from her eyes as stray bits of her mane laid over her face. "Nopony hurts my friends..." She practically growled as more of the unusual magic began to wrap around her body. "Anypony who hurts them is evil. I'll make anyone who hurts them pay!"

Upon her declaration, a cold chill swept through the room as Twilight's body was completely engulfed by the pale magic. The space around her began to crackle and pop as the heat that poured off her body forced her friends to move back a couple steps. The mass of magic that occupied the place Twilight was standing suddenly shot up into the air and tore out an open window. When everyone looked back to where Twilight had just been standing, all they found were scorch marks.

Author's Note

...Uh-oh.
I had a chapter hit 4k words. I was wondering when that would happen.

Oh yeah and uh-oh, Twilight's finally lost it.

Chapter 25: Midnight

Smokey made his way to the edge of town. He was feeling more than a little tired and just a bit bad about what he had to do to get away.

"I think I've finally lost them," he said as he looked back at the town. "Heh, and now I'm talking to myself. Has being able to hear my own voice after so long really become that novel of an experience?" He looked at the Everfree forest behind him. "This is way too much trouble to go through. I know you want to put Sombra down for good, but there has to be a better way to go about it. None of those girls deserved what I did to them." He gave a bit of thought to how they found him out, "is that why you did it, Whisper? Are you trying to get through to him?"

Smokey took a couple of steps towards the Everfree Forest. He was hoping that the wild magic of the forest would be enough to mask the trail that the purple alicorn has used to follow him.

He lost his footing and stumbled forward, confused as his chest slammed against the dirt and his breath was driven out of him. He tried to push himself back up but was unable to find any immediate purchase on the ground in front of him. His eyes came back into focus after the jarring impact he had just suffered and his eyes went wide at what he was seeing or more importantly, what he wasn't seeing.

There was no ground before him. Even if it was just a hole in the ground, you would still be able to see the sides of the hole from the angle he was looking at it. However, there was nothing. Literally nothing.

He scrambled to climb back up, pushing himself away from the impossibility that appeared in front of him. As he backed away from the void in front of him, a chilling voice manifested behind him.

"Who said you could leave?" The voice was twisted, yet there was an innocence to it, and there was just a hint of malice hidden within it.

Smokey turned towards the source of the voice, immediately noticing the dark purple glow the sky had taken on. In front of him was Twilight Sparkle, but something seemed different about her. Small wisps of magic flickered through the air around her, taking on shades of magenta and blue as she slowly walked towards him.

As she got closer, he could see the pale glow her eyes had taken on. It was different than the ability she had been using to find him. "What happened to you, princess?" He asked as some unnamed fear began to crawl down his back.

"What do you think happened to me?" Twilight asked as she slowly began walking towards him. "You happened to me. You and everypony else that decided to hurt me and my friends."

Smokey tried to back away from her as she approached, but with the unknown void laying behind him, he didn't have anywhere he could really go. Long bright purple cracks began to form in the ground around his hooves as he tried to circle around the unstable alicorn. "Twilight... Whatever else is happening, you need to calm down."

"Calm down!" She roared as tears ran down her face. "You don't get to tell me to calm down after everything you did!" The lights were gathering around her as the magic in the air began to condense. "Why did you do it? What did we ever do to you?"

"You didn't do anything to deserve what happened. You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." He was looking for an opportunity to make a run for it, but it wasn't looking good.

"Are you trying to escape?" Her voice began to take on a sultry tone. "Evil creatures like you don't get to do as you please and I won't let you hurt anypony ever again."

As she spoke those last words, a bright, six pointed star appeared in the sky above her. The light from the star shone down on her and wrapped her in its brilliant light. Twilight's body lifted into the air as powerful magic wrapped itself around her body, obscuring her from view. The surrounding space began to warp and crack as a ball of light engulfed Twilight's body and began to spin in place.

Smokey started to panic as he desperately looked for an escape. He wasn't completely sure what was happening, but he had a fairly good feeling what it was and it wasn't something he could handle by himself. He tried several times to run around the spinning orb of magic, but every time he thought he found another route to escape, another bolt of power flew out from the orb and cut off his escape as well as tearing another hole in the world.

The orb began to spin faster and grow brighter as the air around it began to feel more and more charged with magic. With a snap, magic flew out from the center like broken glass. Each of the shards catching on empty space as they hung in the air, some of them tore open holes that opened to more than just empty space. Places that had never been seen before were made visible through some of them and a few even had creatures that no pony had ever seen before.

Twilight Sparkle floated in the center of the nexus of destruction, changed by the torrent of magic she had wrapped herself in. Blue flames licked off the edges of her eyes and wrapped itself around her horn. Her two-tone mane and tail had gained long black streaks through them and they danced in the wind like they had taken on a fiery life of their own. Her wings had taken on a dark purple color even as they had almost doubled in length, each of them ending in large tufts of feathers with pinions that seemed to play with the air around her as they effortlessly suspended her in the air.

"This is bad," Smokey said as he tried to back away, he was genuinely scared at this point. "This has gone way too far."

Twilight looked down at her body, smiling as she did so, "I don't know what happened, but I feel good." She smiled a sinister smile. "Everything seems so much clearer now. Magic... The universe... Everything." She turned her pale eyes on Smokey, "even you, my little abomination. I see what you are." A single spark flew off her horn and shot at the earth pony faster than he could react.

It impacted with one of his forelegs, the sound of shattering glass pierced the night as the offending leg broke off like it was made of the most fragile crystal. With that leg no longer supporting his weight, he tumbled to the ground. A blank stare masked his face as he looked up at her. He didn't cry or scream as he found himself down to three legs, but instead, a gloom settled over his face. "No..." He said in despair. "You don't understand what you've just tapped into."

"I understand enough to know that you present no threat to me." Twilight wrapped her hooves around herself, a look of euphoria filling her eyes as she shivered in delight. "This form though. The magic I now have access to. The things I could do, the things I could learn..."

"The damage you could cause!" Smokey shouted even as he clutched the crystal stump of his missing leg.

Twilight looked down at him from her place in the air, "oh right. I almost forgot you were here. Be quiet," she dismissed him as both of his back legs exploded into a rain of glass, leaving him with only a single leg left to hold himself up with.

"What would Celestia think if she saw you like this?!" He shouted up at her.

"Show the princess the respect she is due," ordered Twilight. "What would Princess Celestia think? I'm sure she'll resist, convince me to give it up. But when I show her the good we can do with this. The worlds we can explore," the tips of her wings began to glow and with a lazy swipe of one of them, she cut open the empty space like a hot knife through butter. The rift revealing a whole new world behind it. "The villains who believe that they have a safe haven will no longer be able to hide." With another swipe of the wing, she cut open another space. Floating houses, upside-down roads, and waterfalls that flowed in reverse could be seen within it as well as what fell out of the rift.

Discord, the spirit of chaos, tumbled to the ground. A shower cap on his head and a brush in one of his mismatched claws. "What in the name of all things mad is going on here?" He looked annoyed until he looked up at the corrupted Twilight Sparkle, then he just started clapping happily. "Oh my, little princess. What have you done to yourself? I absolutely love it!"

"Be quiet and wait your turn, Discord. I haven't forgotten what you did to us back in the maze." Twilight looked down at the draconequus.

"Ooo, I love a good supervillain throwdown." Discord excitedly snapped his eagle claw, causing his shower cap and brush to disappear and in its place he found himself on a couch enjoying a bowl of popcorn. "What's this one called? Nightmare Twilight? Nightmare Sparkle?"

"Laugh while you can," Twilight sneered down at him. "You pose no threat to me anymore."

"Ooo, how bout Midnight Sparkle! Sure we're not supposed to see it for a couple movies yet but who's counting?" Discord stuffed his claw into the popcorn bowl and pulled out a hotdog. "And we're right at my favorite part of the movie, too," he crunched on the hotdog like a pickle.

Midnight Sparkle looked down at Discord, slightly amused at his antics, "and what part would that be?"

"Oh?" Discord guffawed. "It's the part where the villain monologues a little too long and is interrupted in the most cliché way possible." He took a moment to consider, "come to think of it, I think I did the same thing when I faced you and your friends."

Midnight looked back at Smokey who hadn't moved an inch since her exchange with Discord started. With what Discord just said, she had been expecting him to have done something, but he was just laying there, smiling.

"What are you smiling about," she said even as the sound of rattling chains penetrated her hearing. Her eyes grew wide with confusion, "what is that sound?!"

She didn't have to wait long, for at that moment the ground beneath where Midnight was hovering began to shake. Like a snake lunging at unsuspecting prey, long emerald chains erupted from the ground and began to spiral around the unsuspecting Midnight.

Midnight noticed their approach at the last second and failed to get completely out of the way in time. One of the many chains immediately latched onto a leg and began to pull her to the ground. A spark flew from Midnight's horn, severing the chain almost as soon as it tied itself onto her.

"I love a good struggle," came the voice of Discord as he started to munch on the popcorn bowl itself.

Midnight made the mistake of looking at the draconequus as he shouted out, allowing herself to be quickly overwhelmed by the rest of the chains.

"What are these?!" She cried out as she attempted and failed to teleport out of the way. More and more of the chains began to wrap themselves around her legs, pulling them taut. She gave a few futile flaps of her wings and a new set of chains began to work their way up those as well. "Who's doing this?! Smokey?!" She looked to the still form laying on the ground but got no response. "Discord?!"

"Don't look at me. This is far too coordinated to be something I'd do." Discord was now laid out on a beach chair and getting a tan under the moonlight.

"Who's there?!" She shouted. "Show yourself!" The chains quickly spiraled up her neck and wrapped themselves around her horn. Breathing started to become difficult as the links constricted around her, and her mind started becoming numb as they tightened around her sensitive horn.

"What's happening here?" Asked a voice that carried in on the wind.

Midnight strained to look down at where she thought she heard the voice coming from. The Everfree Shade looked up at her with his hood resting against the back of his neck. He had a far away look in his eyes like he was somewhere else even as he was clearly studying her.

"It's about time you showed up," said Smokey as he pushed himself up on his one remaining leg. "What took you so long?"

Midnight fought to breathe as she forced a few words out, "you two know each other?" She wheezed.

"What's this?" Discord got up from his seat and pulled off his sunglasses, revealing tan lines in the process. A look of delight appearing on his face as he looked at the scene in front of him. "Hahaha!" He began to roll with laughter. "So that's what's going on here!"

"Hello Discord," the Shade said without taking his eyes off of Midnight. "I see you're enjoying yourself, as always."

"Positively so, my good chap" said Discord as he sipped tea and readjusted his monocle. "It's not every day that some pony tries to tear the multiverse apart. I certainly didn't expect it to be perfect little miss Twilight Sparkle doing it."

The Shade let out a heavy sigh without once taking his eyes off Midnight. "Discord?" He asked.

"Yes? Is there something you need?" He asked while his grin tried to run away from him.

"Go away," he said flatly.

Discord's smile promptly turned upside down, literally. "Well fine, if you're going to be rude about it," he huffed as he pulled a doorknob from his pocket and used it to open a door in the scenery. "I will be watching though. This is just too interesting to ignore," he stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry before closing the door behind him.

"I see he hasn't changed," he turned away from the bound Midnight and stepped up to the broken pony on the ground. "What happened?"

"It's a bit of a long story," Smokey said as he laid back on the grass, a tired look on her face. "I definitely wasn't expecting today to go like this."

The Shade looked back up at Midnight, who was still struggling to escape her chains even as the rifts around her were beginning to seal themselves shut. "I want you to use it now," he said without once looking away from the mad alicorn.

Smokey's eyes grew wide, "are you sure? I won't be ready in time if Celestia decides to interfere."

The Shade glanced around at still closing rifts in space that surrounded them. "This is a more immediate problem," he said. "I have other ways of protecting myself from her but this needs to be taken care right away."

"So this was all for nothing then," Smokey said as the cracks at the ends of his broken legs began to climb up the rest of his body. His fur began to slowly melt into the skin below it, causing it to take on a glassy appearance.

"What... Do you want... With... The princess?" Midnight fought between breaths to ask the question. She was beginning to feel light-headed with the way the chains around her throat restricted her breathing.

"Shhh... Be calm Twilight Sparkle," he said softly. "I'm going to do my best to release you from your darker nature, before you end up doing something you'll regret." A sad look showed in his eyes as he said those words.

Smokey's body began to steam as wisps of golden smoke began to leak through cracks forming in his body. A bright miasma began to slowly collect around them as the rest of the earth pony's body continued to break down. A small ribbon of light tore from his body as the last of it broke down into mist. The light flew through the air and connected with the Shade's horn, his eyes lit brightly for just a moment before returning to their green color.

"I see..." He seemed deep in thought for a moment. "So he captured your friend's brother. That's what started this all."

Midnight's flailing mind was still able to piece together what the Shade just did, despite her fading consciousness. "You know his memories?"

He stepped right up to Midnight and gently placed a hoof to the side of her head, "it's a good thing you still have some ability to reason. It means you're still in there, Twilight Sparkle," he said as he looked deep into her eyes.

The thick miasma began to converge on the two of them, any thought of escape gone from Midnight's addled mind as she hung limply in the air.

"It's my fault you're suffering, but I'm going to fix this," he said as the golden cloud rushed in and began to swirl around her.

The chains disappeared from her neck without warning. Desperate for air, she took in a sharp breath before she could stop herself from breathing in the thick golden smoke.

Author's Note

With this chapter, we are officially halfway through the story.
I hope you've been enjoying it so far. I put a lot of work into this.

Chapter 26: Reunion

Now that Applejack was no longer teacup sized, she was doing her best to tend to her friends in Twilight's absence. She had of course heard Spike's retelling of what had happened while she was taking the poison joke remedy.

"The sky went back to normal," Flutterguy said as he looked out the window. She... He was particularly grateful to no longer needing to keep a particularly frisky Pinkie Pie restrained.

"What you suppose that was all about?" Asked Applejack as she did her best to keep her two friends that found themselves in the same body comfortable.

"And is Twi... Twi... Twilight alright?" Said a shivering Pinkie Pie.

"Ah'm sure she'll be alright. Twi's a big girl," Applejack gave Pinkie the stink eye. "And don't think Ah'm bout to let my guard down. Ah catch ya so much as lookin at Fluttershy funny, yer goin back in the shower."

"Does it have to be so cold?" Pinkie was huddled up in a blanket that Spike had provided.

"Granny always said a cold shower is the best way to keep them loins from a burnin. Until whatever that stuff you ate is out of your system, that's how its gonna be." Applejack said matter of factly.

"I'm ne... Never taking candy from strangers again." Pinkie said adamantly through chattering teeth.

"That'll be the day," Applejack rolled her eyes, not once believing that Pinkie will follow through on that.

Their banter was interrupted as the door to the library creaked open.

"Twilight!" Cheered Spike as he rushed to the door to greet her. He had been beside himself with worry ever since she disappeared.

It wasn't Twilight at the door though.

Once Spike saw who it was, he quickly ran for cover as the Everfree Shade calmly walked into the library.

Applejack was on her hooves right away, ready to start a fight if a fight was to be had.

"Calm yourself Applejack," the Shade said as he walked right past her and placed a large covered basket he had floating beside him on the table. "I didn't come here looking for trouble."

"Oh yeah," Applejack wasn't about to let her guard down. "From what Ah hear from Twi, trouble does a pretty good job followin you home. So forgive me if Ah ain't bout to believe ya."

He paused for a moment. "No," he said calmly, "if I was in your position, I wouldn't believe me, either."

"Applejack... Don't... Leave him be," A weak voice came from inside the basket that he set on the table. "Don't try to fight him."

Applejack raised an eyebrow as she recognized the voice coming from the basket. Slowly she backed away from the shade, not once taking her eyes off him, "Ah'm watchin you, pardner."

She made her way to the basket and threw the cover off of it. What was inside completely captivated all of her attention.

A young Twilight Sparkle, about the size of a filly, was inside the basket. Not just one, but three Twilight Sparkles were all bundled up together. If that wasn't odd enough, each one of them was a different tribe. There was a unicorn, a pegasus, and an earth pony. Not one of them was an alicorn though.

"What did you do to Twilight?" Applejack asked in shock as she looked back up. The shade was currently standing over the prone Raridash laying in the corner. "Hey! Get away from her!"

"No, Applejack. Don't." All three Twilight's were out of the basket and hanging onto Applejack, doing their best to try and keep her from going after him. "Leave Random alone. He's not somepony you can fight."

"Random's not somepony you can what now?" Came a voice Twilight hadn't heard in a while coming from the stairs. As one, every pony in the room looked towards the doorway that led downstairs. There was Random Fact, in the flesh, standing in front of them.

The Shade paused for a moment as he cocked his head at the new appearance. Everyone had to do a doubletake as they looked back and forth between the two ponies. Aside from their colors, they looked completely identical. From the way their jaw was set to the way their mane was styled. There was no discernable difference.

"Ok... This is a bit weird...," said Random nervously. "And it looks like it has nothing to do with me. So... If it's all the same to you, I still have a sick pegasus to help take care of. So... I'm just gonna go." He slowly made his way around the room, not once taking his eyes off the ponies that followed him as he opened the door and shut it behind himself.

The Shade looked over to Twilight, "it seems you have a friend that looks like me," he casually dismissed.

"But you... But he..." The Twilights were doing a strange collective show of confusion between the three of them until they finally collapsed into a pile of Sparkle. "My head hurts."

The Shade looked back up to Applejack, his eyes glazed over like he was somewhere else. "The rest of you will recover on your own by morning, but she needs my help immediately," he said as he gestured to the Raridash laying on the ground. "Are you going to let me help her?"

"Not without some proper explanation on what yer doin here," said Applejack as she scuffed the ground with a hoof. "How'd you git involved in all this?"

"Fine," the Shade steeled himself under the glare of the apple farmer. "Twilight was never supposed to find Smokey. Somehow she found a way to track him across the entire town."

"Wait are you saying you had something to do with Smokey?" Applejack narrowed her eyes.

"Yes," he said solemnly. "He was one of mine," as the words left his lips, Applejack bolted at him in a leaping dive. The Shade just stood there without making even the slightest effort to get out of the way, even as a hoof connected firmly with his jaw.

Silence reigned over the room as he looked down at his attacker. "Feeling better?" He solemnly asked her. He didn't seem bothered that he was just attacked, even though he now sported a bloody lip.

"Not really," said Applejack as she brushed her nose with her hoof. "Ah ain't gonna stop until you fix what ya did to mah brother."

"He's already awake," he said even as the blood on his lip began to fog and steam.

Applejack pedaled backwards in shock, both from what he said and from being unnerved by his already healing wound. "Ya better not be messing with me."

He shook his head, "I'm not. Smokey had to use everything he had in order to help me save Twilight from her own personal nightmare. When he did, what he took from your brother should've been returned to him."

"Twilight!" Gasped Flutterguy. "What did he mean by your own nightmare?"

Twilight shirked under Flutterguy's stare, "I really don't want to talk about it."

"You make sure you talk about it with your friends," the Shade said as he looked all three of the Twilights in the eye. "I don't want to wake up one day and find a new mare in the moon. Nopony deserves to go through that or to be separated from those close to them for so long." He paused for a moment, his mind clearly somewhere else. "Now if you excuse me, one of your friends still needs my help."

He turned back to Raridash, who had been watching in silence the whole time. It had been clear for a while now that they were in considerable pain. The Shade's horn lit up a brilliant green that lit up the whole room. The amount of magic that was pouring off of him caused more than one pony to recoil. Slowly they watched as Raridash was lifted into the air, her body glowing and pulsating in sync with the shade's own magic. The light grew brighter and brighter before finally dying back down.

It took a moment for everyone's vision to recover from the bright light, but when it finally did, they found Rainbow Dash and Rarity lying on the ground together, once again in two separate bodies.

The four other ponies in the room, six if you count the two extra Twilights, all rushed forward to embrace their two friends that were slowly pushing themselves off the ground. Tears flowed freely as they all shared a group hug, happy that they were all together and mostly whole again.

One of the Twilights looked up as the Shade was making his way towards the door. "Wait!" She called after him, making him pause and turn back to face her. "I don't know if you just did this out of some sense of obligation or guilt, but thank you for fixing them. And..." She fidgeted a bit, "thank you for stopping me when you did."

"I am truly sorry you girls had to go through this," he almost started to sound like he was choking up a bit. "If I knew another way... No..." He recollected himself as he looked her in the eye. "Fortunes permitting, you won't see me again." He once again turned to leave.

"I never got your name," she called after him.

He paused for a moment, it looked liked he was about to turn back to say something else, but in the end he continued making his way towards the door.

The door once again burst open, Princess Luna rushing through the door in a panic, "is Twilight Sparkle here?!" She said with some urgency to her voice. "I saw the night sky and I feared the worst. She may have even..."

The words died in her throat as she came barely a inch from the face of the Shade. Luna took a quick step back as she held a hoof to her mouth, her eyes instantly starting to tear up. "Can it be?" She forced the words out. "Is it really you?"

The Shade took a few quick steps backwards, his lip trembling as he stared at the sudden appearance of the lunar princess. Without warning and without saying another word, he disappeared in a snap of green light.

"Tell me girls," Luna looked to the bundle of ponies, tears still filling her eyes. "Who was that?"

"We don't know, yer highness," Applejack answered for them. "We just been callin him the Everfree Shade. Apparently he's been makin all sorts of ruckus around these parts."

"Tis a curious name you've chosen to call him." She looked back at the spot he disappeared and then back out the door. "No..." She shook her head, "no it can't be. It's not possible for him to still be alive after all these years."

"What's not possible, Princess Luna?" Came a small voice from a nearby shelf.

Luna's gaze snapped to the nearby shelf, her eyes going wide as she saw the yellow and pink fairy sitting there. "Is... Is that a fairy?"

"Good to see you too," came the snide response from Whisper.

"Whisper!" Shouted all three of the Twilights. "Where have you been?!"

"Whisper? Is it really you?" Luna just stood there in shock.

"It's been a while, princess. How's life been treatin you?" Whisper smiled at her.

"Then..." She looked back at the place the shade was standing, "was that really?..."

"I don't know, it could be." Whisper grinned from ear to ear.

If it was possible for Luna to look any more flustered, she found a way to do it. "But he... But I... I need to go." Without any further ceremony, Luna rushed right back out the door she entered through and took off into the night sky.

The ponies still left in the room found themselves feeling dumbfounded as they just stared at each other.

"What in tarnation just happened?" Said Applejack, breaking the silence.

The Shade reappeared back in a house across town. He collapsed to the ground almost immediately, tears filling his eyes as the long seated pain of longing began to ache inside him. He held a hoof to his chest, trying his hardest to keep his racing heart from running away.

"Oh no," said Random, who was standing next to where he had appeared. "Are you going to be ok? What happened after I left?"

"She... She was right there..." He said as he rolled onto his side and curled up. Tears rolled down from his eyes and began to collect on the floor as he lay there.

"Who was there?" Said Cloud Kicker as she entered the room.

"Luna... She... I haven't seen her in so long," he sobbed.

"What happened, Blossomforth?" Kicker asked the pony standing next to her.

A flash of green fire washed over Random's body and familiar looking pegasus took his place. "I don't know," said Blossomforth. "He just collapsed as soon as he got here."

Cloud Kicker looked worriedly at the unicorn laying there. She started poking at him with her hoof, only to have him roll over and wrap his hooves around himself.

"That look in her eyes... She still remembers me," he began to shake slightly. "Even after all this time..."

"What did I miss?" Came a tiny voice as Whisper flew into the room.

"Something's wrong with Random," said Blossomforth, pointing to the sobbing mess on the floor. "He's been like this ever since he got back."

Whisper landed on him with a soft thud. "Hey dummy!" She began to beat on him with her hooves. "You're making the girls worry. Knock it off." When he still failed to respond, she flew up and grabbed one of his ears and shouted, "Snap out of it!"

He slowly turned his head to look at her, his eyes were completely glazed and the fur around his face was completely drenched by his tears. "Why?!" He cried. "Why does it hurt so much?"

Whisper sighed and shook her head. "I warned you a long time ago when you made that amulet. I warned you that your heart might not take kindly to being split into pieces or being forced back together again."

"Does she still love me?... How could she after all this time?" He asked no one in particular.

"I don't think she was completely conscious during her thousand year visit to the moon," Whisper said. "It probably doesn't feel like all that long to her."

"But... It's been so long..." He moaned under his breath.

Whisper gave a long sigh before turning back to the two mares who were watching and waiting patiently. "He's completely out of it."

"Anything we can do to help?" Said Blossomforth. "I don't like seeing him like this after everything he did for me."

"He's been separated from the amulet for far too long," Whisper shook her head. "Now that he's reabsorbed it, he's having trouble dealing with his own emotions. Seeing Luna after so long seems to have broken him. He'll recover, but it's going to take some time."

Cloud Kicker looked at the stallion with concern. "Let's get him into bed at least." She leaned down and after some concerted effort and some considerable help from Blossomforth, she hoisted him onto her back and slowly made her way towards the stairs. "What has he been eating," she groaned as she began climbing the stairs. "It feels like I'm trying to carry an earth pony."

"When have you ever carried an earth pony?" Blossomforth wondered.

"Ungh," Kicker groaned as she continued climbing. "...Berry Punch after one of Pinkie's late night parties."

"Make sure he relaxes," Whisper called after them but declined to follow. She hovered there for a moment and bit her lip in thought, "you foolish pony. You can't keep trying to do everything by yourself." She let out a long breath as a strong feeling pulled her attention back towards the library. "It's finally time, is it?" She said with some deepening concern. "Alright then. Sorry, but I need to do this."

Chapter 27: Trouble with Triplets

The girls enjoyed their group hug for a few more moments before they remembered that some of them needed to breathe. The Twilight triplets looked up at Rainbow Dash and Rarity. "So are you ok?" Asked earth pony Twilight.

"Well I for one am not gonna forget that experience any time soon," said Rarity.

"What was it like?" Asked pegasus Twilight, eyes lit up in curiosity.

"Well I don't think either of us enjoyed it," Rainbow said with a cringe. "I kinda now know some stuff I didn't before, though. Like I actually know the difference between a blanket stitch and a backstitch now, and I didn't really want to know."

"I've never once thought about asking what the difference is between a barrel roll and a aileron roll. Now I've got a feeling of what it's like to perform both," Rarity said as she held her stomach. "And now I feel like I might be ill if I try to remember it."

"Oh this is so fascinating," said unicorn Twilight. "I have to take notes. I wonder if there's a way we could study it in a more controlled environment."

Both Rainbow and Rarity recoiled at the thought of ever going through that again. "As much fun as that sounds," said Rainbow. "I mostly just want to put this bad dream behind me."

"I quite agree, darling," said Rarity. "Besides, Twilight." Rarity gestured to Twilight's current condition. "I'm quite sure you could find something to study since there's now, um... Three of you."

The gears slowly clicked into place as the triplets just stared at her for a moment. "Oh my gosh, you're right!" Cheered pegasus Twilight as she hovered in the air. "This is only supposed to last until morning," unicorn Twilight pointed out. "We should get on this right away," said earth Twilight. All three of them looked in the same direction. "Spike!" They all called out together, their combined voices coming out more thunderous than they meant them to.

Spike jumped as they all called out his name. Before he even had a chance to say anything, though. The trio had already started herding their number one assistant in the direction of the lab. Spike helplessly looked over his shoulder, hoping for a rescue, but all he got in return was a good luck wave from Applejack before he was dragged away.

"Well, she sure bounces back quickly," said Applejack.

"You're telling me," said Pinkie as she was currently latched firmly onto Flutterguy's side and nuzzling into his fur.

"Looks like another cold shower is in order," said Applejack as she grabbed a mouthful of Pinkie's tail and began dragging her back in the direction of the bathroom.

Pinkie's eyes narrowed to pinpricks as she broke away from Flutterguy and tried to make a mad dash to get away. Apparently the only thing Pinkie wanted more at that moment than to have someone scratch her special itch was to avoid another cold shower.

"Nooooooooo!!!" Pinkie's cry of anguish could be heard echoing through the whole library even after she had been dragged out of the room.

"Well I for one am ready to retire for the evening," Rarity yawned as she made her way to the door. "Will you girls be alright?"

"Yeah..." Rainbow hung her head low, "I'll be fine."

"Darling," Rarity turned back and lifted Rainbow's head, looking deeply into her eyes. "There's no point in lying. We were sharing the same thoughts and feelings not too long ago. Are you sure you're all right?"

"Yeah, Rarity. I'll be all right. I'm just tired," said Rainbow as she circled one hoof on the ground.

Flutterguy stepped up beside Rainbow and draped a yellow wing over her back, "don't worry Rarity." He said as he pulled Rainbow a bit closer, eliciting a blush from her. "I'll make sure she gets home ok." He recoiled a bit when he realized how bold he was acting, eliciting a wide-eyed stare from Rarity. "Um...If that's ok with you, Rainbow?"

"Yeah... It's cool," said Rainbow as she fidgeted with her hooves. There was something soothing about her childhood friend comfort her right now, more so than usual. However, it also left her feeling warm and toasty in a way she couldn't quite put her hoof on.

"Well if you're sure, darling," Rarity said with a sly smile. "I guess I'll see you girls later."

Spike had seen more than his fair share of Twilight shenanigans over the years. There was the stampede of books incident, where she let the story of a good book run away with her. Quite literally in that case. One time she wanted to quantify exactly how chocolatey chocolate really is, and Spike swore that he'd never let her go that far off the deep end after she somehow melted one of his dragon scales. Not even the Princess could figure out how she pulled off that last one. And who could forget the "want it, need it" incident. Don't ask... just don't... You had to be there.

However, the newest installation in "The Twilight Chronicles" seemed to exist for the sole purpose of annoying Spike as much as possible.

"What do you think, Spike?" Said the tiny unicorn. "Do I want to try the spectral arcanometer or the neuro spectrograph first?" She said excitedly while looking between two very complicated pieces of equipment. "I can't decide!"

"Forget that," retorted the pegasus filly as she hovered around while digging through miscellaneous piles. "Where did we put that anemometer. These pegasi wings are so much easier to move around than my alicorn ones." She flittered them like she was showing them off. "I wanna see what kind of wing power I'm playing with."

"Ya'll are crazy," said the remaining earth pony. "Ah think we should just see if we all still have the same tastes. Ya know, with like with food and stuff."

The first two to speak both stopped their search and just stared blankly at the pony who just sounded suspiciously an awful lot like...

"Have we been spending more time than usual around Applejack?" Asked the unicorn.

"Maybe," the pegasus threw her hooves up in confusion. "Maybe she hit her head on the way down the stairs. Grab that neuro spectrothingy and let's find out."

Now it was the pegasus' turn to be put on the spot. "Spectrothingy?" Twilight looked skeptically at her winged counterpart with a raised eyebrow.

"Who cares, a brain mapping would be a great place to start anyway," the defendant quickly deflected.

"Agreed," said the unicorn as she used her magic to scoop up the one that had gone a little too country, and began carrying her over to the only device in the room that looked like it had a repurposed colander.

"Hey, put me down," earth pony Twilight complained loudly. "Spike! Ye plan on doin anythin' 'bout this?!"

Spike, who had been slowly creeping his way towards the stairs in an effort to escape, halted to a stop when all three Twilights turned their attention back to him.

"I almost forgot. Spike," said the unicorn. "Prepare my best notebook and quill, it's gonna be a long night."

"And make us some snacks," ordered the pegasus. "We're gonna need to keep our energy up."

"Save me!" Pleaded the earth pony as the other two secured her in the device.

Spike groaned inwardly as he tried to figure out how he was expected to do all of that at once. Twilight was right about one thing. It was going to be a long night.

Author's Note

I have lost my mind.
Joking aside, twili-triplicate shenanigans has been a joy.
Maybe this gag will have to be revisited at some point.

Chapter 28: Behind the Curtain

Twilight stirred as the sun peeked through her window. She was back in her own bed and, more importantly, she was back to being only one pony.

Despite how difficult yesterday had been, she had been up late into the night observing what it was like being in multiple bodies at the same time. Aside from a few odd quirks in their personalities, each and every one of herself was... Well... Herself.

Try as she might, she couldn't find any real differences between the three of them except for the obvious difference of each of them being a different tribe.

More than once she found herself discussing with herself who she thought the Shade could be. Theories ranged from a forgotten remnant of an ancient civilization to a disowned love child of Princess Luna. That last thought came out of nowhere and was probably the result of too much time spent listening to Rarity carry on about the latest Canterlot gossip. Still though, there was the way the princess reacted to him last night.

Twilight slowly sat up in bed and looked down at her hoof, "Midnight Sparkle," she said under her breath as she clutched it to her chest. The power had been intoxicating, she had felt like she could do anything. Clearly not though. The Shade had taken her apart so easily. She still dreaded having Princess Celestia find out about what happened. What would her teacher think of her?

"She'd probably be glad you weren't hurt," said a small voice from a nearby shelf.

Twilight was starting to get used to the little fairy showing up out of nowhere. "Good morning, Whisper," she said softly.

"Good morning, Twilight," Whisper greeted her back.

"So... I have to check," Twilight said, Whisper raising an eyebrow at the questioning. "You can't read minds can you?"

Whisper gave her a soft smile and giggled slightly, "hehe, no. No I can't read minds. But I've been watching you since you came to Ponyville. It's pretty obvious that you're wondering and dreading what Celestia would think about you awakening to the nightmare."

Twilight swallowed hard, nodding in the process.

"Be honest with her. She's got a tender heart and you know she loves you dearly. She'll be overjoyed that you're ok," she said. "And while I don't agree with all of his actions, it's a good thing he was there to stop you when he did."

"The Everfree Shade," Twilight said. "You know who he is don't you?" Twilight asked.

Whisper had a distant look on her face, "of course I do. I've known him since he first wandered into the forest." She looked a bit sad, "that stallion has dealt with more than any pony should ever have to deal with."

Twilight's thoughts were racing, she wondered what could happen to make someone turn out like that. Maybe someday she'll find out.

Something was still bothering Twilight. Through everything that happened yesterday, she still hadn't found out what happened to her crown. It had vanished from its case when she and her friends needed it the most. "Say, Whisper," Twilight started to ask. "Do you know what happened to the Element of magic?"

"What? This old thing?" Whisper reached up and pulled the missing element from a high shelf. "I figured you didn't want it anymore since I just found it laying around."

Twilight's eyes grew wide as her missing crown dangled in front of her. "My crown!" She exclaimed as she reached for it. "Where did you find it?!"

The fairy pulled the trinket out of her reach before she could grab it. "I don't think so. It's mine now. Finders keepers," Whisper stuck her tongue out at her before flying out of the room with the crown in tow.

Twilight bolted out of her bed. "Give me back my crown!" She shouted as she chased after her.

Twilight was out of breath by the time she had cornered the troublesome fairy. They had been up and down several flights of steps, tumbled through the kitchen and spilled a bowl of pancake batter all over Spike. Until the chase eventually brought them down into the archive and into Random's study.

Whisper was floating over the desk, still holding the crown as Twilight stalked forward. With one last leap, she dove forward and barely snagged the crown even as Whisper tried and failed to get out of the way.

Twilight breathed hard as she clutched the crown to her chest and flopped to the ground. "I thought I lost you," she giggled as she laid there.

"You do know it can't talk, right?" Whisper snickered as she floated nearby.

"Come here you little troublemaker," Twilight swatted at her only to be rewarded by Whisper dodging around her hooves before flitting out the door.

As Whisper sped out the door, a curtain resting against the wall began to ripple with her passing. As it resettled against the wall, Twilight could just barely make out the dimmest of lights shining out from beneath it.

Twilight took a moment to settle her crown onto her head before approaching the curtain. She had only been in this room once, but she was pretty sure that hadn't been there before.

Twilight knew that she really shouldn't be snooping through other pony's things, especially with how she had been suspecting Random the last few days. However, something about that light called out to her. Like a riddle she just had to solve.

She reached forward and slowly drew back the curtain from whatever it was hiding. When she saw what was there, she forgot to breathe.

Hundreds upon hundreds of glowing runes had been etched into the wood. She delicately rested a hoof against them. They were warm to the touch and almost felt alive with the way she could feel the magic flowing through them.

Twilight made an effort to read some of them. She had made a study on the topic, among many other things. Runic studies were a bit of a niche academic topic, usually reserved for archeology due to it being a dead language. However, this didn't seem to be very old at all. It actually appeared to have been carved recently.

Her eyes drifted up as she continued to marvel at the intricate lines and that's when she saw them. That's when she saw the three multifaceted crystals embedded into the center of the script.

The first one glowed a brilliant blue that was so bright, it was almost painful to look at. There was a red one that was mostly clear and she could make out what appeared to be a pair of crossed writing quills embedded in the center.

The last one was a complete mess to look at. It was dull and brown in color and it looked like someone had taken a hammer to it and broken off several pieces. She inspected it more closely, curious as to what the purpose was of the surrounding inscription or if it was just a simple decoration.

She peered at the words that were inscribed near the broken crystal. "Proferet spiritus vitae in lapidem," Twilight read the text aloud, wondering what they meant.

As the words left her lips, the writing began to glow brighter than it had before. The broken crystal began to shake and small sparks started to fly from its surface.

Twilight looked around in confusion as she hastily backed up from the wall. She felt a surge of panic as waves upon waves of magic began to rush past her due to the spell she had just inadvertently cast.

The magic churned into a maelstrom of energy before the light coalesced into a body right in front of her. Hisses and cracking noises were heard coming from within as the light began to die down.

A translucent green limb staggered forward even as it seemed to struggle to hold its own weight. Long cracks traced their way up the leg and through the body as they made their way up and through the blonde mane.

Smokey now stood in front of her, a bewildered look on his face even as the multitude of cracks on his face traced through one of his eyes, robbing the light from it.

Twilight stared in confusion and apprehension at the pony that had just materialized in front of her. "What is this?" She stared in bewilderment.

The apparition slowly opened its jaw. Cracks started to widen around its face even as light refracted off the dust that fell with the movement. "TwiLigHt SpArKle," its voice said, sounding oddly distorted. "WhAt ArE YoU DoInG hErE?"

Twilight looked past him at the empty hollow in the wall where the broken crystal once rested. The pieces in her head slowly came together on what had just happened. She looked at the other two crystals still embedded in the elaborate diagram on the wall as an epiphany came to her. "There's two more of you?!" She exclaimed at the slowly crumbling earth pony.

"Get away from there!" Commanded a voice from the direction of the door behind her.

Twilight whirled around to find Random Fact standing in the doorway. He was out of breath like he had just finished running through the entire town and he did not look happy.

"Do you make a habit of going through other ponies things?" He stormed forward.

Twilight backed up a few steps, thinking he was about to run her over. When he didn't slow down and instead walked right by her to stand before Smokey, she started coming to her own conclusions.

"Do you have something to do with everything that's been happening?" She demanded. "What is your connection to the Shade?"

Random didn't acknowledge her question. Instead he knelt down beside Smokey and placed a hoof on his forehead. As he did so, the fractured body of the earth pony began to glow the same bright light it had before. It didn't linger as long this time and when it dimmed, Smokey was no longer there.

Twilight looked back to Random as he approached the wall and placed the broken crystal back into its indent on the wall. The amount of familiarity he was showing with the inscription made it clear that he knew what it was or he very likely may have been the one to put it there in the first place.

Random took a couple deep, calming breaths before turning to face her. "I wish you hadn't done that," he said sternly. "He hasn't finished recovering since you made a mess of him and he's still in a lot of pain."

"But wait," Twilight said as she slowly took a few steps backwards. "I thought Smokey belonged to the Shade. I know you can't be the Shade since I saw both of you last night." Her eyes went wide as a new possibility came to mind. "But if you can create another pony out of thin air, then it wouldn't be too much of a stretch that you'd be able to make them look like yourself."

Random letting out another deep sigh and shaking his head was all the confirmation she needed. "An astute observation, Twilight Sparkle. I mean, it's wrong, but I'm just too tired to care anymore."

"What are you saying..." Twilight gave a sharp gasp as the air around Random began to bend and ripple.

In one quick wave, the ripple traveled down his body, the grey fur turning the golden color that she had been growing familiar with. The green mane fading away to make way for rich brown. The place Random stood only a moment ago was now occupied by the Everfree Shade.

"So you were the Everfree Shade after all?" Twilight steadied herself. She was both scared and curious at this revelation. Curious that he chose this moment to reveal himself and scared because if history had proven anything to her, there was little she could do to stop him.

"Yes, Twilight Sparkle. I am," he admitted while keeping his gaze distant. "Although if you don't mind, I'm curious. Who came up with that name? I certainly didn't."

