It was a low, sharp sound, rumbling across the summer sky like fall thunder. The hole in the sky shuddered, flaring pink like an infected wound. In the minutes since Adagio disappeared into the hive, the gash had expanded, and now a shaft of light shone through it onto the valley’s blanket of steaming snow.
The sparkling surroundings of the Little Snowdrop Inn warmed in the oppressive summer heat.
Higher up the mountain, the ice shifted with an ominous growl.

“-TRADE ME, TRADE ME, TRADE ME!” Buck’s panicked squeals carried him into the lobby, then came to an abrupt halt as he passed Starlight and Adagio.

For a second, all parties looked at each other in bewilderment, all save for the copy Buck, who was too busy laughing to do anything else. His horned head was thrown back, his odd, gnarled wings flapping uselessly, his cloven-hoofed feet tapping. His skin was an oddly lighter purple than Buck’s, and his spade-tipped tail flicked. The pink and black flames flickering around him burned down to embers as he held his stomach.

“The fuck is that?” Buck wheezed. “S’that me? S’that supposed to be me!? He looks like the ghost of Hot Topic’s past!”

“HAHAHAH-wha-hey!?” The other Buck said with a spark.

“Where in the world have you been?” Starlight said.

“Fucking guess!” Buck said. “I was getting chased around by her!”

Heart Song strode through a soupy mist, teeth and nails sharpened to needle points. The old outfit, the sinister grin, and the red, feral glint in her eye made her appear as the exact monster Starlight had feared. She’d been humming a soft song, one that made Starlight blink green sparks out of her eyes, but the tune ceased when Heart Song realized she was outnumbered.

Adagio, on the other hand, regarded her copy with eyes as cold as a sharpened knife.

“Did you learn anything about her? Or me?” Adagio said in a voice that sounded like thunder over a black sea. Both Buck and his copy muttered “Holy shit.” under their breaths.

“Uh…shit, they're bizarro magic clones with reverse versions of our personalities!” Buck said, pointing at Heart Song. “That one’s a cock-drunk lunatic!”

“Rude.” Heart Song said.

“How is that any different from normal Adagio?” Starlight said.

“Rude!” Adagio and Heart Song said in unison.

“Pfft-AHAHAHA!” The copy Buck guffawed, slapping his knee. Buck himself tried not to laugh, which got much easier as Adagio turned to him. Her eye swept across him, looking for any sign of harm, and she very nearly reached up to touch his cheeks before she caught herself.

“Did she hurt you?” Adagio said.

“...just my pride.” Buck said, and the look Adagio gave him was so tender and remorseful he forgot where he was. For a half-second, Adagio saw a pink heart bubble out of the top of his head.

Heart Song took a slinking step backward, and with a sizzling crack, a bullet of force shot a hole in the floor next to her feet.

“You actually got some intel! Any idea how to beat them quickly?” Starlight said, her finger smoking.

“Well, uh, they’re running on magic, so I guess we just gotta let them use it up.” Buck said.

“Or take it from them.” Adagio said, grimly eyeing her clone.

“Well, now, I seem to have over-extended a bit. Before we do anything rash, perhaps we could discuss-”

“No,” Adagio said, knuckles going white around the hilt of her rapier. “I’ve clearly got some things I need to work through."

Adagio and Heart Song locked eyes, their bodies tensing at the same time.

“We should take yours first.” Starlight said. “Even with little magic, she’s deadly. Whereas he’s just-”

“An idiot?” The laughter had stopped.

The copy Buck smoldered at the group, all mirth suddenly lost. Fancies wafted off him like smoke, full of skulls and fangs and black sparks. He crept forward, his teeth lengthening as he growled at Starlight. “Go on. Call me stupid, like you always do. Tell me I’m irresponsible, or incompetent. Tell me how dumb I am for trusting Adagio. Or better yet…why don’t you come over here and SAY IT TO MY FACE!”

A torrent of fire screamed at the trio, but before they could be incinerated, a pane of shimmering blue magic caught the black and red burst. Starlight Glimmer muttered calculations, sweat rolling down her brow.

“Flash’s Phantom Netitus!” Starlight said. The bubble of force shaped itself into a wavering kite shield, which buckled and cracked as it baked in the flames. Buck put a hand on Starlight’s back, and the shield just barely held against the onslaught.

“Did you just learn that spell?” Adagio said.

“Holy shit, he’s like a fucking backdraft! Can I do that!?” Buck said.

“Now do you get why I was so worried?” Starlight said. “We have to contain this before he burns this whole place down!”

“How are we supposed to finish him if we can’t even close on him?” Adagio said.

“I don’t know! We have no clue how much power Buck actually has!” Starlight said.

Across the flame-licked lobby, Heart Song turned to run. Starlight fired a mana bolt, but it just hit the wall as Adagio’s clone fled.

“We can’t let her get away!” Starlight said.

“But we have to deal with Buck’s insufferable clone!” Adagio said. There was a crack of fear in her voice. “And who knows when the Queen will make an appearance? There’s no time!”

“Let me take ‘im.” Buck said. The ladies looked at him incredulously. “I don’t want to deal with her. She’s got some of my mana.”

“Buck, you didn’t-” Adagio started.

“We cuddled, just for a bit! It was…it was nice.” Buck said.

“Of course.” Starlight groaned.

“I can’t watch you guys beat on her, so let me handle this guy.” Buck said.

“Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” Starlight said.

“Do you?” Buck said.

"Heh." Starlight chuckled. She glanced at Stygian's Spellbook on the ground near the copy Buck's feet, then shook her head and zoomed off after Heart Song.

“Are y’all buds now? What’d I miss?” The copy Buck said.

“Hol’ up, hol’ up! I’ll get to you in a sec!” Buck said, and for some odd reason, the copy shrugged and crossed his arms, impatiently tapping his foot instead of charging in.

“Buck, about your pink aura…it’s, ah…uhm…” Adagio stammered.

“It’s not intimacy. That’s just a trigger. It’s what that intimacy makes me feel.” Buck said. He tenderly tucked a lock of hair behind Adagio’s ear while she shuddered with shock. A soft pink light flashed through her, and some color returned to her hair.

“Goan. I’ll hold him off.” Buck said.

“You’re still angry at me,” Adagio said.

“If we make it out of here, we need to have a serious talk.” Buck said.

“...I know.” Adagio said. She turned to go, but Buck caught her wrist; gently, but firmly.

“Promise me.” Buck said, and Adagio shivered, unable to face him.

“I am going to come back and save you. And when we’re finished here, we’ll have our talk. I promise.” Adagio said. Another pulse of pink, with a spark of red.

“Good,” Buck said.

"Try to keep that book intact." Adagio ran off, and Buck let her.

“You mean this book? The book of stygie spells, or whatever the fuck? This book right here?” Buck’s clone said, twirling the tome on his finger.

“Yeah, that’s the one.” Buck muttered, watching Adagio turn the corner. She’d already taught him what to do here. Acknowledge the emotion. Heat the pot. “Not a pot, this time. A pan. Like the way Ma does the roux at Christmas. Brown it, don’t burn it…Cain’t be more complicated than makin’ gumbo.”

“Damn, you look like...you good, man?” The clone said.

Buck turned to his clone, and with a flicker of flame, the blue streak in his mulberry hair was joined by a blazing pink one. He touched the scarf around his neck, which smoldered with a loving pink light. He remembered Ditzy’s smile, and his eyes started to water.

“Naw. But I think I’m starting to get it.” Buck said. “Now…how do you wanna do this?”

“Let…me…go! Let me go!” is what Scootaloo would have said if her mouth wasn’t pasted shut by a slimy loogie.

What she managed to do instead was thrash around on her perch, which happened to be Gregor the changeling’s shoulder. He was holding her skateboard in the other hand. Scootaloo was facing upward, and as she struggled to get free, she saw the green, people-filled cocoons in the pantry were also hanging here in the bustling kitchen. None of them had Sunburst in them.

Beneath her panic, Scootaloo was starting to wonder if getting menaced, bound, and slung around in a hostile situation was starting to awaken something in her.

A sapphic voice in the back of Scootaloo’s mind seductively purred at her to dye her hair and buy a choker. It was faint against the panicked pounding of her heart.

Gregor hissed something to another spindly drone in a chef’s hat, who indicated with some low chirps and a tilt of the head where to take his hostage.