"Applejack's grandmother said that was the name they had for the pony in the forest when they first settled here," Twilight hesitantly offered. "You fit his description so the name just stuck."

"I didn't realize there was anypony still alive from the last time I was here," Random said as he slowly made his way towards her. "I remember seeing a family start a farm on the edge of the forest, I guess it didn't take long for a whole town to pop up around them."

"Wait?!" Twilight eyes widened when she realized what he was implying. "Exactly how old are you?"

"It doesn't matter," he said as he dodged her question. "You girls have suffered enough from my actions. I think it would be for the best if you forgot that I was ever here."

Twilight locked eyes with Random, his eyes started glowing and magic poured off him as he approached her. "Wait. What are you doing?" She backed away from him until she bumped into the closed door. She tried to open it but found traces of Random's magic laced through it, leaving her trapped.

"Go back to your peaceful life, Twilight Sparkle," he said as the magic lancing from his horn to filled the rest of the room. "I'm sorry, and good bye."

"No!!" Twilight cried out as the spell arced towards her. She tried to throw up a shield but his magic smashed through it like it wasn't even there. She screwed her eyes shut as she braced for the spell. When a couple moments passed and she found that nothing had happened, she dared to open her eyes.

Random's spell had collided with another barrier that had erected itself around her. She could see him straining against the shield even as she felt her own hooves leave the ground. It was hard to see much else with how bright the air had become around her. When she tried to trace the source of the light, her confusion mounted even further as she found that it was coming from the Element of Magic she wore on her head.

The light continued to grow brighter and brighter until it obscured everything in the room. A few moments later, Twilight slipped into unconsciousness and knew no more.

Chapter 29: Demon of the Empire

Twilight was feeling lightheaded by the time she reopened her eyes. She pushed herself up on her hooves and immediately noticed that something was wrong. She focused her eyes on the hoof in front of her and found that she could see right through it.

"What's going on?" She said as she held the transparent limb in front of her. Her own voice sounded empty and hollow, like someone was trying to shout to her from the back of a cave.

Twilight fought to remember what she had last been doing. "Let's see," she spoke aloud with her hollow voice. "I was in Random's office, there was something written on the wall..."

A sharp pain radiated through her head as the rest came flooding back. "He was the Shade all along!" She gasped for breath as she remembered the last of it. "What was that light that came out of the Element of Magic though?" She reached up and touched the crown that still rested on her head, hoping for some answers.

When none were forthcoming, she looked around to take in her surroundings. She found herself standing on a paved road and various buildings she saw lining the streets were made of some sort of crystal. However, what completely settled her location in her mind was the grand palace in the distance that towered over everything. "The Crystal Empire..." She spoke the name aloud, wondering how she got here.

No sooner had she uttered those words then the sky shifted from a clear blue to a dark red. Twilight spun around in confusion and recoiled as a nearby building exploded. Large chunks of the crystal and hundreds of tiny shards rained down on her. She tried to call forth her magic to either shield herself or teleport herself out of the way, and a panicked scream escaped her lips when her magic failed to respond.

Twilight braced herself as the debris fell around her. At first she thought she had just gotten unnaturally lucky, but when a particularly large chunk passed harmlessly through her body, a different conclusion became apparent to her. Something wasn't real, but she wasn't sure if it was her or this place.

A monstrosity emerged from the recently destroyed building. Its large body consisted of the deepest, darkest shadows. Long sharp teeth protruded from its jaws and a dark purple mist poured from deep within its throat. Terror emanated from its brilliant red eyes as the shadows began to collect and condense themselves.

Her attention was pulled away by the grating and grinding sound of shifting crystals behind her. From within the wreckage climbed a pony she had become all to familiar with in recent days. The Everfree Shade, no... Random Fact stood up in the middle of the wreckage. Large shards of crystal protruded from his body, blood leaking out from around them as he stepped over the debris. His eyes were glowing a brilliant green and Twilight found her gaze drawn to the Alicorn Amulet resting around his neck, it shared the same green glow as his eyes instead of the red color she was used to seeing on it.

"Onyx!" Shouted Random as he used his magic to pull each of the crystals spikes from his body. Hot steam poured from each of the open wounds as his blood began to smoke. "Stop this foolishness!" His voice was deep as it boomed across the open expanse. Twilight could feel a tingle running down her spine that she couldn't properly explain as he spoke.

"Still holding out the foolish hope that there's anything of your student left," a sinister response came from where Twilight was first looking. She turned back just in time to see the last of the shadows consolidate into the body of King Sombra. "Onyx is gone," he said as he licked his lips. "The final traces of his sorrow were absolutely delectable as I made him shatter the princess with his own hooves."

So he's been completely devoured then.

Twilight shook her head as the ghostly voice filled her head. What was that?

"So the Crystal Princess is truly dead then?" Random said sadly.

This is all my fault. If I hadn't been so focused on finding where Starswirl had disappeared to, I could've stopped this.

Starswirl? As in Starswirl the Bearded? Twilight's ears perked up as the ghostly voice said something she wouldn't have expected to hear.

"Dead and scattered to the winds," Sombra said with a sinister smile. "And now that the Crystal Heart is in my possession, this kingdom belongs to me!"

"And then what?!" Random shouted as the last of his wounds seared themselves shut. "I can't imagine you'll be satisfied to stop here."

"Hehe, of course not," Sombra chuckled menacingly. "Why settle for a single kingdom when I can have the whole world!" The mad proclamation sent hundreds of crystal ponies into a mad panic as they all fled the scene that was unfolding. Twilight watched them flee for a moment, she had been so engrossed in what was happening that she hadn't even seen them approach.

I can't let him do that. This has already gone too far.

"I can't let you do that. This has already gone too far," Random said calmly as he approached the mad king.

Twilight wheeled to look at Random, "am I hearing your thoughts?" She wondered aloud. What was going on here?

"I don't see you stopping me," Sombra casually dismissed him. "It was foolish to think you could stop me without those two alicorns you left back in Equestria. It's a pity I won't be able to break you in front of Princess Luna. I'm sure watching her cry over your broken corpse would be an absolutely perfect end to your story."

Foolish little demon. How dare you invoke her name?!

Twilight's eyes grew wide as she felt the sheer amount of anger that was in that ghostly voice. She turned back to Random, her jaw dropping as she saw arcs of red magic begin to pulsate around him. The amulet against his chest beginning to fizzle and shake in time with the pulses of magic radiating off of him.

"Did I touch a nerve?" Sombra said with glee and he watched him.

Don't lose control here. You know what might happen if you do.

The errant magic began to calm itself as Random took a few deep breaths. He looked up from his state of momentary repose and calmly settled his gaze on the dark king. "This ends here. I cannot allow you to continue existing in this world after all you've done."

"Heh, you and what army," Sombra cackled. "You don't truly believe you can take me all on your... GACK!"

The words were cut off as Sombra suddenly found a spear made of emerald magic piercing straight through his throat.

Twilight let out an involuntary gasp as she saw several more spears floating above Random's head. He calmly began walking towards Sombra, determination evident in his eyes.

Sombra choked as he reached down and tried to grab the protrusion from his neck. His body slowly shifting back into its misty form as a series of chains that Twilight had recently become all too familiar with erupted from the lance. They swiftly began to wrap themselves around the dark king's body and as they tightened, the mist solidified back into solid form.

In that moment, Twilight saw something she had never once seen from King Sombra in the Crystal Empire or in the Everfree Forest. She had seen him delighted, angry, joyful, but she had never once seen him afraid.

"What... Are... You...?" He choked out through gurgles of blood.

"Be quiet," Random said as he looked down at him, his rage a bit muted but still present. An overwhelming sense of authority radiating off of him as he pressed a hoof on the spear still embedded in Sombra's throat. "You do not have the right to speak, and until such a time that I figure out how to banish you properly, I will make every moment you spend in this world pure agony. What you have done cannot be forgiven."

Twilight winced as she saw the pain that Sombra was experiencing. She reached forward in an effort to stop Random from what he was doing, but her hoof just passed right through him.

"So what is all this?" Twilight wondered aloud as she looked back to her transparent hoof. "The past? A memory?"

The sky suddenly grew bright as the light of the midday sun cut through the crimson sky. Twilight squinted her eyes as she looked up at the sun, the shadow that partially obscured it making it appear brighter than normal. "An eclipse?" Twilight wondered aloud.

"What's happening here?!" A new voice demanded as Twilight heard someone approach. This voice sounded very familiar, but there was something different about it.

Both her and Random looked over to find a brilliant white alicorn standing next to them. At first, Twilight thought it was Princess Celestia, but she lacked the multicolored mane she was used to seeing from her mentor. Instead it was awash with yellows and reds as it trailed down her back like an inferno. Her eyes... Her eyes were a blank white as she looked down at the struggle that was ensuing with little more than a passing notice.

What is she doing here?

"What do you want Celestia?" Random casually addressed her, not once letting up on the pain he was putting Sombra through. "I told you I would take care of this."

"That's Celestia?!" Twilight exclaimed in shock.

"You dare to address your princess like that?!" Celestia roared, her wings flared wide as the fire in her mane flared up even brighter. "Who do you think you are?!"

Great... It looks like the power has finally gone to her head.

"Right now I'm the one who's going to resolve this situation like I said I would, and I would thank you to keep your nose out of this while I do so," Random said as he turned his attention back to the bound Sombra.

Celestia maintained her stern expression as she folded her wings to her sides and lowered her head to look at the bound figure. "I shall forgive your impertinence for now. You seek to remove this creature from the world? Then stand aside and I shall burn it from the world." She threw her wings back out and a hot golden beam of light began to collect around her horn. "For none can withstand the purifying light of the sun!"

"No!!" Random shouted as he placed himself between Celestia and Sombra. "You can't simply burn a demon of this caliber. All that would do is scatter him into pieces that'll eventually return stronger than before."

"Then I shall just have to make sure the fire is hot enough that not even his ashes will remain." More fire began to collect around her horn.

What's wrong with her? She's being more arrogant than usual. Did she fall to the Nightmare? There couldn't be worse timing.

The Nightmare?! Twilight looked back at her mentor's past self, the way she was acting and the way she carried herself. "I suppose it's possible," she pondered, thinking about how the first time they met Princess Luna, she was Nightmare Moon. There was also Twilight's recent experience as Midnight Sparkle. Did Princess Celestia once go through that as well?

"Stand aside or share in his fate!" Celestia continued. "It is commendable that you were able to subdue him, but it is my sworn duty to protect my little ponies. Even from themselves."

"I will not!" Random shouted back. "This is my burden to bear and I won't allow you to interfere."

"Then farewell, pony I don't know," she said dismissively as flames erupted from her body. The inferno washed over Random and Sombra as it consumed everything it came in contact with. Screams could be heard coming from within the conflagration as Twilight looked away from the blazing light. What was happening?!

Twilight was eventually able to look at the result of the destruction as the fires died down. The ground had been thoroughly scorched and Princess Celestia was nowhere to be found. She looked to where Random had been standing, but all that remained was a burnt out husk.

"Wait?" Twilight wondered aloud. "If he died that day, then who have I seen running around."

Her reverie was cut off as the husk that used to be a pony began to shift and move. She jumped back in surprise as the charcoal skin began to crack and break. An absolute terror stumbled out from the mess as a collection of fur, muscle, and bone hobbled forward. Twilight had to fight to keep herself from throwing up as she watched the walking skeleton catch itself on solid ground. Slowly, pieces of flesh began to break away and crumble into dust. Pieces of burnt hair were caught by the wind and blown away as the figure continued to move and shift as more of the corpse fell away.

Eventually a clean hoof staggered forward as it caught itself on the ground. Weakly it pushed itself up as Twilight watched the body begin to rapidly heal itself. A couple shakes later, Random stood there once again, his golden fur was still burnt in places while the rest of it was caked with ash.

Random began to sputter and cough as he cleared his throat. "Where is she?!" He roared out in a rage. "Where is that little brat?!"

Celestia... I won't soon forget this.

He shook his head like he was trying to clear the dust from it, "I'll deal with her later. What happened to Sombra?" He began to dig through the charred wreckage like a pony possessed.

"How are you still alive after that?" Twilight gasped as she watched him literally recover from his own death. He was moving slower than he was before but no one should be able to survive what he just did.

"Where is he?! Where is Sombra?!" He cried out as he continued to overturn the wreckage.

Oh I'm much closer than you think.

"What in the abyss?!" Shouted Random as he stumbled back.

Quite an interesting body you have here. I think I'll keep it.

Random looked down at his chest, "you're inside me?"

Indeed I am. I thought I'd have to rely on that piece of myself I left within the Crystal Heart to keep me anchored to this plane, but with a host like you. Oh the things we'll do. It's all thanks to that sun princess that I was able to sneak in here too. If she only knew the opportunity she has given me.

"Hehe," Random began to laugh aloud. "HA HA HA! You fool!"

Have you taken leave of your senses? What do you find so humorous?

"You couldn't have picked a worse place to hide!" Random's whole body began to glow with an otherworldly light as his signature chains began to spiral their way outward from his body. "Keeping you contained is going to be so easy like this. Sure, I'll have to retrieve that fragment you mentioned leaving within the Crystal Heart to finish a proper banishment, but in the meantime..."

The chains snapped down on Random's own body. They began to bend and twist themselves as they dug into his flesh. Twilight watched him strain his muscles to keep himself upright even as the rancid smell of burnt flesh wafted outward.

Are you insane?! You would voluntarily keep me contained within your own soul?!

"I never claimed to make the best choices, but this will keep you from running free for a while." He grit his teeth as he fell to his knees, the voice in his head going silent. "Is that all you had in you?" He began to pant as his eyes started to drift shut. "That took a lot more out of me than I thought it would. It's a good thing this kingdom isn't going anywhere." His head began to droop as his eyes shut a little further. "I'll finish dealing with this right after I take a nap." With that said, Random collapsed as he fell into a deep sleep.

A tinkling sound caught Twilight's ears as he collapsed to the ground. She stepped up next to where he had fallen. Laying on the ground next to him was the Alicorn Amulet, now red in color.

"But..." Twilight started. "Was this right before the Crystal Empire disappeared? You weren't able to finish the banishment, were you?" She continued to watch the golden unicorn in stunned awe. She tried and failed to find the words to describe the magnitude of what she just witnessed.

"Who exactly are you, Random?" Was all she could bring herself to say.

As if answering her call, the Element of Magic resting atop her head began to glow and once again Twilight found the world washed out by its light.

Author's Note

The first of two bombshells. Enjoy.

Chapter 31: Hearth's Warming

The next couple days went by in a blur. The unicorns continued on their journey without a destination, Princess Platinum complained, Clover continued to keep them from wandering into disaster, and every night when he could get away, Clover went into the woods and communed with the fairies. They didn't speak to her again, but every so often she caught a glimpse of Whisper looking in her direction.

Then came the day that Twilight knew was coming. She had heard the talk from the ponies in the camp and she certainly remembered what the history books said about this journey. They were looking for a new land. The land that would become Equestria.

It started when there was an unfamiliar crunch under their hooves. Clover had suddenly frozen in his tracks, the whole procession stopping along with him. He bent down and brushed some of the snow away, fresh grass popping up as he did so. He broke into a gallop and several of the other unicorns strugged to catch up with him as they broke through the tree line.

Endless fields and luscious rivers laid before them; mountains ringed the nearby countryside, the perfect place for unicorns to build a city; most Importantly, they were finally free of the snow.

The procession made their way to the mountains at a casual pace. Everyone was more than a little thrilled to be out of the bad weather. Not even Princess Platinum could find any reason to complain, much to Clover's delight.

When they reached the mountains, Platinum wasted no time searching them for precious stones and found them she did. She barely even had to look for them as the land was simply rich with treasures.

We're awfully close to my home. What kind of game is my life playing with me now?

Twilight's ears perked up as she followed his gaze. She had already figured out they were standing on the Canterhorn mountains, the place where Canterlot would eventually be built. However, Clover was looking at what she assumed was the Everfree forest. Was Clover's home that would eventually become the Golden Oaks library already there?

"This land is positively perfect!" Declared Princess Platinum as she pulled a large flag from the travel bags. She floated it along and with a flourish, planted it in the ground. "I claim this land in the name of all unicorns! It shall be called Unicornia!"

Her proclamation brought about rounds of applause from her retinue as Twilight was sure it would. This event was well documented in Equestrian history. The only thing that wasn't documented was...

That's really the best name you could come up with?

There it was. Twilight sighed, a small smile finding its way onto her face. She had been getting a pretty good feel for how Clover viewed the world over the last several days. So seeing him not approve of something that Princess Platinum did or said was no longer a surprise.

A few days later found the next part of the trials that Twilight knew were coming. They were getting the first of their buildings set up while Platinum continued to gawk at all the pretty stones they were finding when one of their scouts ran into their camp in a panic.

"What's wrong?" Captain Orion stepped forward to receive the scout.

The scout was panting as she struggled to catch her breath. "It's the other tribes," she finally said. "They've settled nearby!"

"How dare you trespass on this sacred ground of Unicornia!" Screamed Princess Platinum in a very undignified fashion. "You're probably here about the gems we found. Well you can't have them. They're mine!"

"We don't want your stupid rocks!" Commander Hurricane shouted right back at her. "Pegasopolis was here first and we're not about to give up a place where we can freely control the weather again. We aren't leaving!"

"I don't care what either of you do," said Chancellor Puddinghead. "As long you don't start asking us for food or start telling us that our hats are stupid again."

Princess Platinum stuck her nose in the air, "Chancellor Puddinghead. You are currently on the sovereign land of Unicornia. We are well within our rights to ask for a stipend of the food you grow." She showed a look of disgust, "your taste in headwear is fine... I guess."

"Don't think you can dismiss us so easily, you snobbish unicorn!" Shouted Commander Hurricane. "We were discussing your hostile invasion of Pegasopolis."

"Unicornia!" Platinum shouted back while stomping her hooves on the ground.

"Our hats are not stupid!" Shouted Puddinghead before correcting herself, "I mean... Earth!"

This is the last summit all over again...

Twilight looked over to Clover, he had his head buried in one of his hooves and was shaking it like he couldn't believe this was happening.

"Brrr..." A shiver came from Puddinghead's advisor, Smart Cookie. "Is it just me, or is it gettin mighty cold here all of a sudden."

Commander Hurricane looked up at the small flakes falling from the sky before looking back to his advisor, "Private Pansy! What's with this snow?!"

"Eep!" Private Pansy was startled into a quick salute. "Sir, yes sir," she said timidly before looking up at the sky. "It's not us doing it," she reported as the wind began to pick up again.

The first few flakes of snow touched down on Princess Platinum's nose, cause her to shiver as she looked down at the offending weather. "Oh no, not again!" She cried as the blizzard started up in earnest.

"This is all your fault, Clover," Platinum accused Clover once all three tribes had finished retreating to a nearby cave. The entrance freezing over shortly after they entered it.

Here we go again.

"How is this my fault?" Clover raised an eyebrow at the accusation.

"You were supposed to advise me on how to deal with the other tribes, and what did you do? Nothing!" She screeched.

"I did nothing?! I advised you to find a peaceful resolution with the other tribes and did you listen to me? No of course not," Clover snapped back. "All you cared about was keeping ponies away from your pretty rocks."

"They're called jewels, Clover. I thought you'd be smart enough to know that by now," Platinum stuck up her nose at him before bringing it back down and fixing her gaze on him. "And furthermore, I listened to you plenty on the way here."

"Only because you'd be frozen and dead in the snow if you hadn't. Everypony else knew it and so did you," Clover pointed out. "But when it comes to trying to play nice with the other tribes, you just... Gah!" Clover started walking away.

"Where do you think you're going?! I'm not finished with you yet! You're supposed to advise me!" Platinum shouted after him.

I swear... This mare.

"You want some advice?" Clover said through gritted teeth as he marched up to her. Silence had settled over the cave as all three tribes were entranced by the argument. "Try using your head for once. You stay so focused on yourself that you can't see how much trouble you keep bringing the ponies around you. I keep hearing you say, 'oh unicorns are so superior' but look at where that attitude has gotten us? Nowhere! Maybe if you stopped to think for just two seconds how your actions affect everypony else, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

He left her fuming with those words to chew on as he retreated to a deeper part of the cave. He found some rocks to hide behind and he settled himself down out of sight of the others.

Twilight followed Clover to where he was sitting. He had pulled out the Alicorn Amulet from under his cloak and was studying it, lost in his own thoughts.

We're right back where we started, if not worse than we started. What exactly am I doing here?

"What exactly is that amulet?" Twilight wondered aloud, despite the fact that he couldn't see or hear her.

"Room fer one more back here," came an approaching voice.

Clover looked up to see Smart Cookie walking up to him by herself. "Sure," he said to the earth pony. "I could use some company that isn't a pigheaded unicorn."

Cookie gave an amused snort, "Ah saw how you stuck a burr in that mare's saddle. Been waitin fer somepony to do it. Ah'd do it myself if Ah wasn't also risking a diplomatic incident by doin it."

"She's been doing everything she can to get on my nerves for the entire journey here," Clover admitted. "I've seen very few unicorns as stuck up as she is."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better," Cookie said. "At least you didn't have to deal with a chancellor who kept stopping to taste every new thing we found on the way here and making up weird laws the rest of the time."

"Heh," Clover chuckled. "I might've enjoyed that. How many times did she get sick from eating something she shouldn't?"

Cookie gave out a hearty laugh at the question. "Ha! Probably more times than Ah'd care to admit."

"Well at least you both don't have to deal with Commander Hurricane trying to turn everything into a training exercise," another new voice said.

Clover and Cookie both jumped as they found the pegasus advisor, Private Pansy, sitting next to them.

"Good gravy girl, how long you been sitting there?!" Exclaimed Cookie.

"I was actually here first," Pansy played with the ends of her mane. "Nopony really pays attention to me though."

"Huh..." Clover took a moment to examine the ponies he found himself with. "We actually have the advisors from all three tribes hiding back here. I wonder how that happened?"

"More than like we got sick of all the bickering our respective charges keep on doin," said Cookie.

"That's not hard to believe," said Pansy. "They do seem to like arguing."

"Say Clover, if'n you don't mind me askin? What's that you got there?" Cookie asked, gesturing to the amulet that Clover was holding.

It's a long story.

"It's a symbol of sorts," he said instead. "Some ponies believe that the only way the tribes will ever find peace is if they learn to set their differences aside and come together as one."

"Is that why it has something to symbolize all three tribes?" Smart Cookie asked as she looked closely at the amulet.

"I'm not sure," said Private Pansy after looking at it herself. "I see the wings and the horn, but how is it supposed to represent earth ponies?"

"Right here. See?" Cookie said as she pointed to the large plate backing the gemstone set into its center. "This here works like a foundation, the whole thing would just fall apart without it. Same as how the other tribes would starve without earth ponies ability to grow food so well."

"Then I guess the wings are for carrying us towards the future?" Pansy said as she reexamined the piece.

"While the last holds high a light so we don't stumble in the dark. All roles are important and can't thrive without each other," Clover finished, his eyes growing wide as he looked at the amulet in a new light. "You know, I never really thought about it too much," he said as he held the amulet aloft. "It's a shame we can't get all the tribes to see it. How much they need each other."

"Yeah... Ah don't really see it bein a popular opinion," noted Cookie.

"Probably not, but one can dream," Clover said as he tucked the amulet back into his cloak.

Pansy looked back in the direction the tribes were camped at, "it's been awfully quiet for a while now. Do you think they got tired of arguing?"

"Either that or the cold finally got to em," said Cookie said jovially as she stood back up.

"Princess Platinum has probably had enough time to stew by now," Clover said as he also climbed back to his hooves. "I should probably check on her."

"What happened here?" Clover wondered aloud once he made it back into the unicorn camp. Everyone had been frozen solid while he'd been away.

Where's Platinum? Starswirl asked me to keep an eye on her.

Clover raced through the camp. Everywhere he went, he found unicorns frozen in blocks of ice and based on their relaxed forms, they hadn't even noticed it was happening until it was already over.

His search eventually led him to the center of the cave where all three leaders had last been seen arguing. Every single of them was frozen solid as well, the angry looks still on their faces like grotesque statues.

"What in tarnation?" Cookie poked at the frozen form of Chancellor Puddinghead. "They've all been frozen solid."

"Commander Hurricane!" Pansy wailed as she draped herself over the frozen form of her commander, tears pouring from her eyes. "What happened to you?!"

"They all appear to have been frozen," Clover said as he approached them. "Every last unicorn. Was it the same in both of your camps?"

"Yeah, it's strange," Cookie said as she rubbed the back of her head. "Everything was fine when I left and now this. Pansy, was it the same with you?"

A weak, tear filled nod was all they got from Private Pansy.

"What do you think coulda done this, Clover?" Asked a very concerned Cookie.

I have no idea.

"I don't know," he shook his head. "But it can't be good."

A deep howling filled the cavern. A fresh wave of ice and snow washing over them as the cold bit deep into their fur.

"Ahhh!," Pansy looked about in a panic for the source of the noise even as ice began to collect on her wings.

"Calm down girl!" Shouted Cookie while ice began to crawl up her legs. She fought to break them loose and then ran over to where Pansy had huddled behind Clover.

"This isn't good," said Clover as he looked at the ring of ice that was slowly creeping towards them. "Whatever got the other ponies seems to be coming for us next."

Cookie looked him up and down, noticing the distinct lack of ice collecting on him, "how come you ain't freezin like the rest of us."

Clover shook his head, "I don't have time to explain. We need to focus on finding a way out of this mess."

"Well unless you got some fancy spell to deal with this. Ah don't see how we're not bout to end up bein a few more statues." Cookie tried to shake some of the ice off her body, but there was just too much of it.

"Shush," Clover said in a hushed whisper, his ears were swiveling, straining to hear something in the growing cold.

"What's that?" Pansy pointed into the distant darkness. Dozens of lights were dancing through the air as they made their way towards them.

"Fairies!" Exclaimed both Clover and the ghostly Twilight.

"Fairies?!" Shouted Cookie in disbelief. "Now Ah know I'm freezin if'n Ah'm seein things."

The small bobbles of light floated over to them, causing both Cookie and Pansy to recoil at the unknown presence. However, Clover did as Twilight had seen him do on many nights during their travels. He became perfectly calm as the fairies surrounded him and began to dance along his body.

A few of the small lights moved up to his ear and he nodded along at an unheard conversation. "You don't say," he said as he looked up toward the ceiling, the center of his eyes glowing a pale green light. "I see it now. So those are windigos."

"Care ta explain what's goin on," demanded Cookie as a pink light brushed up against Clover's horn. A small pink heart made of fire was left burning at the tip of Clover's horn as it passed.

As the lights fled to places unknown, Clover sat down on the cave floor. He beckoned to the others as he invited them to sit beside him even as the small flame he carried began to melt the ice from their bodies. He explained to them that the storm that had been plaguing the ponies was caused by malevolent spirits that fed off the negative emotions their tribes had been directing at each other. As for the heart-shaped flame he now carried...

"So that there's called a fire of friendship," Cookie said as she looked at the flame sitting atop Clover's horn.

"It's really pretty," Pansy said with a rosy glow to her face.

Clover nodded, "they said it would grow if we share our happy memories with each other. If it grows enough, it should push back the cold for good."

"What the heck. Ah'll give it a go. Dun't sound like we got any better ideas." Cookie then proceeded to tell them a story of her foalhood and the sort of trouble she would get into. The whole time she was telling her story, she would smile and the others would smile and laugh along with her. As she finished her story, they all felt a little warmer as the fire of friendship grew.

Next was Pansy, who sang them the most lovely song. Once the other two had learned the words, they attempted to sing it along with her. Their voices didn't quite match up to the rest of the song and it ended up being complete mess by the time they were done. Through it all, they smiled and laughed and with their joy, the fire of friendship grew yet again.

Next up was Clover. "I don't really have a lot of happy memories," he admitted. "I've seen a lot more pain than anyone ever should. But if there was one happy memory I could share, it would be how I met Starswirl." He said as a small tear rolled down his face.

He opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment, Twilight's crown lit up yet again and washed out the world in a blaze of light.

Twilight let out a sharp gasp as her hooves reconnected with the floor. She found herself short of breath, light headed, and her heart aching with the gravity of everything she had just witnessed.

"Finally awake I see," came a voice she hadn't heard in weeks.

"Whisper?" Twilight looked around in confusion. She was back in Random's... Clover's study and she was all alone there except for the fairy that was sitting on the desk and watching her intently.

"You were out of it longer than I thought you'd be," she said as she looked over to a clock on the shelf. "It's been about an hour since you went on your little trip."

"It's only been an hour?!" Twilight quickly looked around again trying to find Clover. She didn't see him but she did notice that the spell on the wall was missing it's blue and red crystals. Only the broken brown one remained.

"Where is he?" Twilight coughed again like she had been holding her breath for a long time. "Where's Clover?!"

Whisper crossed her legs, no humor evident on her face, "tell me, Twilight. What exactly did the Element of Magic show you?"

"...And that was about it," Twilight said as she finished her retelling of events.

"I see..." Whisper said thoughtfully. "I thought you seemed familiar when you first showed up in my home. You were the one watching us back then. I guess I was right to keep you close since you came to Ponyville. Also," she said, continuing. "I think you now know why Clover won't seek out the princess for help."

Twilight cringed inwardly, "I do, but I'm still having a hard time believing that was actually Princess Celestia."

"I can only assume that was Daybreaker you saw, but that doesn't make any sense." Whisper scratched her head. "Celestia and Luna would've been busy dealing with Discord when that fight went down, and I know that Daybreaker didn't come along until after Luna was banished."

"Daybreaker?" Twilight cocked her head as she asked.

"Yeah. That would be Celestia's nightmare form," she said as casually as if she was discussing the weather. "It seems to be something all you alicorns go through at least once while you're still maturing."

Twilight nodded along, remember her own recent transformation and how differently she felt while it was happening. She reached up and pulled her crown off her head, staring at it as she held it in front of her.

"You're wondering how and why the Element of Magic showed you all of that?" Whisper said as she watched her. "I had a feeling something would happen if it got in the middle of a fight between you and Clover."

"Why did you steal my element anyway?" Twilight asked.

"I just had a feeling that I should," Whisper looked a bit nervous as she answered. "It's probably a good thing I did too. Who knows what might've happened if you were wearing it when you went all evil on us."

"But how did you..." Twilight started to ask, only to be cut off.

"I told you. It was just a feeling. I can't really explain how I know." She shook her head.

Twilight looked back up to the fairy, "he's heading to the Crystal Empire, isn't he? To deal with King Sombra?"

"He is," Whisper confirmed. "Normally I wouldn't worry, but..."

Twilight looked at the concerned fairy. "What's wrong?" She asked.

Whisper shook her head, "like many things, I can't explain why I feel what I do. However, my feelings usually tend to be right. You need to be there Twilight," she said. "Without you and your friends there by his side, Clover will fail."

Chapter 32: Lost Love

It was another night, like so many others, that Luna spent alone and ignored. She looked to the other end of the dining table and could barely make out her sister's flowing pink mane from among all the nobles vying for her attention. Even the cake in front of Celestia was mostly uneaten due to all the council and various paperwork that was shuffling in front of her. In short, she was busy.

This had been happening a lot more lately, they had agreed that they would at least spend the morning and evening meals together since Luna's duties had made her mostly nocturnal. Lately however, even that time was being consumed by all the work that Celestia took on herself. Luna had been feeling exceptionally grumpy lately as a result.

She breathed a sigh of discontentment. How long was she expected to put up with this treatment?

"Well if that's how you're going to be, I guess I'll come back later," a voice appeared next to her. She knew that voice even if she didn't notice when he came in.

Luna quickly sat up straight in her seat and puffed her chest out. Both her heart and her wings gave small involuntary flutters as she turned to face him. "Clover! You're back!" She couldn't keep the excitement out of her voice.

"Did you miss me, princess?" Clover asked as he sat down next to her, a smile on his face.

"I..." she turned her blushing face away and crossed her hooves. "You didn't have to be gone for so long."

Clover raised an eyebrow and chuckled at her reaction, "did I catch you at a bad time?"

Luna shyly looked back and scrunched her nose at him, "do you have any idea how long you've been gone?"

"Not really, I sorta lost track of time," he scratched the back of his head.

"A whole year," she poked him in the chest to emphasize each word.

"Has it really been that long?" Clover stared off into the distance, his mind going to other places.

Luna gave him a light tap on the shoulder, "don't you go wandering off just yet. You just got back."

"I'm sorry, Luna," Clover reached forward and placed a hoof on top of hers, causing a pleasant shiver to run up her spine as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "It's good to see you again."

The sound of a light cough came from the other side of the table.

Clover kept his eyes on Luna and did his best to ignore the sound, "so has anything interesting happened while I've been gone? I see you've gotten taller again."

"Em hem..." The sound of someone clearing their throat came from the other side of the table.

"You would hardly notice if you bothered to stay for more than a couple days at a time," Luna retorted as she also did her best to ignore her sister's insistence.

"EM HEM..." The voice was far more insistent this time.

Clover dropped his head and gave a defeated sigh before turning it to the source of the interruption, "can I help you, Celestia?"

Celestia looked down her nose at him with a holier than thou sort of attitude, "we were just wondering when you planned on greeting your princess?"

"I thought that's what I was doing until her sister decided to stick her nose in," he snapped back, causing Celestia's eyes to grow wide while a hushed silence fell over the nobles at her side.

Almost as if on que, the nobles all erupted into riotous roars of, "how rude" and "don't talk to the princess like that" and everyone's personal favorite, "somepony should teach him some manners."

Celestia held up a hoof, silencing the cries of the nobles, "we see thou art as sharp tongued as ever. Then we shall get to the point. Hast thou found our teacher?"

Clover slumped his shoulders, "no. Unfortunately, I still have not been able to locate Starswirl the Bearded. Both him and the Pillars have just simply vanished without even a clue as to where they went."

Celestia leaned back in her seat. "I see," she said under her breath. "It pains us to say it, but we fear he is truly lost." She lowered her eyes in contemplation, "he was an excellent teacher and we doubt we shall ever see his like again." She lifted her gaze back up to Clover, "tis a shame to leave his position unfilled when there is one on hoof that is more than qualified to do so. So wouldst thou consider our offer, Clover. Will thee consider taking up the mantle of Archmage?"

Once again the nobles started up like a bunch of clucking chickens. Protests and concessions were being shouted over each other. Complaints about bloodlines and what would be considered proper being chief among the voices.

Luna's eyes were locked on Clover as he milled over the request. If he took the position, he'd be staying at the palace all the time. Luna wouldn't have to feel so alone anymore.

Celestia held up a hoof to silence the nobles. Silence reigned over the chamber as all eyes were locked on Clover.

"I don't believe I can at this time," Clover seemed to come to a decision as he shook his head. "I have my own student to tend to and I fear the duties of the Archmage would interfere with his studies."

"You found somepony to teach, have you?" No one was shocked near as much as Luna. She had been very well aware how adamant he was against taking on a pupil. "Where are they from?"

"Well," he said, taking a pause for dramatic effect. "Far to the north, past the endless blizzard, there lies a kingdom made of crystal."

"HA! I knew it was too good to be true," said one of the laughing nobles. "Did you come here to regale us with ridiculous tales? Next you're going to tell us it was inhabited by ponies made of crystal."

"Why yes Viscount Blueblood," he said with a sneer. "I didn't know you were familiar with them." He turned back to Luna, "so anyway, they all have this amazing crystalline gleam to their coat and even though they're all earth ponies..."

"So you took on a farmer as a pupil," Blueblood interrupted him. "I didn't think you could demean the noble unicorn tribe any... Ahhh!" Blueblood cried out as a bolt of magic flew out from Clover's horn and struck him in the chest. A twisted vortex of magic wrapped around the noble, obscuring him from view. It only lasted a few seconds but when it cleared, a young colt was left sitting in a pile of clothes that were far too big for him.

"There," Clover nodded in approval at his spell craft. "Now you have an excuse when you decide to act like a child."

Luna held a hoof to her mouth and fought back laughter. He did always find ways to make her laugh.

"Anyway, as I was saying," he continued like he hadn't just humiliated one of the nobles. "It turns out that even though they're all earth ponies, every several generations a unicorn is born among them. Nopony knows why, but he was in need of a teacher and I decided to take on the task." He looked to the door, "Come on in, Onyx."

The door slowly opened and a small unicorn colt with a grey coat and a black mane shuffled inside. He looked around nervously at the nobles that looked down their noses at him before making his way behind Clover to hide from their piercing gazes.

"So you have indeed found yourself a student," sighed Celestia. "I don't know why you felt the need to go to the ends of the earth to find one. There had to have been at least one child within the noble houses you could've taught."

"And give them a bigger head than they already have? Is that the real reason why the doors in this place are so large? So they can fit their egos through them?" He snapped back with a grin.

While they continued to argue, Luna smiled down at the small nervous colt, taking note of the black crystal that made up his cutie mark. "So little one," she said to him, catching his attention. "What's your special talent?"

Onyx snapped his attention to the lunar princess, "y-yes your highness," he answered nervously. He closed his eyes, seeming to focus as a white aura lit up around his little grey horn. A black gemstone slowly grew in front of him, flowing like glass until it took on a the shape of a small flower. The stone wavered in the air for a moment before falling. Onyx tried to catch it but his hooves were too slow. Luna swiftly flicked a blue bolt around it, using her magic to deposit it into her hooves before it could hit the ground.

She looked at the object she held. It was a small rose made of the blackest crystal. "Tis quite beautiful," she complemented him.

"Th... Thank you... Your highness," he nervously bowed.

"We still think thou wouldst make a fine Archmage!" Shouted Celestia.

"And be stuck looking at your face every day! I don't think so!" Clover shouted back.

Onyx looked up at Luna with concern on his face, "should we stop them?"

Luna had a menacing smirk. Lighting her horn, she picked up the quarreling unicorn, a shocked look appearing on his face as he realized what was happening.

"Luna?! What are you doing?! Put me down right... Mffff!" His words were cut off as he was floated over to Luna. Where she promptly wrapped her wings around him and smothered him into her fur. Onyx's cheeks turned a rosy color as he watched his master get marehandled.

"Dear sister," said Luna to her sister who looked as if she was about to throw something. "Seeing as thee are once again indisposed, we shall take our evening meal in our chambers." She unwrapped the unicorn from her embrace and made her way out of the room, Clover scowling at the sun princess while he was levitated behind her.

"That must be the longest we've ever seen thee converse with mine sister before it turned into an argument that could be heard all across the castle," Luna said as she finally set Clover down.

Clover looked a bit embarrassed as he got his own hooves back under him, "I'm sorry about that. She just always finds a way to get under my skin."

"We doubt that is the best example that thee should be setting for thine young pupil," Luna looked back at Onyx who was still following them down the hall.

"Fair point. Onyx," he called out to him, getting the colt's attention.

"Yes master?" The young colt looked up.

"Never act like I just did, especially with royalty," he told him.

Onyx looked a bit shy as he shuffled nervously, "then why did you?"

Luna had to stifle a grin as Clover looked a bit uncomfortable at the question.

"I've known her since she was very young, younger than you are now. While that may afford me some forgiveness, that doesn't mean the way I acted was appropriate. Just make sure you watch your manners better than I do. Understand?" He turned away.

"Yes master," Onyx gave him a deep bow.

"There's the little troublemaker!" The voice carried on the wind as Clover flinched at the reprimand. He quickly looked from right to left as the voice continued.

"Don't you be looking for a place to hide." A spark of light sped towards them at breakneck speed before stopping right over Clover and landing on his head.

"Hi Whisper..." Clover said nervously. "How've you been?"

"Don't you 'Hi Whisper' me," said the little fairy as she grabbed and began twisting one of his ears. "Do you have any idea how long you've been gone?"

"See what happens when you go missing for so long?" Luna smiled as Clover was subjected to the fairy's attention.

Clover flinched as Whisper twisted his ear, "everypony is picking on me today."

"Nice to see you again, Princess Luna," said Whisper as her eyes fell on the young colt following them. "Oh!" She exclaimed as she let up on torturing the stallion. "Who's this cutie?"

"A fairy?" Onyx watched the little form with rapt curiosity.

"That's a strange name for a pony," Whisper grinned down at him.

"I'm sorry," he said in embarrassment. "My name is Onyx Shard." He bowed to the small form.

"Well at least somepony has some manners," she looked back at Luna and Clover and waggled her eyebrows. "Is he yours?"

Both of them were stricken into silence as a mad blush raced to overtake their faces.

"Relax, I'm only teasing." Whisper flitted over and landed on Onyx's head. Onyx for his part, looked confused at what the fairy had just said. "So are you gonna be here long?" She asked Clover.

"For a bit," he responded as he fought down the blush. "I'll be heading back to the Crystal Empire in a couple days. I just wanted to show my new student some of the places outside of his home."

"I see," she tapped on Onyx's head. "So... You little squirt, you hungry?"

The young colt's rumbling stomach was the only confirmation she needed.

"Come on!" She flitted off his head and started hovering down the hallway. "Let's see if we can't pilfer anything from the castle kitchens."

Onyx looked up to Clover, a question on his face.

"Go on," he gestured with a smile. "It has been a long journey."

The young colt galloped after the fairy, both of them off to terrorize the palace chefs.

"So how has everything been in the last year? I still can't believe it's been so long," Clover said as they both entered Luna's private chambers.

Luna didn't answer, instead she walked up behind Clover and wrapped both of her forelegs around him as she pulled him closer. "You talk too much," she as she leaned down and nuzzled into his mane.

Clover didn't protest the affection, instead he relaxed in her grip as he reached up and rested a hoof against the side of her face. "I missed you," he said softly as he nuzzled her back.

"Why do you have to be gone for so long?" Tears fell down her face as she unfurled her wings and wrapped them both up in a velvety blanket of feathers. "You worry me when you're gone for so long."

"I'm sorry I made you worry. It's just... I have to find him," he said somberly. "I have to find out what happened to my friend."

"I know," she said sadly. "It's just so lonely when you're not here. Everypony is asleep at night and the night guard isn't much for conversation."

"Have you talked to your sister about this? I mean, I hope you get along with her better than I do," he said with a hint of mirth.

Luna chuckled a bit, a small smile breaking onto her face, "heh, especially since the enmity between you two has become legendary in the court." Her smile fell a bit, "Celestia has become... A bit distant. She acts like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders when dealing with the court and she keeps turning down my offers to help."

"And how's your dreamwalking been?" Clover asked.

"It's been getting better," Luna admitted. "However, some of the ponies have been getting mad when they realize that somepony's been looking in on their dreams."

Clover turned around in her embrace until he was facing her, "be patient. They'll realize how valuable your guidance can be in time."

"It doesn't make it any easier though," she turned her head away from him.

He reached up and turned her to face him again. "Life is never easy and you've got a long life in front of you to figure this all out," he smiled softly at her. "You have gotten taller, though," he had to strain his neck a bit to look up at her.

Luna pouted, "you said that already. I'm not the little filly who fussed over having her favorite pony all to herself anymore," she smiled at him.

"Oh really?" He grinned up at her. "What are you now then?"

She leaned down and spoke softly as she felt his warmth against hers. "I think you know what you mean to me," she said with a smile just before pressing her lips against his.

Luna awoke in her chambers back in Canterlot, feeling flush as she lifted a hoof to her lips. She should have known that so soon after seeing him again, that old memories would come bubbling back to the surface.

The pain in her heart was agonizing as she rolled over in her bed. She clutched one of her large pillows to her chest as she curled around it.

Tears flowed freely as she sobbed in her solitude. "Oh Clover," she wept. "Where have you been all this time and why won't you come to me?"

Chapter 33: Hiding in Plain Sight

"He needs you to be there, Twilight," Whisper said. "But before you go chasing after Clover, I need you to do something first."

"What do you need?" Twilight asked with rapt attention.

"With both you and Luna finding out that Clover the Clever is still alive, he's not going to be able to disappear again." She placed her hooves together as she looked at Twilight. "However, he needs to settle his differences with Celestia."

Twilight lowered her eyes at the mention of her mentor. "I don't know if she really cares though," she said somberly. "I mean, she hasn't responded to any of my recent letters."

"It's not her fault," Whisper sighed as she held out a hoof. Two scrolls popped into existence in front of her. "The letters you sent never made it to Canterlot."

Twilight's eyes widened with dread as she levitated and unfurled each of the scrolls, "you stole my letters? Why?"

Whisper paced around the top of Clover's desk, "I've no doubt that she would've immediately come running to Ponyville had she gotten both of those letters. If Clover and her were to bump into each other, I can't see it ending well. The last time they saw each other was right after Princess Luna was banished to the moon, and that didn't end well either."

"How bad was it?" Twilight wanted to know.

"Let's just say there's more than one reason why the old castle is an abandoned ruin now," she said. "If you want to keep them from fighting the moment they see each other, you need to find Spectrum first. He's Clover's closest friend aside from myself and I'm certain if you show him what you saw when you went on your little trip, that you could get Clover and Celestia to talk."

"Spectrum?" Twilight tilted her head at the name. "That's an unusual name for a pony? How exactly am I supposed to show him what I saw?"

"Spectrum shouldn't have any trouble looking at your memories if you can find him," Whisper said with certainty. "As for his name?" She cringed a bit. "Yeah... About that..."

"We're looking for a changeling?!" Exclaimed Rarity.

"That's what she said," Twilight said in hushed tones when Rarity's outburst caused several other passengers to look in their direction. "Not so loud though."

"Sorry, darling," Rarity quickly apologized. "I had a bit of trouble sleeping after everything that happened yesterday."

Twilight had met up with her friends at the train station and they were currently on their way to Canterlot to try to find this Spectrum that Whisper had mentioned. Once they settled into their seats, she filled them in on everything she had learned except for the details about Celestia's nightmare form. She didn't think that she should talk about that when others might overhear.

"Sounds ta me like ya went on quite an adventure," said Applejack as she poked at the Element of Honesty she was wearing around her neck. She wasn't used to wearing any sort of jewelry.

At Whisper's prompting, they were all wearing their associated elements. Her parting words before Twilight left was that they'd likely play some role before all of this was over.

"I'm still having a hard time believing that he was Clover the Clever all this time," Twilight said as she resettled into her seat. Spike was curled up next to her, sleeping. She had kept him up late the previous night helping her study her temporary split into multiple forms. "Did everypony else at least have a quiet evening?"

"Ah swung by the hospital and picked up Big Mac," Applejack gave a soft chuckle. "The big galoof had no idea what had happened and all he wanted to know was what's for dinner. Ah was just happy to see he was alright."

"Well last night was no fun for me," Pinkie complained loudly. "That stuff didn't wear off until late last night and I'm still feeling a bit itchy." She shook one of her back hooves to emphasize the point.

"Pinkie!" Screeched a red-faced Rarity. "That's hardly appropriate to talk about in public."

Several other ponies in the train car had stood up upon hearing what Pinkie said and were quickly vacating themselves to another car. More than one of them had a younger pony traveling with them, many of them now clamping their hooves over the ears of their charge. Twilight tensed up when she thought she heard a little filly ask her mother, "what does she mean by itchy?"

"What?" Pinkie whined, paying no attention to the scene she just caused. "But it's not fair that Rainbow Dash got to get all snuggly with Flutterguy and all I got was a cold shower."

"Fluttershy did nothing of the sort," Rarity insisted as she fanned herself off. "She just escorted Rainbow Dash home because she was worried about her. I assure you nothing more happened than that. Isn't that right, Fluttershy darling?"

Fluttershy didn't look Rarity in the face, nor did she answer her question. Instead both her and Rainbow Dash were preoccupied with studying the floor, both of them having turned so red that they looked like a pair of radishes.

"Oh boy," said Applejack as she took off her hat and began fanning herself as well. "Is it just me, or did it just git a mite bit warmer in here?"

They stepped off the train once it finished pulling into Canterlot station, some of them a little more red in the face than when they got on. Twilight was half expecting to see a bunch of guards on duty if there was a changeling roaming the city. Nothing like that was happening though and it was actually pretty quiet.

She did get a few Canterlot locals who started bowing to her the moment she stepped off the train, making her feel a bit self-conscious. Now she remembered one of the reasons she ran back to Ponyville shortly after her coronation.

Rarity leaned over to whisper to Twilight while she was stuck in her third 'smile and wave' session. "So I know we got a bit distracted on the train darling, but how exactly are we going to find a single changeling in a city this large?"

"I have no idea," Twilight said back through gritted, smiling teeth.

"Ya reckon we should go talk to the princess, first?" Applejack suggested. "Ya said she weren't gettin yer letters. She's probably got no idea what's been happenin in Ponyville."

Twilight nodded, "that sounds like a good idea. I really want to talk to her after everything that's happened."

"Well what are we waiting for," said Rainbow as she took off into the air. "Last one there's a rotten egg."

The rest of them ran through the streets and made their way in the direction of Canterlot Castle. Twilight was still feeling bothered by how quiet everything in the city was.

"What took you girls so long," came the voice of Rainbow Dash as they were passing by a nearby fruit stand. She was standing in front of it with a bored look on her face and was pacing back and forth as she stretched out her wings. "Did you get lost on the way here? The castle's not exactly hard to find."

The five mares and one dragon all looked at each other and then at Rainbow with concern.

"RD," said Applejack, breaking the silence. "That's a fruit cart."

"What are you talking about, Applejack?" Said Rainbow as she gestured to the hapless vendor. "There's a guard right in front of the gate and everything."

"Is your friend ok?" Said the confused vendor.

Fluttershy stepped up and placed a hoof on her forehead. "She doesn't seem to have a fever." She observed.

Twilight took a closer look at the pegasus and noticed a slight twinkle in her eyes upon closer inspection. "Does anypony else see that?"

Rarity took a closer look as well and after confirming that she did indeed see the same thing said, "what do you suppose that is, darling?"

"I don't know but let's try..." A small spark floated off of her horn and hovered right in front of Rainbow's face before popping.

Rainbow recoiled in her discomfort, "what was that for, Twilight!?" She then looked around all confused, "what happened to the castle?"

"There never was a castle, sugarcube," said Applejack as she gave the confused mare a pat on the back. "But you seemed certain there was, that's fer sure."

"Good heavens Twilight," said Rarity as she looked over to her. "What did you do to her?"

Twilight shook her head clear, feeling unexpectedly dizzy from the spell she just cast. "The way she was acting sort of reminded me of when Discord cast that spell on us. Remember when Rainbow thought that a small cloud was a whole city?"

"And when Rarity thought that big hunk of rock was a diamond," Applejack said as she shot the mare a savage grin.

"I thought we agreed never to speak of that again," Rarity said flatly.

"Anyway," Twilight cut in before they got out of hoof. "The point is that afterwards I looked into other spells that can cause mind altering effects and more importantly, how to stop them."

"So whacha think, Twi," said Applejack. "You reckon this Spectrum we're looking fer did something to her?"

"Achoo," Spike sneezed as he gave a slight shiver.

"You ok, Spike? You're not catching a cold are you?" Twilight asked.

"Nah, I'll be all right," said Spike as he stretched. "Still feeling a bit sleepy though."

"Well ok..." She turned back to her friends. "Anyway, I don't know. As much as I've seen Clover do with magic already, it wouldn't surprise me if anypony else close to him knows a couple unusual tricks."

"Well I don't like somepony making me look like an idiot," Rainbow stomped her hoof. "Come on, lets get to the castle." She galloped away from them in the direction of the castle.

They made their way towards the castle, trying to keep up with Rainbow as she ran ahead of them. As they turned the last corner that should've brought them to the castle...

"Tickets please," said the attendant on the station platform.

"What the hay?!" Proclaimed Applejack.

"Huh?" Said a confused Pinkie Pie. Everyone else looked at her with an extra level of concern. If Pinkie was confused, that couldn't be a good sign.

"How are we back at the train station?" Questioned Twilight. "I've lived in Canterlot all my life. I shouldn't get lost trying to find the castle."

"And I don't think we're all seeing things, are we darling?" Asked Rarity.

Twilight quickly cast that same spell over all of them, only to look even more concerned when it didn't do anything.

"Maybe it's that jerk Discord messing with us again?" Said Rainbow with a scowl. "It seems like the kinda thing he'd do."

"Oh, I don't think so," Fluttershy shook her head. "He's been very well behaved lately."

*Burp* Spike let out a large flaming belch followed by coughing and spitting as he buckled over the postcard he just coughed up.

"Oh dear, Spikey Wikey," said Rarity as she rushed over to check on the purple dragon. "Are you going to be all right?"

"I'll be fine," he said as he held a claw up to keep Rarity from getting too close. "It just caught me by surprise."

"What's it say?!" Twilight said excitedly. "Is it from the princess?"

"I've got it darling," said Rarity as she used her magic to pick up the card up from the ground in front of Spike. "Just catch your breath."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, Fluttershy," said Rarity as she read from the postcard. "At least somepony believes in me. As for the rest of you, I'm not about to take responsibility for somepony else's chaos. Although I will happily enjoy watching it. Your friendly neighborhood Discord." Rarity flipped the card over a couple times in her magic, "that's all it says."

"Well that still doesn't answer how we ended up going the wrong way," said Rainbow.

"What do you reckon we should do, Twi?" Said Applejack. "Somethin's clearly tryin to keep us from gettin to the castle."

"Hmmm," Twilight rubbed her chin as she thought it over. "What if we didn't try to go to the castle? Not directly anyway."

"Ooo," said Pinkie as she hopped up and down excitedly. "You got an idea, Twilight?"

Twilight gave Pinkie a sly smile, "I might."

They were once again running through the streets of Canterlot. However, they weren't currently running in the direction of the castle. In fact, none of them knew where they were going.

"Darling, I fail to see the point of this detour," Rarity gave a disgusted look as she stepped around yet another trash can down the fifth alley they ran down.

"We tried going directly to the castle and got lost," said Twilight as she ran several paces ahead of Rarity. "Something is definitely keeping us from getting to the princess and I plan to find out what it is."

"Ah think she means why are we following Pinkie on this wild goose chase?" Asked Applejack. "We must've passed by the castle at least half a dozen times by now."

"Did anypony notice that the streets aren't making any sense?" Said Rainbow as she ran alongside them.

Pinkie made another turn ahead of them and bounced up a couple boxes onto the roof of a nearby building.

One by one they all climbed after the pink bundle of energy as they made their way to the roof. Soon they found themselves running across the rooftops of Canterlot, jumping from roof to roof.

"I'm... Gasp... Trying to figure out the range of the spell we're caught in," said Twilight as she fought for breath. "I was hoping that with how random Pinkie is that we could shake it off or at least figure out how far it goes."

"Ah thought you said we didn't have any magic cast on us?" Said Applejack.

"There's definitely some kind of magic at play," said Twilight. "A couple minutes into this run I noticed we stopped seeing any other ponies."

"What do you think that means, Twilight?" Said Spike as he calmly ran alongside her.

Twilight's eyes went wide as she slid to a stop. The stop was so sudden that everypony else behind her ran into her backside and as one they all tumbled off the roof and landed in some nearby bushes. Pinkie cheerily bounced off the roof and landed besides where the rest of her friends were piled up... Before jumping into the pile herself.

"Gosh darnit, Twi," snapped Applejack. "Warn a mare before you stop like that."

"I figured it out!" Twilight announced.

"Figured what out, Twilight?" Complained Rainbow from her spot in the pony pile.

"Something's been off for a while but I couldn't put my hoof on it until now," she looked up at the baby dragon sitting on top of the pile of ponies. "Spike's been able to keep up with us..."

"What are you saying, darling?" Asked Rarity as she watched Spike remove himself from the pile and climb back onto solid ground.

"We've been galloping like mad through the Canterlot streets and not once have I seen anypony carry Spike, yet he still managed to keep up with us. He's not even out of breath." She pointed a hoof at him, "you're not Spike. You're Spectrum, aren't you?"

Spike brushed himself off as he turned to face them, "finally one of you ponies starts paying attention."

Author's Note

Spike is awfully sus.

Chapter 34: Changing Circumstances

The pile of ponies all stared at the baby dragon who wasn't really a baby dragon.

"But I... But you... When?" Twilight's gaze narrowed. "What did you do with Spike?!"

Spike looked at her dismissively, "oh quit it with the mellow drama, he's fine. I didn't do anything to him. Although he'll probably be halfway to the Crystal Empire by the time he wakes up."

"The train?" Twilight pondered before her eyes grew wide with shock. "I left Spike sleeping on the train! I was so distracted I forgot to wake him up!" She reprimanded herself for taking this long to notice.

"I wouldn't worry, Twilight," said Rainbow Dash. "He's a tough little guy. He'll probably just chill with Shining Armor until we get there."

"Hey!" The faux Spike snapped his claws a couple times to get Twilight's attention. "Don't forget about me here. I still wanna know how you know about me and Clover. Why are you looking for me?"

Twilight finally pulled herself from the pile of her friends and stood over the changeling that was imitating Spike. He continued to look up at her with his arms crossed, "well? Any time now princess."

"Whisper told me to look for you," said Twilight. "She said you could help me figure out a problem with a memory I've seen."

Spike slapped his face with a claw and began massaging the bridge of his nose, "of course that little menace had to go stick her nose in this. Why did I expect anything different?" He looked up at her. "Alright," he said. "What's so important about this memory that Whisper felt the need to blow my cover?"

"I saw Daybreaker show up in the Crystal Empire when Clover was fighting Sombra and..." Twilight's words were cut off as she was tackled from behind by Rainbow Dash. She soon found a foreleg slapped over her mouth even as Spike's body began to turn hazy and fade away.

"Ok, Twilight Sparkle. You've really got my attention now," said Rainbow hastily. "I don't know how you can possibly have memories from so long ago, but that's where this whole mess started." Her voice was starting to change as her grip loosened, "Now... I don't know what it is you saw," she said in a whisper. "But Clover said that it was Celestia who got in the way back then and I personally know that Daybreaker didn't come along until much later."

Twilight strained her neck to look back at Rainbow Dash. She managed to look back just in time to see the last traces of her rainbow hair dissipate into a cascade of green flame. A dark green face with pupil-less purple eyes looked back at her and her gaze was drawn to the silver light pulsing off the wickedly curved horn on his head.

She swallowed hard and recollected herself, "Whisper said something similar. That's why she told me to find you, said you could sort it out."

Spectrum nodded. "Show me," he said.

"Show you what? What do you mean?" Twilight asked confused.

The changeling leaned down and rested his silver imbued horn against her head. "Focus on the memory you wish to show me. I'll take it from there."

"Twi!" Called Applejack. "Where'd you go, girl?"

"I'm over here, Applejack!" Twilight called out.

"The rest of your friends are still trapped in my spell. They can't see or hear us," he dismissed. "Focus, princess. I need to know what's so important about that memory that Whisper would send you to me."

"Ok..." Said Twilight as she strained to remember the details about what she saw. She only had to keep at it for a couple of moments before silver light filled her vision and everything came rushing back.

"So the Crystal Princess is truly dead then?"

"You shouldn't have faced me without those two alicorns."

"What... Are... You...?"

"Farewell, pony I don't know."

"I won't soon forget this."

Twilight let out a gasp of air as Spectrum staggered back, breaking the connection while making an annoyed hiss.

The air around them began to fog and shimmer as their surroundings began to warp and change. Soon, the yard they thought they had been gathered in was replaced by some back alley.

"There she is!" Called out Pinkie Pie.

"Good heavens, darling," said Rarity as she trotted up and helped Twilight to her hooves. "Where did you go?"

"And what happened to RD?" Asked Applejack as she looked around. "And while we're at it, where the hay are we?!"

"Um... Girls..." Fluttershy raised a trembling hoof to point at the bug pony who was currently lying unconscious several paces away from them. "What's that?"

Twilight took a few moments to steady her breath. "That's Spectrum," she said as she took a few uneasy steps towards the prone form.

Applejack carefully walked alongside her. "He doesn't look nothin like any of the changelings we saw before. Are you sure?" She asked as they looked at the body.

"I'm sure," said Twilight as she swallowed.

Aside from the green chitin she had already seen, Spectrum had a white shell laid over his back. Peeking out from under the shell, they could see long gossamer wings, far more elegant than they had seen on changelings before. They could make out what seemed to be three black gemstones embedded in his chest arranged to somewhat resemble a necklace. The biggest thing that stood out...

"His legs aren't filled with holes," Fluttershy noticed after building up the courage to get closer and lift one of the limp limbs.

"He does seems to be a bit more sleek than those ghastly creatures that we saw before," said Rarity as she kept a respectful distance.

Twilight took a few more tentative steps forward and reached a hoof towards him.

"What're you doin, Twi?" Said Applejack as she placed a hoof on her shoulder. "He might still be dangerous."

"I'm not just going to leave him like this," said Twilight as she looked back to her friend. "Whisper said we need him and I have no reason not to believe her."

"Look!" Shouted Fluttershy as she pointed in front of her.

Twilight looked back to the unconscious form just in time to see it finish turning pitch black and literally melt into a puddle on the ground. Twilight was too shocked to move as the puddle advanced towards her. As she saw it cross her shadow, it began to spread and fill the space beneath her. It continued to spread and once it had covered enough of the space beneath her, the color shifted until it was indistinguishable from her own shadow.

"That was the weirdest thing Ah've ever seen," said Applejack.

"Heavens darling!" Exclaimed Rarity. "Where did he go?"

Twilight reached down a hoof and placed it against her own shadow, finding it warm to the touch. As an experiment she touch the space next to it to find the ground much cooler. "Is... Is he in my shadow?"

"Ah didn't know magic could do that," Applejack readjusted her hat. "Wasn't he unconscious though?"

"I didn't know magic could do that either," said Twilight as she stepped back and forth. "Seeing this though, I wouldn't be surprised if he was in the room when Clover first showed up in town."

"Well what do we do now, darling?" Said Rarity.

"And fer that matter, where's RD?" Said Applejack as she looked around for the missing pegasus.

"I think I know where we might find her," said Twilight as she looked towards the castle.

"What took you girls so long?!" Rainbow Dash complained loudly as everyone else ran up to the castle gates. "Did you get lost?"

"Somethin like that," said Applejack.

"We found where Spectrum was hiding!" Pinkie said happily.

"You did?" Rainbow Dash looked around for an extra pony. "Where was he?"

"We found him at a fruit stand, pretending to be you," said Rarity.

"And you all fell for it?" Rainbow grumbled.

"He gave a very convincing performance," Applejack chuckled.

"Hardly, darling. She was acting delusional," Rarity defended.

"Ah said it was convincing, didn't Ah," Applejack said with a smirk.

"Well Twilight?" Said Rarity, ignoring the banter. "Is he still there?"

"I think so..." Twilight said as she tapped at her shadow. "This still feels really weird though."

"What is she talking about?" Rainbow looked at them all confused.

"I'll tell you inside," said Twilight as she entered the gates to the castle.

Once they were inside, Twilight guided them through the castle. They found Princess Celestia in her study, currently sitting behind her desk and working on the less glamorous part of running a country.

"My little ponies," Celestia appeared a bit startled as she looked up from her work. "What a surprise. What brings you here today?"

"Princess Twilight. You seem to be in fairer health than last we saw you," Princess Luna nodded to her from a nearby couch. She was currently nursing a large cup of coffee. She had bags under her eyes and a disheveled look on her face. "Forgive our current appearance. We haven't been sleeping well."

"Princess Luna was just telling me about the interesting state she found you in," Celestia said with a smile. "I assume you had a spell go wrong?"

Twilight scuffed nervously at the floor, "not exactly." She shied away from her mentor like she was afraid to look her in the eye. "I sort of had... A tiny little accident."

"I'm sure it wasn't anything too bad," said Celestia as she scratched away at some parchment with a quill.

Twilight felt one hoof after another come to rest on her back. She looked back to find each and every one of her friends looking back at her with an encouraging smile. One by one they all nodded to her as they pushed her to stand a little closer to the solar princess.

Twilight took a few nervous steps closer even as Celestia sensed the tension in the room. She placed her quill down and gave her student her undivided attention.

"I sort of... Lost control for a bit... And fell to the nightmare," Twilight winced as those last words left her mouth. That was it, she said it. What would her teacher think of her now?

Celestia's eyes grew wide with shock as she slowly walked around her desk, her eyes not once leaving Twilight. Twilight looked back nervously, flinching under her gaze even as she pinned her wings to her sides. She soon found her teacher standing directly over her as she looked up at her.

Twilight winced and screwed her eyes shut as her teacher leaned into her, sure that she was about to receive some sort of reprimand. When she felt something warm wrap itself around her, she dared to open her eyes. Celestia had scooped her up into a hug, wrapping her forelegs around her even as she wrapped her wings to encompass them both. Tears dripped from her eyes even as her lower lip began to tremble.

"I'm so glad you're safe," she finally said. "I hadn't heard from you in so long and with everything that's been happening lately, I was starting to worry."

Twilight threw herself into the embrace, "I'm sorry I worried you. I only just found out you weren't getting my mail and I've needed your help so much. If Clover hadn't been there to stop me, who knows what I could've done."

On the mention of his name, Celestia tensed up. Her eyes taking on a blank stare as uncertainty filled her voice. "Who... Who did you say stopped you?"

"Clover the Clever," said Luna from her place across the room, drawing their attention. "He's still alive, sister."

"Why didn't you say something, Luna?" Celestia asked, the shock not once leaving her face.

"We only found out for certain yesterday," Luna said confidently. "We were actually trying to find the best way to tell you today, but it seems that thy student hath beaten us to it."

"But how?" Celestia asked. "If nothing else, he should've died of old age by now."

"There's plenty you don't know about Clover," a buzzing voice came from Twilight's direction, startling the ponies in the room as they looked around in a panic. "Heh, you should see the looks on your faces right now," the voice said a bit more jovially.

Twilight honed in on the source of the voice, her gaze falling to her shadow. Its shape had shifted slightly and there was now a silhouette looking back at her.

"Looks like he finally woke up, Twi," said Applejack.

"If you had any idea how much love is pouring off these two right now," the buzzing continued. "I don't think any changeling could sleep with the smell of that so close."

Celestia flinched at what she had just heard. "A changeling?!" She exclaimed as she focused in on the source of the voice. "Can all changelings hide in shadows, and how has Chrysalis gotten mixed up in this?"

"Nah," he dismissed. "This is just something I picked up over the years, and I'd thank you not to bring up that cockroach who thought that a frontal assault was a good idea."

"What happened to you?" Twilight asked, catching her teacher's attention. "And how much longer are you going to hide in my shadow?"

"Not much longer," his eyes swept over the room before focusing back on Twilight. "I would've already left to rejoin Clover, but with what you showed me before I passed out, I think it's important to share what I found."

"What's going on?" Celestia appeared confused. "What is he talking about?" She resettled herself on her hooves as she continued to look more and more annoyed, "what exactly has been happening around me?!"

"Nooooooo!!!" Pinkie bellowed her displeasure to the heavens. "Not a recap!!"

Chapter 35: Recollections

Twilight's shadow warped and pulled as Spectrum climbed his way out of it. The royal sisters stared at his colorful form, but before they had a chance to comment on it, a flash of green washed over his body as he took on the appearance of Random Fact.

"What?" He looked back at everyone's slack-jawed expressions. "Clover's not using this look anymore, so I may as well."

Twilight felt a little bit nervous with him taking on that appearance, but joined the rest of her friends anyway as they all sat in a big circle. "Now when did this all start?" Twilight asked aloud. "I guess it started when we had a new pony come into town." She shot a look at the changeling that had just taken on that appearance. "That pony, actually," she said.

"I'm quite certain it started when we encountered King Sombra while roaming the dream realm," Luna offered.

"If those are our choices, it definitely started when Clover was traveling outside the borders of Equestria," Spectrum offered while getting a bit more comfortable on some cushions.

That got everyone's attention as they all turned to face him.

"What?" He looked back at them. "I figured with what Twilight saw in her vision, I could give you some background."

"I'm sorry... Vision? I thought it was a memory," Twilight looked confused.

"I thought so too at first," he said as he rubbed his chin. "If it was just a memory though, I wouldn't have passed out from trying to look at it. Nopony's memory is perfect and there were a lot more details in there than a simple memory would retain. I'm sure that what you saw is what actually happened without any of the details being left out and it was too much for me to take in all at once."

"So thou were saying," Luna encouraged.

"So anyway," Spectrum started. "Clover's been spending a lot of time traveling. Seeing what else is happening in the world, learning and developing various magical techniques, and trying to track down the amulet he used to always carry with him."

"You mean the Alicorn Amulet?" Twilight asked. "What exactly is it and did Clover really make it himself?"

"Clover created it so he could blend into pony society without drawing too much attention to himself," said Spectrum. "He told me that there was no way he wouldn't have drawn excess attention to himself without it. So he sealed a large portion of his magic away as a precaution."

"So when Trixie used the amulet to bully her way around Ponyville, she was actually using some of Clover's magic?" Rarity wondered aloud.

"Something like that," he said. "It's a bit more complicated than that but this 'Trixie' actually did us a favor when she started using it."

"Don't let Trixie hear you say that," Rainbow cut in. "She's got a big enough ego already."

"Oh like yer one ta talk," Applejack jabbed.

"Hey!" Rainbow protested.

"Anyway," Spectrum continued. "Clover could sense it was being used and it finally gave us a proper direction to search for it. Anyway, we're getting off topic. So on one of his many excursions, he was gathering information at a local tavern when he suddenly collapsed without warning."

"Oh my," gasped Fluttershy. "What happened?"

"It was a close call," he said. "But the seal he had placed on King Sombra started to come undone right then and there."

"Wait... What?!" Exclaimed Rainbow Dash, sharing everyone else's shock. "But I though we stopped him. How did he end up wherever you guys were?"

"You've got your time frame backwards," Spectrum said. "He managed to contain him, but it was a close thing. Too close. About a quarter of Sombra's spirit managed to escape." The changeling turned unicorn looked a bit uneasy. "It happened right when the Crystal Empire reappeared.

"Let me see if I'm understanding you," Rarity mused with concern. "That... Thing that was tormenting all those lovely crystal ponies. That was only a small part of the actual King Sombra?"

"Got it in one," Spectrum winked at Rarity, eliciting a small blush. "Anyway, I had to hide Clover away while he recovered. Needless to say, he was a bit restless. He didn't actually calm down until we got the news that the Crystal Princess had banished the darkness or something along those lines."

"So what happened next?" Twilight was on the edge of her seat, eager to hear more.

The sound of a creaking door interrupted their discussion as everyone turned to look in its direction. A maid pushed a cart carrying an elaborate cake through the door, nervous to have everyone looking at her.

She strode in a bit more confidently after receiving a reassuring smile from Celestia. The room grew quiet while the maid carefully served each of them. When she served Spectrum, he leaned in and whispered something in her ear. Whatever it was he said, it caused her ears to perk up and her face to grow flush.

She picked up her pace in finishing her duties and gave a quick bow before beating a hasty retreat from the room. It may have been their imagination, but they could've sworn that she was consciously holding her tail tighter to her body than she had when she came in.

"What did you say to her?" Rainbow asked, a smile breaking out on her face.

"Wouldn't you like to know," he said as a silver glow floated a teacup over.

"Hrm," Luna coughed. "I believe we've gotten a bit distracted. What happened next?"

"Not much more to tell. We made our way back to Equestria and boarded a train bound for Ponyville. That was the direction we last detected the amulet and Clover was eager to finally find it again." He floated over a piece of cake and gave a delighted hum as he ate it. "He ran into Twilight after that.."

"It definitely freaked me out," Twilight said. "The way the tree seemed to suddenly come to life around me. I was just doing some studying when the place started glowing. Spike and I got out of there as fast as we could. That's when we met Random Fact. At the time I had no idea who he really was... What?" She looked over to Celestia who was forcing down a laugh.

"Oh, nothing Twilight," Celestia said, the grin not once leaving her face. "I just remembered that I asked you about bringing him over for dinner. That would've certainly made for an awkward evening."

"Indeed it would have, sister," said Luna. "The animosity between the two of you was legendary in our youth."

Twilight narrowed her eyes at her mentor in annoyance before continuing, "anyway, when we went back inside, a new door had appeared in the library." Twilight settled back down on her seat and took a quick drink, "turns out there's an absolutely massive chamber underneath the Golden Oaks with an even bigger collection of books. It's even bigger than the Canterlot archives down there. With enough space that you could fly between the shelves if you wanted."

Celestia's eyes widened upon hearing this, "it certainly sounds impressive. I may have to come see it myself when I have time. What else happened?"

Twilight thought it over, "aside from meeting the fairy, Whisper, who lives down there, nothing much else happened. I mean Pinkie threw her customary 'Welcome to Ponyville' party, Prince Blueblood showed up and made a fool of himself, but I already told you about that, and we started looking into this pony that was seen wandering the forest."

"Don't forget about that crazy storm that popped up over Canterlot," Rainbow cut in. "That wasn't normal weather."

"Yeah RD, but Ah don't think that had anything to do with what's been happenin," Applejack chided.

"That was not a simple storm," Luna said calmly, having not yet touched the sweets in front of her. "I saw the pegasus that started that storm. "We were enjoying a 'town night' after a rather unpleasant encounter the night before. We heard it was a good way to relax."

"It's called a night on the town, Luna," Celestia said with a chuckle.

Luna rolled her eyes. "We still do not understand this need to make language more complicated."

"Wait?" Rainbow tilted her head at Luna, "did I hear that right? That storm was made by a pegasus? As in one pegasus?"

"We're not completely sure this is relevant, but yes. He approached us while we were visiting a night club and warned us to stay away from Sombra's prison that we had recently found within the dream realm," Luna said, still remembering how horrible that experience had actually been.

"Wait..." Rarity said, unsure of something. "Did I hear that right? You actually visited a night club?"

"It was Tia's idea," Luna huffed, breaking the stoic face she had been keeping up this whole time. "If she hadn't disappeared on us while we were there then we might've gotten some answers sooner. We tried to apprehend him with the assistance of the Wonderbolts we found while we were there, but he easily pushed his way through all of us."

Twilight, having caught something in that statement, looked over at Celestia and struggled with how to word her question. However, Celestia smiled as she caught on to what she was doing and beat her to it. "Yes Twilight, I do get out of the castle from time to time. Magic's a great help if I want to get around unnoticed."

"Wait!?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, catching onto something else. "So he took on the Wonderbolts AND a princess and he still managed to get away?!"

"They stood no chance," Luna narrowed her eyes. "I've never seen a pegasus move like that. One of the first things he did was send Captain Spitfire into a wall with a bolt of lightning."

Rainbow's jaw dropped. "What?! You're kidding?!"

"We are not," she responded. "We tried to stop him ourselves, but a stunning spell only cause a piece of him to break off like crystal."

Twilight perked up at the mention of crystal, "what happened next?" She asked quickly.

Luna gave Twilight a considering glance, "it's hard to explain. We watched him steal all the magic from one of the fallen Wonderbolts and he escaped after that, leaving a storm in his wake."

"He stole his magic? Twi..." Applejack shared a stunned look with her. "That sounds like..."

Twilight nodded to her. "It does," she said. "Also, I forgot to tell you but when I caught Smokey, his body also started to break like crystal."

"That still doesn't explain how a brawl went down in Canterlot and nopony heard about it!" Shouted Rainbow. "I could understand stuff happening in Ponyville getting ignored. We have crazy stuff happening every other week. It would've just been another Tuesday."

"Because after Storm Chaser met back up with Clover," Spectrum stated in annoyance. "Someone had to go clean up the mess he made."

"Wait..." Luna narrowed her eyes at him. "Art thou the one who evaded capture the following night? I'll have you know that I have a particularly traumatized guard after that whole incident."

"I'll send her some flowers or something," he said as he finished off the last of his cake. "So I know you've all been waiting. Would you like to know what I found that was so interesting about Twilight's vision?"

Around the room, the rest of the ponies all slowly nodded.

"All right," Spectrum said as he hopped to his hooves. "So our tale begins a good one thousand years ago when Clover had his first real pupil, Onyx." He looked to Celestia and Luna, "I was told you met him once, before he went and got himself possessed by the demon Sombra. Anyway, you all already know your ancient history. You were there for it after all. Sombra killed the Crystal Princess, rose to power, enslaved the Empire, and then went to war with Equestria."

"Yes," Celestia confirmed. "I'm surprised you know all of that. Almost all of that is forgotten history."

"Clover has shared a lot on top of me doing my own research," Spectrum went on. "However, not even Clover's memory is perfect and he can't remember all the exact details about what happened." He looked at Twilight, "that's where you come in, princess. That vision you had."

"Would you please stop keeping us in suspense, darling," Rarity quipped, clearly getting annoyed.

"Before the war had a chance to start, Clover fought with Sombra and had him at his mercy. That was until Celestia showed up and messed everything up." He had to hold up a hoof to cut the princess off. "However this is who he actually saw."

An emerald flame washed over Spectrum's body, causing all the ponies to jump a bit. When it cleared away, they found themselves staring at a second Princess Celestia. This one, however, had their mane and tail wrapped in flames and the light coming from her eyes were as bright as the sun. Celestia slowly climbed to her hooves and carefully approached her double. They stared into each other's eyes, Celestia looked curiously at the way her twin carried herself. The second princess carried herself proudly as she looked down at them, but not in the way that Celestia looked at them. This was less like the motherly way the princess of the sun looked fondly upon them and more like she looked at them like they were so much less than her, like she was so much more important than them.

"She seems a bit haughty," Luna observed.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," said the doppelganger. The way her voice echoed off the room around them sent chills down everyone's spines, Celestia included. "The way she looked down on Clover was more akin to a parent looking down upon their child without bothering to listen to what the child has to say." She turned her blazing eyes back on the original. "Tell me Celestia. Is this a form you've ever taken? Because I've never even seen Daybreaker act as this one has."

Celestia recoiled at the name her double used. "No," she finally said. "It actually feel like I'm looking at a complete stranger who just happens to look like me."

"That's what I thought," she said as emerald flames once again hid her from view. When they disappeared, Spectrum had returned to the appearance of Random Fact, a pained expression on his face as he held the side of his head. "Ugh, don't ask me to do that again. Changing into larger forms consumes far more magic and leaves me with a nasty headache."

"Are you going to be all right?" Fluttershy looked at him with concern.

"I'll be fine, I just need some sleep," he staggered a bit as he pulled out a blank sheet of paper and began to write something down.

"I think we all could use some rest, my little ponies." Celestia looked to the exhausted changeling, "I would extend that hospitality to you as well. You look like you're ready to collapse."

"I'll take you up on that," he said as he held out a sealed scroll. "Would you do me a favor and make sure that Spike gets this letter to Clover. He needs to know what I've discovered."

Celesita took the letter in her magic and watched as everyone else started to leave the room. "Oh, Twilight," she called after them. "Would you stay with me for a moment, please?"

Twilight turned back and walked towards her mentor, wondering what it is that Celestia could want.

"Are you sure you're gonna be alright, pardner?" Applejack looked at the grey unicorn with concern as he braced himself up against a wall. "Ah don't claim to know nuthin bout changelings, but you look like yer bout to collapse."

"I'll be find as long as I can find a warm body to curl up next to tonight." Spectrum looked at her with a sly grin, "if you're so worried about me, you could offer to keep me warm tonight."

"That'll be a no," Applejack huffed as she trotted away.

"Ooo!" Pinkie cheerfully hopped up and down, "you could come snuggle with me if you want. The beds here are nice and comfy but way too big for just one pony anyway." She made little hops around him, grinning ear to ear the whole while. "C'mon," she tugged on him, beckoning him to follow.

"Just a second," he smiled as he looked over his shoulder at Princess Luna. "I think the princess wants a word with me first."

"Okie Doki," said Pinkie as she hopped away. "Don't take too long."

Spectrum waited a moment until the rest of the ponies had gotten a good distance away before he turned to the lunar princess. "You've been a lot more quiet than I would've thought, all things considering. Something on your mind?"

Luna stepped up to him, worry evident in her eyes. "I need to know," she said. "I've been wondering ever since I found out he was still alive. Wondering why he didn't let me know he was still there. Does he miss... Did he say anything?... About me?"

Anything left of a smile fell from his face as he looked her in the eye, "he's never been that open about his feelings, so I couldn't say for certain." Luna slumped forward upon hearing those words, her ears sagging.

"However," he said, making her perk back up a bit. "There have been times I've caught him spending long hours staring at the moon, and he would be crying every time."

Chapter 36: Sins of the Sun

Celestia sat staring at the letter in her magic for a moment before sighing and casting the spell to send it on its way.

"Princess Celestia?" Twilight looked up at her, worried about her. "Are you ok?"

"I don't know Twilight, I really don't know," she said, a distant look on her face. "Clover the Clever being alive after all this time, it's... It's a lot to take in. I'm hearing all these names and events that I thought were long behind me, yet they've gone and resurfaced all at once... So, you've met Whisper then?"