At least, that’s what Scootaloo thought was going on. She was struggling to believe that she’d screwed up so badly, so fast. She couldn’t turn into a liability; she’d only gotten started at this whole super-heroing thing, and she was not about to get turned into food before she even got her license, or degree, or whatever the hell Sunburst had!

Gregor the changeling pitched forward, stumbling at bit as Scootaloo thrashed on his shoulder. He shut his eyes and repeated “Sorry.” in Starlight’s voice.

Remember what Buck said to you! She tried to remember how it felt, when he was looking into her eyes and telling her that she could do it, and that her butt is cute and, and his hands were on her shoulders, and they were firm and…Scootaloo felt a strange, fluttering warmth in her stomach. There was a soft buzzing noise, like the murmur of a dragonfly’s wings.

She shut her eyes. She needed to get this gunk off her and make a break for it. What had she learned from Starlight? The equation, right? B over D plus SM? No, now you’re panicking and horny! Think!

Hanging pots rattled surreptitiously around the kitchen. None of the drones seemed to notice as they went about their business.

And now Scootaloo was thinking about that game night, when Buck and Adagio had totally turned her out. The feeling of being wanted, and touched and…used, it mixed with her need to feel seen. To have someone look at her like a cut of juicy steak. Who said she was pretty.

Buck and Adagio…they were the only people in her life that made her feel like a girl. And they were around here somewhere, and they needed her help!

The butterflies in Scootaloo’s stomach all flapped at once. The dragonfly buzz escalated to the frantic beat of a flock of doves. Drones turned to charge as they saw the goop restraining Scootaloo’s limbs and mouth inflate like snot bubbles.

Pop!

Scootaloo had hoped to catapult herself into the air and soar away like a radical eagle. What she accomplished instead was exploding her goopy bonds. Bedlam erupted across the kitchen as a bunch of only mostly intact changelings went flying along with a sudden burst of kitchenware.

Greg was on his back, trying to shake the stars from his eyes as his fellows shuddered into the air on buzzing wings. Scootaloo was hanging onto the side of a cocoon, held up by a knife she’d pulled from her sports bra.

Somehow, she had her skateboard in her other hand.

“Okay, cool! Okay, cool!” Scootaloo said in the place of a snappy one-liner. She was trying to think of what Daring Do would say in this situation when she jerked downward. The cocoon slid open, revealing a disheveled woman with greenish-gray skin and dark purple hair, who flopped unconsciously toward the floor some twelve feet down.

“Not cool, not cool!” Scootaloo dropped, sliding her skateboard beneath her feet just in time to bounce off the head of the first drone, catch the falling damsel, then slide down the back of another drone before depositing her in a sink and rolling across a kitchen counter. She was jamming, hitting the lip of the counter with a slick grind and she could feel the wind pushing on her back, fluttering like a hummingbird and the door was right there, but so was Greg, looking sad but determined, but Scoots was going too fast to stop, and it was all she could do to ollie over his head!

Greg leaped up, but he couldn’t quite reach, and suddenly Scootaloo’s skateboard was on carpet. A rush of joy and excitement flooded Scootaloo’s brain. Despite the cast on her foot, Scootaloo could always get going on her board, all she had to do was balance and kick!
There was chaos in the kitchen behind her; the drones weren’t even paying attention now. They were scrambling to clean and collect the human Scoots had freed. Greg was looking at her, and Scootaloo knew he would just chase her again, but his eyes were so incredibly sad that she stopped for just a second.

“...you don’t want to do this, do you?” Scootaloo said.

“Evil. Family, evil. It came from evil!” Greg said, his voice shifting to Starlight’s bark from earlier.

“Well, uhm, uh…” Scootaloo’s adrenaline-blasted mind searched for a quip. “Maybe…you should get some friends?”

Boom!

A cacophonous explosion shook the hive. From way down a corridor, Scootaloo saw a pink flash. She knew only two people in the world could cause a candy-colored explosion, and Pinkie Pie wasn't here. Scootaloo zoomed down the hall without a moment's hesitation.

Meanwhile, a few halls down, Queen Chrysalis sat at her vanity mirror. Her serpentine eyes narrowed at a little greenish-black pebble pinched between her ragged talons. It was another piece of her new empire, practically gift-wrapped, though damaged. She tensed with coiled focus, and a green phantom of her notched horn flickered uselessly atop her head. The cracks in the changeling stone refused to knit shut.
“It’s pointless without a potent source.” Chrysalis groaned. “I should have taken more from that peon.”

Her stomach growled. Pathetic. The Queen of the Changelings wondered dimly if this was how that ghoulish bottomfeeder Adagio felt at all times, starving bitterly in a dim world. She saw her own sallow cheeks, her thin neck. She could see her ribcage, even through the nightgown.

“Are you truly any better?” Adagio said, through the Queen’s mouth. “As a matter of fact, what exactly are you the Queen of? A putrid hive of degenerating sludge? Are you the queen of getting captured and only escaping due to dumb luck? The Queen of mutinous children?”

Chrysalis snatched a photo of Adagio Dazzle from her mirror and tore it cathartically in two.

“These hunger pangs will pass. All I have to do is follow my plan.” Chrysalis said, to one of many photos of Buck ringing her mirror.

“The changelings will be reborn, and this world will be the staging ground for my-”

A curt knock on the door straightened The Queen’s back. Chrysalis focused once more, but on a task far more essential than fixing the changeling stone.

A green flash blinkered on her head, and in its wake sat her crown; a set of delicate curling antennae.

“Come in.” Chrysalis hissed.

A pair of drones waddled in, pulling a rack of dusty purple dresses for the Queen’s perusal. They were followed by Silver Spoon, who was scribbling notes on a clipboard.

“Didn’t I tell you to get out of that ridiculous disguise?” Queen Chrysalis growled.

“I…well, I d-d-don’t know! It makes me feel k-kind of…smart?”

“Take it off.”

“B-b-but…”

Queen Chrysalis lifted a plum-colored fur coat and tore it in half. The drone impersonator dropped its disguise.

“Have our guests finished arriving?” Chrysalis said, tossing a billowing lavender shawl over her shoulder.

“Yes, my Queen. They are in the lobby, fighting with the dopplegangers. They are making a real m-m-mess of the place! Are you sure we shouldn’t-”

“Let them tire themselves out. It’s not as if any of them can stop me now. How fares our guest of honor? I trust you haven’t scratched a hair on his head.”

It was more of a threat than a question. The drones all gulped in unison, then one of them gagged on its own spit and started coughing.

“He is well rested, but running from his keeper. She may have attacked him, my Queen.”

“That treacherous little sea slug. No one else is to touch him.” The Queen hissed. She raised a claw, but though the drones all cringed, it came down on another dress. A long, royal purple off-the-shoulder affair suddenly found its hemline a few feet short with a ragged tear. “Put that bodice on me.”

“Uh, what?”

Chrysalis pointed at a black leather corset on the tip of her bed, and no sooner had the drone lifted it did the Queen’s nightgown slip to the floor.

“I’ll let them tire themselves out. Have our forces watch, but not engage. If the fools aren’t dead in the next ten minutes, I’ll go collect them myself. Do not make a move without my orders.” Chrysalis said.

“My Queen, are you sure it’s wise to underestimate them?”

“I’m taking every precaution,” Chrysalis said. The corset strings tightened, accentuating her already ludicrous hourglass shape. The purple dress, now slashed to expose a generous helping of thigh, hugged the Queen’s hips.

“More importantly, is the ballroom ready?”

“J-J-Just about, your highness. There was a disturbance in the kitchen, but it seems to have passed.”

“Excellent. Now leave me to my final preparations.”

“At your command, my Queen.”

“Oh. And if you ever question my orders again, I’ll tear your wings off with my bare hands. Do I make myself clear?”

“...Y-Y-Y-Yes your highness!” The drone said.

“Dismissed.”

The drones scrambled out of the bedroom. Chrysalis sat down at her mirror and idly brushed her matted, mossy tresses.

She smiled at Buck’s picture, humming a soft, sinister tune.

Starlight Glimmer zoomed down the halls of the hive, carried by a sparkling blue aura. The clone had fled, but the strange mist she kicked up followed in her wake. Starlight tried to push down the things she'd learned: how her Equestrian counterpart was a respected powerhouse, and how Sunburst was keeping secrets, instead focusing on how to take down the clone she was chasing. It was every bit the monster she expected Adagio to be, but if it was the reverse of her, what did that say about Adagio herself?