Twilight slowly nodded. It might've just been her imagination, but Celestia seemed vulnerable in a way she hadn't seemed before. Sure she had seen her hurt before, but never to the point that she seemed just like any other pony. "Apparently she's been in Ponyville's library for a long time."

"And before that, she could be seen floating around the Castle of the Two Sisters, especially when Clover was around." Celestia gave another deep sigh, "that is, before everything fell apart and we moved the capital to Canterlot."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Twilight rested a hoof on Celestia's leg and looked up into her eyes.

"I feel like I need to tell you about it. You'll probably find out about it sooner or later anyway, and it's probably best you hear it from me." Celestia looked back at her sorrowfully. "I made a mistake in my youth, Twilight. A mistake that led to a whole series of unfortunate events that ended up driving a wedge between me and Luna."

"You mean when she turned into Nightmare Moon?" Twilight asked her, confused on how this could be related to current events. "You told me about that. How you wish you had noticed how lonely she was feeling and that you had done more to be there for her."

"Yes, but that's not the whole truth, my student," Celestia said. "When we heard that Clover had failed to stop King Sombra, we soon found evidence that he was using the population of the Crystal Empire to build a slave army. He was apparently set on invading Equestria with it. We mobilized our forces and marched on the empire. What ensued was probably the biggest loss of pony life since before the unification of the tribes."

Twilight gave an involuntary gasp as she looked up at her teacher, "I never heard about that before. It wasn't in any of the history books."

"If you recall," she said. "You didn't know there even was a Crystal Empire until I sent you there. The place has become a forgotten piece of history."

Twilight nodded, remembering how she had struggled to learn anything about the Crystal Empire until she went there herself.

"When my sister and I were eventually able to defeat King Sombra, we banished him to the frozen north," said Celestia. "The empire vanished as if it had never existed."

"You told me all this before," Twilight said confused. "What's this have to do with you making a mistake?"

"We searched for any possible survivors," Celestia continued. "And we eventually found Clover unconscious and buried deep in the snow. He was frozen to the bone and barely breathing, but against all odds, he was still alive. We had our best spellcasters and physicians do everything they could to revive him but he didn't once stir from his deep slumber."

Celestia poured herself a fresh cup of tea and downed it all in one gulp, not once seeming to care for how hot it was.

"It was a very different time back then, Twilight," She said. "You think the nobles can be insufferable now. Back then each of them had hundreds of ponies that answered to them and every last one of them were angry. A lot of lives had been lost when we fought against Sombra and his army, and they all wanted someone to blame."

"Princess..." Twilight said under her breath, not sure she liked where this was going.

"I don't know who first started the rumor, but eventually it became the public opinion that Clover had been responsible for the war. Since it was his student that had turned into King Sombra, there was a movement of ponies calling out for Clover to face punishment for the loss of life." Celestia looked down into her empty teacup, regret painting her features, "in my youthful ignorance and desire to end the conflict before it drove the tribes apart again, I agreed with their demands. I've regretted it ever since."

Twilight looked at Celestia in shocked horror, not believing what she was hearing. "What... What did this have to do with Princess Luna turning into Nightmare moon?" She asked.

"How do you think you would react if your only friend, nay, your lover had been sentenced to death without even the chance to defend themselves?" Celestia began to tear up, "if only I had known how she would react and what the consequences would be."

*Crash* The sound of shattering glass filled the room as a pure white hoof went through a dressing mirror.

"Princess!" Called out Celestia's personal maid as she ran up to examine the offending hoof. "You didn't hurt yourself did you?"

Celestia forcefully brushed away her attendant, not wanting to let her get near her. "Get away from me! Don't act like you care!"

"But your highness," the maid carefully tried to approach the distraught solar princess. "Court will begin soon and I need to get you cleaned up."

"Court this, social function that. Is that all you ponies care about!?" She swept a wing across her dresser, sending brushes and combs scattering across the room. Bits of broken glass cut into her wings, sending scattered feathers into the air, some of it tinged with her blood. "I want my sister back!" She shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Please your highness," the maid pleaded. "Everypony is waiting to celebrate your victory over Nightmare Moon and we must have you presentable for your audience."

Celestia brought her hooves down near the maid, cracking the floor with the impact and forcing the maid to huddle on the ground while appearing small. "Get out..." She said quietly.

"Your highness?" The maid dared to speak.

Celestia reared up, tears streaming from her face as she looked down at the nuisance in anger. "Didn't you hear me!? I said get out!" She began to throw brushes and various pieces of jewelry at her, not once caring for how valuable or significant the pieces were. When her attendant was taking too long to leave, she began to fire small jets of fire from her horn, singing hair off the tail of the smaller pony.

Self-preservation finally kicked in as the servant ran from the room as fast as she could, closing the door behind her just as a large chair smashed into it, breaking into a thousand pieces.

Celestia heaved big lungfuls of air as she stared with bloodshot eyes at the door the nuisance had just left through. How dare these simple ponies act like they know her. She slowly walked back over to what remained of her dresser, looking up at her broken reflection. A white alicorn stared back at her, rainbow colored locks spilling over her face as she tried not to look disgusted at herself.

She grabbed a big bundle of the spectral hairs in her magic and pulled on them will all her might until they tore loose. She didn't care how much it hurt to do so, she hated this hair. It had turned this color when she had used the Elements of Harmony to banish Nightmare Moon, nay, her sister Luna to the moon. Ponies had spilled out from out of nowhere to celebrate her victory and had mistaken her cries of pain and anguish for a shout of victory.

It didn't sink in until then how alone she truly was. Not one of them had checked to see if she was all right. Not one of them shared in her sorrow that her sister was gone. Gone and banished to the moon. Doomed to look down on them from the moon until the end of time. While Celestia was doomed to be reminded of what she had done any time she looked in a mirror. Why couldn't the ponies understand the pain she was feeling right now.

Celestia collapsed to the floor and sobbed, again not caring about the mess she sat in the middle of nor caring about the broken glass that continued to dig into her. She barely recognized the sound of breaking stone and distant screams that could be heard coming from outside her room.

The door burst open and was quickly slammed as one of the castle guards rushed into her room. "Your highness!" The guard called as he held the door closed behind him in a panic.

"What!?" Celestia screamed at him. "What's it going to take for all you little ponies to leave me alone!?"

"It's Clover, your highness!" The guard was sweating as the angry alicorn looked down her nose at him. "He's woken up and he's on a rampage through the castle grounds!"

"Then stop him." She ordered. "He's only one pony. Don't tell me all of you are that incompetent?"

"We're trying, your highness," he bowed, prostrating himself before her. "But he's just too much for us."

Celestia scoffed, "fine!" She roared as she stomped towards the door. "I'll deal with him but then I'm leaving!"

"Your highness?" The guard looked at her with confusion.

"For all I care you can find a different ruler after all of this." She said as she reached up, pulled the crown from her head and threw it at a distant wall.

She slammed the door behind her, leaving a very confused guard looking down at the discarded crown.

It didn't take long for her to figure out where Clover was. As she went through the hallways, she regularly found large holes in the walls from the battle with her sister. The insolent ponies hadn't even bothered to start with repairs. Did she have to tell them to do everything. Some of the guards were even taking naps by the rubble, the nerve of them. She'll be happy to wash her hooves of this place. Nothing good had ever come from ruling other ponies.

Celestia walked over to the sleeping guard and gave him a firm kick, it was then she noticed that he wasn't even breathing. He was dead. She backpedaled away from the corpse, only stopping when the wall exploded behind her. Dust and debris rained down around her as another one of the guard slumped down opposite the new hole, blood from his mouth smearing the wall he lay motionless at. She jumped through the hole, now shocked more than anything that this much damage could be caused by any one individual. Surely this couldn't have been caused by Clover?

She continued to find more destruction and corpses as she made her way to the courtyard. There she found Clover. He currently had Viscount Blueblood firmly pinned against a wall with a hoof pressed up against his throat.
Blueblood kicked against the air as he fought for purchase and foamed at the mouth as he fought to breathe.

"I'm done asking nicely, Blueblood!" Clover growled through sharpened teeth, his pupils narrowed into slits as he looked at the unicorn in his grasp like nothing more than an insect. "Where is Celestia?!"

"I'm right here, Clover!" Celestia called out, shocked with how brutal this unicorn was being. He had torn through the royal guard like they were nothing and now looked like he was about to add one more body to the pile. "Let him go!"

Clover spared a quick glance over his shoulder before slowly lowering Blueblood to the ground. The moment his hoof came free from his neck, the viscount began to cough and sputter as he fought to pull air into his suffocating body. A few breaths was all he was allowed before a hoof came down on the back of his neck and slammed his face into the stone floor, bloodying his nose. Clover leaned over him and spat vitriol in his ear, "if I ever see you again, you'll wish I had finished you off."

Blueblood fled for his life the moment that Clover turned his back on him. As Clover turned to face the solar princess, she could see the manacles and broken chains that were hanging all over his body. The guards had clearly tried to restrain him but were largely unsuccessful.

"Celestia..." He growled as he stalked toward her with tears streaming down his face. "Do you have any idea what you've done!?"

Her eyes shot up to the moon overhead, her disheveled mane blowing in the wind as she stared at the visage of her sister in the lunar surface. "I know all too well what I've done. I wasn't there when my sister needed me and now I've doomed her to a cold prison on the moon." She flinched under his piercing gaze.

A musky smoke rippled down his back as he stood directly in front of her. He had to strain his neck to look up at her and despite her being much taller, she somehow felt small under his gaze. "The mark of your sin is as clear as the hair on your head. I don't care what happens to me, but you had to know how badly Luna would take it if you tried to take me away from her."

Celestia narrowed her eyes. "I did what had to be done!" She shouted as she looked down at him. "You failed to stop King Sombra and the nation went to war. Do you have any idea how many died because of you!?" She buckled over as she felt something impact her chest, knocking the wind out of her and lifting her off the ground. The next thing she knew, she was looking at Clover from across the courtyard, his hoof extended to where she had just been standing as he coughed up blood.

He pushed himself back up as he used one foreleg to wipe the blood from his face, not once caring about staining his golden coat. "You've always been a bit of a brat, Celestia," he said as he started walking towards her again. "The only thing I'm guilty of is not accepting that Starswirl is gone and not taking care of what I still can. Specifically you and your sister."

Celestia fought for breath as she pushed herself out of the rubble. "It's your fault she fell apart the way she did!" She shouted back at him. "If she had never fallen in love with you..."

"So you would deny her the one happiness she found for herself while you sit on your gilded throne and bask in the praise of all your little ponies!?" Tears continued to flow down his face, mixing with his blood and leaving long red streaks in their wake. "How conceited can you be?"

Flames began to lick off of Celestia's coat as she strode forward to meet him, "I don't care anymore. Luna's gone and all the little ponies are celebrating her defeat. They're even talking about making it a national holiday. It makes me sick to my stomach. You know what... No..."

Clover's eyes widened as he realized what was happening, he cast a shield over himself just in time to catch the charging princess. Celestia pressed down against the barrier before her, both magically and physically. She dug her hooves into a small crack that had begun to form in the center of the shield as she brutally forced it apart. The fire in her coat began to burn hotter as it rapidly consumed her mane.

"I was going to leave after dealing with you. You've been nothing but a thorn in my side and your sentence has already been cast." She growled as she pushed further into his space, the white of her eyes turning pitch black as her purple eyes began to turn a burning yellow. "But these ponies don't deserve the world I've made for them," she growled through ever sharpening teeth. "I gave them everything! And that's just what they took! EVERYTHING!"

Clover began to buckle under the assault of the mad alicorn, the fire that was coating her body began to seep down through the hole she had torn in his shield and was presently searing into his flesh. He was just barely able to see past the fire and saw as the sun that made up her cutiemark quickly changed to appear much angrier than before. "So it begins again..." He said under his breath.

In that moment, the shield exploded. Clover was sent hurtling into a pillar at a high velocity. He impacted it with a resounding crack before he slumped to the ground, one of his hind legs bent at an unnatural angle.

Celestia gave a small chuckle as she cantered towards the broken body. "The ponies all worship the ground I walk on as they relax and play under the day that I give them. I think it's time they fear the ground I tread. I think it's time they break in the midday sun, wouldn't you say?" She paused for a moment as she thought over her words. "Daybreaker... I like it. Celestia is no more. She was weak, she served the ponies that took her for granted. But Daybreaker... Daybreaker will be their queen, their god." She looked down at the broken body with a sinister smile, "oh? Did you die? You ponies are so fragile."

Clover sputtered as he pushed himself up on his two good hooves, "I'm not... Nguh... About to give you that satisfaction."

"Good," said Daybreaker. "Because I'm not satisfied yet." She wrapped her magic around the fallen unicorn and levitated him over to herself. "I think a quick death is too good for you," she sat down with him floating in front of her and rested a single hoof against his chest.

Immediately the place she touched began to smolder and burn as he grit his teeth against the pain. "Not going to give me a good scream? It's ok. I can wait." She continued to smile even as he reached forward and wrapped his forelegs around her own. His head rocked back and his mouth hung open as small embers began popping off his skin. "I can't believe this is all Starswirl's pupil had to offer. I would've expected more. But what can you really expect when you're up against perfection like this?" She took a moment to admire herself. Her coat, her wings, her flank, all of her was absolutely stunning, the epitome of beauty and power.

She looked back to the quiet pony in her clutches, wondering if he had died yet. However, he was smiling at her. "I never said I was his pupil," he continued to smile even though she could see where parts of his flesh were starting to burn away. "It's over."

In an instant, the fire left her. She began to feel strange as a stiff cold ran over her her whole body. She threw away the grinning unicorn, hoping to stop whatever it was he was doing. He continued to sizzle as he laid on the ground, however Daybreaker now had new problems to worry about.

She could no longer feel her legs. She tried to move them, but on closer inspection she found they had turned into solid stone. "What is this?!" She panicked. The stone was slowly moving its way up her legs, encasing her in its granite prison.

"You never learned what I know about magic," he said as he wrapped his magic around his own broken leg. He winced a bit as he straightened the limb. A thread of magic unwound from his horn and down to the broken leg. It wove in and out of his flesh until Clover seemed satisfied with the results. He set the previously injured hoof down on the ground and after testing it a couple times, stood up on all fours without any noticeable difficulty.

The stone prison had made its way up to Daybreaker's shoulders by this point. She continued to glare down at Clover as she pointlessly fought against the spell that was keeping her captive. "When I get out of here, Clover, I'll..."

"I'll be long gone by then," said Clover, cutting her off. "The only reason I was even here in the first place was as a favor to Starswirl. Now that he's gone and you've taken Luna from me, I have no reason to stay. Farewell Celestia, Daybreaker, whoever you think you are now. Don't come looking for me." He waved goodbye over his shoulder without looking back.

His departing backside was the last thing she saw before the stone overtook the last of her and she slipped into oblivion.

"It was two weeks before I finally escaped my prison," Celestia said as Twilight stared in rapt attention. "Ironically it was members of house Sparkle that figured out how to undo the spell that Clover cast. Although they'd soon wished they had left me where I was."

Twilight could feel the sadness that radiated from Celestia's very being. She pressed herself into her fur, wrapping her in a hug as best she could. "You don't need to tell me anything more. It must've been really difficult to tell me all this."

Celestia leaned into her student's embrace, not realizing until this moment how much she needed to feel someone else's warmth. "It was easily the lowest point in my life, Twilight. Equestria had two very bad years before Daybreaker's anger was finally extinguished and Celestia returned," she looked up at Twilight. "Even to this day, remnants of what she did still remain in the ponies' racial memory, even if they don't know it."

"What do you mean?" She looked to her mentor with confusion. "I don't understand."

"I've learned to ignore it when it happens or do my best to laugh it off, but have you ever seen others do it or done it yourself. Where you do everything you can to earn my favor because you're afraid I'll punish you?" She asked her.

Twilight didn't have to think about it very long. She had seen a number of ponies do that and she had done it herself on several occasions without any real reason to. Celestia was kind and even-tempered most of the time without anything to suggest that she was even capable of the kind of punishment that they always dreamed up. "Are you saying..."

"Before Daybreaker, not once did anypony act like that around me," Celestia said solemnly. "However even now, a thousand years after Daybreaker is no longer remembered. Ponies are still afraid that their princess will punish them without just cause."

A green wisp of smoke flew in the window and spiraled in front of Celestia for a moment before dropping a parchment in front of her. It was wrapped in a green ribbon and embossed with a seal sporting a four-leaf clover.

Both Twilight and Celestia stared at it for a moment. Celestia feeling hollowed out after pouring out her deepest secrets to her student. That being said, she still felt some trepidation as she removed the seal and unfurled the letter.

"It seems we have something to talk about," she read aloud. "I'll see you girls soon. Signed, Clover the Clever."

Author's Note

This was a very emotional piece to put together.
I hope you enjoyed it.

Chapter 37: Clover's Secret

The storm was in full force by the time the train rolled into the station. A sense of déjà vu came over the ponies as they stepped off the train, once again finding their arrival to be greeted by a storm that ravaged the Crystal Empire.

"Where did this weather come from?!" Rainbow shouted over the wind.

"Clover must've moved ahead with the plan!" Spectrum, still disguised as Random Fact, shouted back.

"What exactly is he planning?" Celestia braced herself against the storm. She was keeping her wings pressed down against her sides, lest she suddenly find herself airborne.

They caught a flash of orange in the snow as a pegasus guard ran up to greet them. "Your Highnesses," he bowed as he recognized the three alicorns. "My name's Flash Sentry, I've been sent to see you safely to the castle."

"Huh?!" Twilight shouted as the wind whipped part of her mane into her face. "It's usually my brother who greets us at the station. Is he all right?"

"Prince Shining Armor is just fine, princess," he said as he stepped a bit closer. "He's just busy with the preparations."

"Preparations for what, exactly?" Luna asked as she stepped up to join them.

"They didn't tell me," Flash shook his head as he started towards the city. "I'm just supposed to escort you to the castle."

They pushed through the storm, guided by Flash Sentry. Unlike the first time when Twilight and her friends were here, the storm didn't stop at the edge of the city. They could barely make out the edges of the road through all the snow and many of the buildings that lined the street were already collecting large snowdrifts. Despite the bad weather, many of the crystal ponies that lived here were still running around the streets, busy with securing their homes against the fury of the storm with the help of the city guard.

Eventually they made their way to the center of the city, passing beneath the castle as they moved towards the entrance. Twilight was the first one to notice what was wrong. "The Crystal Heart is missing!" She exclaimed. Sure enough, the pedestal that usually held the Crystal Heart, the magical artifact that protected the city from disaster, was bare. "That's why there's this awful storm. The city's protection is gone."

The other ponies in their party began to look uneasy and a couple of them were starting to panic when Spectrum spoke up. "Seriously, do you ponies freak out over everything?" He looked over to Twilight, who was at the center of the growing hysteria, "you're a smart girl, Twilight. I know that you have enough of the pieces to figure out why the Crystal Heart isn't there."

She looked back at the disguised changeling and thought over what he said. What did he know that she knew as well? She let out a gasp when it clicked. The vision!

I thought I'd have to rely on that piece of myself I left within the Crystal Heart to keep me anchored to this plane.

Her breathing steadied as she looked back at Spectrum who was smiling at her.

"See, that wasn't so hard," he said. "Keep it to yourself until we're inside though. The fewer who know, the better."

"Oh, are we done panicking now?" Pinkie asked mid-jump before floating back to the ground.

The inside of the palace was just as lively as the streets with guards constantly running back and forth. Twilight's brother, Shining Armor, was at the center of it all as he directed the guards.

"Shining Armor," Twilight called out as she ran up to him.

Upon hearing his name, the large unicorn turned to face her. "Twily!" He scooped her up in a hug and frazzled her mane before setting her back down. "How's my little sister? Are you getting taller?" He lifted a hoof to do a half measure of her height. "It won't be too much longer before you're taller than me."

"Oh Shiny," she giggled. "You'll always be my big brother though."

Shining Armor looked over to Flash as he stood at attention to their side. "Thank you soldier. Continue helping with preparations."

Flash gave a quick salute and a "at once, your highness" before turning and heading back out into the cold.

Shining turned back to face his little sister, "it's been a bit hectic around here ever since Clover the Clever showed up. I'm still having a hard time believing that it's really him."

"How did he convince you?" Twilight asked curiously.

"He didn't really have to," Shining rubbed the back of his head. "All the crystal ponies recognized him right away. Apparently he was a big deal around here before they vanished along with the empire.

"So he's here, then?" Luna hovered over them while appearing anxious.

The prince looked a bit nervous with the way Luna was suddenly standing over him, "yeah, he's here all right. He's got everyone running around making preparations for some spell he's going to cast. Something about making sure King Sombra can never return. I didn't quite understand it myself. I thought we defeated him."

"It seems the situation has gotten a lot more complicated than any of us first thought," Celestia said as she shook free the snow that had clung to her wings.

"Well you can find him up in the throne room," Shining Armor stepped towards a few more city guards that were approaching him. "He said that he wanted to see you all when you got here."

Luna immediately began to move away from them at a rapid trot. She soon slowed down to a canter before she stopped and began circling the ground with her hoof.

Celestia fought down a grin as she watched her sister's antics. She looked down to Twilight and her friends, "you girls run on ahead, we'll be there in a moment."

Celestia stepped up next to Luna for a moment as they watched the other seven ponies run away into the depths of the castle. Spectrum turned back for a moment and shot Luna a menacing grin, causing her to feel a bit flushed, before galloping away to catch up with the others.

Celestia draped a wing over her sister. "Nervous?" She asked quietly.

"A bit," Luna looked down from her sister's eyes, not wanting to make eye contact with her. "You mean to tell me you don't carry some trepidation about seeing him again?"

"I do, but I'm pretty sure it's not for the same reasons as you. Come on," she said as she nudged Luna forward with her wing. "Let's not keep him waiting."

The sisters made their way through the castle until they reached the throne room. They spotted the golden unicorn with his cloak draped over his shoulders as he made his way around a particularly large diagram that had been drawn into the floor and ringed with what appeared to be large crystal pillars.

Opposite him was another unicorn examining the spell diagram. She had a brilliant red mane that contrasted her grey coat along with crossed black and red quills adorning her flank.

Spike was following Clover around with a clawful of various writing implements. When he spotted them, he reached up and tugged on Clover's cloak to get his attention. When Clover turned his head to the little dragon, he pointed a claw in their direction. Following the claw, his face and shoulders sagged as he saw the ponies that had arrived.

He took a moment to look over to the other unicorn who was also looking over the spell. "Everything looking good on your end, Ret?"

Her red eyes met his green ones and while she didn't say anything, she still gave him a small nod and made a shooing motion with her hoof.

Clover slowly walked towards the group with a very tired look on his face. He caught a couple of dirty looks from Applejack and Rainbow Dash, but he was primarily focused on Celestia and Luna.

While they stood there, Spectrum casually walked past them and right up to Clover. Clover looked the grey unicorn up and down and then seemed to consider the green mane. "Interesting choice," he said.

"Well you weren't using it," he said back. "So you wanna see what I found?"

"Show me," he said. "This better be good."

Spectrum leaned forward and placed his horn against Clover's. A silver glow arced from one horn to the other and Clover's eyes began to glow a soft white. Though, before anyone had a chance to ask what he was doing, the light show was over.

"I see. That certainly changes a few things." He gestured behind him, "help Ret where you can."

Spectrum nodded and then walked past him and up to Ret. Clover watched him just long enough to see him say something to her followed by her giving him a resounding smack across the face that echoed throughout the throne room.

Clover buried his face in a hoof and shook his head before turning back to the girls. He locked eyes with the two alicorns as they ushered in an awkward silence. None of them really knowing what to say to the other after all this time.

Clover was the first to speak. "So... It's been a while," he said nervously as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Yes it has," Celestia agreed, doing her best to stay reserved.

Luna failed in showing such restraint as she ran forward and threw herself at him. Clover's eyes went wide as he found himself pushed back a couple steps as he raised his hooves to catch her. "Clover..." Luna sobbed into their embrace as her tears rolled down her face and into his shaggy brown mane. "Where have you been all this time? I thought I'd never see you again."

Clover relaxed as he leaned into her and nuzzled her in response. Tears finding their way onto his face as he held her. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I didn't know what I should do after all this time and I didn't want to get you involved in my mess."

Everyone else looked on as they embraced, but their attention was focused on something else. When Luna wrapped her hooves around him, Clover's cloak had been pushed to the side. With the garment out of the way, it had allowed for a large set of golden wings to spread out from his back.

"What?!" Pinkie squealed, ruining the tender moment. "He's an alicorn!?"

Luna's ears picked up on the outcry, causing her to slowly open her tear streaked eyes. She momentarily glanced at the wings spread out behind him, but she didn't care. She had him back and that was all that mattered to her.

The moment couldn't last forever as they eventually had to pull themselves away from each other. They spent another moment looking into each other's eyes before finally turning to face the rest of the group. A mixed collection of emotions could be seen on their faces, ranging from shock and admiration to confusion and apprehension. The exception being Celestia, who just gave them a contented smile.

"So Clover," she said as she broke the tension. "I guess this explains how you've lived so long. If you don't mind me asking, when did this all happen?" She asked while gesturing to all of him.

Clover stretched his wings before folding them back to his sides and resettling his cloak over them. When they were once again hidden from view, he turned to face the sun princess. "I got my wings back only a few days ago, there's no way that you and Luna wouldn't have noticed that huge burst of magic when that happened. As for when it really happened, that's a very long and very old story."

"I'd love to hear it sometime," Twilight said excitedly as she stepped up beside her teacher.

Clover gave an amused snort, "I'm sure you would, Twilight. I'm sure you would. Unfortunately that'll have to wait for another time. I'm not quite ready to tell that story just yet." He looked to the two elder alicorns near him, some hesitation still showing on his face. "I've always wondered how I would tell you girls this if this ever came up, but I'm sorry."

The two sisters looked at him in confusion before Luna spoke up, "what exactly do you think you need to apologize for?"

Clover sagged his shoulders, "I made a promise to Starswirl. If I had kept that promise instead of wasting all those years trying to find out where he had disappeared to, things might have gone much differently."

Chapter 38: Ascension of the Princesses

Clover was madly searching the mountain castle. He wasn't sure what it was that had woken him up, but he felt... Something. He couldn't really place his hoof on it, but massive influx of magic had just run through the place. He rushed in and out of rooms searching for what it was, but all he managed to find out was what the cooks were making for dinner, and which maid and count were having a secret love affair that was no longer secret.

"Something happened," he wondered aloud. A few of the younger unicorns in the castle looked his way when they heard him talking to himself. However, ever since ponies got it in their heads that he was Starswirl's apprentice, they'd been leaving him alone for most of the time. Not even Princess Platinum had been calling on him anymore since the unification of the tribes. Fine by him, if he didn't have to listen to any more of her whining, it would be too soon.

Clover's ears perked up, "Starswirl," he concluded. "Maybe he has some idea what happened." He shouldn't be too hard to find, it would only be a couple of minutes after the rising of the sun.

He made his way to the sunrise tower, the place where unicorns performed the spells to change the position of the sun and moon. It didn't take too long to notice that something was wrong. As he climbed the stairs up to the top of the tower, he hadn't passed anyone on their way back down. Usually you could see several ponies descending the stairs and carrying the unicorns that had temporarily lost their magic due to the immense strain that the spelled called for.

Clover swung the door open and found Starswirl there along with at least a dozen other unicorns. They were all madly scrambling about while casting a wide range of spells over the entire surface of the spell circle. Off in the corner, he could see some mare bawling her eyes out while a stallion, he could only assume was her husband, was doing his best to comfort her. Her name was... Something or other... Faust, maybe?... He didn't really take the time to learn everyone's names.

The light overhead caught his eye and at first he just dismissed it as the sun, but when he noticed that his shadow was being cast in two different directions he looked up.

Both the sun and the moon were hanging overhead at the same time?! That can't be right. Starswirl knows better than that. Why isn't anyone trying to fix it.

He walked over to Starswirl, aware of the awkward glances that were being sent his way. When he made it over to the unicorn, he found that Starswirl was looking just as confused as everyone else. "What happened?" Clover asked him quietly. "If I didn't know any better I'd say somepony died up here."

Starswirl and his fluffy beard looked solemnly over at Clover. There wasn't anything even closely resembling a smile on his face as he pointed to a pair of scorch marks in front of him. "I don't know what happened," he said. "The sunrise was going like it did every other morning. Everything seemed fine until the magic broke free of the circle. It was their first time watching the ritual, but now..."

Clover's eyes grew wide as he caught the implications of what happened. "What were their names?" He asked as he looked again in the direction of the sobbing mare.

"Two little fillies, Celestia and Luna," Starswirl said solemnly. "So bright and full of life, and so young. They hadn't even discovered their cutiemarks yet." He looked over to Clover with concern on his face. "I need your help," he said. "You've spent a lot more time than I have studying the intricacies of how these spells work. The sun and moon still aren't responding to our commands and I don't know why."

"I'll see what I can do," Clover said as he looked over to the scorch marks. "We need to figure out what went wrong first." He walked over to where the two girls had been standing before they had been consumed by magic. As soon as he had placed a hoof on the ground near where they had been standing, he began to feel a twinge of power run throughout his entire body.

His eyes grew wide as a greenish tinge of light began to reflect off his fur. The source of the light was coming from... The amulet? The amulet he had made to seal away the better portion of his power.

Eyes growing wide with realization, he ran back to where Starswirl was brooding. "Starswirl," he said, panting. "I may have just figured something out."

"That was awfully fast," he said with disbelief. "I doubt even you would be able to..." His eyes focused on the soft glow that was coming from beneath Clover's cloak. "Why are you glowing?"

Clover lowered his voice and made sure his cloak was covering the amulet as best it could. "My alicorn magic is reacting," he said. "I don't know how, but I think those girls are in the astral plane."

"Are you sure?" Starswirl's breath caught for a moment in his throat. "I thought you said that normal ponies couldn't go there."

"They can't as far as I know," Clover said as he looked around to see if anyone was overhearing them. "I want to go check. Think you can get everypony off the roof?"

"I should be able to, I am the Archmage after all" he said smugly. "But what do you think this means?"

"I don't know yet," Clover stared blankly at the place where he felt the reaction.

"All right," Starswirl said. "You do what you need to do." He stepped away and began to rapidly herd everyone else off the roof. Soon it was just him and Clover left on the dais.

Once he was certain that no one else was watching, Clover stepped over and onto the scorch marks that marked the ground. His whole body took on a golden glow even as the amulet began to thrum against his chest.

Clover looked back to his friend even as he allowed the light to wrap itself around him. "I'll see you soon," he said just before the world went white.

He was feeling slightly woozy once he was able to perceive the space around him again. Clover could see nothing but darkness stretched out before him with the exception of a couple stars here and there. He tried taking a few steps forward, only to find that he was unable to see his own legs.

The disorientation caused him to trip. What did he actually trip on in a space with nothing in it? It was hard to say. It may have just been his lack of focus. "Is this what I get for trying to come here as only half of myself?" He asked the emptiness. The emptiness, of course, didn't answer back.

Clover took a moment to re-center himself as he pushed his will out into the astral plane. Slowly he felt a warm glow fill his being as a path opened out before him. He took another step forward and while his body was still mostly indiscernible, at least there was now a slight luminescence to it. "I probably look like some kind of spirit right now," he pondered aloud. A sharp pain pierced the center of his being, giving him a quick reminder that whatever he was going to do here, he needed to do it quickly. That is unless he decided to undo his seal completely. He wasn't quite ready for that. While these ponies could sometimes get on his nerves, he found that he had missed just being a face in the crowd. That would go away if they found out what he actually was.

He raced through the starry landscape, trying to find a sign of anything or anyone that didn't belong there. He didn't find anyone there with the exceptions of a few dreams he momentarily brushed against. He wasn't all that interested in what ponies saw in their dreams and besides, he didn't have the time or energy to get distracted like that.

Nothing, nothing, and more nothing. Well, not completely. He did manage to spot the birth of a distant star, which was a rare event even when he was looking for it. Where could they be? He had started to feel a foreign presence in this place, but he still couldn't quite hone in on where it was coming from.

A dreadful thought crept through him as he looked in the direction of what qualified as 'up' in this space. "No..." He mouthed before bolting in that direction. "Please let me be wrong."

Clover soared upward and upward towards a place he never wanted to visit again. It was the place where all of his troubles had started, the plane of ascension.

He pushed through until he reached the highest level of this place. As he touched down, he already knew that his worst fears had been realized. A small white unicorn spun to face him, somehow aware that she wasn't alone. "Who's there?!" She shouted. "If you come anywhere near me or my sister, I'll poke you with my horn."

He might've found that adorable in any other situation. Clover took a few careful steps towards the on-guard filly. Huddled behind her, buried in her pink tail, was a smaller filly of a dark blue color. More importantly, though, he saw wings on both of them. He was already too late.

Clover staggered back from them as he fell onto his haunches. He squeezed his eyes shut as he began to weep for the fate that had befallen them, "not again... Please not again..."

"Luna! Stay away from there! It may be dangerous!" Came the frantic shouting of the older sister.

He peeked his tear laden eyes open as he heard the shouting. Directly in front of him, the younger sister had abandoned the safety of her older sister's side to stand in front of him.

"Why awe you cwying?" She asked, her face full of the purest innocence.

"I'm just remembering something very sad," he said as he tried to clear away his tears.

"I cwy when I get a owie. Mommy kisses it to make the pain go away," the little filly got up on her hind legs and reached for his head. When Clover saw she was unable to reach, he leaned down closer to her. Once she was able to reach his head, she placed a messy kiss on his forehead, just below his horn. She pulled away and patted him on the head with her tiny hooves. "It gets all better now, you'll see."

A pained laugh found itself caught in Clover's throat. He came here to find two lost girls and when he found himself lost in his own sense of dread, one of them had pulled him out of it. He looked down at the filly who couldn't be more than a few years old. She didn't know how bad the world could get. Was he that innocent once? Maybe just maybe, everything will actually be all right this time.

He slowly stood back up, the light emanating from his body casting a light over the faces of the two sisters as he watched them. In that moment, he knew he would watch over them. They needed someone to keep them safe, to guide them. Starswirl would help, of course. And maybe, just maybe, they could avoid seeing these two children suffer as he had.

"Your mother is probably worried sick about you two," he said.

The elder sister spoke up, "I know she is, but how do we get out of here?"

Clover held out a hoof to them, "I can show you the way. If you'll trust me."

The younger sister grabbed a hold of his hoof right away while the elder sister hesitated for a moment before placing hers alongside her sister's. "What's your name?" She asked.

Clover just smiled at them and said, "I'll be watching."

"Clover! Clover! Wake up!" Starswirl shouted over him.

Clover's eyes shot open as he took in a sharp breath of air. "Ow..." He said as he carefully pushed himself up off the ground. He had to be careful of the two little fillies he found curled up and sleeping beneath him.

"I see you found them," Starswirl said, his eyes as wide as saucers as he saw them. "I see wings on both of them. Are they...?"

"They are," Clover said softly so as not to wake them. "The world now has two more alicorns in it."

Starswirl had to take a moment to steady himself, "to think I'd live long enough to see not only the tribes come together, but to also witness the birth of two alicorns."

"How are we going to explain this, though?" Clover gestured to the sleeping alicorns as he shot a worried look at the door leading off the dais. For all he knew, a half dozen ponies could burst through at any moment.

"You let me worry about that," the old unicorn said with a smile. "I've got enough influence that we should be able to avoid any problems. We still have something to worry about though," he said as he looked up at the sky where the sun and moon both still hung there.

Clover stepped up next to Starswirl as they looked up at the sky. "We can't exactly leave the sky like that. I don't even know where to begin fixing that."

"You mean to tell me that after a thousand years of study and isolation, that you can't come up with anything?" Starswirl scolded. "I know you're many times the mage I am."

"You should give yourself more credit than that," Clover said in response. "I may be many centuries your senior, but it was you who figured out how to bring the sunrise ritual's support team from seven down to five. All without exhausting the unicorn directing it."

"I never would've figured it out without the rare theories and texts you've collected." Starswirl and Clover stared off for a moment before both of them burst out in laughter.

"Look at the two of us," Clover chortled. "Trying to put each other on the higher pedestal."

"And to think," Starswirl smiled back. "You would've missed out on all of this if you had stayed sequestered in that dusty old tree."

"Don't let Whisper hear you say that," he said, still grinning. "She can get a bit temperamental about that dusty old tree. Anyway, one of us needs to tell the girls' parents that they're alright."

"I'll do it," said Starswirl. "It should be easier for me to smooth things over." He turned towards the door and only made it a few steps before he froze in place. "Clover..." He said under his breath. "Look."

Clover turned to see what Starswirl was looking at. He didn't know when they had woken up, but they had and they had wandered off as young ponies tended to do. The two filly alicorns were currently standing at the edge of the spell circle and staring up at the sky. He made to run forward before they did something and ended up hurting themselves.

"Hold on," said Starswirl as he held Clover back. "Just wait. I've got a good feeling about this."

Against his better judgement, he did as his friend suggested and just sat down to watch what they would do. A couple minutes passed before anything happened. When something did finally happen, it changed the entire course of Equestria's history.

The light radiating off the sun and moon slowly began to dim. The dimming light gradually became more focused as it shone down on the two children and they didn't do much more than bask in the light of the two heavenly bodies.

The air began to shift as ever so slowly, the moon began to move towards the distant horizon. It started to pick up speed as the sun also began to creep along its destined path. This went on for a few more minutes until the moon had successfully retreated below the horizon and the sun had moved to where it was supposed to be as it carried on the day.

While all this was happening, the young alicorns were carried up into the air over the castle. They spread their tiny wings to gather as much of the light as they could. With every passing moment, they began to glow brighter and brighter until they both glowed as bright as the sun that hung overhead.

Once the sky had been set to rights, they began to drift back towards the ground. All around the castle roof, scores of unicorns gathered to watch the spectacle. They had rushed onto the rooftop once they had noticed the sky moving properly again and while the two ponies had been too distracted to notice their entrance.

As they touched down and the light surrounding them began to dim, freshly emblazoned cutiemarks could be found residing on their flanks. The elder alicorn found herself marked with the sun, while her younger sister carried the mark of the moon.

A hushed silenced fell over the ponies while they stood there, completely awestruck by what they were seeing. Two children had just moved the sun and the moon by themselves. One by one, the collected masses began to bow to the young ponies while they both looked around, confused by the attention they were getting.

When they were the only ones left standing, Starswirl and Clover quickly bowed as well. "What just happened?" Asked Clover in hushed tones.

"I think we just witnessed a miracle," said Starswirl. "Look at them though," they both peeked an eye up to look at the confused and very scared children. "They're going to need guidance to get through all this. Good thing I've got the only other alicorn by my side to help."

"They can't know about me, at least not yet," said Clover. "Look at the way the ponies are worshiping the two of them. If I were exposed, it would completely undermine the position they'll surely be raised to."

"You can't truly mean to stay hidden forever, can you?" He asked. "I mean, you're not alone anymore."

"Trust me, I'm aware," said Clover as he sorted through his own thoughts. "I may tell them some day but for now I think you should take them on as students."

"Me?!" Starswirl hissed. "What makes you think I can teach a couple of alicorns anything?"

"It has to be you," said Clover. "Don't forget, as far as the rest of these ponies know, I'm a nobody. No family, no lineage, no prestige..."

"All right, fine. I'll do it," he said reluctantly. "It's not my fault that unicorns put a little too much value on bloodlines. You're not just hoping to run away, are you?"

"Not from this," said Clover. "I'm worried about them losing control at some point. This country wouldn't survive a couple of mad alicorns on a rampage, especially ones capable of moving the heavens by themselves." He looked up at the slowly moving sun. "I can afford a decade or two to keep an eye on them, just in case."

"Promise me something then, Clover," said Starswirl. "If something ever happens to me, you'll make sure to take them under your wing, won't you? I'm not an immortal like you are and I need to know that somepony will always be there for them."

Clover gave a heavy sigh. It was a reasonable request, even if he didn't like it. "All right," he said at last. "I promise."

"When Starswirl went missing, I should've kept my promise and revealed myself to you girls," Clover said sorrowfully. "Instead I kept myself hidden as I tried to figure out what had happened to him."

"After all that time you never found him, did you?" Celestia asked as she recovered from Clover's retelling of their ascension.

Clover slowly shook his head, "I never found so much as a hint as to what happened to him. Eventually my search brought me to the Crystal Empire and that brings us to today."

"I wish you had come forward sooner," said Luna as she kept a single wing wrapped around him. She was afraid that he'd disappear again if she let him go for even a moment.

Clover seemed to take a moment to enjoy her closeness before pulling himself away. "We'll have more time to catch up later," he said. "Right now though, there's work to be done."

Chapter 39: Final Preparations

Clover immediately returned to the spell circle he had been working on when everyone else arrived. His two companions looked up at him with a mix of expressions on their faces. Spectrum was looking kind of smug, while the red-headed unicorn was only looking annoyed.

"Finish your talk?" Said Spectrum. "I was just getting to know this fine young lady over here." He said while gesturing to the unicorn who was slowly shifting from annoyed to pissed.

"Is there a reason you're antagonizing Ret?" Clover said. "You know she can turn you inside out if she wants to."

"Can she?" Spectrum looked at him, astonished. "Sweet little thing like thgack!"

The unicorn known as Ret had taken taken the opportunity to land a back hoof into his gut while he was distracted. Spectrum immediately collapsed to the ground and was now holding his gut in pain.

"You know you had that coming," said Clover smugly.

"Yeah," he groaned through a forced smile. "But it was worth it."

Applejack walked over and helped Spectrum up off the ground. "Ah'm getting the feelin y'all don't always git along with each other?"

"Thanks," he said as he got his hooves back under him. "Believe it or not, this is the first time I've actually met her in person. She just doesn't particularly like me since I played a big part in shaping the body she has now."

A couple of them took a closer look at the pony who had stopped examining the spell work on the floor to shoot another dirty look at the changeling. No one was going to dare say it out loud with her watching, but with her long legs and curvaceous form, she certainly had a lot going on for her.

"Wait, darling," said a confused looking Rarity. "When you said you shaped her body, what exactly do you mean by that?"

An annoyed sigh came from Clover. "Storm Chaser, Smokey Vines, and Ret Con are all made of the same stuff. Constituting their bodies was a collected effort from both me and Spectrum. Spectrum actually modeled each of their bodies while we were putting them together."

"How exactly did you make that work?" Twilight asked curiously. "Was it centrificus duplicus combined with modernus pychedelus, or was it..."

"Fettuccine alfredo!" Shouted Pinkie Pie, earning a confused stare from everyone. "What? I thought we were talking about food."

"Enough!" Came the deep yet feminine voice. "All you ponies are doing with your useless prattle is getting in the way of our work."

Twilight felt a shiver run down her spine as she followed the source of the voice. When she found herself looking Ret in the eyes, she felt a coldness in those eyes that defied explanation. "I'm... I'm sorry?"

The grey unicorn slowly sauntered up to her and looked down her nose at Twilight. "We've got a lot of work to do and we don't need any more distractions right now," said Ret as she got right up in Twilight's face. "Why don't you find some out of the way corner for your happy little tea party and leave us out of it."

"That's enough, Ret," said Clover as he went back to scribbling on the ground. "You'll have to forgive her. She's been a bit temperamental today."

Ret huffed as she turned away and went back to what she was working on. Twilight let out a breath she didn't know she was holding once Ret had retreated a safe distance.

"She is right though," continued Clover. "We have a lot of work to do and I want to get it done before Storm Chaser gets back."

"Anything I can do to help?" Twilight's eyes lit up in anticipation.

"Unfortunately, no," said Clover. "What we're doing here involves a lot of integrated spell work that's either forbidden, forgotten, or both." He seemed to get lost in his own thoughts as he fell quiet for a moment. "After what happened to Onyx, I'm hesitant to pass on any knowledge about this kind of magic. Sorry, Twilight. But I'd rather not risk sharing those teachings right now while I'm still cleaning up after my old student."

"Oh," Twilight dropped her head in disappointment. She wanted to help. She knew that's why Whisper had guided her to his side, but what exactly was she supposed to do?

"I'll tell you what, Twilight," he said when he saw her disappointment. Twilight perked up for a moment when he said her name. "I've heard you're rather close with Cadenza. Would you check on her for me? I've got her doing something really important right now even if it isn't as technical as what we're doing here."

"All right," said Twilight, still sounding mildly disappointed. "I'll go find Cadence." And with that, she turned and left the room, her friends close behind her.

Clover stood there for a moment as he watched them leave.

"She does mean well," said Celestia. "Even if she can be a bit enthusiastic at times."

"Indeed," agreed Luna. "She was instrumental in helping us reconnect with the populace on Nightmare Night."

Clover raised an eyebrow at that statement. "You actually went out on Nightmare Night? Knowing what it represents?"

"It seemed the best time to clear up any misconceptions the ponies have formed of me over the years," said Luna. "Even if that night didn't go as smoothly as I would have wished, I did get to see how much the foals enjoy the holiday, though. Speaking of foals, what of young Onyx?"

Clover grew still with the mention of his former pupil's name. "What about him?" He asked.

"Is it yet possible to save him from his fate?" Luna inquired. "He seemed like such a sweet young colt."

"Unfortunately no," Clover said sadly. "When Sombra possessed me, not knowing that I would turn into both his prison and his jailer, Celestia had already destroyed his body." He looked up at Celestia and saw the horror painted on her face. "I'm sorry," he said. "Spectrum showed me what Twilight witnessed of my conflict of that day. I really should've noticed sooner that something wasn't right. That I've been blaming the wrong pony for that tragedy all this time."

Celestia relaxed ever so slightly after hearing Clover apologize to her. "Don't worry about it," she said. "I'm still worried about what else this other alicorn might be doing, especially if she's doing so with my face."

"We'll have time to try and figure this all out once Sombra has been dealt with and there's more time," Clover said as he went back to work.

Twilight only had to look for several minutes before she found out where the pink alicorn of love was hiding. She wasn't anywhere that special, just one of the side rooms of the castle. What was interesting was what she was doing. Cadence was currently sitting hunched over something that Twilight couldn't quite make out. Her regalia was cast off to the side while she ran her hooves over whatever it was she was holding, a light scraping noise accompanying her actions.

"Hi, Cadence," Twilight greeted her.

Cadence made a sudden jump before turning her head to face her. "Oh Twilight," she said as she held a hoof to her chest. "You startled me. I didn't hear you come in."

"I'm sorry," Twilight said. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's quite alright, Twilight," Cadence said with a smile. "I've just been really busy shaping this crystal. I guess I got a little too into it."

Twilight looked at the glassy chunk of crystal that Cadence had in front of her. It had several pieces roughly carved off of it, like someone had done so with really poor tools. Her eyes were then drawn to Cadence's hooves. They were cracked and chipped like she had been doing farm work for a whole week.

"Cadence," Twilight gasped. "Your hooves..."

"Oh this," Cadence looked down at her damaged hooves with a dismissive glance. "I don't mind so much. It's a small price to pay to keep the empire safe." She gave a weak laugh, "this doesn't even begin to compare to how hard it was to keep that shield up around the empire when we first got here."

"But why?" Twilight asked. "What is it that you're making? How's that supposed to keep the empire safe?"

"Come take a look, Twilight," Cadence excitedly beckoned her over. Once Twilight had gotten a bit closer, she went back to scraping her hooves over what was apparently a large chunk of crystal. "See if you can figure out what I'm making," said Cadence as she continued her work, a light tinkling noise accompanying her motions as miniscule shards broke off from the larger piece and fell to the ground.

Twilight winced a bit as she watched, but she didn't interrupt her sister-in-law as she continued to work. Instead she did as Cadence asked and tried to make out what kind of shape was emerging from within the crystal. She couldn't quite figure out what Cadence was making with how rough the shape still was. Twilight stared at it for a long moment when her eyes darted for a moment to Cadence's cutiemark, then it dawned on her.

"Are you making... A heart?" She didn't think she missed her guess. "A heart out of crystal? A crystal heart?"

"I knew it wouldn't take you too long to figure it out," said Cadence giggled. "You've always been so sharp, even as a filly. According to Clover," she continued. "The existing Crystal Heart is beyond repair and has been so ever since the empire's previously ruler died and Sombra took over."

Twilight nodded along with Cadence's words, "Because Sombra left a part of himself within the Crystal Heart."

Cadence gasped at Twilight's words, "where did you hear that?"

"I heard Sombra himself mention it when I saw one of Clover's memories," said Twilight as she saw the confused look she was getting. "It's a long story."

"I can imagine," said Cadence. "We'll have to catch up once everything settles down. Do you think we'll ever get a chance to hang out when the fate of Equestria isn't at stake?"

"I hope so," Twilight sighed. "Recently it's been one disaster after another. I need a break."

As if on cue, the door to the room they were in swung open and a tired looking Clover entered the room. Around him, Twilight could see her friends peeking in through the door. They had decided to let her have some personal time with Cadence.

"Is it ready?" He asked, at which Cadence held out to him what she had been working on. Clover leaned in and examined her handiwork, nodding his approval. "Well done," he said. "This may yet work."

Chapter 40: Soul and Stone

They stepped back into the throne room. Two grey unicorns could be seen scrambling about the spell circle. Spectrum was still inspecting the inscriptions on the ground while Ret seemed to be writing in the pages of a book she hadn't had before now.

"I still don't understand why you had me make this," Cadence said as she held out the heart she had been painstakingly carving out of crystal.

"You will in a moment, just make sure you keep holding onto it," he dismissed as he turned to Ret. "How close is he?"

Sometime since they last saw her, Ret had found a pair thick spectacles and several writing quills in the same colors as her cutiemark. She currently had a bunch of them tucked behind an ear as she looked up from whatever she was writing. "He's close," she said. "You should be able to see him from the window soon."

They all walked over to the window and looked out over the Crystal Empire. The storm had gotten much worse than it was when they had gotten off the train. The wind was far stronger than it was before and the snow that filled the landscape was so thick that they couldn't see the streets below them anymore.

"Wooie," whooped Applejack. "That's quite a storm brewing out there."

"You're telling me," Rainbow Dash agreed. "Glad I'm not stuck out there. I don't think any pegasus could survive a storm like that.

"There he is," Clover pointed off in the distance.

Twilight followed the direction he was pointing, but couldn't make out anything in the sea of storm clouds. "I don't see anything," she said.

"Oh, he's there," Clover assured her. "Just wait until he gets closer."

She continued to watch the storm ridden sky, still not sure what it was that she was looking for. The chill from the open window continued to bite into the ponies' fur as the sky dropped its frigid load over the city.

"I see him!" Shouted Rainbow Dash as she pointed in the distance. "Whoa... How is he flying in that?"

A lone spark had begun to make itself visible against the dark backdrop of the storm. Long tendrils of lightning branching outward from the middle were making themselves more and more pronounced as the apparition grew closer.

"Should we be worried?" Asked Applejack as she watched the sky.

"It should be ok," said Clover. "Storm Chaser can deal with some really intense weather and he should also be able to slow down in time."

Clover's confidence in his ally didn't hold out. As the spectacle continued to get closer, Clover began to look increasingly worried as he took a few small steps backwards. The airborne disaster was over the edge of the city at this point and at this distance they could see small wisps of shadow wrapping themselves around the lightning while the whole spectacle seemed to be speeding up.

"Get back from the window!" Clover shouted as he took his own advice and broke into a gallop as he ran away as fast as he could.

Everyone else wasn't far behind him as one by one they all followed behind him. The last one to run was Pinkie Pie only because she took an extra moment to stare. "Ooo, pretty," she said before happily bouncing out of the way.

No sooner had Pinkie vacated her vista, then the window and the surrounding wall imploded as something heavy smashed through it from the other side. Large shards of crystal that used to make up the wall went rolling across the room, hundreds of tiny shards flew through the air, and a cold blast of air washed over all of them from the new portal to the outside.

Celestia had reacted quickly to the destruction, casting a protective bubble around all of them and keeping them safe from the shrapnel that bounced off the shield and now littered the room.

"Good heavens!" Cried Rarity. "What was that all about?!"

"Clover!" A desperate voice called out from within the glittering dust. "Hurry up! I can't hold it much longer!"

Clover quickly stepped around the ponies and jumped through Celestia's shield. He ran through the newly formed crystal miasma and towards the source of the voice.

A few moments later the dust had cleared enough for everyone else to be able to make out what had happened. Clover was currently holding something that resembled the Crystal Heart, except that instead of the pure baby blue that it usually was, this one was pitch black and leaking some kind of thick smoke. As for the pegasus, the journey through the wall had not been kind to him. There were cracks running up and down his legs, half of his face was missing, and as for his wings... They were currently laying in a pile on the ground, glassy facets showing up at the base of each wing where they had snapped off of his body.

"Is that Storm Chaser?" Asked Luna, recognizing some of what was left of the broken mess.

The one remaining eye focused in on her as the crystal monolith turned its head to face her. "Nice to see you again, princess," he said, not seeming to care about the state he was currently in. "I'd stay and chat, but I have a prior engagement." He turned back to Clover and poked a hoof at him. "Don't you dare mess this up," he said to him as the rest of his body turned more translucent. He froze in place as the cracks running through him made a resounding snap and he slowly began to crumble in on himself until all that was left was a pile of broken shards on the ground.

"Don't worry, I won't," Clover bowed to the remains as he clutch the dark heart to his chest.

"Quit gawking and get in the circle!" Came a pained shout from Spectrum.

"Spectrum?" Clover called back. "Are you ok? You sound hurt."

"Shut up and get your flank in the circle! I'm fine!" Spectrum shouted in an even raspier voice.

Instead of trying to question it further, Clover galloped for the circle, almost diving inside once he got there. As soon as he made it inside, the air around the circle slowly began to shimmer as light began to trace and weave through between the pillars, forming a pentagram between them as they did so. Clover looked back out at them while still holding the heart close to him. It was smoking worse than before and the same smoke was now leaking off of him as well as it mixed with the rest of it.

Spectrum laid collapsed at Ret's hooves, the debris from the impact laid scattered around him. While several shards were now sticking out of his undisguised body at weird angles, not a single one had made it past him to the pony he was protecting.

"Can one of you help him?" Clover pleaded as he visibly restrained himself from doing so. "He's hurt and I can't leave the circle right now."

"Eep," squeaked Fluttershy who was soon at his side the moment she saw he was hurt. "This looks bad," she said as she looked him over. His body was slick with a viscous green blood that was slowly painting the ground around him. He slowly tried to push himself off the ground only to find a yellow hoof soon holding him down in place. "Shh," Fluttershy whispered. "Don't try to move." She looked over to the rest of her friends, "somepony help me. I need bandages and some help removing these shards."

Fluttershy did her best to tend to his wounds. Over the next couple minutes, the others helped her carefully remove the glassy shards and bandage him up as best they could. Spectrum looked up at Clover from his place on the ground, the weak smile curling his lips twitching as he dealt with wave after wave of pain wracking his body from the treatment. "I couldn't let Ret get hurt," he said quietly to the alicorn watching him from inside the circle. "You still need her if you have any chance of finishing this."

Clover bit his lip before turning to face Ret, "How much more time do you need?"

"Hold your horses," Ret said with a smirk. "This isn't exactly easy. Especially since we came all the way here and you didn't let me find a compatible unicorn first."

"What do you mean?" Asked Cadence curiously as she stepped up next to Luna.

Ret looked a bit annoyed as she took her glasses off and glared at them for a moment. "You wanna explain this, Clover?! I'm still trying to narrow in on us and I don't need any distractions right now. Start monologuing or something. I know how much you like hearing yourself talk."

"She's awfully brash, isn't she?" Luna observed. "Where did you find her anyway? I find it hard to believe you just created her out of thin air."

"Like a lot of things, it's a very long story." He looked down at the crystal heart that Cadence had recently hoof-crafted and then looked back to the one that he was holding, completely tainted with darkness. "You wanted to know why I had you make that didn't you?" He gestured to her.

Cadence looked back down to the chunk of crystal having forgot she was holding it for a moment. "I do," she said. "I don't understand what good it's supposed to do. Was there a reason you told me to make it without magic?"

Clover nodded to her, "it has to do with how earth pony magic relates to the unique brand of magic the crystal ponies use. It was one of the things I studied when I first found this city hidden in the snowy wastes. The royal family of the Crystal Empire passed the stewardship of the Crystal Heart on from generation to generation until it finally ended with King Sombra slaying your predecessor and taking the heart for himself." He held out the tainted gemstone in front of him. "Sombra placed part of himself inside this, corrupting it and ultimately destroying its original purpose of protecting the empire."

"But we used it to save the empire once before," said Twilight as she joined the conversation. "How is that possible?"

"My best guess is two things that allowed that to happen," he continued. "One was Celestia and Luna's efforts to banish him to the ice. The empire was most likely banished as well, not because of Sombra placing a curse, but more likely it was from the last of the previous ruler's magic doing her absolute best to protect it. The second thing was that the majority of Sombra's soul was still sealed within me. A seal that has been on the verge of breaking completely for some time now."

"Let me see if I understand something," Cadence said as she looked first to the crystal she was holding and then to the one that Clover was holding. "Are you trying to make this the new Crystal Heart? How is that possible?"

"Strictly speaking it's not possible." He held forth the tainted Crystal Heart. "This one would have to be destroyed first before we could make a new one to reestablish the link between the ruler and the populace. It's possible, but it would either take an absurd amount of magic, so much that it would likely take a chunk out of the city in the process; or we'd have to have the original creator unmake the heart. I think you can see how either option is a problem."

"I think I understand," Twilight said, a confused look still visible on her face. "That still doesn't explain how you plan to do it though," said Twilight. "I thought it said it wasn't possible."

Clover gave a sly grin, "strictly speaking, it's not, but we may have found a workaround." Clover took a moment as he licked his lips, something about the last thing he said felt weird on his own tongue.

"Sorry about that," Ret quickly apologized as she scratched away at the page with her quill while looking particularly proud of herself. "It wasn't easy, but I'm ready when you are. Just don't forget what I told you."

"I haven't forgotten," said Clover as he looked nervously at the ponies surrounding him. "It seems the time for idle conversation has come to an end." He reached up and undid the clasp around his neck. He hesitated for a moment before removing his cloak entirely. His wings rustling as they found themselves free of their constraints. In one swift motion, he threw his cloak free of the circle, allowing them to fully see his figure for the first time. "No matter what happens, don't step inside the circle until I'm finished," Clover said somberly as he repositioned his legs to brace himself against the floor. He wasn't looking forward to this next part.

The air in the room instantly dropped several degrees as Clover stood there. One by one, the lights in the room began to extinguish themselves until the only illumination left was the crystal pillars surrounding the alicorn within the circle. The soft light they emitted slowly became brighter and brighter as the shadows they were casting reached for the edges of the room.

Clover looked like he was going to be sick with the way he started convulsing. A viscous sludge began to leak out from beneath his fur and from deep within his feathers. The muddy substance slowly began to coat his entire body, starting with the ends of his hooves and working their way up. Everything it touched began to lose its golden sheen and only left behind a dusty gray color. The muscles around his neck began to bulge while dark shadows began to creep through and darken his eyes.

With a snap, Clover threw his head back and howled. His cries of agony pierced the veil of shadows as the maelstrom of darkness pushed outward but didn't extend beyond the range of the spell circle. The ever brewing storm continued to fill the magical prison until there was nothing left but a black mass that would occasionally writhe as if it had a life of its own.

The screams were abruptly cut off just as the storm began to calm. The darkness began to rush inward as if it had just been sucked into a vacuum. Over and over it continued to fold in on itself until all that was left was a single pony standing at the center.

Clover stood there, his coat having turned completely grey at this point. He shook out his charcoal black mane as he reached up with a hoof and cracked his neck. He slowly opened his eyes, a purple mist leaking out from between the cracks as blazing green eyes accented by red irises looked out at the gathered ponies.

"Finally," said Clover, his voice far deeper and darker than it was before whatever just happened. "I thought that fool would never drop his guard."

Celestia took a single step forward, her eyes narrowed as she focused on Clover. "I recognize that voice," she said with certainty. "King Sombra."

"Oh look," said the dark alicorn. "Somepony remembers me."

Chapter 41: Revision

Sombra slowly made his way around the circle he found himself standing in. He experimentally reached out with a hoof, only to quickly pull it back with a hiss of pain when the newly constructed shield stopped him from going any further. "So, my old foe still had one last trick," he said as he looked with disgust at the magical design under his hooves.

"What have you done with Clover?!" Demanded Luna as she took a few angry steps closer.

He stared down his nose at her, a savage grin painting his features. "So you're the pony I always caught him pining over on moonlit nights," he said, eliciting a growl from Luna. "I wonder what it would take to break the last of his spirit?" He reached a hoof towards the dark blue alicorn, only for sparks to fly once it came in contact with the shield again.

"You won't be doing anything of the sort, Sombra." Celestia stepped forward and pushed one of her snowy wings between Luna and Sombra. "Even if you were to escape the prison that Clover has placed you in, you won't get far with all the magic in this room ready to turn against you."

"Ah Celestia," he turned his delighted eyes on her. "Princess of the sun and monarch of Equestria. I haven't forgotten how you and your sister took my kingdom away from me. I've spent a long time thinking about how to pay you back for that. Imprisonment? I don't think I could find a cell that could hold you. Torture? A classic, but it's lacking something." His eyes lit up in sinister glee, "what if I found a way to banish you to the sun? So you can look down every day and dread what I'm going to do to your little ponies."

"I'd like to see you try!" A raspy voice cut in as a rainbow mane peeked around the two alicorns that were standing off against the dark king. "You'd have to get through them and all of us before you'd have a chance at that."

"RD, Ah don't think you should be provokin the villian who made a kingdom disappear for a thousand years," Applejack said as she placed a hoof on Rainbow Dash's shoulder.

"Oh come on AJ," complained Rainbow. "What's he gonna do while he's trapped in there?"

"Hehehe," laughed the dark king. "I like a little spirit in my servants. It makes it so much more enjoyable when I break them." He seemed to take a moment as he looked the mare up and down. "Of course, I need more than just simple servants and soldiers. The royal harem will need to be filled back out and I could use some good stock," he licked his lips as he finished.

Rainbow quickly backed away as a cold shiver ran down her spine, much to Sombra's delight as he began to double back with maniacal laughter.

"You're truly sick," spat Rarity. "I can see why you had a whole kingdom turned against you."

"Might is right," he retorted sharply. "Right and wrong don't play into it. It's just a matter of who is stronger." Shadows began to collect around him as his body faded into darkness. Without any further warning, the dark mass slammed into the shield with a resounding crash. The shockwave shook the surrounding ponies to their very core and even though the floor trembled with the impact, the shield held.

"Gah," cursed Sombra from deep within the shadows. "I tire of these games." The darkness began to condense further until it shimmered with the light from the surrounding crystals. In a single pulse, the darkness threw itself outward with explosive force. The shield still held, but this time large shards of dark glass were scattered all over the throne room and the concussive blast continued onward to shatter the remaining windows.

"I WILL GET OUT OF HERE!" Roared King Sombra. "And every last one of you that stood against me shall feel my wrath!"

Several ponies came out of hiding from behind the alicorns in the room while said alicorns had thrown up additional shielding to protect them all from the sudden blast of magic.

"What happened?" Luna asked as she looked down to Spectrum, the only creature who might have any sort of clue what was happening. "I thought Clover had him under control?"

Spectrum neglected to respond. Instead he turned his gaze away from her and in the direction of a different side of the spell circle where they now found Ret standing as she looked up at King Sombra with a smile on her face.

He wasn't the only one to notice as Sombra's gaze locked onto the gray unicorn as she stood there with a set of quills behind her ear and an open book floating beside her in her magic. "What are you looking at!?" He demanded of her.

Ret stuck out her chest and proudly proclaimed, "I'm looking at the mighty King Sombra. First of his name. May his reign last forever."

A resounding "What?!" filled the room as many shocked voices couldn't believe what they were hearing. Wasn't she supposed to be loyal to Clover? Was she about to betray them?

Sombra seemed to find this amusing. "Heh," he gave a short laugh. "At least one of you has some sense about you. I could use a loyal pony like you at my side."

"Good to hear it," she responded without even a trace of remorse. "And to further prove my loyalty, I know how you can escape that prison."

"What do you think you're doing?!" Demanded Celestia. "This sort of treachery won't be dealt with lightly."

Ret turned her vibrant red eyes on the sun princess. "Be silent!" She ordered in a tone that brokered no room for opposition.

An incensed Celestia opened her mouth again, but the only sound she was able to produce was a gargled choking noise.

"Princess Celestia!" cried Twilight who instantly appeared at her mentor's side. Celestia was quickly becoming panicked as she held a hoof to her throat as she continued trying to speak.

Ret gave a satisfied snort. "That's better," she said. "Now be a good little pony and sit there quietly."

"Hahaha!" Sombra cackled loudly. "Beautiful and powerful, you will make a fine queen my dear."

Ret gave him a smile and nodded towards something behind him. "Clover was hoping to use that to seal you away for good."

Sombra turned around and spotted the discarded Crystal Heart laying within the circle. "Ah, yes," he said gleefully. "It was so long ago that I barely remember anchoring myself with this stone. I don't really need that anymore as long as I have Clover's body."

"Destroy it," Ret suggested. "There's enough magic in there to destroy half the city." She gave a sinister smile. "It would be more than enough to break free of that prison."

"No!" Cried Cadence. "You mustn't!"

Ignoring her, Ret continued with a wicked smile. "Think of the despair such an act would inflict."

"Yes..." Sombra hissed as he scooped up the Crystal Heart in his hooves. "I think I will."

Sombra held the darkened Crystal Heart tightly in his hooves as he began to press in on it. The Crystal heart began to crack under the assault as the might of Sombra was more than the fragile crystal could withstand.

Sombra smiled in delight as he felt the last of his magic returning to him. His delight doubled as the cracks in the heart began to widen and more of its magic began to spill out and fill the space inside.

"Nooo!" Cadence cried out again as she began to rush forward. Her path was quickly blocked by the badly injured changeling as Spectrum stood before her. "Get out of my way!" She shouted.

"Don't let her get any closer, Luna," he said as he looked over to the lunar princess.

Luna's gaze widened as she appeared beside him to further hinder the love princess. "Stay where you are, niece," she commanded.

"Auntie Luna!?" Shouted Cadence as she glared at the older alicorn. "What are you doing?! We have to stop him!"

Luna shook her head, "we will do no such thing," she said sternly.

While this exchange was going on, the magic inside the barrier was growing more and more turbulent by the moment. "You've almost got it," Ret actively encouraged Sombra with a smile. She continued to hold her book out to the side with quills floating over it like she was waiting for something. "Just a little bit more."

A bright light shone from deep within the Crystal Heart as the shadows were forced to the edges of the circle. With a resounding crack, Sombra's hooves came together as what was left of the ancient artifact shattered into a million pieces. A deafening silence reigned over the room for only a moment before the world was washed out with light.

Finding itself no longer contained within the Crystal Heart, the magic it contained began to collect in a pool suspended above him as the darkness within, eager as it was to rejoin with the rest of its body, pulled itself free and drifted towards the dark king.

Some confusion made its way onto Sombra's face as he looked up at the accumulated magic, but soon found himself preoccupied as he began to drink in the errant darkness. Moans of pleasure echoed from deep within his chest as he greedily consumed the dark magic.

The light, now purified of the foreign magic, gathered overhead as it slowly began to pass through the shield and dissipate into the world. "I don't think so," Ret said confidently as she continued scratching away with her quills. The light regathered itself before it had a chance to vanish entirely as it sought out a new vessel and slowly began to make its way around the room.

"What's happening?!" Shouted Twilight, confused by what was happening and the weird feeling that kept flowing through the room.

"The magic is looking for somewhere to go," Spectrum said as he looked back to Cadence. "Now's the time," he said to her. "Hold up the new Crystal Heart."

Cadence sat there in shock and confusion as the words seeped into her. A moment later, she reflexively pulled the crystal she had been carving away from her chest and out to the light that was circling the room. The light paused as it passed near Cadence again. It floated near her offering and almost seemed to be considering her offering like a hungry cat. It slowly circled around Cadence a few times until in one fell swoop, it rushed into the new vessel as it began to fill the object with its glow.

The gemstone's internal light began to pulsate like a heartbeat, slowly at first but then it started to pick up speed as it shook in Cadence's grip. Spectrum watched closely, not once looking away from the spectacle like he was waiting for something more to happen. "Something's not right," he said with worry. "Why isn't it holding? Ret?!" He shouted to the gray mare.

"I'm working on it, you impatient love sucker!" Ret shouted back as she madly scrabbled over her writings. "It must be the imperfections in the facets, or maybe it's because she isn't actually a crystal pony," she muttered under her breath. "I got it!" She proclaimed.

The magic possessed within the Crystal heart was slow to take root due to Cadence not being the true successor to the crown. However, due to the love the crystal ponies felt toward her,

Without warning, Ret's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed to the ground. Her writing implements scattered on the ground beside her as she lay motionless on the floor.

"That's not good," said Spectrum as he snapped his eyes back to the heart that Cadence was holding. It was vibrating hard enough at this point that the light around it was beginning to distort. "I'm not going to pretend I completely understand how her magic works, but stopping it midway can't be good."

"What was she even doing?" Twilight wondered. "I don't think I saw her cast anything other than basic levitation."

"Not important right now," he said in a panic as he refused to look away from the heart. "We need to either find a way to stabilize it or slow down its deterioration until we can work out a solution. Does anypony know any time spells?" He asked as he looked around the room at the gathered faces.

Twilight raised a hoof, "I once went back in time and visited myself for a few minutes."'

Spectrum gave her a cockeyed look. "Really?" He asked her incredulously. "I don't even know where to begin with that. Anything else?"

The Crystal Heart was fine after all and everypony gets a cupcake.

They all stared in disbelief as the light within the Crystal Heart began to glow more softly and its violent shaking ceased. Once the recent panic had been quelled, they then found themselves with the mystery of where all the cupcakes littering the room had come from.

It didn't take long before they noticed Pinkie Pie sitting over by where Ret and her book had fallen. She currently had Ret's red quill sticking out from between her lips and an incredulous look on her face. "What?!" She complained. "I don't like cliffhangers." She seemed to think about it a bit more. "Although technically, we're not on a cliff, but in a castle. So, would that be a castlehanger?"

"Hehehe," Applejack chortled. "Why do Ah git the feelin that Pinkie just went and saved the day?"

"What would I save the day for?" Pinkie responded. "We've got lots of spares. Want a cupcake?" She asked as she held out one of the many cupcakes that littered the floor.

"Don't think about it too much, darling," Rarity said to Twilight who was beginning to get that look in her eye she got whenever Pinkie did Pinkie things.

"I think that's the one thing I'll never really get used to," Twilight said as she walked up to where Clover's accomplice had fallen. "Is she alright?"

"It looks like she crashed," said Spectrum as he fell to one knee, his recent exertions having taken a lot out of him along with his injuries.

"Crashed?" Pinkie asked as she cocked her head. "Ohhh," she said like just now understood. "That's kinda like what happens whenever Berry Punch has had a little too much at my special late night parties. I can fix that."

Before anyone had a chance to object, she picked up Ret off the ground as she dangled like a ragdoll and stuffed one of the many desserts scattered throughout the room into her mouth.

"Pinkie!" Objected Spectrum. "That's not going to do anything, we need to..."

A groan came from deep within the mare's throat as her eyes slowly fluttered open. "What happened?" She moaned as she licked some of the frosting from her lips. "And what tastes like sugar?"

Spectrum's jaw dropped as he stared at her, dumfounded. "That shouldn't have worked."

Ret looked at him confused while apparently still in a bit of a daze. "What shouldn't have worked? Last thing I knew I was..." Her eyes shot open the rest of the way as dread settled over her features. "The Crystal Heart?!" She exclaimed as she scrambled about looking for something. "Where is it?! It's not stable. I need to..."

She tried to get up, only to find a pink hoof holding her back. "Easy there," said a concerned Pinkie as she held her book out to her. "You should also eat another cupcake," she said through a goofy grin. "Get your energy back."

Ret carefully took the proffered book from Pinkie before scanning the room. After noticing the lack of panic, her eyes settled on Cadence and the Crystal Heart she was holding. Its soft glow looked very much like the original except now there were some slight traces of pinkish magic that could be seen inside if you looked close enough. Her confusion continued as she cracked her book open and began flipping through the pages. When she settled on one of the pages, a smile broke out on her face and she threw her hooves around Pinkie Pie.

"Oh you brilliant mare!" She cried out. "I could kiss you."

"Thanks," said Pinkie as she started resembling a deformed balloon with how tightly Ret was squeezing her. "I didn't think the cupcakes were that good, but ok!"

Cadence looked down at the new artifact she was holding. "I'm still very confused as to what just happened," she said.

"Oh, hehe," Ret chuckled. "I'll tell you in a minute." She turned to face Sombra, who had been strangely quiet for the last couple minutes as he was doing little more than just watching them at this point.

"Ok Clover," she said curtly. "It looks like we're in the clear. You can drop the act now."

"Finally," he said as he rolled one of his shoulders. "I didn't think I could pull off the supervillain act much longer."

Chapter 42: Exorcism

"What?!" Exclaimed everyone at once.

"All of that was an act?!" Cried Twilight. "But why? Why would you do something like that?"

Clover looked over at Ret, who was only smiling. "Well Ret," he said. "It's your spell."

"Fine..." Ret scoffed. "But only because the purple one looks like she's gonna blow a gasket if I don't give her something to chew on." She looked right at Twilight, who just now realized that she was talking about her. "The corrupted Crystal Heart was Sombra's safeguard, so he'd never break it himself even if it was to pull his own magic back out of it. So I had Clover fill the role of bad guy and then I just tossed around a few... Suggestions."

"Suggestions?!" Twilight's eye started twitching. "But how?... What?..."

"Well..." Clover started.

"I wouldn't try to tell her anything more about it," Ret cut him off. "She's way too stiff to begin to understand this kind of magic. I suggest," she directed back at Twilight. "That she just tries to forget it." Ret snapped back to Clover, "Now quit stalling and move the plot along, you know what's next."

"Alright, fine," he said with some annoyance. "Twist my leg, why don't you?"

"Whatever it takes to get you moving," Ret scowled.

Clover grew quiet as the air around him began to thicken and grow dense with building magic. The already glowing pillars of crystal started to take on greenish hues as indecipherable writing began to appear on their smooth surface. Clover's body, as twisted as it had already become, began to darken further. His features continued to be obscured until he resembled a living shadow.

"What is he doing?!" Shouted Twilight over the hum of magic in the air. The noise being produced was quickly growing into the realm of deafening the longer it went on.

"Something we've been waiting a long time for," Ret offered as she sat down with another one of the cupcakes strewn about the room and watched what was happening inside the circle.

A metallic rattling could be heard breaking through the wall of sound the crystals were giving off. A low thrum began to reverberate through the floor that ran up everyone's hooves and caused the skin beneath their fur to tingle. Bright green lines becoming visible on the living shadow that had become Clover's body.

The darkness bled off of his body until it took on its own shape. Evil eyes that Twilight remembered from her first visit to the empire opened and outlined the shape of its face. She felt its gaze fall on her for just a moment before returning its attention to the pony right below it. Below those eyes, a jagged maw cracked open and with one swift movement, razor sharp teeth came down and dug into Clover's neck.

Clover staggered and buckled under the assault. Rivulets of blood ran down his body from where the demonic creature latched onto him. Several ponies rushed forward to help him after seeing the obvious pain he was in. However, they found themselves colliding with an invisible wall as they were unable to cross the edge of the circle.

"Stay back!" Clover turned his glowing eyes on them even as sweat rolled down his face and mixed with his blood. "I've been expecting some resistance. He doesn't want to make this easy for me."

Hesitantly, they backed away from him, not that they could do much anyway with the shield in place.

Once they were clear, Clover turned his attention inward as magic began to bubble and drip from his horn. A long tendril of magic spiraled off of him as it reached for the edges of the field. The tendril grew thicker and more corded as it passed each of the five crystals. When it finished its circuit, the cord twisted and bent until it took on the shape of a long chain. At the end of that chain was a large, very nasty looking spike that shifted from side to side like a snake getting ready to pounce.

The length slowly worked its way to the ground, where it started to coil in on itself. Clover's body slowly lifted into the air as the thing biting into him began to double its efforts and dug its teeth deeper into his flesh. Blood rained down from his body, turning into mist as it hit the ground and filling the space inside the circle with a crimson fog. Clover seemed to pay no mind to what must surely be unimaginable pain, but instead, he just smiled.

With a crack, the chain shot straight into Clover's chest and he fell limp as the force of it kept him suspended in the air. The beast biting into his neck released its hold as it squirmed and thrashed before slowly turning back into shadow and retreating back inside its host.

When the last of the chain had been pulled inside, Clover limply fell to the ground like a ragdoll. He laid there for almost a minute while a hushed silence fell over the onlookers.

With a start, Clover was sudden pulled upward when the chain made its reappearance as it emerged from his back. It moved far slower than it had been when it went in, as if it was caught on something. Link by link the chain extracted itself until a new form showed itself.

It was thick and oily and ended in long sharp claws. Luna remembered those claws, and she certainly remembered what came out next. The claw expanded as more of it was drawn out of Clover, growing larger with each passing moment, then came a shoulder, and shortly after that, its head.

The fur on its head was as thick and oily as the rest of it, almost to the point of appearing slimy. A dense fog rolled out over the ground as it opened its mouth, and the smell... Somehow the smell had no trouble penetrating the containment field. It was vile and rancid, like something had been chewing on old garbage. A musky scent made it through as well, with all the fragrant grace of a wet dog.

And then the screaming started.

They first thought that the unearthly howl that filled the room was coming from the creature, but when they looked closer, they saw that it was coming from Clover. The creature had slowed in its extraction and was now fighting for every inch that it was losing. However, it seemed that something was happening to Clover. The dark shadow that was crawling across his mane different than what had just covered his body, his golden coat was taking on a brighter sheen that reflected the light, and his wings were stretching themselves outward, becoming longer and more angular as more time passed.

"This isn't good," Ret said as she discarded the half-eaten cupcake and rushed to the edge of the circle while a dense fog rapidly began to build within the field and obscure all the occupants from view. She levitated several quills out from behind her ear and began to rapidly scribble onto the shield that contained them.

Nothing inside the barrier could be seen anymore by this point. However, the sounds... The sounds that came from within caused everyone to pause as the sound of two creatures fighting bounced off the shield and reverberated through the room. There was a few startling moments as one or more bodies directly collided from inside the shield, the shield miraculously still holding despite the ground around it occasionally cracking from the onslaught.

"Almost got it..." Ret screwed her eyes in concentration as she made a few last notes on the barrier in front of her. She had constructed what appeared to be a particularly complicated script in the matter of only a few moments. The words she had etched out seemed to be framing an empty circle, the purpose of which wasn't exactly clear. Ret levitated up her book in front of her and pressed one of the red quills to its pages.

No sooner had she done so, then a body from within the shield directly collided with the center of the diagram. The circle shattered as a body came flying through, just barely clipping Ret's face as the circle immediately closed back up while the script surrounding it disappeared.

The body landed out of reach of the other ponies while the dark fog that wrapped around it began to clear. The transformation they were watching Clover undergo had fully manifested as he stood there, hunched to the ground as he whipped his head back and forth. He gnashed his jagged teeth as the shadowy mane that wavered behind his head blew in the wind, and his slitted eyes seemed to dart back and forth as he took in the other creatures. While all this was going on, his wings had extended fully as the light caught each individual feather, making them appear like belts filled with knives.

Before anyone could stop her, Luna disregarded her own safety as she rushed forward towards the creature that Clover had become. Clover's gaze immediately locked onto her, jagged teeth splitting his jaw just before he leapt at her. They collided in midair, a mass of fur and feathers tumbling to the ground as a cloud of crystalline dust covered them.

When it cleared, Luna had her hooves firmly wrapped around Clover's transformed self while wincing in pain from the sharp teeth she found digging into her shoulder. "What's wrong with him?!" She shouted up through the pain. "Is he still...?"

"No, he's free of Sombra's influence," Ret shook her head, a few small shards breaking free from her face with the motion. "But he's turning into something far worse. Make sure you hold on tight until he calms down." Ret payed them no more mind as she moved her attention elsewhere, like whatever was happening to Clover didn't concern her. "How's Cadence doing?" She asked next.

"Cadence?" Twilight asked aloud. "Why would anything be happening with Cadence?" Twilight shared a look with Cadence, who appeared just as confused as she was while she sat there continuing to hold the new Crystal Heart as it pulsed against her chest.

Cadence looked down and was startled to find Ret standing directly in front of her. The unicorn was squinting her eyes and seemed to approve about something because she smiled and nodded.

"Good," she said. "It looks like the link carried over to the new heart without any more trouble."

"The what?" Cadence sounded confused. What was this mare talking about?