Starlight's aura flickered, and she dropped a foot toward the floor.

"Focus…don't lose control!"

This was a monster, just like any other. It needed to be caught before it could cause any harm. Same old strategy. Corner, neutralize, capture.

Justice.

Starlight turned a corner and found a hallway shrouded in fog. An obvious trap. With narrowed eyes and a cocky smile, Starlight reached into her pockets and entered the fog.

From inside the doors lining the hall came a series of faint squeaks. The taps turned, filling the bathroom sinks with steaming water. The fog in the hallway thickened.

"Poor little Starlight, always rushing into danger with something to prove…" Heart Song said over Starlight's shoulder.

A twitch of the arm shot a twisting bolt of energy through the mist, hitting nothing.

"You and I both know you're no hero. All you've ever been is a mouthy little nuisance. Why bother fighting?"

Starlight fired a gattling burst of mana bolts. A shadow in the mist evaporated, and the bolts peppered a nearby wall.

"Stop hiding, you creep! Come out and fight me!" Starlight said.

“Why would I do that?” Heart Song said.

A finger stroked the back of Starlight's neck. She spun, and with a shout, she sent a twirling spiral of mana bolts that seared the floor, the ceiling, and the walls on either side. Her breaths came out heavy; her little remaining aura flickering like a dying bulb.

"After all, we make an excellent team. I can give you what you really want; a chance to show up my pathetic copy. Let me sing you a little song to calm you down, and then we can talk."

The mist twisted into a legion of grasping hands, which snatched Starlight by the arms and legs.

And suddenly, Heart Song was there, eyes glowing green. Her arms opened wide as a soft, seductive chorus drifted from her lips.

Starlight struggled, but then she stumbled into a sway, her head bobbing along with Heart Song's melody.

"All too easy." Heart Song said.

A warm wave of pink energy rolled off Buck’s shoulders, while his demonic clone grinned menacingly, a veritable bonfire of black flame.

“God, this is so embarrassing…okay, I’ll bite. What the fuck is your problem?” Buck said.

“They killed my best bro!” The clone said.

“Shit, they made one of Sunburst? Wait, what do you care? Aren’t you like the opposite of me?”

“Yeah? So what? He was my only friend in the world!”

“Damn, that’s real. Even in this hellhole, the love between bros is real.”

“Whatever! Run hands!” The clone threw a ball of crackling black flame. Buck crossed his arms, and the fire petered out an inch from his face.

“Huh.” Buck said. “Look, we don’t need to do this. If you’re like me, you know that fighting is just playing into the Queen’s hands.”

“Blah, blah, blah, we don’t need to do this, lookit me, my name’s Purple Prose, I’m a fuckin’ woobie who loves fighting games but never wants to run hands because I’m a wussy lil’ bitch!” The clone said. “How ‘bout you take a cue from your old teachers, and actually fucking focus for once? I’ve got something you want!”

It was like a cold needle in the side of Buck’s neck.

“Fuck off.” Buck said, gravely. His aura wavered.

Buck lunged for the book, but his copy ducked away with a snicker.

“What’re you gonna do if I burn this book, huh? You gonna get mad? You gonna cry?” The clone said.

“Why do you even want it? S’not like we can read it.” Buck said.

“I can read, asshole!” The clone grumbled, pausing to scan the contents of the book.

“...it’s in old-”

“It’s in Old Ponish, I can see that!” The clone snarled. “Bro was really making a big deal outta this thing. It’s gotta have some crazy secrets, like how to magically expand dong.”

Buck went for the book again, but the copy slapped his hand away. The black flames on his body were smoldering down. Buck squinted at him incredulously.

“Why the fuck would you need to know that? What, they take you out the oven too early? Comin’ up a lil’ short?”

“Shut your ass up!” The clone said. Another burst of black. To Buck, it felt like stepping into a sauna. Buck reached for the book, and as his copy pulled it away, he slapped the bottom of the book and caught it.

“Dude, keepaway’s not gonna work. We got the same arms.” Buck said. “What’s this bully act about?”

“To trick you into getting close, dumbass!” The clone said, grabbing Buck’s wrist. The pain was immense. Buck caught the clone with a flailing kick and backed up, trying to shake the black flames off his arm.

“Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Buck shouted,

“Hahahahah! Hot enough for you?” The clone said.

“It’s cold! Wait, it’s cold?” And Buck closed his eyes, and thought of laying in bed with Ditzy, and of Dinky between them, sprawled out in that way only kids can do and still manage to sleep.

The black flames fizzled. An outline of shining pink returned, and Buck’s arm started feeling warm again.

“Why’s your aura all dark and cold?” Buck said. He slipped Stygian’s spellbook into his jacket’s inner pocket.

“I dunno, why’s yours all pink and girly?” The clone shrugged.

“What’s wrong with pink?”

“People’ll think you look gay!” A jab, a hook from the clone, but Buck ducked around them with a smile.

“Well, you look like a Todd Macfarlane wet dream!” Buck laughed. A sudden burst of pink smacked his clone in the back of the head, knocking him to the floor with a sizzling thud.

“Pink is rad! Goes good with black, it works hot or cold, no matter what the season, and it’s a great accent to anything more subdued.” Buck said. Keep him talking, keep him talking! “You forget what you learned at the Carousel Boutique?”

Buck’s clone got up slowly.

“Ughh…You mean how to hold a girl up with just your forearm and your fingers in her-”

“Alright, alright!” Buck said, flashing red at the memory. “So, do you have a name?”

“It’s Buck. I’m you!” The clone said.

“No, no you’re not, I’m me! I get the bit, but what do we call you?” Buck said.

“Man, I dunno, how about Shin Buck?”

“How ‘bout Wabuck?”

“How about Dark Buck?”

“How ‘bout Joe?”

“Joe what?”

“Joe Mama!”

“YOU PIECE OF SHIT!” Buck’s clone roared, and a spike of stone shot out of the floor at Buck’s feet. Not wood, or carpet, but whatever was underneath. It glowed like a poker, hot to the touch as Buck ducked out of the way, but another came, then another and another.

“Stand…still!” The clone said.

A spike tore a hole in Buck’s jacket, another nearly did the same to his rib cage, but he rolled out of the way. He saw a line of those spikes cross the room before they bulldozed the threshold of a nearby hallway.

“Holy shit! Cut that out, you’re gonna hurt somebody!” Buck said.

“That’s the idea, you stupid fuck! You’re always doin’ this Spider-Man shtick! Why can’t we just have a normal fight scene for once!?” The clone said, coming in swinging.

“I don’t even wanna fight you!” Buck said. Pink and black flames sparked off his arms as he tried to intercept his copy’s blows. Buck shoved his copy away, then scrambled out of arms’ reach.

“Why the fuck not!?” The clone said.

“Because it’s stupid! If you’d chill out for a half-second-”

“I ain't got no chill! I've got a whole shit ton of unresolved tension and I need someone to take it out on!" The clone stomped the floor, and the whole world tilted.

Buck had another glib response, but suddenly he fell forward, his clone's fist smashed into his cheek, and then he was rolling, kicking, trying to fend off his own strength and stamina.

His clones' eyes blazed red with unchecked malice as he wrestled Buck to the ground. It was like trying to grapple an angry furnace, but that didn’t make sense in Buck’s head. Wasn’t it cold just now?

"Hey, hey, hey, turn down the stove, huh? They got hostages in here, and we can't conjure up a firetruck!" Buck said.

"Can you conjure up a shit? Because I don't GIVE A SHIT!"
Buck's head rocked to the side again. He tasted hot blood.

"Fuck, man, I gotta learn how to throw a punch!" Buck laughed, then grunted as his clone pinned him.

"Joke all you want! Only one of us is getting out of here, and it's gonna be me!”

Black flames raged down the clones’ arms and over Buck, filling him with agony. It felt like his ribcage was getting melted in the microwave.

“GAAGH!” Buck screamed.

“You're a fucking pussy who's scared to do what he wants, but I'm different! I'm gonna get out there and tell Mrs. Cake to shove it, and I'm gonna finish your shitty drafts and get them sold! I’ll build a better life than you’ve ever had!”

Buck could feel his blood boiling like the very veins of the earth; his heart a burning caldera. Pink switched to red as he screamed.