A low throated growl filled the room, drawing everyone's attention back to the shield. The chains holding the beast confined within the circle had broken and the beast itself had grown substantially larger since it had been pulled free of Clover's body. At present, it filled most of the space inside and sparks danced across the barrier as it tried to claw its way out.

"It'll break free in a moment," Ret said to Cadence. "Ready yourself."

"What am I supposed to do?" Asked a panic-stricken Cadence. There was no way she could be expected to stand up to whatever that thing was.

"Oh," said Ret, realizing she hadn't really explained anything to the love princess. "You don't really have to do anything. The hard part's already done. We just need you to act as a conduit."

"A what?" Was all she got to ask, because at that moment the barrier shattered. The beast stood even taller on its four massive legs as it arched its back and howled its rage to all who would hear. It swept its gaze over the ponies in the room. At first, they believe it would go after Clover. However, it seemed to settle on a new target as it leapt towards Cadence and an unconcerned Ret.

"Cadence! Look out!" Twilight shouted but she needn't have worried. It only made it about a dozen paces before it was violently yanked to the ground as a glowing pink collar appeared chained to its neck.

"Right on schedule," Ret said as she lazily looked back at the monster that was ten times her size, not even once seeming afraid if it.

"What did you do?" Cadence said through gritted teeth. Whatever had just happened, a visible strain seemed to be affecting the ruler of the Crystal Empire as her magic spiraled its way down from her horn and was pulled into the new Crystal Heart she still held.

"Clover set a trap and he fell right into it," said Spectrum from his place on the ground where he laid on his side. He weakly looked up at the restrained beast. "You've tormented my master long enough. How's it feel, Sombra? How does it feel to have the entire Crystal Empire turned against you?"

Sombra stopped trying to claw the collar from his neck as he finished speaking. With rage filling his eyes, he turned back to where Clover was being held by Luna and lunged towards them. His leash didn't allow him to get close enough; and as manacles began to appear around his wrists and ankles and dragged him back into the circle before pulling taut into the crystal pillars, it looked like he wasn't going to get another chance.

"So wait... Is that why Clover had Cadence make a new Crystal Heart?" Twilight asked, drawing Ret's attention. "Because you could turn the magic of the whole empire against him?"

Ret gave a weak nod, more crystal falling free of her face with the motion. "That's exactly why we had her make a replacement for the Heart. No pony, or any other creature for that matter, has much of a chance against the combined will of an entire nation."

Twilight, having noticed the damage she took, looked at Ret with concern. "Are you going to be alright?" She asked.

Ret held up a hoof to cover her injured face. "I'm fine," she said. "These bodies are just a little too fragile, that's all."

A light drew their attention back to where Luna held Clover close to her chest. The golden alicorn was slowly shrinking in size as his more monstrous features smoothed themselves out until all that was left was a sleeping pony resting against her chest.

Ret scoffed as she watched them. "Damn it, he's asleep," she said. "I was hoping I'd at least have my chance to give him an earful about how much harder he made this whole process. We wouldn't have needed to make everypony go through this asinine song and dance if he had just found me a compatible unicorn like we originally planned."

That was the last thing she said before her whole body collapsed in on itself, leaving a small red gemstone behind with a single crack running down the length of it.

Chapter 43: Harmony

Celestia looked over to the sleeping Clover as he laid in Luna's embrace. "Is he alright, Luna? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"He's fine," Luna said softly as she stroked his mane. "He's only sleeping. He must be completely exhausted after fighting that thing for so long." Luna looked over at the place where he had bitten her. The fur was slightly matted with her blood and while it did sting, it was already showing the signs of the rapid healing that she and her sister had been blessed with at a young age. "Do not concern yourself with my injuries. What about you though?" She tilted her head at her. "We noticed that thou canst speak again?"

"Oh?!" Celestia startled herself as she lifted a hoof to her throat. "You're right, I can speak again. I barely noticed." She turned her gaze to the red crystal laying on the ground that only a few moments ago was a full sized unicorn, and a powerful one at that if she could do something like that to her. "How was she able to do that?"

Clover was unable to answer that question since he was unconscious, however even though he wasn't in the best shape either, Spectrum attempted to provide an answer. "Even if Clover was awake, I doubt he'd answer that question," he said. "All he ever said about her abilities is that if she ever had enough raw magic at her disposal, that nothing would truly be beyond her limits."

"Can she really be that powerful?" Twilight asked, appearing a bit concerned with that answer. "Where did she come from? I'm not even going to pretend to understand how you and Clover made her and the others, but..."

Her thoughts were cut off as a cough from the changeling cut her off. "Leave it be, please," he said weakly. "The rest of that question has a very intimate answer to it and it's not my place to give away Clover's secrets. Besides," he tilted his head slightly in the direction of the restrained beast. "We sort of still have that to deal with. Any suggestions?"

"What..." Cadence gasped, she was still unsteady on her hooves after having her magic channeled through the newly reformed Crystal Heart. "What exactly was Clover's plan at this point?"

Spectrum frowned as he looked in the direction of the cracked red crystal laying on the ground. "Ret was the plan," he sighed. "I still can't believe Clover tried this with her at the weakest she could be." He looked back up and around the room. "Given enough time, I'm sure he could come up with something."

"The Elements..." Twilight wondered aloud as she held up a hoof to the crown resting on her head. "Would the Elements work?" She asked aloud as she looked at each of her friends and the Elements of Harmony that each of them wore. "Do you think this is why Whisper wanted us to bring them with us?"

A collective jump ran through everyone as the beast tried to lunge at them despite the chains that kept him firmly secured. A rattling sound resounded through the room as the links keeping him secured were pulled taut. However, in the end, Sombra's efforts to break free barely afforded him a couple inches of freedom.

"Ah think we just got our answer, Twi," said Applejack as she stepped forward.

"Yeah!" Rainbow cheered. "Looks like the big ugly knows he's in trouble now. Good thing we brought these along."

"I wonder why we didn't bring them with us the first time we came here?" Pinkie pondered before giggling. "Seems kinda silly when you think about it."

Fluttershy stepped forward with the rest of them. The beast shot her a glare, forcing her to shy away as she went and hid behind Rainbow.

"Well I for one will be glad to have this whole ordeal behind us," said Rarity as she shot a look at the sleeping Clover. "It may sound unladylike, but I plan to have Clover find a way to pay me back for all the time I've had to spend away from my shop. Maybe I'll have him model for me for a while," she gave it some thought. "I can think of several things I can do with his colors."

The rest of her friends cringed at that. They had all been goaded into modeling for Rarity at some point or another when she got in the creative mood. However, if she caught them trying to prank her, they could look forward to several hours of that as payback.

Twilight shook her head free of that image as she narrowed her focus on the chained monster in front of her. "You girls ready?" She said confidently.

"Ready!" They all cheered in unison as they stood around her.

Twilight stood tall as she charged up her horn. Magic flowed from her body and into her crown, coursing through her as she was lifted into the air. She felt more than saw as each of her friends were lifted up alongside her. Each of their necklaces, their respective Element of Harmony, lit up in turn as the Element of Magic sent out a multi-hued ribbon of power to connect them all together.

As the circle completed, the magic returned to Twilight stronger than it was before. A brilliant light radiated from her eyes as warmth filled the room. The chained beast that lay before them began to violently struggle in its bindings again, a look of fear reflected in its eyes as it stared transfixed at its incoming doom.

Rainbows spiraled up and collected above Twilight before finally coming down on the captive Sombra. He howled in agony as the power of harmony worked its magic until his howls quieted. The sound of the magic went silent and they looked at the remains to find...

The beast lunged at them. Its bindings being pulled taut as it strained against them. It clawed and scratched at the ground but wasn't able to gain any more ground before it was forcefully pulled back to between the crystals.

"I don't understand," said Twilight as she stared, shocked at the lack of results. "Why didn't the elements work?"

"Try it again, Twi," Applejack encouraged. "Maybe we just need to give em another go."

Twilight gave her a sharp nod. "Alright," she said. "Let's try it again."

Same as last time, the magic flowed from her out to her friends and lifted them one by one. However when it reached Rainbow Dash, this time the magic started to flicker as it struggled to lift her. She made it a few feet up before wobbling and falling back to the ground. When she fell, the magic failed as everyone else fell to the ground as well. The sudden drop caught them off guard as not one of them touched back down smoothly.

Twilight winced as she pushed herself up off her rump, that fall hadn't felt particularly good. "Rainbow, what's wrong?" She asked as she looked over at the prismatic pegasus.

Rainbow Dash had her hooves wrapped around herself as she looked up at Twilight. The corners of her eyes making her look like she was about to cry. "It's my fault isn't it, Twilight? Don't deny it. It's my fault the Elements aren't working."

"Rainbow..." Said Fluttershy as she approached her friend. She tenderly laid one of her soft wings across her back.

Rainbow didn't seem to be having it as she pulled herself away from Fluttershy's embrace. "Don't coddle me, Fluttershy," she sobbed. "Of course it's my fault. It's always been me. First with the timberwolves and then Twilight needed me to... And don't get me started on how I rushed into a fight which ended up with me and Rarity sharing a body. And now... And now... And now I've gone and let a while kingdom down. Every time I need to come through for somepony, I fail. Some Element of Loyalty I am." She looked down at the Element resting against her chest. Tears streaming from her eyes as she tore the talisman from her neck and threw it to the ground, bouncing until it came to a rest at Fluttershy's hooves.

Fluttershy looked back at her friend, wanting to say something, but Rainbow didn't give her the chance. She had completely broken down by this point and didn't want to be comforted. Before anyone had a chance to say anything more to her, she turned tail and bolted from the room, slamming the door behind her as she left.

"Rainbow..." Twilight muttered under her breath as she took a few steps towards the door.

"No, Twilight," Fluttershy said sharply, being far more assertive than she normally would. With as shy as she usually was, any time she put her hoof down, ponies tended to listen. "She needs some time to sort this out," she said as she bent down and gingerly picked up Rainbow's discarded necklace. "Let me worry about her."

Twilight wilted under Fluttershy's gaze, but she slowed nodded as she watched her run after their lost friend.

"Ah don't know if Ah've ever seen Rainbow lose it like that before," said Applejack.

"The poor dear," Rarity said solemnly. "I knew she was having some trouble. I may have gotten a teensy bit of insight into that when we found ourselves connected. But I didn't realize it had gotten this bad."

Celestia gave a deep sigh, "it sounds to me like her confidence has been shaken." She look back to the bound monster, who had stopped struggling against his bonds for the moment. Actually, it seemed to be laughing. Like it had found the whole drama incredibly amusing. "So..." She said. "What do we do about that?"

Spectrum's movements appeared sluggish as he pushed himself up off the ground again, his injuries clearly taking a lot out of him. "I think we're fine for the moment. Clover should have some ideas once he wakes up," he said as he glanced at the magic that held Sombra hostage. "I've seen his notes on that binding spell. It'll last at least a week assuming nothing goes wrong."

"You alright there, pardner," Applejack helped him up when she noticed he was shivering. "Yer not looking too good."

"We have a fire going in the other room," Cadence offered when she saw how bad he was actually looking. "We should move him some place warmer."

"I would like that," he said as he continued shivering.

"Just one moment," said Shining Armor, who had shown up just long enough to assess the situation. "I heard you say the spell will hold if nothing goes wrong, right?" He asked the creature he was pretty sure he hadn't seen enter the castle earlier. "What could actually go wrong?"

Spectrum looked over at the prince and nodded. "The crystals at the edge of the circle hold the spell together, if anything were to happen to them..."

"Say no more," said Shining Armor as he looked over to his wife. "I'll keep guards posted around the clock until this is over."

"Ok, Shining," said Cadence as she walked over and nuzzled her husband. "Just be careful. I hate to think what would happen if he were to get free."

The Barracks were bustling with activity as the guards scrambled about. Some were taking a much needed break, while others were gearing themselves to carry out the new orders that just came down.

"Is the Crystal Empire always this exciting?" Asked Flash Sentry as he resettled his armor onto his back, making sure his wings cleared the edges before tightening it the rest of the way.

"If you don't like it, feathered one," said one of the crystal guards. "You can always transfer back down south."

"Yeah," chimed in another one. "Maybe then we won't have to listen to that noise you call music."

"I need the practice, and it's not my fault that the electric guitar was invented while you all were frozen," Flash snapped back.

"All of you, shut up and suit up!" Commanded the sergeant as he came around the corner. "The prince wants us guarding that monster around the clock and you three are on the next shift. If the three of you have time to start gabbing like a bunch of mares in season, then you have time to relieve the last shift early."

All three of them snapped a quick salute. "Sir, yes sir!" They said in unison.

"Good. Then get to it," he turned and left the room.

Flash reached down to pick up his helmet, somehow missing it and sending it rolling across the barracks. "Good job, feathers," said one of the other guards as he made his way to the door.

Flash trotted over to pick up his helmet. When he reached down to where it had stopped, a dark shadow spilled out from behind it. He tried to call out in alarm, but the shadow was too quick as it lunged at him and silenced his voice.

"Quit fooling around," said the other guard. "If the sergeant catches us in here again, we're gonna end up with more PT."

Without another word, Flash placed the helmet on his head and fastened it in place. His eyes glowing green for a moment before returning to their normal color. "I'm coming!" He shouted as he chased after the other guards.

Author's Note

What? Did you think we were done?

Chapter 44: Jailbreak

Cadence guided them back to the room where Twilight had found her earlier. None of them had realized how cold the throne room had actually gotten with the large hole torn out of the wall until they stepped in range of the roaring fire that was burning in the mantle.

Applejack carried the injured Spectrum in from the other room and deposited him by the fire. Luna did the same with Clover, who had yet to awaken since his battle with Sombra inside his prison. Both of them laid next to their respective charges, doing their best to keep them warm.

"Don't you be gettin any funny ideas, ya hear?" Said Applejack as the changeling pressed harder into her side.

"I'm too tired to make a move on you if that's what you're worried about," he said. "Try flirting with me again once I'm feeling better."

She got a little red at that response, but didn't comment further.

Celestia sat down opposite Luna and smiled at how happy her sister looked right now. Luna had moved Clover so he was curled up next to her and where she could easily watch the slow rising and falling of his chest as he slumbered.

"I've never seen auntie Luna like this," Cadence said quietly as she sat down next to Celestia.

"It's been many years since I've seen her this happy," Celestia said softly. "I never would've expected them to reunite like this, but now that they have, I'm hoping nothing will tear them apart again."

"I hope so too," said Cadence. "They look good together. What do you think, Twilight?" She turned to look at her. "Twilight?"

Apparently the recent events had finally slowed down enough for Twilight to process everything that just happened. One of her eyes were twitching and she was barely responding to Rarity and Pinkie poking her in the side. "It shouldn't have broken..." She said under her breath. "Magic doesn't behave like that... Cupcakes... Where did the cupcakes come from?..."

"Oh dear," said Rarity as she looked over at Pinkie Pie. "What did you do this time? She only acts like this when you're being extra Pinkie."

"It wasn't me this time. Honest," Pinkie swore as she picked up another one of the cupcakes that had been conjured up only a few minutes ago.

Twilight locked her manic eyes on Pinkie Pie as she began to shake her by her shoulders, "I need to know. How did any of that just happen?! What was Ret doing? Why was Clover putting on an act? What was the point of all that?"

"Jeez, Twilight," Pinkie said as she flinched away from her. "I thought it was obvious." She began to gesture with her hooves for what didn't realize wasn't so obvious. "Some of what was over there, needed to be over here, but it didn't want to be over here. So he had to make it want to be over here by pretending to be some of what was over there."

"I don't follow at all, Pinkie..." Twilight whined. "And what exactly was Ret supposed to be doing during all of that." She grabbed her head with both hooves. "I don't get it."

"Oh that's easy," Pinkie dismissed. "She was just telling a very convincing lie. I wish she didn't have to be such a big meenie about it but, meh. Cupcake?" Pinkie held out one of the conjured deserts.

Twilight looked like she was about to blow a fuse as she stared at the impossible treat, but it was Princess Cadence to the rescue. "Twilight?" She said, instantly getting her attention. When Twilight looked her way, Cadence took a deep breath with a hoof pressed to her chest follow by slowly letting the breath out while extending the same hoof. She repeated the motion several times until Twilight began mimicking her actions. This went on for about a minute until Twilight started to look far more relaxed.

"Feeling better?" Cadence asked from behind a grin.

Twilight slowly nodded. "A bit," she said. "I guess I should probably just let this go, huh?"

"That would probably be for the best, darling," Rarity nodded along.

"There's something I still don't get," Cadence said as she looked over to Luna. "Auntie Luna?" She asked, causing Luna to look up from where her lover was sleeping by her side. "You stopped me from getting in the way. How did you know it was going to be alright?"

Luna smiled back at her. "It was because of him," she nodded her head to gesture at the creature sleeping by Applejack's side. "Between the loyalty he's shown towards Clover and the fact that he sacrificed himself to save one of his allies, I knew something was amiss." She looked back down at the golden alicorn sleeping next to her. "I had faith that everything would be all right."

Cadence looked over at Spectrum and screwed her eyes at him, "I wanted to ask earlier, but it seemed like a bad time. What exactly is he?"

"He's a changeling, niece," Celestia said as she quickly lowered one of her wings to the other side of Cadence and held her closer to her side.

It was a good thing she did, too. No sooner had she spoken, that Cadence had tensed up and started to hyperventilate. She tried to struggle out of Celestia's embrace, but the elder alicorn held her firm. The only reaction that Cadence got when she looked up at her was for Celestia to place a hoof against her own chest and proceed to run Cadence through the same breathing exercises that she had just done with Twilight. It took just as long for her to calm down.

"Ok..." Cadence said once she had calmed down. "So he's a changeling, but he's a good changeling?"

"I'm starting to feel that there's a lot more to learn about them than what we saw at your wedding," said Celestia.

"Ok..." Cadence said warily. "As long as I don't have to worry about Chrysalis suddenly trying to break down my... AHH!" Cadence's words were cut off as she let out a sharp breath. She jumped to her hooves and began to look around for something.

"Heavens. Are you all right, darling?" Rarity said from her own resting place.

Clover's head popped up from where he was sleeping next to the Luna, a look of dread upon his face. "I didn't feel that... Please tell me I didn't feel that."

"I don't even know what that was," she admitted. "But that was weird. It felt like something was... AHH! There it is again!"

"No no no no no," he scrambled to his hooves, stumbling for a moment as he raced towards the door. "That was two of them. We need to go, now!"

"What happened?" Asked Twilight as everyone else started to follow him.

Clover didn't stop to answer if he even had a chance to hear her in the first place, he was out the door too quickly.

Clover ran through the hall at a full gallop. Everyone else had just barely caught up when both Clover and Cadence cried out for a third time.

"Too hard," said Clover under his heavy breathing. "I've worked too hard to have it all fall apart now."

The first sign that something was wrong was the two unconscious guards laying at the entrance to the throne room. Clover didn't even stop to look at them as he threw the doors open and rushed inside.

When everyone else made it inside, they saw what had the alicorn so worked up. Three of the crystal pillars had been thrown to the ground and shattered into a million pieces. The chains that had tied Sombra to each of those pillars were now missing and the demon now pulled and thrashed at the remaining two. Large cracks were glowing as they ran up the length of each of them and flying at the top of one of them was a lone pegasus guard doing his best to push it over.

"Stop!" Clover shouted as he leapt at the saboteur in an attempt to stop them.

He never made it though. Sombra was determined to protect his liberator as he raised one of his freed paws and with one powerful swipe, he swatted the pony out of the air. Clover was sent sailing over their heads directly into the door they had just entered through, knocking it off its hinges and into the opposite wall, a crater now in the middle of it.

"Flash! You're Flash Sentry aren't you?!" Shouted Cadence up to the pegasus. "Why are you doing this?!"

Flash paused in his efforts for a moment, just long enough to look down at them. A dark purple mist filled his eyes as he stared blankly down at them. "Long live the king," was the last thing he said before he brought the pillar down.

As it shattered, the chain that connected it to Sombra dissolved into mist, freeing the last of his legs. With only his neck still fastened, he dug all four paws into the ground and pulled with all his might. It only took a moment to topple the last pillar and break the final chain. Once he was free, he arched his back and howled to the sky. The force of his cry causing everyone to stagger as the ground at their hooves shook and cracked. The throne room was quickly turning into a minefield of broken stone until finally the circle that surrounded the beast shattered along with the ground it stood upon, the last remnants of the magic that kept it contained now dissipating.

The beast just stood there for a moment, taking in the sight of all that stood before it. A soft growl echoing in its throat as its oily fur bristled in the wind coming from the broken window. His gaze eventually fell on the orange pegasus that stood before him. Flash stood before him, head bowed and completely at the Sombra's mercy. The jagged maw of the dark king cracked and rush of air could be heard as it inhaled. Shadows were pulled from Flash's ears, nose and mouth as he seized up under the breath.

The darkness was sucked into Sombra's throat as it was pulled from the guard. Once the last of it left Flash's body, he collapsed to the ground in a heap and remained still. Sombra's eyes lit up as his jaws closed around the final remnants of the fog. He resettled on his paws once more and his mouth cracked open yet again.

"Whole at last," he said, his gravely voice sending a chill down everyone's spine.

"He spoke," said Twilight, her lower lip quivering. "He spoke. That's bad right?"

"Yeah. That's bad," came Clover's voice from behind them. They glanced back to see him pull himself from the wreckage of the door. A large cut could be seen down his side and a wing hung limply at his side. "Be careful. If his mind is in tact, he could be capable of anything."

"Ah, Clover," as Sombra sauntered forward, his large body quickly towered over everyone else. "My old nemesis. You don't seem to be doing too well. Are you feeling hollow? Does your strength fail you now, at your most important moment in the last thousand years? Last I checked, you don't injure so easily."

"I've enough strength left to put you down!" Clover shouted back.

"False bravado will not avail you." A deepthroated chuckle shook free from his chest. "I can see that you are barely able to stand."

"He's not alone though!" Came a shout from between them. Sombra lowered his gaze to see that it was Princess Luna who had spoken. "And we shall be damned before we allow any harm to befall our beloved."

A savage grin broke out on his face. "That's right," he said. "Clover has feelings for you. I wonder how he would react if I broke you in front of him?"

"Luna! Run!" Clover shouted just as Sombra lunged at the group of ponies.

Everyone scattered as the creature came down on the ground where they had just been standing. Broken chunks of crystal were kicked up into the air with the force of the impact. As he turned around, a bright light filled his vision as a blast of magic came streaming from the solar princess. Sombra flinched away as the burning light collided with his fur.

He must've recoiled more from surprise than actual pain, for it was barely a moment before he stood upright again. His eyes focusing on Celestia as a cackle escaped his throat. "It seems you're a thousand years too late to be much of a threat anymore. Clover may have been keeping me captive, but I've still been able to amass power while I wait for my moment." He slowly sauntered towards her while paying as much attention to her ongoing attack as one would an annoying fly.

"My sister is not the only who would stand against you!" Luna announced as she landed next to Celestia and added her own magic in and attempt to push the beast back.

Sombra barely slowed when the midnight blue magic from Luna hit him. He just continued to push forward while licking his lips, eager to sink his teeth into flesh.

Twilight was the next to add her strength to the fray and while he didn't seem to even notice as a purple stream of power connected with him, he did pause when a couple of green threads came up over his back and fastened around his shoulders. He stopped and seemed to consider the bindings for a moment as he turned to face their source. Several of the threads snapped as he looked at the golden alicorn. "You've fallen so far, Clover," he said while sounding bored. "You're hardly worth the effort." He turned back to his target while swishing his scaly tail. The tail collided with Clover, scooping him off the ground and sending him into the other half of the door, it now laying broken as well besides its partner.

Upon seeing him injured again, Luna redoubled her efforts as the magic coming from her increased. Whether or not Sombra was just playing with them at this point, he no longer seemed to even notice any of the attacks from the three alicorns.

Celestia and Luna began to buckle under the strain of their efforts up until their opponent was only a few feet away from them. He reared up and lifted one of his massive paws, ready to bring it down. Before he could do so, a bright blue beam came in to join the other three. Sombra couldn't ignore this one as it lifted him the rest of the way off the ground and sent him tearing through the air into a distant wall. He impacted the wall and slumped to the ground with a look of shock upon his face. Everyone subconsciously followed the source of the blast to find an equally shocked Cadence.

The shock only lasted until Sombra got his claws back under him and began barreling towards the crystal princess. On reflex, she once again let her magic loose. Her opponent stayed on the ground but began sliding backwards, his claws leaving long furrows in the ground as he lost the advantage.

"Cadence! How are you doing that?!" Twilight shouted, asking the question they all had.

"I don't know!" Cadence shouted back as she continued to lean into the attack.

"Figure it out later," Celestia said as she stood beside her niece and once again sent a beam of golden magic at the creature. This time the effect was immediate as he began to lose ground much faster. Luna and Twilight soon joined in and Sombra was once again airborne.

They continued to bare down him even after he collided with the wall again. He scraped and clawed as multicolored magic rained down around him, but try as he might, he couldn't find any footing. The wall behind him began to crack and chip as fissures ran up to the ceiling. Bits of crystal began to rain down as the walls of the Crystal Palace began to cave in under the assault.

The wall finally gave out and Sombra was sent hurtling to the ground with large chunks of the castle falling around him. Once he was out of sight, the alicorns stopped their assault and rushed to the edge. They made it there just in time to see as Sombra impacted the ground and was buried under several tons of solid crystal.

Chapter 45: Demon on the Run

"What happened in here?!" Shining Armor charged into the ruins of the throne room with a contingent of guards. They all looked around at the destruction as the princesses continued looking down at where the king had fallen.

"Did we get him?" Twilight asked as the pile of rubble at the base of the castle tower lay still.

"I... I don't know," Celestia looked worn out. Something that Twilight very seldom saw.

"He certainly wasn't that strong when we fought him before," said Luna, equally exhausted.

"You know," said Cadence. "I never asked. How strong was he back in the day?"

Luna was still breathing heavily, "he himself wasn't actually much of a threat. It was more the army he had amassed around himself that was the real danger."

"I think..." Twilight said between labored breaths. "I think Clover had something to do with that. When I saw his memories, it sounded like Sombra had already been defeated by the time the war started."

Luna's ears perked up and she turned back towards the entrance. "Clover!?" She shouted as she ran across the room to when the doors had fallen. She used her magic to lift the debris out of the way until she was able to pull out a very bedraggled looking alicorn. "Clover! We thought we lost you again," she cried out as she held him close.

"Careful," he said as he winced with pain, his limp wing twitching. "Something happened to my wing. I can't... I can't actually remember the last time I've been injured."

Shining Armor sat there with mouth agape. "Clover's an alicorn!? When did that happen?"

Cadence made a sound that was more an exhausted chuckle than actual laughter. "It seems he's been one for a while, dear. Do try to keep up."

He seemed to quickly collect himself after that and set about the task of ordering the guards to secure the room as he assessed the damages.

"What happened to Sombra?" Clover asked. Luna helped him over to the new window they had made. He looked down at the pile of rubble, "that won't hold him for long. I'm impressed you all were able to push him back."

"I'm still not sure how I was able to," admitted Cadence. "Even Auntie Celestia's magic didn't seem to do all that much."

Clover looked like he was about to collapse as he shook dust out of his mane. "Ugh, I can't remember the last time I've felt this vulnerable. But no, it makes sense to me. It's the same reason you were able to hold him back when I passed his leash off to you."

"Oh?... Oh..." Realization dawned on her face, followed by confusion. "But weren't those crystals part of that?" She gestured to the broken mess on the floor.

"Those were only for temporarily holding the binding spell together. What we fixed with the Crystal Heart is a little more permanent," Clover turned back to them only to stagger in the direction of his hurt wing. "I forgot how sensitive these things can get."

"What's wrong with your wing?" Luna asked in concern.

"I'm not sure," he said as it twitched a bit. "I'm having a bit of trouble moving it. I can't imagine its... GAH!!"

While they were talking, Applejack had stepped up beside him and in one swift motion had grabbed and twisted the offending wing with a resounding pop. "There ya go. Looks like ya just went and dislocated it."

"Thanks," he said through gritted teeth. He turned back to the open window and went back to observing the wreckage.

"Where did you learn how to do that, Applejack," asked Twilight.

"Fluttershy showed me how to do it after RD went and hurt herself on my land a few too many times," she admitted.

"But..." Twilight said, seeming to remember something. "I've seen you come back from being burned alive. How come you aren't recovering anymore?"

A few ponies looked shocked at that question. Clover just shrugged his shoulders while continuing his watchful vigil. "I'm not gonna lie, I feel a bit uncomfortable knowing that somepony was watching my past. Especially during one of my darker moments."

"What does she mean by burned alive?" Luna looked worried.

"That's actually the second time I've had that happen. It's by far the worst way any creature can go," he had a distant look on his face, like he was remember something from a different age. "To answer your question though, I'm hurt right now. Like really hurt. As best I can tell, alicorns heal from superficial injuries pretty quickly if they even manage to get them in the first place. Injuries to the soul are still much slower to heal. That exorcism method I used would've killed anypony else, but that doesn't mean I didn't come out unscathed."

"Spectrum mentioned something similar," said Celestia. "I can't imagine how you're feeling right now."

Clover quickly stood back up and spread his wings. "Damn it," he cursed. "He's up to something." Everyone followed Clover's path as he jumped out the window. A dark shadow was leaking out of the rubble and spilling out into the city.

Several sets of hooves set down beside him as he watched the spectacle. A couple moments later, the wreckage caved in on itself as though something had been removed from beneath.

"I was wondering when he'd try to make a move," said Clover. "I'm not sure what he's up to, but it can't be good." He turned to look at Cadence, "looks like you shook him up more than we realized."

"So are we safe then?" Asked Cadence. "Is he leaving?"

Clover shook his head. "I don't really know what he's got planned, but I don't think he's just going to leave."

"So what do you need us to do?" A shocked look found itself upon Clover's face when he saw that it was Celestia who asked the question.

A weak laugh escaped his throat, "Whisper wasn't exaggerating, Celestia. You really aren't the same pony I knew so long ago. We need to find out where he's hiding and herd him back towards the center of the city." He looked around at the many faces that were there waiting for him to speak. "We need a safe place we can fall back to. Cadence, it'll take a while but if you can get the Crystal Heart back on its pedestal, it should provide some protection throughout the rest of the city. Unfortunately now that he's whole, it won't be enough to drive him off completely."

Shining Armor stepped up, "I'll have the guard set up a fallback point there then. It's not the most defensible location but we should be able to make it work."

"The rest of you, split up and try to find out where he's hiding," he said as he looked with some concern at the element bearers.

"We'll stick with Twi," said Applejack. "We should be alright if we stick together."

"I'm still worried about Dashie..." Said a crestfallen Pinkie.

"I'm sure she'll be fine, darling," said Rarity. "She's got Fluttershy with her after all."

"Will you be all right though?" Luna asked Clover. "You're not exactly in any condition to fight right now."

"I just need to get his attention," he said. "He's not about to leave me alone right now. He's got a bit of a personal score to settle with me and I don't think he's going to miss the opportunity to take a few cheap shots."

Twilight and her friends, minus the two absent pegasi, were wandering through the city. The storm had calmed down a bit since Cadence had put the Crystal Heart back on its pedestal, but it was still very very cold outside.

"And you all thought I was crazy for packing a scarf," Rarity said smugly.

"No, Rares. What Ah said was why do ya need so many?" Applejack retorted. "And when exactly did ya have time to pack? Not to mention we were trying to catch a train, to Canterlot, in the middle of summer."

"It never hurts to be prepared," she said with some finesse. "Besides, if it really bothers you so much, I can just take back the scarf I loaned you," said Rarity.

"It makes sense to me," said Pinkie as she bounced along. "I always keep all sorts of things handy for an emergency."

"Yeah, but you keep spare yoyos and balls hiding in random trees," said Applejack. "Anyway, Ah still don't see nuthin. You havin any luck, Twi?"

Twilight continued to sweep a light from her horn over the city, both because it was starting to get dark and she was hoping it would help her see something out of the ordinary. "Sorry, Applejack. Clover didn't really say much about what we were looking for, just keep your eyes out for anything suspicious."

Pinkie craned her neck until she was looking straight up. "I see a bunch of snow, does that count?"

"No, Pinkie. I don't think it does," she said as she did a few more sweeps. The crystal ponies were mostly staying within their homes. A few of the bolder ones did peek their heads out of the doors for a moment to see what they were doing. Aside from that though, the streets were deserted except for them.

"Well, while this is certainly unsettling," said Rarity. "We shouldn't have any trouble finding trouble if there is any to be had."

"I'm actually hoping this ends up being easy," said Twilight. "With as busy as this last week has been, we really don't need anything else exciting to happen."

"Twiliiiight," whined Pinkie. "When are you ever going to learn not to jinx us like that?"

"Oh, Pinkie," Twilight giggled. "There's no such thing as jinxes."

It was right around then that the shadows began to move.

Luna's thoughts had been mostly preoccupied. She knew that she needed to focus on the task at hand but she couldn't help but think about what would come after everything was said and done.

Would Clover disappear? Would he stay and become a part of her life again? What would the rest of Equestria have to say when they found out that one of their founders not only still lived, but was an alicorn as well? She wouldn't be surprised if a couple of historians approached him at the very least. The same had happened to her when they came calling and asking for the details that lead up to her banishment. She had just recycled the story that her sister perpetuated instead of letting the nosy little ponies pry into her personal business.

Luna did her best to push these thoughts back when she spotted the first sign of movement. The shadows in the wake of one of the buildings began to creep towards her. They undulated back and forth as they drew closer. A small smile made its way onto Luna's lips. The presence she was feeling was so weak in comparison to what she felt that night when all of this had started. Whatever her niece was doing with the Crystal Heart must have left him quite vulnerable indeed.

She quickly channeled her magic, the soft blue glow barely illuminating her surroundings as she prepared to swiftly recapture Sombra so they could dispose of him for good. A form began to emerge from the darkness and in one swift motion she launched one of the best spells at her disposal only to quickly cancel the spell before it hit its intended target.

"No," she said, the blood draining from her face as she began to backpedal away from what she saw. "What is this sorcery?"

Celestia wasn't used to this experience, not for a very long time at least. Not since the days of Starswirl had she followed the direction of someone else. She didn't feel she had much choice though. It had been so long since she had felt this much out of her depth and Clover seemed to have all the answers on how to deal with this. Despite the recent turmoil, she really had enjoyed seeing how giddy, how passionate her younger sister was acting. It was like something that had been long dead within her had finally revived itself. Even though she had stopped being Nightmare Moon thanks to Twilight and her friends reawakening the Elements of Harmony, Luna had still been a bit withdrawn. Luna's separation from Clover had still been fresh in her mind even after returning from her banishment and even though she had been slowly coping with the passage of time, things had never been quite the same. She only hoped that him being back would end up being a good thing.

She was pulled out of her reverie when the sound of several hoofsteps managed to make its way through the sound of the wind. Immediately, she lit up her horn and pushed back the darkness. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she saw that it was just a couple of the crystal ponies.

"It isn't safe out here tonight," she called out to them. "Return to your homes and everything will be fine by morning."

They did not heed her advice nor gave any indication that they had even heard her. They just continued to saunter towards her with blank expressions on their faces.

Clover dove out of the way when the first pony took a swing at him. He almost hadn't seen it coming in time. Those hooves we're sturdy enough to carve crystal and the last thing he needed to do was take a hit from one of those.

"Was it something I said?" He asked as more of the crystal ponies continued to close in on him. A horrible notion starting to suggest itself in the back of his head, but he didn't want to believe it.

One by one, each of the crystal ponies' eyes began to light up a solid green. The one that had just taken a swing at him also got the signature purple smoke that was primarily used by only one individual that Clover knew of.

The deep voice that rumbled forth from the pony's lips was unmistakable. "Long live the king."

Chapter 46: Rainbow on the Rebound

"We can't keep this up!" Shouted one of the crystal guards that were holding the perimeter. More shouts and cries came from other struggling guards as the frenzied city folk continued to rush them, every one of them sporting a pair of glowing green eyes.

"Shining..." Cadence voiced her concern. Most of her attention and all of her magic was being used to empower the newly restored Crystal Heart. She had to rely solely on her husband and the guards to keep everyone else at bay.

"I don't understand what's happening," said Shining Armor as he used his magic to throw another pony into the crowd that had managed to get through the wall of defenders. "How can King Sombra be controlling all of them?!"

"I don't know," said Cadence as she winced under the strain. "We just have to hold on until help arrives."

"I don't know what kind of help we're expecting," said Shining. "They're civilians, we can't just hurt them."

There was a momentary distraction when a small pink ball of light flew in from the crowd and began hovering above their heads. "Your highness, what is that?!" That question and several concerned murmurs filled the circle before their attention was once again consumed by keeping the maddened ponies away from the princess.

Cadence stared up at the little light. She was far from the best spellcaster, but she didn't think it was a spell. The way it bobbed around as it zipped overhead made it seem alive.

It stopped moving just before it dove down to remain floating right in front of Shining Armor. The prince's attention was instantly captivated by the bobbing light of power as it spoke.

"You're Shining Armor, right?" The soft voice trilled forward like glass on the wind.

The only response Shining gave was a curt nod as he tried to make out the figure from within the light.

"Finally," the little light sounded relieved. "You ponies all look the same to me."

"What are you..." The prince started to ask, but the light picked that moment to begin growing brighter. A blinding light soon filled the area around the Crystal Heart, causing both the attackers and defenders to pause for a moment as they shielded their eyes.

Their vision returned to them a short time later, but both the source of the light and the prince had disappeared from view.

Shining Armor was still feeling dazed by the time the world around him started coming back into view. He wasn't sure where he was at first, but then a familiar fireplace came into view. Although, he didn't recognize the strangely colored creature that was sitting beside it.

"Ah, you're back," he said. "That took a while, I was starting to get worried."

"You'd think for being the only unicorn in the city that he'd be easier to find," came the small voice from beside Shining. He carefully looked over his shoulder to see an equally strange sight. The light beside him had dimmed to reveal a small creature that looked like it could be a pony, but ponies didn't come in that size. "Did you find what I asked for?" She continued talking.

"I did," the first creature said. "I don't know what you expect to do with it though. It broke earlier when they were busy trapping Sombra."

Shining remembered what he was just doing. Panic started to settle in as he turned to run for the door. Whatever was happening here, it could wait until the Crystal Empire was safe. He made it as far as the door, but when he reached forward to push it open, his hooves only found a blank wall. He scrambled in a panic to find out where the door had disappeared to, however he couldn't find any sign of it.

"And what makes you think I'm going to let you just walk out after going through all the trouble to bring you here," the smaller figure said as Shining found his attention drawn back to the center of the room.

"Look," he said. "I don't know who or what you both are, but we've got a crisis on our hooves. I need to get back out there. They need me."

"Yeah, I saw that," the smaller creature seemed disinterested. "They won't last much longer, even with your help."

"Then why did you pull me away from there!" Shining demanded.

The light-wrapped creature zipped through the air and stopped right in front of his face. It startled Shining for a moment, but he held his ground.

"Good fortitude," she said. "You'll need that. Tell me, Shining Armor. What would you do to save the Crystal Empire?"

Shining narrowed his eyes, no longer finding any part of this amusing. "I'm Shining Armor, former captain of the Equestrian Royal Guard and current Prince of the Crystal Empire," he declared. "This kingdom is the responsibility of me and Princess Cadence. And I would do anything to see the ponies of this kingdom safe."

He found the smaller face lean in and look him right in the eye. He didn't blink, he didn't look away, but he continued staring back until he saw a small smile appear on her face.

"Good answer," she said with a content smile. "Spectrum, give it to him."

She flew out of the way only for Shining to find that the other creature had moved in right behind her. Shining hadn't seen him before, and couldn't make out much of his features through the numerous bandages he was wrapped in. The unicorn recoiled for a moment when he held out a hoof, that was until he saw the object that was being offered to him.

Shining took the proffered item and a soft red glow began to pour from its glistening and cracked surface. The light filled Shining's vision and he recoiled as a voice began to speak inside his head. The voice asked a single question, a question filled with sincerity and a request that Shining could not ignore.

"Yes. Whatever it takes. I will save them," he said with conviction just before the light washed over him.

"Are you feeling any better, Rainbow?" Asked Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash had been crying her eyes out ever since Fluttershy had managed to corner her on the balcony. "Not really," Rainbow sniffled. "I mean, how can I ever look anypony in the eye after all the times I've let them down? And I keep letting them down."

Fluttershy continued to hold her friend as Rainbow continued crying into her shoulder. "It's not your fault," Fluttershy padded her on the pack. "Nopony blames you."

"But I blame me," cried Rainbow Dash. "How can I trust myself if I fail when it matters?"

"By picking yourself back up and getting on with life," came a crass yet firm feminine voice.

Both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash seized up when they realized they weren't alone anymore. Their eyes slowly turned towards the source of the voice to find Ret watching them, whole once more and now wearing a long black dress that covered everything below the neck. The fire in her eyes bore into both of them as she stepped towards them.

Fluttershy put herself between Ret and Rainbow, doing her best to shield the cyan mare. "Leave her alone," she said. "Can't you see she's hurting?"

"And yet, while you're both up here having your own private pity party," said Ret as she casually dismissed the stare that Fluttershy was giving her. "Events continue to move a pace. Have neither of you seen what's happening in the city?"

Rainbow carefully walked around Fluttershy until she reached the edge of the balcony. As she looked out over the city, she could see the dark figures that were moving throughout it as well as the hundreds of tiny green lights that flitted through it like a bunch of fireflys. "What is all that?" She asked.

Ret huffed, "short version. Sombra broke free and is currently holding the ponies hostage. He's also got all the princesses and Clover pinned down and unable to do anything."

"But..." Rainbow held her head low, suddenly feeling much worse. "This is my fault as well, then. I failed them, I failed my element. Some Element of Loyalty I turned out to be..."

Ret's patience had apparently run out, because the next thing Rainbow knew, Ret had used her magic to pick her up by her chest fluff and now held her face right in front of her. "I don't think I can listen to any more of this," she said. "Wa wa wa. Is whining all you're good for?"

"But... I..." Rainbow started but was cut off.

"Don't give me your excuses, unless that's all you can do," Ret growled. "I thought pegasi like you were all about trying to join the Wonderballs or something like that?"

"...Wonderbolts," Rainbow eeked out, barely caring about the casual insults.

"Well whatever they're called, you can forget about joining if all it takes is one bad day for you to give up on yourself," Ret looked down her nose at Rainbow.

"I'm already in the reserves," Rainbow automatically said under her breath.

"Are you now?" Ret sounded surprised. "They must've felt sorry for you then, to let you in if you quit so easily. It must be nice to take the easy road, to never take any risks, to let everypony else do all the hard work for you. It must be nice to have a princess as a personal friend."

Something in Ret's words seemed to finally get through her thick skull as Rainbow Dash lifted her head upward to look the cruel and unwavering unicorn in the eye. "I worked hard to get where I am. It took years of hard work and honing my skills to get the Wonderbolts to even notice I existed. All the times I ended up in the hospital cause I hurt myself didn't stop me from trying, no matter how much it hurt to fail over and over again."

"Then that must be the limit on what you can do," Ret went on. "Cause while you've been up here feeling sorry for yourself, everypony, including your friends have been out there fighting for their lives. And if they're as incompetent as you, I can't imagine they'll last much longer."

Rainbow had enough of this as she pulled her head back and brought her skull down on the unicorn who held her. She saw stars in her eyes from the impact, but it was enough to shake Ret's control enough to release her grip on her. Rainbow slid away from her aggressor as Ret shook her head to clear away her own stars.

Rainbow scuffed a hoof on the ground and gave an angry huff, "say what you want about me, but I won't let anypony insult my friends like that! I will always be there for them, no matter how hard it gets!"

A deep chuckle broke out from Ret's throat. "Finally," she said. "I was wondering when the Element of Loyalty would show up."

"I've been here this whole time," said Rainbow, missing the jab that was being made at her. "I'd give you a piece of my mind for talking about them like that, but they need my help right now."

"Then go. Don't let me keep you," said Ret.

Without wasting any more of her breath, she snatched up her Element of Loyalty that had been laying on the ground and slapped it on. Once it was secure, she jumped off the balcony and soared into the city to find her friends.

"Um... You planned all of that didn't you?" Came a soft squeaky voice.

Ret looked down at the yellow pegasus that had remained quiet through the whole exchange. She recoiled under the unicorn's gaze but Ret could still see the smile that was creeping out from behind Fluttershy's mane. "Sometimes a pony needs a little more than just a shoulder to cry on. Sometimes they just need somepony to rile them up."

"I'm not the pony to do that, but still... Thank you," Fluttershy gave her a short bow before taking off and flying after her friend.

Ret watched the two pegasi fly away and just shook her head. "These Equestrian ponies have it way too easy if that's all it takes to shake them up," she said to the empty space around her. She took in a deep breath and let it out before looking out over the city. "I guess it's time for me to get to work, then."

She held out a hoof and the book that she had been using earlier materialized there. Using her magic, she flipped through the many pages until she frowned and just closed the book. "Too simple," she said. "I can do better than this." She then held the book between her front hooves and pressed in on it like she was trying to crush it.

Heat began to pour off the book as it began to glow a cherry red while somehow managing to avoid bursting into flames. When Ret seemed satisfied with whatever she was doing she looked up into the empty space and said, "I know you're out there. Watching everything we do, manipulating small pieces of our lives while watching how some of it plays itself out. Well I'm done playing by the rules."

Ret released the book from her grip. The book exploded and reformed into several large panes of glass. They spread out around Ret as letters and symbols began to flash across their surfaces. Ret for her part, just looked over them, nodding and seeming satisfied with what she was finding there.

"Cut, copy and paste," she mused under her breath. "Seems pretty straight forward. I can work with this. Oh?" She looked over her shoulder again. "Have I made you sweat yet? Good. You should be worried. I'm about to show this world what the last Sorceress of Pandemonium is capable of."

Chapter 47: Evil's End

Rainbow Dash descended from her perch on the tower to find her friends holed up in an old shop. "Well look who finally showed up to the party," said Applejack as she threw yet another crystal pony off into the crowd.

"Yeah! Well I couldn't let you have all the fun, Applejack," said Rainbow Dash as she kicked a couple of other ponies that were climbing up their makeshift barricade. "So why are we being attack by crystal ponies?"

"Yeah," said Pinkie as she continued to pommel ponies left and right with confections. Each dessert having enough impact to leave them with a big smile and possibly a concussion.

"Look at their eyes," Twilight said as she conjured a shield and pushed all of them back. The momentarily bare ground was covered in furrows, hinting that that hadn't been the first time Twilight had to do that. "I think Sombra's controlling them somehow."

"Oh my. Do you think this is happening everywhere?" Said Fluttershy.

"I imagine so, darling," said Rarity. "The others are probably having as much trouble as we are."

"I'm sure Princess Celestia is having it easy," said Rainbow. "I mean, she's Princess Celestia for Celestia's sake."

"Maybe..." Said Twilight. "The biggest problem we've been having is we're trying not to hurt anypony, but they just keep coming."

In unison they all turned to face Pinkie Pie who was currently reloading her party cannon. "What?" She whined. "Confetti doesn't hit that hard."

"Well darling, the princess must be having it easy enough," said Rarity. "I mean, she can still move the sun despite everything that's happening."

Twilight stole a glance at the sky, the sun had just about finished setting, but wait... Something didn't seem quite right. She could still see the moon climbing up the other horizon like it normally did, but the sun actually seemed to be moving higher, not lower. It was moving in the wrong direction as it climbed into what should've been the night sky.

"What's going on?" Twilight braced herself as another wave of crystal ponies came rushing in. "What is Celestia doing?"

Celestia was having trouble keeping the crystal ponies at bay. Even after Luna had joined her and reported similar problems where she had been, they didn't seem to be making any ground in pushing the hordes of ponies back. That had been the biggest problem when Equestria had gone to war with the Crystal Empire a thousand years ago. The crystal ponies seem to be particularly resistant to all forms of magic and that still remained true.

"Sister," said Luna as she stayed aloft near Celestia, both royals doing their best to push back against the advancing hordes. "Is it just me or does this form of control seemed different than what Sombra employed before?"

Celestia peered down at the ponies. There was something different than before, but it had been so long that she couldn't quite put her hoof on it. "I don't know, Luna. I haven't really had much time to think about it."

"Before, Sombra had used a magical tool in the form of a helmet to control each individual," Luna pointed out. "We had only to damage it enough and the pony would be free. However, this time he doesn't appear to be using the same method."

Celestia eyes opened wide at the realization. "You think he's strong enough now to seize control all by himself?"

"It does seem that way," said Luna as she continued to look over the rebelling public. "And while I have your attention, are you ever going to finish setting the sun? It should've been night some time ago and we don't wish to alert the rest of the country that something is amiss."

"Hmmm?" Celestia turned to the west where the sun was still a good ways away from the horizon. "Sorry Luna, I could've sworn I already put it to bed." Her horn took on its signature golden glow as she reached for the distant blazing orb.

She stopped after a few moments of the sun moving in the wrong direction, screwed her eyes, and then tried again. After a third attempt, holding her breath this time, she released a huge gasp and started to look very worried. "I... I can't move the sun. Why can't I move the sun?"

"Sister?" Luna gave her older sister a worried look. "Surely thou knows that this is not the time to jest."

"I'm not joking," she said, growing increasingly more worried. "I can't even feel the sun right now. You try it."

"You picked a really bad time for your jokes, dear sister." Luna turned to the sun and reached for it, only to have a similar response barely a moment later. "That's not right," she said as she turned back to the moon and did the same thing. "It's not just the sun, sister. I can't feel the moon either. Not only that, but it's ascending way too fast."

"If Sombra's grown so powerful, that he can move the sun and the moon, we're in trouble." Celestia finished as she went back to trying to push the possessed ponies back, her efforts a little more desperate than before.

Clover was having an unusual time. He had expected the enthralled populace to rush him, instead the crowd had formed a circle around him, trapping him and the pony that he assumed contained the core of Sombra's consciousness. They had spent the last several minutes blocking and parrying each others attack. Clover did what he could to try and subdue his attacker, but whether it was his hesitation to hurt the host's body or just how weakened the exorcism had left him, but he was taking the worse end of the punishment.

Sombra seemed to want to take his time taking the alicorn apart. A smile played across his face every time he managed to land a successful hit. Clover found himself with numerous cuts and bruises, and the worse part of it all was that they weren't healing themselves.

He managed one of his few successful feints, using the momentum to send Sombra's host into a pile of crates. As soon as he saw the body disappear, he wheeled about to watch the rest of the crowd. Sure enough, like the other times he had been able to stop one of the ponies, mist began to gather around another pony's eyes as Sombra jumped into another body and resumed the fight with increased vigor.

Clover barely had a moment to catch his breath. It would be one thing if he was in his prime, actually this never would've had the chance to get this far if he had the body he had before he met Starswirl. In his current state though, it was taking everything he had just to keep up.

As the new combatant approached, something in the sky drew his attention. If he hadn't been so focused on trying to stay alive, he might have seen it sooner, but the sun and the moon were drawing ever closer to each other. Something didn't feel right... He reached out a small tendril of magic towards the celestial bodies, however he couldn't feel either Celestia's and Luna's presence within them like he normally would. Had Sombra stolen the spells from him and seized control of the heavens during this whole mess. Clover still knew the old spells that unicorns used for it, but for anyone but the princesses they required multiple ponies and a lot of setup.

Sombra noticed the lapse in attention, but instead of taking the advantage, he chose to follow Clover's line of sight and looked curiously up at the sky. "What could those royal brats be planning?" He asked aloud.

Sombra didn't know either? Clover's mind raced through what else could be happening, but nothing else presented itself. Lost as he was in his thoughts, he wasn't paying attention when a hoof connected with his jaw. The force of the blow was more than enough to lift him off the ground and send him sailing towards the nearby homes. Just as he was about to collide with one of the crystal buildings, it simply vanished. He slid to a stop on the now bare ground and felt shaken as he pushed himself back up. His vision must've been affected by the blow because his surroundings now appeared red.

He waited a moment for it to pass, but it did not. He looked around confused until he found the source of the red light. The heavenly bodies had finished eclipsing each other and a blood red light now washed over the land. The recent change has caused an eerie silence to fall over the whole city, even the cold north winds that had been blowing through the city found themselves stilled before the light that now filled the city.

Clover looked back to where the building been before it had disappeared, not even the foundations were left to mark its passing. It was as if it had never existed in the first place. A flicker in the corner of his eye made him snap his head and he just barely managed to catch it in time as another home met the same fate. Over and over this repeated, not even sparing the Crystal Palace, until all that was left was the many ponies that littered the landscape.

They didn't stay there long as one by one, each of the crystal ponies began to vanish as well while leaving barely a shadow behind. The shadows melted into an inky black river as they flowed past his hooves and collected themselves around Sombra. When Sombra's host had vanished as well, the shadows rushed in to fill the void. The void drank in the shadows like a thirst that could never be quenched and with every drink, the center grew deeper and darker.

Once enough darkness had collected, the surface of the dark pool began to ripple. The ripple turned into waves as the liquid became more and more agitated, until finally something broke through the surface. Clover instantly recognized it as one of the forelegs of Sombra's beastial form. How could he not? After all the time he spent keeping it captive within himself, learning what he could to keep it better contained, and then finally tearing it free and watching as it gained a corporeal form. However, this form was bigger... A lot bigger.

Inky black fur still covered its tree trunk sized foreleg while its razor sharp claws now resembled an array of swords. The following shoulder looked like a large boulder as it pulled the rest of the torso through after it, and its jaws... Its jaws were now larger than that of most dragons.

Clover began to back away as the last of its tail was pulled free of the sludge. The beast that Sombra became took a single step forward, the ground cracking and breaking under his massive weight. His jaw creaked open and his hot breath washed over the icy field, the snow melting slightly as the air washed over it. "I don't know what it is you're planning, but I'm done playing around."

Before Clover had a chance to respond, Sombra let out a world-shattering roar. The ground split and broke apart, snow blasted off the ground, and whatever plant life was still left was torn from the ground to join the torrent of snow and debris.

Clover was smart enough to know that he was in no shape to take on such a creature right now. He spread his wings and leapt into the sky, but what should've been flight, only ended up being a long jump. He couldn't be that much out of practice, could he? He ran his feathers through the air and that's when he noticed what was wrong. "There's no magic in the air..."

Sombra wasn't going to waste any more time. The monstrosity began lumbering after him, quickly covering the distance between them. Clover was left with only one option, he ran. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him.

The ground continued to fall away as the distance between them closed. The chunks of stone and crystal that were being kicked up ended up being larger and larger. The red light in the sky began to recede, making way for a darkness even darker than the abyss that Sombra surely must have crawled up from. The red in the sky did not simply disappear, it began to fill the eclipsing sun and moon until all that was left in the sky was an orb of the purest crimson. In the middle, a dark line split and expanded until it looked like the eye of some impossible huge giant looking down at them.

It finally clicked in Clover's head what was happening. She had told him what she could be capable of if allowed free reign, it sounded outrageous even at the craziest of times so he found himself thinking that she was just exaggerating. He continued to pound across the ground, the distance between him and the creature behind him ever closing. His lungs burned, but he still spared some effort to look up at the orb in the sky and say, "that's you, isn't it, Ret?"

He got his confirmation when the eye turned its focus on him. Its expression didn't change, it really couldn't, but was that satisfaction he felt emanating from it?

A massive shock ran through the ground, causing every creature, friend or foe, upon it to lose its balance. The void around the eye began to feel deeper and darker the more time passed. A quick glance at the landscape showed that the ground no longer existed much further beyond the land they stood upon. It wasn't that they were in the air, but instead they found themselves wrapped in nothingness while the void continued to consume the edge of the platform, giving them less and less ground left to stand on.

"Clover!" Shouted Twilight as he caught up to her. "What's happening?! What has Sombra done?!"

"This isn't Sombra!" Clover gasped out between breaths as he continued running. They quickly dodged out of the way as a blue beam of energy shot between them and hit Sombra square in the face. It sent him tumbling backwards and towards the growing edge. His back legs now dangling off the edge as he scrambled with his claws to find purchase on the crumbling ground. "This is Ret's doing! I'm sure of it! I don't know how she revived herself, but she did!"

"Me and Fluttershy just saw her in the castle!" Shouted Rainbow Dash as she ran alongside them. "She seemed fine to me. Now why can't I fly?!"

"It's not just you!" Clover shouted back. "I can't either. There's no magic in this air for pegasus magic to interact with."

"And what does that mean?!" Rainbow demanded.

"It means keep running, sugarcube!" Applejack shouted at the prismatic dummy.

They kept hauling tail in the direction of where the blast had come from, eventually finding where the other three princesses had gathered.

"You made it." Said Luna, sounding equally exhausted from her own efforts.

"What's happening, Clover?" Celestia sounded worried. "The sun and the moon have vanished. Did Sombra...?"

"What happened to Shining Armor?!" Cadence screeched, anxious tears running down her face. "He disappeared in a pink light right before everything started going mad!"

"Pink light? And he disappeared?" Clover raised an eye brow as he looked back to make sure Sombra still hadn't regained his footing. "Sounds like he got fairynapped. That explains so much right now."

"What does it explain?" Cadence started to calm down after getting something close to an answer.

"No time, he's probably fine though." He began looking around at the bare ground surrounding them, "come on, Ret. I'm impressed already but need something a little more."

Red letters began to appear in the ground at their hooves, making a couple of them jump back in surprise. "Fine, make me do everything, why don't ya." They read just before the words began to glow and shoot outward. They dug deep lines into the earth, forming shapes as they raced along the open ground.

"Is that?" Twilight asked in shock as she saw some of the lines trace her cutiemark into the ground.

"It is," confirmed a wide-eyed Clover. A large pentagram had been traced into the center of a spell circle. Detailed inscriptions found their home along the edges of the diagram and there were small circles at each point of the star that held the cutiemark of each of the five alicorns present. "Oh? Oh, that's good. I never would've thought about doing that before now."

"What is it?" Asked Celestia.

"A ritual of banishment," said Clover. "Using us as a focus. I didn't even think about the fact that we have five alicorns. Oh this has so much potential..."

The musing was cut off as an enraged roar sounded in the distance. Ten heads turned to see an Sombra barreling towards them, dense smoke pouring from its open eyes and mouth as it raced towards them.

"We need to get him in the circle," he said. "This should be over once we activate the spell."

"Won't he just avoid the spell?" Asked Rainbow. "Like, just run around it?"

"As angry as he is, I seriously doubt it," he said as he kept looking back and forth between the circle and the rampaging king in the distance. "My mark is on the opposite side of the circle and it's me he wants more than anything. He'll have to go straight through it to get to me. We just need to activate the spell before he reaches me."

"That's a terrible risk you're taking, Clover," Luna feeling apprehension as she rested a hoof on his shoulder. "What if you don't activate it in time?"

"Then I won't be around to complain," he said as he looked into her eyes. "Trust me. I can do this."

"Here he comes!" Shouted Applejack.

Clover tore himself away from Luna as all five alicorns found their circle to stand on. Just as he had predicted, Sombra payed no attention to anyone but him. He charged straight into the circle as they began activating the spell. Clover raced to finish empowering his side of the spell, but with as weakened as the day's exertions had left him, he knew he wasn't going to make it in time.

The shadow beast leapt for him, jaws open and claws extended as he began to savor his long awaited kill. This pony had eluded him for far too long, imprisoned and tormented him, but he would finally exact his revenge.

Several feet of dark black crystal picked that moment to sprout from the ground and pierce the beast's body. Sombra screamed in confused rage as he was brought to a sudden halt, mere inches from his intended target. He stretched forward with one of his claws, determined to not be denied his vengeance. The claw didn't make it any further before it met the same fate. As if to deter any further attempts, dozens of additional spikes sprouted up under the beast's body and found a home in the inky flesh, effectively stapling the creature in place.

A ghostly figure wrapped itself around the former tyrant king. A new set of eyes could just barely be made out in the gathering fog as a voice could be heard carrying over the wind. "You took my mother from me and brought pain and suffering to our kingdom. This is where it ends."

The spell finally took effect as light erupted from the ground and enveloped the skewered Sombra where he stood. The black crystal evaporated as the pure white light wrapped itself around him and began to pull him into the void that had appeared beneath him. The alicorns eyes all lit up as storms of magic were relentlessly torn out of each of them to feed the raging spell.

Once Sombra had been pulled halfway in the ground, Clover fell to one knee as the exhaustion slammed into him. He had done too much in too short a time and was too badly wounded for his trouble. He had nothing left he could give to support the spell.

The effects of his weakness were immediately noticeable once Sombra halted in his descent and slowly started to claw his way back up. "I'm sorry," said Clover, sweat pouring off his face. "I should've asked for help sooner, before it got this bad."

"Then maybe y'all can be a little more forward when you need help. Keepin secrets is good and all, but not when it gits others hurt," said Applejack as she stepped up next to the raging inferno that was the banishment spell.

"We all need help sometimes when times get tough," said Fluttershy, her soft voice barely carrying over the rush of magic.

"We're not the kind of ponies to turn our noses up at somepony in need," said Rarity, a bit hesitant, but still holding her ground.

"Just think about the super splendiferic party we get to throw once we're all safely home again," chirped Pinkie, not seeming bothered at all.

"If you ask for help, we'll always get your back. Even if times get tough and we don't always get it right, we can't let that stop us from trying," Rainbow said confidently. "Heh, I had to have someone remind me of that."

As each of them said their piece, each of the Elements of Harmony they wore began to glow. Their resolve held fast as their magic wrapped around them and carried them into the air above where the struggle was still happening. Each of the princesses looked away from their task for only a moment, confusion on their faces but none were more confused than Twilight. She had never seen any evidence that the rest of the elements could act without her Element of Magic.

Sombra doubled his efforts in a panic as he tried to climb out of the void with the end in sight. He only managed another foot before the light above him flared and multihued magic of harmony slammed down upon him. His body immediately began to break apart as each of the pieces turned to mist and were effortlessly sucked into the void. Within a few moments, there was little more than a skeleton still left of him as the last of his body crumbled into dust and the light washed over the area with one final wave before everything went dark.

The five ponies that floated above them were slightly uneasy as their hooves touched back down. Collective sighs of relief could be both heard and felt as they all looked at each other, the occasional nervous laugh finding its way through. The only one who still seemed to be holding his breath was Clover. One by one they noticed his stunned expression and followed his gaze to where he was staring.

In the place where all the magic had clashed together and given the dark king his last moment, now laid a young colt.

Chapter 49: Pillow Talk

It was late into the night, soft moonlight shone in through the windows, and the alicorn sleeping on the bed couldn't remember the last time he felt so raw, so completely exhausted from everything that happened. He might have kept sleeping, if it hadn't been for the pony who was currently digging through his feathers, looking for imperfections.

"Ow!" Clover cried out as a loose feather was pulled free. He was definitely far more awake than he had been before. "What was that for?" He complained as turned his head, only to find a pair of cyan eyes meeting his own.

"Oh!" Luna jumped back in surprise. "Thou art finally awake."

"Of course I am," he groaned as his gold-colored wings started to twitch. "Somepony started pulling on my feathers." He found himself thinking back, realizing that he had no idea when he had crawled into bed. "Say, um... Luna," he asked, unsure of his own question. "How long have I been asleep?"

"This is the third day that thou hast been asleep," she stated matter-of-factly. "We were starting to wonder if thou would ever awaken again."

"Three days?!" Clover exclaimed as he shot up, more than just a little shocked at the news. "What all's been happening while I've been out?"

Luna place a single hoof between his shoulders and easily pushed him down like she would a child. "Thee shalt remain until we hath finished," she ordered as she went back to sorting out the plumage before her. "Tis currently the middle of the night and everypony else still sleeps. Whatever else troubles thee can wait on the morrow."

Clover reluctantly let himself sink back into the cushions as he spread his wings and allowed Luna to continue as she pleased. "I see you're back to using equestrian formal dialect again," he said.

Luna paused for a moment before continuing her labors. "It still feels the most comfortable on our tongue, and we haven't slept much while thee remained unconscious," she said.

"You really shouldn't do that on my account," he said as he started to turn to face her. Only to once again find himself pinned to the mattress under her hoof.

"We said that thou shall remain until we hath finished," she said, brokering no room for argument.

Clover once again allowed himself to relax while the Princess of the Night continued to fuss over his feathers like an overprotective mother. They both kept their silence until Clover finally started to relax, for real this time.

"Feels nice," he said, reveling in the new sensation. "I've never had anypony else ever tend to my wings before."

"Truly," Luna stated with a measure of disbelief. "Surely thou hast had somepony else who could have done so before now."

Clover shook his head without raising it. "No. Not like this anyway. The only creatures who knew what I was before now would be Whisper and Starswirl, and I guess Discord as well, but that's a much longer story. Whisper would be more likely to start pulling on them if given half a chance, and Starswirl and I didn't have that kind of relationship, despite some of the wilder rumors I heard around the court. Besides..."

"Besides," Luna continued for him. "Thou had sealed away thy wings in that amulet we always saw thee wearing." She let out a small laugh. "It certainly explains why thee were so unnaturally skilled at grooming my wings in mine youth."

He gave a short chuckle along with her. "Yeah," he said. "That did help with that."

Luna suddenly stopped her ministrations, whether it was because she had finished or because she had something on her mind was quickly answered. "Clover," she said softly, her tone now sounding a lot less formal. "I must know. Were you aware when I returned from the moon? Why didn't come back to me?"

Clover tensed at the question. He had been afraid of her asking this very thing, more than he wanted to admit to himself. Part of him had wanted to immediately run to her side and embrace her, but he had been afraid. Afraid of the truth being revealed, afraid of what her sister would say, but more than anything... "I was afraid that you'd push me away," he finally admitted. "I wasn't there when you needed me most, and I've never really forgiven myself for that."

The sound of sobbing filled the room, and Clover could feel cold tears bounce off his neck. When he realized that he had driven her to tears, he pushed himself back up and turned to face her. Now that he could see her more clearly, he could see that Luna was a complete mess. More than just her tears, he could see the signs of exhaustion clear on her features with just a hint of anger behind her eyes. Her coat and mane had clearly gone unkempt for a number of days and dozens of feathers stuck out of her wings at odd angles.

Luna pushed him back until his back pressed against the back of the bed. She began to pound on his chest without any real force behind the blows. "You idiot," she sobbed. "I would've been happy just to have you back again. I'd have given up the whole world just to have another day by your side. Don't you ever do that to me again."

The words hit Clover's heart like a knife as he found his chest soaked with her tears. "I'm... I'm sorry," he said as he wrapped both his forelegs and his wings around her, holding her as close as he possibly could. His own tears began to well up as he leaned down and kissed her softly. "I'll never do that to you again. I promise."

He sat there quietly as he waited for her to respond. When she did not, he found that she had cried herself to sleep. So he sat there in the middle of the dark room with one of the most powerful ponies in the world pressed against his chest and sleeping for the first time in days. He hoped he'd be able to keep that promise, he really did. However, if his own turbulent life had taught him anything, he seldom had any real control over it.

Author's Note

I'm glad I came back to redo this scene. It feels a lot better now.

Chapter 50: Epilogue

The next couple days were relatively uneventful. Just as Ret had promised, none of the crystal ponies remembered anything that happened since Clover came to town. Furthermore, all the damage that had been done to the throne room had vanished like their conflict had never happened.

The only thing that kept Twilight from doubting her own memory was that her friends and family that had been present remembered everything in resounding clarity. Shining Armor had recovered overnight, although he was still a bit groggy from playing host to an outrageously overpowered unicorn, that was the only way any of them could explain what Ret had done inside that strange void.

Both Shining Armor and Princess Cadence were a bit cautious around Spectrum for the first day or so, him being a changeling and all. By the end of the second day, thought, they were asking him all sorts of questions and seemed genuinely interested in the insight he reluctantly provided regarding changeling politics. Turns out there were several changeling queens throughout Equestria, they just usually tended to keep to themselves and lived normal, productive lives alongside their hives.

As for Clover, it took three days before he finally woke up. Luna never once left his side the entire time he slept.

On the fourth day, Twilight was enjoying another relaxing day with her friends, it had been a while since they had a chance to just relax and the last week had worn them all out considerably. It was late afternoon by the time Luna and Clover finally joined the rest of them.

"Well," said Princess Celestia as they all watched the two enter the room together. "We were wondering if you both were going to sleep yet another day away."

Both of them turned a slightly flush from all the eyes that turned on them. "I figured three days is more than enough sleep for now," said Clover, breaking the awkward silence.

"And you, Luna," Celestia smirked as she looked at her younger sister. "You seem to be positively glowing. Did something good happen?"

Luna gave a slight cough as she centered herself. "My private affairs are none of your concern, dear sister," she said as she stuck up her nose, just bare managing to keep a straight face.

"Spoilsport," Celestia giggled before turning a much more serious look on Clover. "Clover," she said with a nod. "So what happens now? Now that Sombra has been defeated and you have one less burden to worry about?"

"I don't know," he said as he rubbed the back of his head. "I've spent so much time wandering that I haven't really had much time to think about it. Regardless, I'm still going to need time to recover. It'll be a while before I'm back to full strength."

"There's also the matter of the trouble caused by you and your companions," she said, receiving a narrowed expression from Luna.

"After collecting the details on everything that happened," Celestia continued. "The most appropriate form of punishment would be imprisonment of either mundane or magical means, or banishment from Equestria."

A collective gasp was heard around the room including an enraged outburst from Princess Luna. "What is the meaning of this?! You cannot think we will sit idly by and allow you to carry this out?!"

Princess Celestia raised a hoof for silence. "I wasn't finished," she said, leaving no room for argument.

"However," she said. "If I were to carry out such a punishment on Clover the Clever, considering his place in our nation's history, the crown would face a political backlash that could take decades to clear up. Not to mention, it would also be a huge waste of talent considering his aptitude and knowledge concerning magic. I am willing, however, to pardon him on all counts in exchange for a small concession on his part."

Clover hadn't moved an inch or protested while Celestia gave her whole speech. He knew he had made a mess of things and was now left to wonder what the princess of the sun had in mind to balance the scales.

"Since Starswirl's disappearance, the position of the archmage has remained empty," Celestia announced. "You turned it down once before, but I would now have you fill the role and take on its duties."

A collection of shocked sounds and faces filled the room, but none were more shocked than Clover himself. He stood stock still for so long that Pinkie came over and poked him to see if he would fall over.

Celestia relished the reactions her words had inflicted on the gathered ponies, but all good things must come to an end. "What do you say, Clover? Will you accept?"

"You're sure you want me?" He finally asked. "Even after everything that's happened?"

Celestia took a few slow steps forward and leaned her head down next to his so only he could hear. "I won't say this out loud," she said in barely a whisper. "But this whole scenario made it apparent to me how woefully unprepared we actually are to deal with threats of this magnitude. We may have gotten lucky this time, but I would not risk the safety of my little ponies when I could've used every tool at my disposal to see them safe."

She back away, letting those words sink in. "So what do you say, Clover?"

Clover let out a long sigh before answering, "seems you've got me up against a wall," he said, sounding defeated. "I guess I have no choice. Very well. I accept."

"Excellent!" Cheered Celestia, sounding giddy. With a flash from her horn, a document appeared and unfurled along with a golden badge already inscribed with "Archmage Clover."

"Sister?!" Luna exclaimed, her growing ire being replaced with shock. "You already knew he would accept, didn't you? How long have you been planning this?"

"Oh," said Celestia, a sinister smile creeping up her face. "For a while now. Three days is more than enough time to make plans." She looked back to Clover, who was reading over the document. "I just need you to sign that. If I don't make sure the paperwork is in order, my secretary will have my hide."

Clover raised an eyebrow as he read over the contract. "Why does this keep referring to me as Prince Clover?" He asked curiously.

Celestia gave a hesitant smile and said, "alicorns are automatically granted a royal title. You can thank Starswirl for that. I think he did it to separate any alicorns from the politics of the individual tribes."

"I vaguely remember him mentioning something like that," said Clover as he signed and returned the paper to Celestia. "Do I have to use the title?"

"I won't force you to," she said. "Although don't be surprised if other ponies use it when they see your wings."

"Easy solution for that," Clover made his way over to where his bags had been discarded and pulled out a long, green cloak. Same as he had done before, he tucked his wings up beneath it as he fastened the cloak around his shoulders.

Luna looked at him skeptically, "are you really planning to still keep yourself hidden?"

"For now I am," he said as he finished, his wings were now completely hidden except for his body looking slightly pudgy where they pushed against the fabric.

"I won't tell you to do otherwise, but you really should just embrace what you are. Anyway," said Celestia, changing the subject. "We can discuss what your duties are as archmage when you're next in Canterlot. I understand from your changeling friend that you need to take care of something first?"

"Yeah, we do," Clover looked over to the nearby couch, a figure sat upon it wearing a robe that matched his own with bandaged limbs sticking out from under it. All in all, Spectrum actually looked like a normal pony with the outfit, especially with... "Where did you find such a tacky mask?" Clover asked when he saw it.

"Tacky?!" Exclaimed Rarity in outrage from where she sat across the room. "I'll have you know that that mask is hoof crafted of the finest silk. The contours outline the natural curve of the face and accentuate his distinguished cheeks while still adding an air of mystery to his façade."

"I don't think she liked you calling it tacky," Spectrum called back. He slid the mask up for a moment, revealing his gem-like eyes underneath. "Unfortunately the mask is necessary until I can cast magic again. This'll draw far less attention," he said as he slid the mask back down.

Clover looked around the room, finally realizing what was missing. "Where's Onyx," he asked.

Cadence and Shining Armor shared a look of worry at the mention of his pupil's name. "He's at the cemetery," Cadence finally said. "He's been spending a lot of time at his mother's, the previous ruler's, grave."

"You don't sound surprised to find out that he's a prince," Clover noticed.

"We got a lot of details from the crystal ponies during the first few months here," said Shining Armor. "Sounds like it was quite a mess back when Sombra came to power."

"It was," said Clover. "It would've been a short lived incident too if somepony hadn't interfered."

"About that," the worry was back on Celestia's face. "Do we have any idea who might have been impersonating me back then?"

Clover shook his head, "I can't even begin to guess. I still feel terrible that I didn't notice how much taller they were than you."

"What do you mean?" Asked a curious Twilight.

Clover answered by taking a step to stand next to Celestia and then raising a hoof to her shoulder. Celestia watched him curiously, not quite sure what he was pointing out. "Princess Celestia only came up to about here back then. Even when we fought, she was still much shorter than the one who appeared in the Crystal Empire."

Celestia's eyes grew wide as she understood what he was pointing out, "what do you think it means?"

"I don't know. Either way, it definitely felt like somepony was turning the full power of the sun against me. Aside from you, it would take a whole cadre of unicorns to come close to producing the same effect," said Clover. "However, it seems awfully sloppy to go through all that trouble only to mess up a simple detail like that." He lowered and shook his head, "we may never find out what really happened that day or who may have been behind it. After a thousand years, I don't think the trail can get much colder."

They all gathered at the train station to see Clover and his two companions off. Onyx had joined them, but was still seeming particularly withdrawn.

"Everything all right?" Clover looked down at his returned student.

The youth looked up at him, his eyes looking far more tired than someone his age should feel. "Master Clover," he said. "I've had a lot of time to think about things. I wasn't expecting to ever be myself again and now that I am, I'm not sure what I should do."

"The best advice I can give you is to just take one day at a time. You'll figure it out eventually," Celestia said with a warm smile.

"I never even dared to dream that I'd be running my own kingdom when I was little," said Cadence. "You're sure you want to go? You've already been a big help with disarming the traps King Sombra left behind and showing us where he hid a lot of the kingdom's treasures."

Onyx smiled at her weakly, "thank you for your kind words, but no. I've already seen how the crystal ponies look at me and if I were to stay, I would just be a constant reminder of the hardship they faced before." He acted far more composed and mature than anyone would expect from someone his age. "Princess Cadence," he said as he bowed his head all the way to the ground. "I have all I really need knowing that you'll take good care of my mother's kingdom. They deserve a kind ruler."

The train whistle blared, signaling the last call for boarding. "I guess it's time to go," Clover said as he gave Luna one last smile before getting on the train. "Don't worry," he said. "I won't stay gone this time."

"You better not," she said in reply. "I'll chase you to the ends of the earth if you disappear on me again."

As luck would have it, the day Clover left was the day right before the princess summit was to take place. Night fell, and Twilight was more than a little happy that things seemed to be getting back to normal. Well as normal as they could get for her.

The moon had just finished rising into the sky when Twilight headed off to bed. Despite the fact that everything concluded a couple days ago, she was still feeling drained as she collapsed into bed. She rolled onto her back, splaying her wings out so they hung off the edges of the bed, when the lights in the room went out.

It startled her for a moment, but then she just further relaxed into the bed. It was probably just a light needing to get replaced or something else mundane. Whatever it was, it could wait until morning.

Her attempts to fall asleep were interrupted when she heard hoofsteps making their way across the room. She jumped up and used her horn to light the room, making quick sweeps to see who was there. She calmed back down when she spotted the yellow pony with the flowing pink mane. "Oh, it's just you Fluttershy," she let out a sigh of relief. "You startled me. Is everything all right?"

Fluttershy made slow steps up to the bed where Twilight was sitting. She swayed her hips in a very suggestive manner as she climbed into the bed and began to creep ever closer.

Twilight backed up until she bumped into the head of the bed. Fluttershy was bearing down on her by this point as she found herself staring directly into soft pink eyes.

"Wait a minute," said Twilight as she quickly noticing the problem. "Fluttershy doesn't have pink eyes," she said as looked around her side, only to find her sides bare. "And she's supposed to have wings."

Without warning, the imposter swept her off her hooves, leaving Twilight to fall back onto the bed. The other pony now straddling her as she looked down at her, a mischievous smile breaking out on her face. "It's a good thing I'm not pretending to be Fluttershy, then," she said as she lifted Twilight's chin.

"Whisper?!" Exclaimed Twilight, recognizing the melodious lilt to her voice. "What are you doing?" She asked nervously as the offending hoof made its way from her chin and began to trace down the nape of her neck. "And when did you get so big?"

"I can be as big as I wanna be," the fairy said softly. "As for what I'm doing here. Maybe I just wanted to reward a very special princess for doing a very special job."

Twilight let out a gasp as Whisper made her way down to her chest. Her face went flush as she found it harder to think, her mind beginning to go blank. "But... I... Hardly did anything," she eked out, the effort draining her as her heat began to rise.

"Not you personally," Whisper said as she began to trace small circles on Twilight's belly. "But what better way to measure the worth of a princess of friendship than by the quality of her friends?"

"What... What... What...?" Twilight was having a really hard time forming words now.

"What do I mean?" Whisper smiled as she finished her question for her. "Directly or indirectly, all of them played some kind of role in helping Clover close one of the doors on his past. He never would've imagined that he'd have his student Onyx back by his side after all these years. It wouldn't have been possible if all the elements hadn't stood by your side."

Twilight's mind went completely blank from as she leaned back and soaked in the fairy's presence. Somewhere in the back of her head she remembered reading something about fairies drawing ponies astray with their otherworldly powers. However, at this point, Twilight was already in far too deep to be able to resist Whisper's prowess. She could do nothing more than sit there, waiting... and waiting... and waiting...

Twilight's mind started to clear as she peeked an eye open just in time to see Whisper climb off the bed, apparently having no interest in pursuing the activity further. "Wait?!" Said Twilight, desperate to be back in that state of bliss. "What about the reward?"

"Hmmm?" Said Whisper. "Reward? Oh yes. I was thinking I might talk to Clover about helping you get some better mastery over some of your magics. You'll need to be ready in case something else this big happens again. There's more than enough villains in Tartarus always trying to escape. Any one of which could tear Equestria down to its foundations."

"Then what was all that just now?" Twilight's head was continuing to clear the further away Whisper got from her.

"Oh, that? That was just me having a little fun," she said with a wink. "You ponies are always so much fun to mess with."

"One more question," Twilight said hurriedly as Whisper reached for the door. "The Elements," she said quickly. "How did they cast their magic without me? We've always needed all six before."

"Six?" Whisper gave her a confused look. "I was under the impression that the Elements were only five in number." She made a face and stuck out her tongue. "That'll give you something to think about for a while," she said as the door closed behind her.

"Wait a minute!" Twilight shouted. The door opened back up and her assistant Spike walked in, looking at her confused.

"Wait for what, Twilight?" He looked behind him at the empty hallway before shrugging and walking up to the bed stand. "You dropped this by the way," he said as he placed the Element of magic beside her bed. "Seriously, Twilight. I know you don't like wearing it, but you still can't go forgetting about it. It's still your crown after all. What were you shouting at by the way?"

"It's nothing, Spike," she said as she quickly laid back down and pulled the covers over herself. "It's just been a long day and I need to get some sleep. We got a busy day tomorrow."

She had no idea how right she was.