“But first…I'm gonna go to your shit stain apartment, and I'm going to fuck your girlfriend's brains out!"
Buck’s world went white.

He'd spent his whole life compartmentalizing, but in that instant, he knew he'd burn the whole world down to protect Ditzy Doo. Especially from himself.

"You want my life? Fine, we'll roshambo for it." Buck said, golden eyes turning red.

"What, like rock, paper, scissors?"

"I'll go first." Buck said, and then in an explosion of red, he kicked his clone in the nuts so fucking hard it flew across the room and crashed into the grand staircase.

"Starlight, there you are!" Adagio said.

The mist in the hallway had lowered to the floor. Adagio harumphed and a path cleared through the fog for her to pass. Starlight stood at the far end of the hall, her back to Adagio. She had a wooden spear in her hand; one she must have pulled up from the floorboards.

"When will you learn to stop running off alone like some blustering glory hog?" Adagio lectured.

"Oh, I've learned plenty about you, Adagio Dazzle. I've studied your case file extensively.” Starlight said, turning slowly. Her pale blue eyes were filled with fury. “I've watched you slither your way into everyone's good graces, but I’ve always known what you are. And I know how to take you down."

“Ah.” Adagio said. “Right, she’s gotten into your head. After all-”

“It’s what you would do!” Starlight shouted.

Adagio barely managed to swat Starlight’s spear tip away with her rapier. She’d closed the distance instantly. Was that teleportation? Adagio couldn’t tell.

“You spend all your time poking at people from arm’s length! Well I can do it too!”

A flurry of jabs forced Adagio back. She silently parried, eyes roaming over Starlight’s shoulder as the spear came for her heart. There were lines in the walls and the ceiling where Starlight’s bolts had hit.

“I saw your fight with Ditzy! You like toying with people until they get too angry to think straight! But she still beat you, and so will I!”

“Yes, yes, you have something to prove. I’m a big bad monster and you’re the heroic knight that’s going to slay me and saaave the kingdom.” Adagio said, rolling her eyes with a wry smile, but Starlight’s strikes were relentless. Although Adagio would never admit it, she was getting worn down.
Suddenly, Adagio lost her footing. A hand formed of mist grabbed her ankle mid-step, and she stumbled down to one knee.

“We came out here to work together, but all you’ve done is get Sunburst captured and put Buck in danger, and all because you refuse to acknowledge what’s right in front of your face!”
Behind Adagio, one of the suite doors slowly opened. Heart Song slunk out of the shadows unseen, five needles of ice extending from her nails.

Starlight’s spear came down in a heavy vertical swing, forcing Adagio back down before she could rise. Their noses were nearly touching.

“He’s more than just a tool to you. And you’re more than just a monster.” Starlight whispered.

“You’re both a couple of fools,” Heart Song hissed, raising her icy claw to rip Adagio’s throat out.

“Fooled you, didn’t we?” Adagio ducked.

Wham! Starlight’s spear cracked across Heart Song’s face, and she stumbled into the wall, where a crude rune lit up. Tendrils of magical force wrapped around her with a snap, restraining her to the wall. Then another circle lit on the ceiling, then one on the floor, both webbing her up further. Heart Song began to sing again, but a swift strike from Adagio’s pommel shut her up.

“Ah-ah! No singing, now.” Adagio said. “Now, how did you manage to slip out of her enchantment?”

“What?” Starlight said, pulling a pair of foam plugs out of her ears.

“I have to hand it to you, that’s clever.” Adagio said, hand on her hip.

“Did you think I was bluffing about knowing how to take you down?” Starlight said, but then she dropped to one knee, sucking in breath. That gambit had cost her a lot of mana, and she was clearly spent.

“I take it you have more contingencies to beat me?”

“You’re too dangerous for just one.” Starlight smirked.

“I don’t like how much fun you’re having.” Adagio said.

“Tough. Now, how are we going to deal with this one?” Starlight said.

“All I have to do is drain her mana, and she’ll be nothing but a bad memory.” Adagio said.

And it’s as simple as that, Adagio thought as he lifted her arms. This thing was just a simple changeling spell, and all she had to do was hold her nose and gulp it down. It had just managed to trick Buck; it hadn’t given anything away, and even if it had, we didn’t need to address that, because its traitorous little mouth was about to be shut forever.

Those were the thoughts running through Adagio’s head as she drank of her clone’s energy. She watched the cheeks on her own mirror image turn sallow, her hair crinkle as it turned gray, and all the while, even as her hands and knees shook, she felt her dread turn to cold despair and then to hate.

It was the same energy that Minuette had forced down her throat, coming from her own likeness. She could never bear to see this in the mirror, and she hated having to look at it now. Or perhaps, she thought, she hated the possibility that Buck could ever see her this way.

Adagio felt frostbite numbing her lips, and for a moment, she looked away from the spiteful hag she held in her own heart.

"You…what did you tell him?" Adagio murmured.

"Only what he wanted to hear!" Heart Song said.

An operatic shriek blasted Starlight across the hall. Her head struck a door frame, and she lay still. The snare spell blinked out. Adagio hit a wall hard, but she didn’t have time to cover her ringing ears. As Heart Song came at her with another warbling scream, Adagio fired back with her own song.

Light fixtures shattered across the hall, and the wallpaper ripped in waves as twin sonic blasts clashed. Adagio’s heels tore into the carpet as she dug in, trying to stay on her feet.

Adagio knew this power, had seen it, had been made to taste it, and she knew what she needed to beat it. Buck had touched her with a raw, unrestrained tenderness that burned in her throat like cinnamon whiskey. She felt tears on her cheeks as she inhaled a second time. It felt so right to have a piece of Buck’s love inside her; it was a tragedy to let it go.

Adagio’s scream turned into a pure, pitch-perfect note, and in a pink flash, she overwhelmed her clone’s unfiltered hate and blasted her through a suite door. Adagio wiped the wetness from her face as she strode through the splinters, sword drawn.

“Don’t bother hiding. You and I both know how this has to end.” Adagio said, stepping around the bed. The closet doors crashed open.

“I’ll make him mine!” Heart Song screeched, half-mad as she raked a set of icy claws across Adagio’s back. “He named me! I looked into his eyes and saw love for the first time, and I won’t let you take him away from me!”

Adagio’s steel flashed through Heart Song’s side, but the clone grabbed the blade with one hand and pulled Adagio closer, trying desperately to tear the siren’s carotid with her teeth. Here was the monster that had killed Adagio’s mother in childbirth, and the triumphant sorceress that had torn the G.G.A.A. to the ground, and the loathsome witch that had left thousands of bodies in the wake of her crusade for fame and adoration.

“You’re obsessed!” Adagio said.

She slapped Heart Song across the face with a resounding palm strike, and as the beast fell, she ripped her sword out of its guts. There was no blood, just a greasy smear on the blade. Heart Song lunged from the floor, forcing Adagio to dodge around a berserk flurry of scratches.

“I am you! I’m the you that sails away while other ships sink! I’m the one that protects you and gives you the cold focus to win! And you’ve abandoned me, in favor of some feckless man who will never forgive you for using him like the tool he is!”

“Shut up!” Adagio screamed.

Heart Song threw a pillow at her, then a lamp on the nightstand as she fled, but though Adagio blocked one and took the other to the face, she still managed to slash the back of Heart Song’s knee with the tip of her blade.

“You’re nothing but a feeble copy! You don’t know anything about me!” Adagio said, raising her blade to finish the job.

“I know you’re afraid to let him in.” Heart Song said, turning to face Adagio. “Buck loves you, and he can see right through you. And you are terrified that if he looks at you for too long, if he understands you, he won’t turn away like the others.” Heart Song said, and Adagio Dazzle, despite everything, stopped to listen.

Adagio didn’t notice that mist was seeping out from under the bathroom door. The tap was on and rushing, the steam slithering like a snake, collecting and rising behind Heart Song’s back.

“What you truly fear is what will happen if he stays. You’ve heard it. You’ve seen it and felt it. Who will Adagio Dazzle be if she lets Buck into her heart?”

“Tell me.” Adagio choked out.

“You’ll be the same black hole of affection you always were. And you’ll regret eating the only man who ever dared to love you without compromise.” Heart Song said.

The mist reared up like a cobra. Adagio saw it take the shape of her true siren form as it lashed for her throat.