Later that same night, once everyone was asleep aside from the guards that patrolled the castle hallways, one of the rooms had an unexpected visitor. This room contained a crystal mirror that Princess Celestia had given to Princess Cadence for safekeeping. The functions of this mirror weren't entirely clear, but it's surface began to ripple from beneath the tarp that was draped over it.

The tarp covering the mirror swelled and blew off as the ripple turned into a shimmer. A moment later, a pony walked through on her back hooves. She staggered uneasily before leaning forward and placing her front hooves on the ground. "Oh," she said. "That feels kinda weird after all this time."

"Now," she said as she grabbed the tarp and pulled it over her body to hide her features. "Where can I find the Element of Magic?"

Author's Note

I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I've enjoyed putting it together.
However, I'm not quite done yet. There's always room for a sequel. Perhaps more than one.

I do have a number of events planned to follow this up. Ranging from learning more about Clover's past to what he's going to be doing as the new Archmage, and finally...
Finally finding out what actually happened a thousand years ago in the Crystal Empire.

Be sure to drop me a "Like" if you enjoyed this story, a "Watch" if you want to keep up with my future works, and be sure to swing by my blog if you want to drop me a line.

Chapter 2: Random Fact

Present day.

"NEXT STOP, PONYVILLE!!!"

The shout from the conductor woke Random Fact up from his nap as he rode in on the train into Ponyville. The clanging of the wheels against the tracks had lulled the grey unicorn off to sleep several hours ago.

Ponyville. He'd been hearing some crazy stories about this town over the last few years. According to the rumors, the town couldn't go more than a week or two without some kind of monster attack or some other wacky nonsense happening. The only thing that happened here that he really cared about was that this was where Princess Luna had both returned from the moon and been freed from the power of the nightmare.

The train shuddered as the wheels grinded to a halt. He slowly rose to his hooves, stretching his sore limbs and shaking out his green mane before retrieving his bag from the seat.

He took in the calm scenery in the afternoon sun as he stepped off the train. A lot of these thatched-roofed houses hadn't been here the last time he was home. He breathed in the country air as he took a few steps off the platform. However, as he misjudged that last step, he proceeded to trip and tumble down the rest of them before coming to a stop face down in the dirt.

"Landsakes," came a voice laden with a thick country accent from just overhead. "Ah ain't seen a pony take a spill like that since RD fell outta the tree ah caught her nappin in!" She took a minute to think over what she just said, "come to think of it, that may have been just yesterday. Here, let me help ya up partner."

Random felt a pair of strong limbs lift him off the ground as he scrambled to get his hooves back under him. He looked up to see the mare that stopped to help him, "thanks" he said as he brushed himself off. "I really should learn to watch my step."

"Don't usually see folk fall off the train like that," the country mare with an orange coat and blonde mane started circling around him. "Name's Applejack. Say...Ah ain't seen you 'round these here parts before. You one of them fancy Canterlot unicorns? Probably here to see Rarity about something." She said before narrowing her eyes at him. "At least Ah hope you ain't here to bother Twilight. Stallions can't seem to take the hint that she ain't interested."

Random wilted under the accusation, "Um...I don't think so..." He waited a moment before asking the obvious question. "Who's Twilight?"

Applejack raised an eyebrow at him, "you go and hit your head on the rock you been hidin under? How in tarnation do you not know the newly crowned Princess of Friendship?"

"Um..." he hesitated while trying to fight back a grin at the absurd title he just heard. "It was a very big rock?..."

"Heh," Applejack gave a small chuckle. "Well ya musta not hit yer head too hard if yer sense of humor still works." She said before walking over to a wagon and hitching herself up to it. "Well, ah'll be seein ya 'round if ya'll are here fer more than a day or two." She tipped her hat at him before driving her wagon full of apples down the road.

"Well that was interesting." He mused aloud as he cantered down the road.

A loud gasp drew his attention to the pony that appeared in front of him. When did that pink pony get there? "Um... Hi?" He asked tentatively, a bit cautious at her sudden appearance.

Without warning, the pink pony rocketed away at breakneck speeds, the grass lining the road almost folding completely over with the force of her passing. Several ponies watched the pink blur race on by without even jumping back or even breaking their conversation with their neighbors. Was this a normal occurrence around here?

"Ok," Random said to himself, shaking his head at the strangeness that may very well be normal around here. "I guess I should probably get home." He thought aloud before spotting the canopy of his house over the rooftops. "At least it stands out now that there's no longer a forest surrounding it." He took a moment to think about that statement. How long had he been gone?

Twilight was curled up in her study with a good book in front of her. A purple aura cast out from her horn as she floated over a mug of hot cocoa, turning over the page as she did so. She took a careful sip as she enjoyed the peace and quiet that had been denied her in recent days. She looked over her shoulder at her back, carefully flexing the new wings that rested there. She'd only had them for about a week and even after she had been crowned as Equestria's newest princess, she still hadn't gotten used to the things yet.

"Twilight!!!" The silence was broken by the panicked cries of her assistant Spike from down the stairs. "Something strange is happening!"

Twilight hung her head in irritation. Was it too much to ask to have just a single normal afternoon? Probably... This was Ponyville after all. She begrudgingly rose to her hooves and slowly made her way over to the stairs. "What is it this time, Spike?!" She shouted down. "Monster attack? Bunny stampede? Please don't tell me there's another stallion at the door looking to court royalty." Any further thoughts were cut off as she found the first floor of the library glowing with a strange green energy.

"Spike?!" She shouted, "what happened?! What did you do?!"

"What?!" Spike shouted back. "I didn't do anything! I was just reading a comic book and this started happening." He waved his claws at the brightly glowing shelves, some of which were now starting to become animated as they unwrapped themselves from the walls and began to deposit their contents on the floor.

Twilight cast her magic at the walls, hoping to at least get a feel for what was happening. Her magic barely brushed it when she felt the room around her start to shutter and vibrate with the ever growing energy. Panic started to overtake her as she jumped away from another pile of books carelessly dumped on the floor. Cracks began to form at the section of shelves that had been clearing themselves, blinding light pouring in from between them.

She ran over to Spike and was about to cast a shield over the two of them when the ground rippled beneath them, causing both of them to lose their balance and fall to the floor. The ripple turned into a wave and they were unceremoniously carried out the door and piled on top of the unfortunate stallion who had only just been reaching for the doorknob.

"Ow," came a voice from beneath the alicorn princess. "My head."

Twilight scrambled to right herself and climb off the pony that she and Spike had landed on top of. Once she was standing on her own four hooves again, she looked up at the treehouse that was slowly returning to normal, the glow around it dying down. "What do you suppose that was, Spike? Spike?" She looked down at her assistant, who was poking at the stallion facedown in the dirt. "Oh my goodness!" She said with alarm. "Sir, are you ok?"

"I'll be alright," said the stallion as he once again found himself having to climb back up off the ground. "Apparently I'm having that kind of day." He stood up and took a good look at the third mare he had an unusual meeting with today. "I take it you've..." his cut his words off as his eyes seemed to grow wide at something, something that made him slowly step forward and move in a slow circle around her.

Twilight felt herself growing nervous as he completed his circle, "is something wrong?" She asked.

"Hmmm?" The stallion seemed to come out of deep thought with her question, "oh it's nothing. But if you don't mind me asking. Are you an alicorn?"

"What rock have you been hiding under?" Said Spike with a deadpan glare before waving his claws at Twilight in a flourish and proudly announcing, "this is Twilight Sparkle! The Princess of Friendship! Who are you supposed to be?"

"Well, my very enthusiastic dragon friend," he said with quite a bit less energy than the dragon had just showed. "My name is Random Fact and I..."

*Whack* A branch of the tree lowered down of its own accord and smacked Random upside the head.

"Am apparently in big trouble," he said as he recoiled from the branch.

"Sorry," apologized Twilight as she winced from watching the smack. "I've never seen it do that before."

"It's not your fault," said Random as he dodged another branch. "I think she's just moody."

"She?" Twilight inquired.

"Well you see..." He barely got out a few words before another series of branches came down and began making a mad grab for him. "All right, all right..." He snapped at the tree. "I'm coming!"

He stumbled his way to the door with Twilight and Spike close behind him. The door itself opening of its own accord.

Twilight had been expecting a mess when she stepped back inside the library. However, apart from all the books being back on the shelfs again, there was now a large door rested in the wall. "That wasn't there before." Twilight wondered aloud as the new door swung open, revealing a large spiral staircase that worked its way down the empty space.

Random stepped up to the stairs before looking back at Twilight, "oh it's been here all along," he said before padding a hoof on the doorframe. "She just won't open up for anypony though."

"Why you though?" Asked Spike with a suspicious stare.

"Well..." Random hesitated with his answer just before a large book came flying off a distant shelf and beaming him upside the head, causing him to fall backward through the doorway and into the darkness.

Author's Note

I guess the tree wanted him to "book it."
haha... kill me.

Chapter 17: Lessons from a Fairy

Random didn't come home last night. Twilight had waited up late for him, hoping that he might have some insight on the eye oriented magic she had seen the Shade use. He did seem to know how to use something similar.

The time she spent waiting wasn't wasted though. She had gotten into an interesting chapter of the "spellcasting for dummies" book that had been given to her by Whisper. This chapter actually covered what she was looking for. Which was good, because she was starting to think that the troublesome fairy was just having a laugh at her.

"Whatcha doing Twilight?" Spike asked as he watched her set two half filled glasses of water on the table in front of her.

"I'm trying to freeze water," Twilight cringed a bit as she said it, already anticipating the response. "Yes, I know Spike. Turning water into ice is very low level magic. I'm trying something a little different."

"I didn't say anything," Spike defended as he sat down and watched what she was doing. "So what are you trying to do?"

"I'm not quite sure yet," Twilight pondered as she double-checked the book in front of her. "Freezing water is good practice for this method since it is among the simplest of unicorn incantations with little chance for collateral damage in the case of something going wrong. Foals will have an easier time learning to cast more complex spells such as transmutation if they learn this basic first. Instead of forcing your own magic into the water, direct the magic already inherent the water itself to activate the freezing spell."

Twilight was still confused as to what the book was asking her to do. She tried pushing some magic through it, but all that did was stir the water in the glass. She then levitated the water out of the glass and into the air, but that didn't seem to mean anything either. Out of frustration she just froze the water with a normal freezing spell, however that just left her with a block of ice and it didn't help with the lesson she was supposed to be learning. Ready to try anything, even if it seemed stupid, she dipped her horn in the unfrozen glass. Which only resulted in chilling her horn and making her sneeze.

"Gesundheit," said Spike as he handed her a tissue.

A crunch came from Spike's direction.

"Spike?" Twilight complained. "Didn't you already have dinner?"

"That wasn't me, Twilight." He said, followed by another crunching noise.

Their gazes dropped down to the table to find a little pink and yellow fairy munching on what looked like an oversized cracker, given the size difference. She paused when she realized she was being watched.

"Oh am I being too loud," said Whisper. "Sorry, I'll chew quieter," she said as she took another, very slow, very loud and crunchy bite, clearly not trying to keep the noise down at all.

Twilight sat back on her haunches and glared at the fairy. "Please tell me this isn't another one of your jokes," she gestured to the book and the cup of water on the table.

"Had any luck with that yet?" The fairy asked as she pulled out another cracker.

"No," Twilight narrowed her eyes at the glass. "The book doesn't really explain how I'm supposed to interact with the magic inside the water and nothing I try seems to work."

Whisper floated over and tapped at the glass, "well, it's not the water's fault. There's plenty of magic in there."

Twilight leaned down and peered at the glass, confused. "How can you tell? I don't see anything."

"For me, it's easy," said Whisper. "But you ponies interact with the world a bit differently than I do." She sat back and appeared to be thinking, "I do have an idea on something you can try though."

"Really? What is it?" Twilight pulled back a bit from the table, a curious look on her face.

Whisper pulled out a large gold band from seemingly out of nowhere and placed it on the table. "I assume you know what this is?" She asked.

Twilight picked up the bad and examined it closely. She recognized the various inscriptions that were etched in the inner surface. "It looks like it's a magical limiter, like the ones they use in hospitals."

"Try putting it on," the fairy gestured her to do so.

Twilight looked at her in shock, almost disgusted at the suggestion. "And what is that supposed to accomplish?" She asked. "I wouldn't be able to use my magic with that thing on my horn."

"Some of your magic can still get through," said Whisper. "This would keep you from interacting with the water like you normally would. You'd still have enough control to do what it is you're attempting. But I mean if it's too hard for you..."

"More like impossible," said Twilight as she set the ring back down. "Unicorn magic requires constant dedication and study. If there's something I can't handle, then I just need to find the right spell for it. This," she stubbornly pointed at the ring, "is never going to work. And I'd appreciate it if you'd stop teasing me."

"Alright. Geez," sighed Whisper as she scooped the ring back up. "I didn't realize you were so adamant against trying something new. I guess this kinda challenge is only meant for ponies like Starswirl the Bearded or Clover the Clever." She started to fly away only to be stopped after a couple feet by a magenta aura.

"Starswirl could do this?" Twilight's eyes lit up at the name of her childhood idol. "Did you know him?"

Whisper slowly turned in the air, a sly grin on her face, "yes I did. He was here some time ago and I presented him with the same problem. He tackled it without hesitation, but I guess if it's too hard for you, Twilight..." She let her words hang in the air.

Twilight placed the fairy back down and reexamined the ring. She was a bit nervous about the idea of limiting her magic like that. If Starswirl could do something like this, then there was no reason she shouldn't be able to do the same. She had completed his unfinished spell after all and earned her wings in the process.

She carefully picked the ring up in her magic and slid it onto her horn. Halfway down, her magic failed her and she had to finished securing it the rest of the way by hoof. Twilight had only worn one of these once or twice in her youth when she had worn herself out by pushing her magic too hard. The doctors had made her wear a limiter for weeks while she recovered and those had been some of the most aggravating weeks of her life.

"So what do I do now?" Twilight asked.

Whisper gestured to the glass, "same thing you were doing before. You just can't use magic like you're used to."

"Ok, but I don't see what I'm supposed to do," she stared intently at the glass of water.

"Start making things up, you'll hit on something sooner or later," she flew over and landed on Spike's head. "How bout we go make some late night cookies? I haven't had any of your homemade ones in a while."

"When did I make you cookies? Hey!" Spike realized. "Is that why I always have random treats go missing?"

Whisper kicked off into the air and floated towards the doorway, "I think I prefer them with chocolate chips over when you sneak gems into them. I have to eat around those."

Twilight watched for a moment as her little assistant chased the troublesome fairy into the kitchen. A small giggle escaping her throat with the antics. It really had been more lively since Random came to town. She looked at the door that led down into the archives, wondering where he had run off to.

About an hour later found Twilight panting for breath and getting no closer to the riddle that Whisper had presented her with. The ring around her horn had made spellcasting impossible and nothing she tried would let her interact with the water short of just tapping the glass with her hoof. All she had really managed to learn at this point was how much of a headache it caused trying to cast spells when she couldn't properly use her horn.

She slumped forward onto the table, depression had already started to set in some time ago. She still wasn't sure where her new housemate had run off to and at this point he probably wasn't coming home tonight. Maybe something more had happened with him and Cloud Kicker than simple rumors would explain. It really wasn't her business what other ponies did in their private lives, but she was still hoping he had been here to help her figure this out.

Twilight sat there, running her hoof along the edges of the glass and swirling the contents inside. Every so often the water would slosh against the sides and send a few drops into the air for a moment before dropping back down to join the rest of the liquid.

Not for the first time, Twilight found herself wondering how many drops are in a glass of water. It was a silly question that had carried over from when she was a filly. Once, she had actually attempted to count the little droplets by using a dropper to move it from one container to another. She had been at it for hours, meticulously counting and recording every drop she moved. She also remembered how mad she had gotten at her big brother when she had stepped away from her project for a moment only to come back and find him drinking her experiment.

She never made another attempt to count them after that, but she still wondered about it from time to time as she watched the glass of water, imagining all the while how the little droplets might look if they didn't combine into a single mass while being pressed together. That image stayed in her head as she felt herself slowly drifting off to sleep, exhausted from trying to make the impossible happen.

Twilight almost finished closing her eyes when she saw something move within the glass. Her tired state would've made her miss it completely if it wasn't for how closely she was watching the water for something that couldn't possibly be there. Her eyes fluttered back open as she picked up the glass in both hooves and held it close to her face. There were soft lights bouncing around inside the glass. Those hadn't been there before, had they?

She tried moving the glass around the room, thinking it was just the way the light was reflecting off the surface of the water. The light inside the glass did change when she moved it around the room, but the light she originally saw remained in place, swirling as the contents of the glass moved about.

"That's just not possible..." She mumbled under her breath.

"What's not possible, Twilight?" Asked Spike as he came back into the room carrying a large plate of cookies.

"Um... Nothing Spike," Twilight hastily placed the glass back on the table while looking back and forth nervously.

The fairy that had been floating nearby wasn't fooled though, "oh it's been a long time since I've seen a pony figure this out." Whisper drifted over and landed by the glass. She looked up into Twilight's eyes and smiled, "you saw it didn't you?"

"Saw what?" Twilight said nervously. "I didn't see anything."

"Uh huh," Whisper placed a hoof against the glass. As she did so the lights converged and reshaped themselves until they resembled Twilight's cutiemark.

"How did you...? What...? Huh?" Twilight asked half finished questions as the fairy danced around the glass. The lights inside mimicking her movements.

"Water is easy since it exists everywhere and in everything. It makes it the most relatable," Whisper explained.

Twilight continued to look at the water carefully, "how come I've never heard of anypony seeing anything like this before now?"

"There's probably a few ponies out there that've seen something similar but don't think anything about it. Some probably hide it for the same reason you just did." She stopped playing with the light inside the water, causing them to spread back out like they had been before. Whisper leaned in close and whispered to her, "they don't want others to think they're crazy."

"How come I can see it now? Did it have something to do with not being able to use my magic?" Twilight poked at the ring on her horn. "They use these in hospitals all the time. By Celestia, I've used one before. Why didn't I see this before?"

"That ring's a little different than the ones you're thinking of. I just added a small drop of my own magic to it to help you suspend your disbelief. You kinda need it with how seriously you take everything. You should've gotten used to it by now, so go ahead and try taking it off." Whisper flew over to the plate on the table and grabbed a fresh cookie as she watched the alicorn.

Twilight reached her hooves up and carefully slid the ring off her horn. Once the ring had been completely removed, Twilight felt slightly dizzy as her magic reasserted itself. She closed her eyes and gave her head a slight shake before opening them again. As light reentered her eyes, shock painted itself across her face.

Everything was full of light and color. Not just the water on the table, which looked more defined than it was before, but everything in the room. From the tables to the books resting in their shelves, everything was filled with moving, multi-colored lights. She looked down at her own hoof and she could see the lights dancing through her as well.

"It's like a foal finding a new favorite toy," came a teasing voice from across the table.

Twilight looked up to see a blazing star floating in the air while holding a cookie, "Whisper? Is that you?" She asked while squinting hard at the brilliant source of light.

"You'll need to be careful with what you look at," she said between bites. "You'll make yourself sick if you're not careful. Sunbutt would probably make you go blind with her radiance if you tried looking at her right now."

Twilight cringed a bit at the off-color nickname for Princess Celestia. "How do I turn it off?" She asked. She wasn't evoking a spell right now, so she wasn't even sure what she was doing.

Whisper shrugged, "try not to focus so closely on stuff? Cross your eyes? What makes you think I know how this works?" Whisper said as she snatched up another cookie.

"What do you mean, you don't know?!" Twilight proclaimed. "I can't go around like this forever!"

"Sure you can. You just need to get used to wearing sunglasses everywhere you go." She said with a small grin.

"Does that help with looking at the lights?" Twilight started looking around, trying to remember where she might've kept a pair.

"Nah," said Whisper. "It's not the world that's glowing, so I doubt it"

"Then why would I wear sunglasses?!" Twilight huffed.

"Um, Twilight," she heard the voice of Spike. She looked over to see him filled with his own variety of green lights. "Are your eyes always going to glow like that?"

"My eyes are glowing?" She tried to cross her eyes on a reflex, realizing a moment later that she can't really look at her own eyes that way.

"Yeah," said Spike. "They're like two big flashlights right now."

That put a weird image in her head of walking around like a pony shaped spotlight. It did however, give her an idea. Twilight tried visualizing her eyes like two flashlights, complete with a switch and everything. Then she tried picturing the switch being turned off.

Almost instantly the light that was filling her sight dimmed back down to normal levels. She looked back to the table to see a grinning fairy munching on yet another cookie.

"That didn't take long for you to figure out. Even Starswirl took a day before he got a handle on that part," Whisper sighed with a hint of disappointment. "I was so looking forward to watching you stumble around for the next day too."

Twilight still wasn't sure what to make of the fairy. Was she helpful, a big prankster, or somewhere in between. "Thank you for teaching me this," she settled on answering, giving a small bow to the small form. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"Other than it's way past midnight. Time for good little ponies to be in bed," the little fairy picked up one more of the treats. "Good night, Twilight," she said just before vanishing.

Twilight got up from her seat and happily stretched. She was always happy to learn new things and she couldn't wait to further explore what she had just learned. She made her way to the stairs and paused, a thought occurring to her as she looked back at the unfrozen glass of water that was still sitting there. She had learned something, an amazing something, but it wasn't the something she was trying to learn.

Chapter 30: The Ancient Mage

When the light cleared yet again, Twilight found herself in a snowy wasteland. "What is it now?" She complained as she poked at her crown with her still transparent hoof. Whatever was happening, the Element of Magic was definitely behind it.

"Are we there yet?" A distant voice whined. "My hooves are sore and this weather is positively dreadful."

Twilight followed the voice, her unsubstantial hooves easily running over the surface of the snow without even making a mark. When she found the source of the complaining, she found an entire procession of unicorns marching through the snow.

"We don't actually know where we're going," a male voice responded from within the crowd. "Its called an expedition for a reason. We're not going to find anything unless we keep moving."

"Uh, how rude," the first voice said. "Didn't your master ever teach you the proper way to address a princess?"

Unicorns are such snobs. And this one's the worst of the bunch.

"No, Princess Platinum," the second voice spoke again. "He only instructed me to keep you out of trouble and to advise you however I can and I advise you to keep moving."

He's not really my master, but whatever keeps you happy I guess.

"Princess Platinum?" Twilight questioned aloud even though no one could hear her. "How far back am I seeing?"

Twilight drew a bit closer until she could see the procession in better detail. It was made up of at least a dozen unicorns, all loaded down with various provisions for the journey. At the head of the procession she saw a white unicorn with a pink mane wearing an elegant purple cloak. Atop her head was an elaborate crown, the edges of which were frosted over and caked with snow. Next to her, cloaked in green, was Random Fact. The pony that Twilight assumed she was following. Where exactly were they all going?

"Are you sure we'll find a new place to live if we keep heading in this direction, Clover?" Platinum continued to complain.

Clover? As in Clover the Clever? Was he here too? Twilight scanned the crowd of unicorns, trying to find who Princess Platinum had just addressed. There was very little record of Clover's exploits outside of Equestria's founding, there wasn't even a picture of him in the Canterlot archives. The only thing that anyone really knew about him was that he was apprenticed to Starswirl the Bearded.

"If we keep going this way," Random said, sounding like he was tired of answering this question. "We should eventually find our way out of the snow... Princess," he added at the end, almost sounding like he was chewing on the words.

"If you say so, Clover," Princess Platinum said as she pulled her cloak tighter around herself. "I can't wait to get out of this snow."

Twilight froze, her mouth hung open and she forgot to breathe after what she just heard. Her eyes slowly wandered back Random Fact... No... Clover the Clever as he continued to guide the expedition through the snow.

"What?!" Twilight exclaimed as the revelation left her stunned.

The cold didn't really bother Twilight as she continued to follow the procession of unicorns since she wasn't really there. But even if she was, she doubts that she would've noticed due to all of the thoughts that were currently racing through her head. This had been a crazy day for her.

The Everfree Shade was Random Fact, and Random Fact was none other than Clover the Clever. How did that happen? How was he still alive after all this time? Who else knew? Whisper probably did. That wouldn't even remotely surprise her. What about the way Princess Luna reacted to him? What did that mean? What was it she saw in the Crystal Empire? And why hadn't Princess Celestia written her back yet?

Twilight threw her hooves up and ruffled her mane in frustration. She just found out something potentially world shattering. However, all she got in its place was more questions than answers.

This should be far enough for today.

Twilight's ears perked up as the ghostly voice filled her head again.

"Let's stop here for today," said Clover as he stopped walking, every other unicorn in the procession stopping with him.

"Oh thank the stars," complained Princess Platinum as she sat down on the end of her cloak, not even caring that it was getting wet from the snow. "My hooves are killing me."

Another unicorn pushed his way to the front of the procession, an air of authority on his shoulder. "Clover!" He called out, getting his attention. He lowered his voice as he drew closer, "why are we stopping? I doubt it's just because the princess is getting difficult."

That's an understatement. I'd rather just push her off a cliff.

Twilight gave an amused snort. She'd been getting bits and pieces about Clover's personality from the stray thoughts she had been hearing. One thing was clear from his cynicism though, he did not care for Princess Platinum.

"Captain Orion," Clover nodded to the unicorn. "There is," he gestured off into the distance. "See those clouds up there?"

Orion followed where Clover was pointing, "I see them, but those are just clouds. What about them?"

"There's a storm coming," Clover said as a matter of fact, causing Orion's eyes to widen. "I give it an hour, two at the longest. I suggest you get camp set up right away and be ready for a long night."

Orion gave a soft whistle, "one of these days you're going to have to tell me how you do that without any pegasus nearby."

"Read the weather you mean?" Clover raised an eyebrow. "It's not that hard if you pay attention. We're too far away from civilization for it to be influenced by any roaming pegasus. So it just boils down to the pattern of the clouds."

You wouldn't believe the truth if I told you.

"Well if you say so. I don't pretend to understand it, but you've kept us out of trouble so far." He turned to leave, "are you heading out into the woods again?"

"Yeah, I am. I'll be back in a bit." Clover broke off from the group and slowly headed in the direction of the woods.

Orion watched him go, "I swear that stallion is so many levels of odd. If it weren't for how much trouble he's kept us out of, the princess would've probably ordered us to leave him behind with how much he bothers her."

Twilight followed after Clover as he wandered into the woods. He walked until they could no longer see the camp that was setting itself up. He paused to take a few moments to breathe before reaching up and unfastening his cloak.

Twilight got her first real view of his cutiemark as his green cloak fell away. It was indeed a four leaf clover, the same as his name. She wasn't sure why he was disrobing in the middle of the woods though. Wasn't he cold? He took a few steps forward, naked except for the green gemmed amulet around his neck. So he was still wearing the amulet even this far back? He was doing a fairly good job keeping it concealed beneath his cloak.

As he walked forward, small little lights began to appear around him. They began dancing as she saw his shoulders relax, she hadn't realized how tense he actually was.

"So have I made good decisions?" The lights flitted around him as he talked. "Hmmm, yeah I thought about it." More bells chimed around him as the lights danced. "I'm still not sure why I'm on this journey. I would've preferred to stay where it was nice and quiet." One of the light flashed red for a moment, making him laugh. "Heh, it does have its moments."

"Who are you talking to?" Twilight asked as she drew closer.

When Twilight spoke, she saw one of the lights freeze for a moment before flying in her direction. She looked behind her, wondering if someone else was approaching. When she turned back, a pink light floated immediately in front of her and she could just barely make out the image of Whisper from within.

The fairy looked at her with a puzzling gaze. "That's curious," she said as she flitted around Twilight's head. "Interesting..." She pondered before zipping back to float next to Clover.

"What's that? I'm not alone out here?" Clover asked into the air.

Twilight gasped as he asked the question. It wasn't possible. This was just a memory, wasn't it?

"They're over here you say," Clover continued speaking as he turned to face her. "I don't see anypony there."

Twilight was getting nervous as Clover looked in her direction. "Hmm..." She heard him ponder as his pupils lit up. Twilight didn't get the unnerving feeling that accompanied his gaze like she had before, but she was still unsettled by the possiblity of her presence being known. She slowly made her way around him, hoping that she was just being paranoid. When Clover failed to follow her movements, she relaxed a bit.

"Are you playing with me again?" He asked, sounding annoyed. "There's nothing there."

Whisper leaned in to whisper in his ear and his eyes grew wide before his expression started to drop. "Please don't joke about things like that," said Clover. "I don't want to think about the sort of tragedy would come with the birth of an alicorn."

The light that Twilight knew to be Whisper started to bounce and jingle in the air, somehow managing to sound angry despite the ringing tone that carried over the snow. Clover winced at what was surely some sort of reprimand as he backed away from the light and moved in Twilight's direction. "All right, all right," he said hastily. "I'll talk to her."

Twilight froze as Clover approached her. What was she supposed to do? What should she say?

Before she knew it, he had stopped right in front of her, "I don't know who you are, pony from a far away future. But there must be a reason you're here. I wonder what it is you're here to see?" He scratched the underside of his chin as he considered the empty space in front of himself. "I wonder where I am or what I'm doing in your time. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm still around."

The lights tinkled behind him, causing him to give a small laugh. "The fairies seem to like you," he said. "Either that or they're all having a laugh at my expense right now. Still... If there is somepony there, then I wonder what it is you're here for?" He stepped away from them all and picked up his discarded cloak, a layer of snow having already gathered on top of it.

"I don't know why it is you're watching me, but hopefully you find what it is you're looking for. How much longer will you be watching me, I wonder? If I'm indeed still around in your own time, come find me." In a fluid motion he swung his cloak onto his back. As he refastened it, all the fairies that had gathered fled and disappeared into the forest. "It would be interesting to find out who was spying on me and why."

Chapter 48: Coming to a Close

Clover ran forward, tripping several times in his haste. He slid to a stop right next to the body laying there. He seemed almost afraid as he reached forward and nudged the young pony with his hoof, like he was afraid to get his hopes up.

When a soft groan was heard followed by the young unicorn's eyes fluttering open, Clover threw himself forward and scooped him up into a hug. The colt wriggled a bit at first like most his age would at a sudden show of affection, but he relaxed a bit when he finally saw who was holding him. "Master Clover?" he said weakly.

Tears streamed down Clover's face. "Onyx. I thought... I thought I would never see you again. That was you who restrained Sombra at the end, wasn't it? Are you all right? How much do you remember?"

The youth lowered his emerald eyes and slowly nodded his head. "I remember everything," he said. "I was forced to watch as Sombra destroyed the lives of so many." He looked back up at Clover, "and I saw how much you suffered to keep him at bay. He was too distracted at the end and I was able to finally get through."

"Princess Celestia?" Asked Twilight as everyone else gathered up. "Who is that?"

"He looks like a younger King Sombra," Cadence noticed. "Should we be worried?"

"His name is Onyx," said a relaxed sounding Luna. "He was Clover's student from before the fall of the Crystal Empire. We must admit, we did not expect to see him survive this ordeal."

"Is he dangerous, though," asked Applejack.

"Not any more dangerous than anypony else is, dearest Applejack," Celestia said in return.

Clover and Onyx carefully walked up to the group, both of them looking a little worse for wear. Onyx bowed deeply to all of them once they were standing close enough. "I am sorry for the trouble I have caused you. I only hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me some day."

"There is nothing to forgive, my little pony," Celestia smiled. "We know you would've stopped if you could."

"Indeed," said Luna. "We have some familiarity with what it is like to lose oneself to otherworldly powers."

Onyx raised his head and smiled at Luna. "I am pleased to see you are well, Mistress Luna. Clover always spoke so fondly of you in our travels."

"Mistress?" Luna raised an eyebrow at the title. Several ponies bit their lip as they fought back laughter including... "Not a word, Tia," Luna said crossly.

"But I didn't say anything," said Celestia, her mirth betraying her words as she just barely failed at holding back a smirk.

Onyx tilted his head, looking confused at the lot of them. "I don't see what's so funny," he said as he kept looking at Luna. "You are Master Clover's Mistress, are you not?"

That got another collection of snorts from the collected masses. Except for Pinkie, who skipped all the way to the rolling on the floor and laughing hysterically step.

"No... Well... Yes," she said, both Luna and Clover started to turn a bit flush. "However, you'll find that in the last thousand years, some words have taken on different meanings than they used to. Especially in certain context.

Still looking confused, Clover leaned down and whispered into Onyx's ear. Onyx for his part, listened attentively and calmly up until he Clover finished talking. Then the grey coated colt quickly turned a shade of pink from his neck all the way to the tips of his ears. "I see," he said finally, clearly embarrassed. "My most sincere apologies," he bowed again, deeper than before. "What would be the proper way to address you then?"

"You will address me as Princess Luna in proper company," she said, glad the embarrassing moment had passed. "Fear not though, we had our own fair share of cultural mishaps after our thousand year sojourn to the moon. You will adjust in time."

"Loofa," said Celestia, once again breaking out into a wide grin.

"I'm still plotting my revenge for that one, Tia," said Luna. "Just you wait."

"While I enjoy good natured banter as much as the next pony," said Rarity as she looked around. "Does anypony know how we are going to get out of here?"

The jokes dried up as everyone realized that they had no idea how to get home. They all stared at the empty landscape that ended abruptly after a couple dozen meters before opening out into a void that didn't even make room for starlight. The only thing that still stood out was... In unison, they all looked up at the large red eye that still sat where the moon should be sitting at this time of night.

The eye looked back at them, flickering back and forth before it started descending towards the plane they were standing on. They were worried at first that it was going to place itself down right on top of their heads, but when the pupil of the eye came level with the ground and they could see something inside, and they all started walking towards it.

Once they were close enough, they stepped out onto a balcony that looked like it should be attached to the Crystal Palace. They weren't alone on it though. In front of them was a grey unicorn mare with a blazing red mane and a long black dress. She didn't pay any attention to them as red arcs of magic flowed from her horn to the four glass panels surrounding her with strange runes etched upon their surfaces.

"Just give me a minute," said Ret. "I'm still cleaning up the mess I made."

"What is all this?" Twilight looked inquisitively at the magic that Ret was utilizing. "What language is that? I don't recognize the script."

A chuckle escaped Ret as she continued her work, "I don't recommend trying to translate that, Twilight Sparkle. Unless you fancy the idea of a taking up residence in a padded cell."

That quickly sobered up Twilight's insatiable thirst for knowledge as she took a few quick steps back from the panel.

"So this space we're in," Celestia glanced worriedly at the magic Ret was weaving. "This is your doing?"

"In a sense," she said. "In the strictest sense this can't technically be classified as magic since it breaks every rule in the book."

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you, Ret," said Clover. "What you hinted at being able to do pales in comparison to the real thing."

"To be fair, you had no real reason to believe me since I haven't had a chance to show you before now," Ret said sadly. "Shame I won't be able to do it again though, not to this degree at least."

"Why not?" Asked Luna. "And if not, would you be able to teach it to somepony instead?"

Ret shook her head. "I drew too much attention to myself. I've been noticed and not in a good way. As for why I can't teach it, if you don't have the right mindset, you can lose your mind when you try to bend the rules like this," she said as a random muffin appeared on the tip of her nose.

She crossed her eyes as she looked at it. She scrunched her nose as she turned to find a giggling Pinkie Pie who was tapping a hoof against one of the panels. Every time she did so, another muffin would appear either on the ground or some pony's head.

"Pinkie?!" Shouted Twilight. "Don't touch that!"

"But Twiliiight," Pinkie whined. "Look." She tapped it again and another muffin appeared. "Muffin button," she said before breaking out into a fit of laughter.

"C'mon Pinkie," said Applejack as she grabbed a mouthful of pink tail and began dragging her away. "Let's leave well enough alone."

Ret held out a hoof and all the panels began to glow. Slowly they folded in on themselves before flying through the air and collecting in Ret's hoof. The light collected there grew brighter and brighter until it flew away like a dozen tiny fireflies and left an open book in its place.

"Princess Cadence," said Ret. "Would you come here please?"

Cadence cautiously approached the pony that apparently had power beyond what any of them understood.. "Yes?..." She asked warily.

Ret turned a soft smile on her without any pretense of hostility behind it, "when the world returns to normal, I've arranged it so the crystal ponies won't remember anything that's happened after Clover came to town. In particularly when Sombra possessed all of them."

"Thank you," said Cadence, releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding. That's one less thing to worry about. Now if only...

"And about Shining Armor," Ret said, interrupting her thoughts. "You make sure to take good care of this stallion," she held a hoof against her chest. "A soul as noble as his is rare indeed and I wouldn't have been able to do what I did without his help."

Before anyone had a chance to ask what she meant, Ret reached back down and closed the book. The void that made up the world began to glow as patches of it started to burn away, making way for the stars. When the ground burned away, streets and homes reappeared as the light dimmed. Several ponies started to appear as the rest of the city finished filling themselves in.

The castle was the last to reappear as the balcony reattached itself to the ceterpoint of the city. They could see down into the depths of the castle for a moment and see the pedestal for the Crystal Heart reappear with its ward fully in tact.

As the last of the castle came back into view, the royal sisters breathed a sigh of relief as the sky finished clearing. The moon was back in its proper place and a cursory check from Celestia could confirm that the sun had been put to bed as it should without anything else out of place.

Lastly was Ret herself. A red glow washed across her grey fur, patches of it flaking away and making way for the white underneath. When it got to her red mane and blue started to find its way through, everyone realized what they were seeing. As the last of Ret's body fell away, Cadence rushed forward to catch the unconscious form of her husband before he fell to the ground. When she grabbed him, a light tinkling was heard as a broken red crystal fell to the ground. The light inside it pulsed for a few moments before the gemstone collapsed in on itself. As it crumbled, the light it contained rose from the shards and shot towards Clover. It hit him square in the forehead, his eyes glowing red for a moment before rolling into the back into his skull. His legs gave out and he collapsed into Luna's waiting embrace.

Princess Celestia sat by herself as she enjoyed some quiet time out on the balcony. She reflected over the day's events and thought about a great many things while she played with a glass containing some crystal wine made from the berry that grew up here. Her stargazing was interrupted when she heard hoofsteps fall across the floor, drawing her attention to Twilight Sparkle as she walked out to join her.

"Good evening, Twilight," she said as she smiled at her precious student. "Come to join me in some stargazing? I hope your brother is doing well."

"He's fine," said Twilight. "He woke back up for a little bit before Cadence put him back to bed." She smiled softly, "he was more worried about everypony else despite barely being able to stand."

"Clover's companion spoke true about him being a noble soul," Celestia said resolutely. "It was a quality I saw in him a long time ago. I don't make just anyone a captain of the guard."

"Speaking of Clover," Twilight looked concerned. "Has he?..."

"He's sleeping peacefully, Luna assures me," she said quietly. "I have no idea when he'll wake up though. He was practically tearing himself apart today. I knew we alicorns could take a lot of punishment but it seems he has taken that to the absolute limit."

"Why is that?" Asked Twilight. "I know we're supposed to have magic from all three pony tribes and earth ponies are supposed to be a bit sturdier than the other two, but I can't even imagine any earth pony surviving what he has and definitely not healing so quickly."

"I only have guesses to work with," Celestia said as she took a few sips from her cup. "I'm far from an expert on what makes an alicorn an alicorn. I have, however, learned a few other things you might find interesting though," she smiled as she levitated her glass over to Twilight.

Twilight giggled as she pushed the glass away, "sorry Princess Celestia. I don't drink. I learned the hard way when Applejack broke out a cask of hard cider that it barely takes a sip before I'm out. Turns out I'm a bit of a lightweight."

"This is a lesson, Twilight," she said as she refused to take the glass back. "I insist."

Seeing that the princess wasn't going to let her back out of it, she cautiously took the glass in her magic and stared at the wine while taking in its fragrant aroma. She steeled herself as she brought the glass to her lips and took a small sip from Celestia's cup. Her eyes watered as the drink tickled the back of her throat. Twilight started to feel lightheaded for a moment, the same as what had happened before and then... Nothing.

Twilight stared at the glass in confusion as her head instantly cleared up. She looked back up at her teacher who gave an approving nod as Twilight took a second drink, only for it to have less of an effect the second time. "Princess..." She said with astonishment. "What is this?"

"Something you'll want to keep secret if you ever have to participate in any international diplomacy," she said as she floated the glass back to herself. "Turns out we can't actually get drunk. However, it goes over really well if the diplomat sitting across the table thinks you're either really good at holding your liquor or if they think you're just as toasted as they are. Something to think about," she said smugly as she stood up and made her way towards the door. "We still need to sleep though and I'm no exception. Good night, Princess Twilight."