Crack!

A blue bolt of mana tore through Heart Song’s torso. The copies’ spell fizzled, as she slumped motionless to the floor.

“I guess you can shoot a gun with empathy, after all.” Starlight Glimmer said from the hall.

"What?" Adagio said.

"Has anyone ever told you, you talk too much?" Starlight blew on her smoking finger, then slid down the wall, her ass hitting the carpet with a soft thump. Her legs had given out.

“Everyone's a critic today.” Adagio said, stabbing her clone through the heart for good measure before stepping over her. “But genuinely, thank you.”

“You, thanking me? Are you sure you’re not the clone?” Starlight chuckled, her eyelids drooping. She was clearly exhausted, and Adagio could hardly blame her.

“Oh, shut up. Do you need help?”

“I need a nap. It’s not fair that Buck got to take a cuddle break while the rest of us were out here fighting for our lives.”

“Don’t remind me. Now get up, we need to get back to him before that creature scorches something valuable.”

“Like Stygian’s spell book?” Starlight said, as Adagio offered her a hand up.

“Like Buck’s adorable little behind. Come on.” Adagio said, rolling her eyes.

“HE’S MINE!” Heart Song screamed.

The clone grabbed a fistful of Adagio’s hair, fueled by a singular, possessive hatred. She pulled the rapier from its sheath and flung it from the room, and then she and Adagio were struggling and scratching. It was a painful, bloody scrap lacking any form of elegance or showmanship, the pair screaming at each other like wild alley cats as they slammed through the bathroom door.

The sink was full by now, hot water pouring onto the floor.

“You’ll never get to keep him! He’ll hate you for using him, and he’ll never forgive you! Give him to me! Give him to me!” Heart Song screeched.

“Get off me you wretched freak!” Adagio said. Her arm flailed, dragging the shower curtain down onto Heart Song’s head, but the water drops that act of violence kicked up sharpened as they flew through the air, slicing Adagio’s arms and shoulders.

“You made me this way!” Heart Song wailed. A desperate scratch raked Adagio once more, but the siren struck with a closed fist. Heart Song’s head cracked into the mirror, and she dropped down, only remaining upright by grabbing the countertop. Heart Song was weeping, spitting blood and teeth onto the floor.

Adagio knew what had to be done. She saw herself in the mirror, looming murderously over herself, and wondered how long she’d see this in her nightmares.

The water on the floor suddenly rose as whipping tendrils, one of which tore across Adagio’s thigh.

“You’ll never be rid of me! Never!” Heart Song’s near-skeletal face screamed. She was starting to resemble a twisted version of Queen Chrysalis; a starving ghoul that wanted nothing more than to devour any affection that came its way. Adagio finally understood the comparison Starlight had made.

It sickened her.

Heart Song was coming for her throat again, but she was shaky and sluggish now. Adagio twisted the doppelganger’s arm behind its back with a crack, then she slammed its head against the mirror once, twice, three times as glass shards rained down. Adagio caught a snarl of withering gray hair and pushed Heart Song’s face into the sink water.

She couldn’t dare to look at herself in the mirror as the clone’s feet kicked and slipped on the wet floor, her free hand flailing, her gargling screams muffled by the water until finally with one last rattling shudder, Heart Song was still. Adagio let the body fall to the ground.

It was a demon. A demon that had grown in her heart for centuries, and only now could Adagio see it, its face caught in an endless snarl as it lay dead.

She stumbled out of the bathroom but only made it to the threshold before falling to her knees.

Starlight Glimmer had finally dragged herself to her feet. She saw Adagio doubled over and wailing. She saw the body. She remembered Ditzy Doo, all those years ago, and then suddenly, she felt like the whole world had changed.

Starlight Glimmer dropped to her knees, and she took Adagio Dazzle in her arms and squeezed her. There was nothing to be said. Starlight sat there, cradling her most hated enemy in her arms because she knew it was the right thing to do.

This too, was justice.

The green glow of the dusty lobby was displaced by shadowy flames, clashing with flashes of pink. Buck had forced back his clone, but he was back on his feet. Now, every wild strike the doppelganger threw was blasted forward by a burst of black fire, tinged with red. Buck remembered Burnt Oak and how he had only escaped that zombie with Ditzy and Scoot’s help.

Now, he was alone, and the monster had his face.

What would Ditzy do? She’d fight. All his friends would fight, even Sunburst, but Buck didn’t want anyone to get hurt, even this…thing.

Wham! Buck barely blocked a blow with his shoulder, and though he was shrouded in pink embers, the stinging lick of the black flames was like dry ice on his skin.

“Hah! Caught you dissociating, didn’t I!?” Buck’s clone said. “What’s wrong, Purple Prose? You scared to throw a real punch!?” The clone said. “Or are you overthinking this whole mess like you do everything else?

“Naw, I was thinking I’d call you Mean Buck, because you’re giving Regina George energy!” Buck said, rushing in.

“Oh, fuck you!” Mean Buck said.

“It’s canon, now.” Buck laughed. He saw black fire gathering on his clone’s tongue and only managed to strike his chin with an uppercut at the last second.

“FUCK YOU!” A bomb blast erupted on the ceiling, burning a hole through a few floors and then straight through the roof.

Shit, Buck thought, he can do it, too!

“If you’re Spider-Man, then I’m your Venom! I’m gonna take everything from you!” Mean Buck said.
Buck dodged a punch, then took a backhand to the chin. The clone’s aura roared as it clashed with his own.

“That doesn’t even make sense, Venom’s not a clone! You’re more like The Scarlet Spider!”

“What, because I have a cooler look?”

“I was gonna say because you’re overdramatic.” Buck said. A pink spark smashed across Mean Buck’s face. “Obnoxious.” Another, this time striking the other cheek. “And hard to take seriously!” A pink phantom fist uppercut the clone, sending him sprawling.

“Fuuuck you!” Mean Buck said with a blazing swing. A nearby chunk of wall exploded.

“Stop that! This isn’t Dragonball; throwing fire around isn’t going to fix anything! You’re gonna open a rift or some shit!” Buck said, but he just barely ducked another gout of black flame.

“That’s just an excuse to keep your mouth shut! All you do is give space to others! You let them talk shit, you let them walk all over you, you stay on the defensive, and for what!? So you can pack it all in, smother your fire so no one can see it! But you’re not a candle; you’re a bubbling pot. And you know what happens when you leave a covered pot to boil.”

“Yeah, you ruin your gumbo.”

“You get Me!” Mean Buck’s voice boomed, and black flame erupted from his back like spreading wings as he rocketed forward.

“Focus…” Buck whispered. He saw Ditzy in his mind, one eye on the TV as she stitched a hole in Buck’s jacket. He saw her baking, and he saw his own arms slide around her waist. But then he felt another pair of hands, one sliding up his chest, and another sliding down to his crotch, and he knew it wasn’t Ditzy’s.

Another blast of mana rocked the lobby as the two Buck’s clashed.

“You know what your problem is, Buck? You bottle everything up; your thoughts, your feelings, your trauma, and then get mad when nobody understands you!” Mean Buck said.

Buck could see his clone’s hands were wrapped in a pair of stony gauntlets, like craggy obsidian. The sharp knuckles dug into his palms.

Buck was down to a knee, wincing as his clone’s dark mana fought against his pink glow. The black flame screamed and laughed from the cracks in the gauntlets, ripping into Buck’s arms like bestial mouths.

“Turn it up, turn it up, just a little bit…focus!” Buck muttered. In his mind, he sang to Ditzy Doo in the kitchen, hugging her waist. He sang to Adagio in the same kitchen, and she wrapped her legs around him.

“You put everyone else’s feelings first and then get all emo when you don’t get what you want!” Mean Buck said. He was crying now as he wailed on Buck’s raised arms with his flaming fists. Black and red sparks shot off as Buck blocked the blows, but they were fizzing with a strange purple glow.

Buck had been taught this one as well. He’d seen it on the boardwalk and seen it in himself.

“‘Cause if you fuck around and let somebody in, folks might see you for the loser you’ve always been!”

Two mana sources, two intentions coming together, mixing violently. Chaos magic. His magic.

This guy was basically a spell made out of his own unstable magic, like the shoggoth on the Boardwalk. All he needed to do was overpower him in one shot. But how could he do that, knowing his magic could run wild?

“What’s the matter, Purple Prose? Is this gettin’ a lil’ too real for ya!? Come on, fight me! You scared!?” Mean Buck laughed.

Buck saw Ditzy again, but this time, he was looking up at her from between her legs. A hand over her mouth, trying to hold in her squeaking moans as Buck lapped gently at her clitoris. Ditzy’s head was reclining in someone’s lap. Someone whose sharp nails scratched tenderly at her scalp and who licked her lips as she watched Buck work. Someone Buck knew without having to ask would delight in melting his sweet, loving girlfriend down into a quivering, orgasmic bliss.

Buck was ashamed. A fantasy too big to fit in his heart bloomed, threatening to tear it in half.

“I’m not fucking scared of you!” Buck said, and his voice was like a claymore, blasting his clone away in a chaotic boom. Mean Buck barely stayed on his feet, his hooves smoking as they dug into the carpet. The obsidian armor crawled up his arms, forming a pair of sharp, jagged pauldrons.

“You should be.” Mean Buck sneered.

Over Mean Buck’s shoulder, the unexpected came rolling into the lobby on a beat-up skateboard.

“Buck, holy shit, there you are! I’ve been looking everywhere! Now I know you’re probably still mad at me, but I-”

Mean Buck delivered a cheap, brutal punch to Buck’s gut, then turned to Scootaloo with a lecherous smile. Buck doubled over, wheezing in pain as he stumbled to the floor.

“Hey, cutie.” Mean Buck said. “How you doin’?”

“Wh-what?” Scootaloo peeped. Mean Buck loomed over her, planting a heavy hand on her shoulder. He squeezed her neck briefly, then cupped her chin.

“You really want me to fuck your brains out, don’t you?”

Scootaloo glowed red, but not due to magic. She blinked at Mean Buck deliriously.

“...huh? I! Uh, hey, that’s! That’s embarrassing…! You don’t have to say it like that…what’re you wearing?" Scoots knew this was wrong, somehow, but his hand was so firm, and his voice had that growl in it that she thought of when she was in the shower, and her eyes were hazy with a dark mist.

“You fucking love it, you subby lil’ tomboy. You want me to treat you like one of the boys until we’re all alone. Do I make you feel like a woman, Scoots? You want me to treat you like a woman?”

His tank top and jeans flared into a black pinstripe vest and slacks. There was a blood-red tie and a white rose on his lapel.

“H-Holy shit, bro. Since when do you like me like that?” Scoots said, shivering. “Why do you look like some kinda…”

“Sex demon?” Mean Buck smirked. His thumb brushed against Scootaloo’s lips, and she almost started to suckle on it. But then she saw Buck, the real one, holding his stomach and gagging.

“...Run, Scoots!” Buck said. He limped forward, but the flames coming off his clone’s back were blazing hot and freezing cold at the same time. His body was wracked with feverish shivers.

“I was planning on breaking Ditzy Doo first, but what the hell? I might as well treat myself to a lil’ lagniappe before the main course.” Mean Buck said. His teeth were sharpening; his tail flicking with perverse delight. Scootaloo kept her eyes on Buck, but she couldn’t seem to move. A strangely cold heat was sliding around her body and up her legs.

“Bro?” Scootaloo tried to say, but it was barely a squeak.

Buck rocketed into a red silhouette. One with long, pointed ears, a pair of slender wings and a proud mane.

“GET OFF HER!”

This was just what Mean Buck was waiting for. The clone pushed Scootaloo away and opened his arms, shrouding himself in dark flame just as Buck blazed at him, a red-hot comet.

An earth-shaking explosion blasted all the snow out of the front door of the Little Snow Drop Inn, and all the windows in the lobby. It shook the whole of the changeling hive.

Chrysalis heard it, pausing in the midst of her dress-up.

Adagio and Starlight heard it, and with a nod, they got to their feet.

It was so loud, Sunburst suddenly awoke in a strange place.

Outside the Inn, a small canary witnessed the structure shaking and strobing with colors.
It sat on its branch, watching the events with a strange stillness, then flew off toward the north, as if in a hurry.

Meanwhile, heavy base beats thudded across a wild audience filling out the Center Park Amphitheater. Fog and lasers filled the air, coordinated expertly with the silent but energetic moves of the woman manning the DJ setup. Her punk hairdo was electric blue, and her mesh top left little to the imagination as she worked up the crowd to a feverish fervor. With her deft hands on her deck and a mad metal mix screaming out of her speakers, she had them eating out of the palm of her hand.

Her name was Vinyl Scratch. This was a small charity concert to help the flagging funding of her old high school, and her set was loud, angry and nostalgic. Her story is sadly irrelevant to our harrowing tale in progress, at least for now, so we’re going to have to move on.

Instead, let’s sweep over the stage and into the crowd, where Lyra Heartstrings was moshing with the fury of a thousand Hot Topic visits. She was sweaty and already a bit sore, but the music was moving her, and the only thing that mattered was having fun. She wished that this was also the case for her date, Bon Bon, who was once again standing on the periphery of the show, checking her phone.

A cloaked figure watched intently from the edge of the crowd. Neither Lyra nor Bon Bon noticed.

It had been hours since Sunbursts’ last message, and Sweetie Drops was remaining as professional as she could. Her phone creaked in her death grip as it pinged with a new text.

“Strange lights at the Inn. Situation may be changing for the worse.” Said the text. Bon Bon’s thumbs tapped frantically.

“Just get the air drop ready and let me know if anything else changes.” A little ellipses bounced at the bottom of the chat. Sweetie Drops cut it off. “They’ll make it. Just be ready.”

Bon Bon glanced at Lyra and saw she was looking back at her, smiling, beckoning, trying as usual to get her to have some fun for once. She smiled ruefully and nodded, but then her phone buzzed again.

“Your case file is pending review. Amend your evaluation of subjects Adagio Dazzle and Purple Prose and update your progress report at your earliest convenience. Changes to the case may be necessary based on your testimony.” The text read.

This was office code for “You are on thin fucking ice. If you don’t convince us those two walking time bombs can be left alone, we’ll stick them in glass cells and reassign you to a remote location on portal watch.” Sweetie Drops was beyond tired of balancing the fate of Canterlot, these strange magical people, and her career on one finger. She shut her eyes and tried to block out the pounding base and the screaming crowd.

Suddenly, a hand landed on her shoulder. Sweetie Drops turned to see Lyra, and Bon Bon smiled ruefully.

“You should go home.” Lyra said.

“I’m sorry, I’m-” Bon Bon said.

“I get it. I really get it. Your job is really stressful and you want to be here with me! But you can’t right now. What’s going on here isn’t as important as whatever is happening on your phone.” Lyra said. “We can try this again when you actually have time for me.”

“Lyra, I swear I can explain.” Bon Bon started.

“Stop, just stop! You don’t have to. Just go home and do what you have to do.” Lyra said.

As Lyra rejoined the crowd, Sweetie Drops reached into her pocket, wrapping her finger around the replica memory stone inside.

She envied Bon Bon, a small-town girl who had been in Canterlot all her life, who was taking her first shaky steps into big business, who had a lifelong friend she could depend on.

Bon Bon was simple, kind, and wanted. Sweetie Drops wanted so desperately to be Bon Bon, without compromise. She squeezed the stone, and not for the first time, she thought hard about using it.

The stone warmed in her pocket, thrumming with power. Sweetie Drops, took a deep breath that did nothing to calm her down, and half-jogged across the street past the clinic. She hadn’t heard from Scootaloo either, and as she refocused on her job, she worried for Ditzy Doo’s safety. Maybe if she just confirmed the girl was okay, she’d be able to rest a little easy. Maybe then she could figure out some way to make it up to Lyra.

“Just don’t drop the plates, Sweetie, just don’t drop the plates!” Sweetie Drops mumbled, fighting tears as she rounded a corner. What happened next wasn’t really her fault. Accidents happen, especially when you’re stressed and not looking where you’re going.

Sweetie Drops turned a corner and slammed into another person, barreling them over onto the pavement. When Bon Bon stopped seeing stars, she recognized Ditzy Doo sprawled out on the ground, groaning as she picked herself up.

“Ugghhh…” Ditzy said.

“Huh? Oh. Oh, uh…” What would Bon Bon say, Sweetie Drops thought. “Oh, Ditzy! Is that you? Holy moly, I didn’t mean to bowl you over like that!”

“Bon Bon? It’s been years!” Ditzy Doo said, helping her old acquaintance to her feet.

“Are you hurt? I really knocked you down, there!”

“No, no, I’m okay. Happens all the time!” Ditzy said. “How have you been?”

What are you doing, Sweetie Drops thought.

“Me? I’m great! Everythings-everything’s good! Uh, how are you?”

“Things are…complicated. I’ve actually been going to therapy lately, which really has helped, but, uh…well. I don’t want to get into it. But hey, I didn’t know you were still in town! We should get together sometime!”

What are you doing!? You’re supposed to maintain a professional distance! Sweetie Drops thought.

“Sure, sure we should! Uh, do you still have my old number?” Bon Bon said.

“I do! Is it still the same?” Ditzy said.

“It sure is!” Bon Bon said.

“Okay, then I’ll call you! Hey, how’s Lyra doing, by the way? Are you two still together?” Ditzy said.

“Together? What do you mean?” Sweetie Drops said. Ditzy blushed.

“Oh, uh, I didn’t mean to-uh, everyone just kinda assumed that you, uh, nevermind!”

“Oookay, well, I kind of have to get going. But do call me later! We’ve got a lot to catch up on!” Bon Bon said, taking off with a friendly wave. She was around the next corner in seconds. Ditzy’s eye caught the glint of something that had hit the sidewalk in the crash.

“Wait, you dropped something! Uh…huh.” Ditzy said. “Hasn’t changed; that girl’s always on the move!”
Ditzy stooped down, nearly losing her balance all over again, and plucked an odd trinket from the sidewalk. It was an oval-shaped stone something-or-other, with some odd lines carved into the surface and a eye-like mark on the front.

“Now, what in the world is…wait. Wait, I’ve seen this before. This is that thingy that Starlight used to…”

And Ditzy’s innocent concern turned into a conspiratorial squint. She glanced around and didn’t see anyone watching. Then, she slipped the memory stone between the first two buttons on her blouse, hiding it in her ample cleavage.

The sun was just starting to dip below the city’s skyline as Ditzy walked away, filling the streets with lengthening shadows. From the deepening dark of a nearby alleyway, the cloaked figure from the concert watched Ditzy turn a corner, then followed her with silent menace.

It was like a flaming monochrome kaleidoscope had taken over the lobby. Screaming faces twisted in the pillar of flame.

Scoots was never really one for reading; she’d read the occasional Daring Doo book, and a bunch of tutorials online about proper running form, but this reminded her of something out of a Lovecraft story. Or at least what Buck and Sunburst had described.

Her mind was reeling, especially since she’d just seen Buck in some sort of evil business suit, and she finally understood that neuron activation meme.

Wait, Buck! He’s in that thing!

Scoots held a hand out. The tornado of black fire felt both hot and cold. Just reaching toward it made her fingers smoke and shiver.

“Okay, Scoots, what’re you gonna do? You'll probably die if you go in there. What the heck are you gonna do now?” Scootaloo said. “Buck is trapped inside that thing with…with Buck?”

“Buck?” Gregor said. Scootaloo jumped.

“GAAH! Stop following me!” Scootaloo said, glaring at Gregor. “My friend is in there!”

“Buck? Friend?” Greg said.

“That’s right, my friend! He needs me! That’s what friends do; they help each other out!” Scootaloo said. When she made to move, Greg did too. She couldn’t tell if it was out of habit or if the drone was going to try and capture her again. For a moment, the two just stood there, totally still, waiting for someone to make the first move.

But then Greg looked at his feet and walked past Scootaloo. He approached the spinning tower of fire, and he spoke in Buck’s voice.

“People need two things. To be fed and to be loved. With these guys, those things’re one and the same!”
Greg inhaled a gout of flame. Instantly, he was writhing in pain; Scootaloo could see him glowing red as he swallowed a mouthful of mana. He was drinking a hole into the side.

When Buck opened his eyes, he had to fight himself to avoid throwing up. It was like that time in Sunburst’s suite, when Adagio had tried to really draw out his power. Back then, Buck’s vision had gone white. He had only seen a bit of the crazy illusions that filled the space.

This time, Buck was trapped in a tornado of nightmares. A landscape of insanity lit by his dwindling pink flames. He saw twisted hills made out of human suffering, staircases made of shattered glass, and a chaotic mass of creatures for whom petty laws like gravity, mass, and structure were a hilarious joke. Somehow, every face in the pandemonium was that of someone he knew but twisted in pleasure and pain. On the horizon, Buck saw a towering colossus made of void and stars. He recognized a vague humanoid shape, but it had many horns and many wings, and its eyes were dying suns.

“Holy shit…I really need therapy, don’t I?” Buck said meekly. His pink aura guttered into floating sparks.

“Don’t you get it? Nobody’s gonna fix you, bro!” Mean Buck said. “You can’t even remember the last time you were really happy! Everyone talks shit on you, everyone looks down on you, and for what? Because you’re big and dark and odd? Because you’re unlucky? Because you’ve been through shit? No, it’s you.”

Suddenly, Mean Buck’s gauntlet closed around Buck’s face, and a black inferno surged into Buck’s eyes.
Buck saw all of his worst memories at once. He saw the look of terror on Ditzy’s face. He saw Adagio chasing him down a hotel hallway. Time kept running backward. Buck was turning nauseous. He was seeing things he never discussed with anyone.

He was sitting on the couch in his apartment, crying into his hands as his sister rubbed his back. Then he saw the reason he’d been weeping; the cameras, the delirious adrenaline, and Lightning Dust. And earlier still, he saw Her. Her telling him to get out of her sight that she never wanted to see him again, after everything he’d done for her, and he saw Coloratura, the girl he’d let down, and further back now he saw the Rainbooms fighting the good fight and him trying to help but getting tossed aside, and he saw Cranky Doodle, his shithead math teacher, telling him he’d never amount to anything if he kept writing in class, and he saw Spoiled Rich looming over him with a wad of cash, and then he was vomiting on the roof of his home as he smelled the bodies in the water and it was too much, it was all too much.

“Here’s the news, Buck. You’re not the main character. You’re busted goods. Worthless. You’re worthless, and everybody knows it! Admit it!” Mean Buck said.

Lost jobs, missed appointments and deadlines, failure after failure. A mountain of broken promises rising over the horizon, blotting out the sun, casting sickly shadows across the inside of Buck's skull. Its weight was his totality. He couldn't bear it anymore.

Buck fell to his knees. His face was streaked with tears and snot. His pink flame was all but extinguished.

“You’re right.” Buck said.

Mean Buck threw Buck aside and stomped on his chest.

“Say it!” Mean Buck snarled.

“I’m worthless.” Buck whimpered.

“They’ll all abandon you in the end. Why bother holding on?” Mean Buck growled. “Why don’t you let a real man take over, huh? I’ll fly where you failed, you useless piece of shit.”

Mean Buck’s hand lowered toward Buck’s face. The flames gathering in his palm promised oblivion.

“Just lay down and die.” Mean Buck said.

His grin tore open the side of his face as he brought the flames of hell down on Buck. But as the foul creature struck, Scootaloo’s skateboard smashed into the back of his head. The whole hellscape screamed in pain, flickering like an old VHS tape as Mean Buck collapsed to the ground, holding his head.

“Sneak attack.” Scootaloo said.

Buck looked up at Scootaloo, trying frantically to wipe the ick off his face. He didn’t want her to see him like this. He didn’t want to be seen in general; he was a total mess.

“Scoots, he’s, he’s right! He’s right! I am worthless! I can’t cut it as a hero, I can’t cut it as a regular guy, I’m not good enough for anything!” Buck wailed.

Scootaloo blinked, scratched her head, and gave out a sigh.

“Aw geez, I’m bad at this mushy stuff…! Buck, you’re not worthless, you’re just having a hard time!” Scootaloo said.

“I’m always having a hard time! When does it end, Scoots!? Why can’t I just get it right, for once!?”

“What are you talking about? Every time you join a fight, we end up winning!”

“What?”

Buck blinked, slack-jawed as if he'd been slapped. Scootaloo grabbed Buck’s hand and pulled him up.

“Oof, you’re heavy. Look, the whole reason you’re here is because we need you! You’re not worthless. And that frickin’ thing over there isn’t you. You’re the nicest guy I’ve ever met. Even though you’ve been through a lot, you’re always looking out for everyone around you, and you’re thoughtful, and sweet, and actually really funny! And you’re always including me in stuff, and you’re always asking me what I think, and I just…feel really good when you’re around!”

“Really?”

“And you’re handsome! And really good and roleplaying, and dancing, and singing, and you’ve got a really nice dick, okay?” Scootaloo was turning red as she babbled.

“Uhh…?”

“I’ve known you since high school, and you’ve always been this really cool guy, and it’s not because you have magic or whatever, but because you’re just a really solid dude! I know you’ve got a lot on your plate; but having bills, and debt and all that doesn’t define you! Making mistakes doesn’t define you! The Buck I know is…he’s great.” Scootaloo trailed off.

As Scootaloo was speaking, sparks of mana burst into being around Buck. They started pink, but then they took on a rainbow hue.

“GAAH! What the fuck!?” Mean Buck writhed in pain as those same sparks exploded across his body.

“You’re my best bro. And I’m not gonna let some weirdo in a suit tell you otherwise!” Scootaloo said. There was more she wanted to say, clearly, and Buck could see it, but none of it mattered right now. What mattered, he decided was this feeling of warmth.

Buck pulled Scootaloo into a tight hug.

“Thank’s, Scoots. You always come in clutch, like a good rogue.”

“I’m so tired of everyone being mad all the time! I just wanna go back to watching cartoons and playing games!”

“You’re right. This shit’s gotten way too complicated. But you know what? I think I’m startin’ to get the hang of it. I mean, I’ve seen the Rainbooms do this so many times, maybe I should just…you know, try it their way.” Buck said.

He smiled and tousled Scootaloo’s hair, and licks of rainbow light danced between his fingers. Then Buck turned to his damned clone, who was starting to rise again.

“What a buncha bullshit! Are you really gonna listen to her!? She barely even knows you; she just wants to fuck!” Mean Buck said.

“Hey! Th-that’s not true!” Scootaloo squealed.

“You don’t wanna fuck?” Buck raised an eyebrow at Scootaloo, who devolved into a red-faced, stammering mess.

“You know, I should thank you. I’ve been carrying this weight for so long, I never thought it could have a face.” Buck said. “Now, every time I get down on myself for some shit I cain’t control, I’m gonna imagine your ugly ass, and laugh.”

“FUCK YOU!” Mean Buck exhaled a torrent of black flame, but it fizzled before it could even reach Buck. The veil of rainbow strobed red, then pink, like the flare of a firework. Scootaloo had to squint just to keep eyes on Buck through the glare. He was smirking.

“I get it, now. You’re not my opposite; not really. You’re just the parts of me I don’t wanna deal with. But that’s not fair, is it? You cain’t just shove all that shit down, you gotta take responsibility for it.”

Buck's horns returned, but they were thick and curved like a ram. His feet turned cloven, and a faun’s tail protruded from his back. For some ungodly reason, he was hard as a rock.

As Buck strode purposefully toward his clone, Mean Buck shrunk away in terror. The nightmare world was shuddering with static. A pink sun was rising, and all the horrors were fleeing for the shadows.

“What…what is this cheesy shit? This is a fanfic, not a fuckin’ hallmark movie!” Mean Buck said.

“I’ve been doin’ a lotta running around, tryna put out fires instead of dealing with all the shit I’ve got buried deep down. I’ve been trying to get a grip on all this magic horseshit without realizing it’s all pretty simple. Magic…It’s art. It's pure expression; a window into our emotions, and the reason I’ve been having such a hard time is I keep bottling my feelings up instead of letting them speak.”

“No, no, no! Fuck you! Fuck you! You don’t get to pull this bullshit! Not now! Not after everything that’s happened! You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about!” Mean Buck raged.

Flames blasted at Buck. Spikes of stones rose from the floor to pierce him. Meteors rained from the sky, but all of it disappeared with a snap of Buck's fingers as he approached his copy.

“It’s alright to just let yourself feel things. You don’t need permission, and you don’t need to wait for the time to be right.” Buck said.

“Shut up! Shut up! Stop looking at me like that! I’m evil! I’m the evil in you!” Mean Buck wailed.

“No, no you're not. We’re just lost, and confused. Come here.”

Buck grabbed his clone, but this time, instead of struggling, he held the doppelganger against his chest.

“It’s alright. I know we’re all fucked up, and I know it hurts. It’s alright to cry and yell.”

Mean Buck shuddered. He tensed up, ready to spit bile and hatred, but all that came was a choked sob. Slowly, his trembling arms slid around Buck’s waist, and he cried hot tears into his chest.

"I acknowledge you. You're a part of me, and I'm not gonna just leave you alone anymore."

The pink sun shone over the hellscape in Buck’s heart, and in a grand solar flare, the illusion disappeared. Scootaloo covered her eyes as a brilliant pink flash enveloped the lobby.

Starlight Glimmer and Adagio Dazzle limped down the hallway back to the lobby. Starlight’s arm was over Adagio’s shoulder, but if you asked either of them, they couldn’t be sure who was supporting whom.

“We will never speak of this again.” Adagio said.

“Save it for therapy. We still have a Queen to catch.” Starlight said.

“Right. We just have to hope that Buck has been judicious with his mana consumption.” Adagio said.

The pair turned the corner and saw the lobby in total disarray. Much of it was scorched black. Shallow rifts pockmarked the floor, and strange spiky pillars protruded from the carpet. Parts of the room were engulfed in pink flames. To Adagio, the space smelled like burnt marshmallows and caramelized sugar.

“So much for that.” Starlight said, then yelped as Adagio dropped her to run over to Buck, who was smoking in a small crater. Beside him was part of a log engraved with an image of his cutie mark, tacked with a Polaroid picture of Buck sitting at his writing desk.

“Buck? Are you alright?” Adagio said, stopping just at the edge of the crater. Buck looked at her as if waking from a dream. He was back to normal.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good. I think, I think I learned something.” Buck said.

“Like how to burn down a lobby?” Starlight said. “Hey wait, Scootaloo, what are you doing here!?”

“Uh, it’s a funny story, actually.” Scootaloo said, and started to explain.

“Hey, Greg, buddy! Y’alright?” Buck said. In the corner, Greg was on all fours, hacking up black smoke.

“Greg’s alright.” He coughed, giving a thumbs up.

“Did…did you beat him?” Adagio said.

“Sorta? I figured out what my pink power is, and how to use it. Kind of.” Buck said. “Check it out!”

Buck stepped over to Greg, and though the changeling shrunk away, perhaps in fear, perhaps in shame, Buck placed a hand on his head. Adagio’s eyes widened in shock as pink embers flickered across Greg’s black carapace, filling the holes in his limbs. There was no fizzle or pop, or any kind of explosion. It felt like standing next to a lit hearth.

“Happy!” Greg said.

Buck smiled with pride, perhaps expecting adulations for his accomplishment, but Adagio was stunned. The power that she’d shrunk away from in fear, the power that threatened to char her down to her bones, Buck had deployed simply and easily. She was unsure if she'd under or overestimated the man. His power. He knew! He had to know, but what would that mean for Adagio? She felt she was standing in the threshold of a new world. And she was afraid.

Before anyone could say anything, the massive doors at the top of the grand staircase opened with a ponderous groan.

Queen Chrysalis strode through them on a pair of clacking heels. She was dressed in a purple gown, torn to show a great deal of leg, and a black corset cinched tightly around her waist. She clapped slowly, grinning maliciously as she descended the stairs with elegant, deliberate steps.

“Excellent, Buck! You are every bit the flawless specimen I thought you were!” Chrysalis said.

Crack!

In the space of a second, Starlight Glimmer pulled from the pink flames around her, turning them blue before firing them at Chrysalis like buckshot. The mana bolts bounced off Chrysalis as if she were made of steel. Starlight noticed with shock that Chrysalis was wearing the changeling stone necklace that was meant for Buck.

“And you’re just as feeble as I expected, Starlight Glimmer.” Chrysalis said, snapping her fingers. A phalanx of changeling drones zipped out of the doors, pelting the party with slime.

“Run!” Adagio said and pushed Scootaloo aside before getting pasted to the floor. Scootaloo did not need to be told twice; she mounted her skateboard, and with a sudden burst of air, she tore off down a hallway. A few drones chased her as she fled. Queen Chrysalis didn't seem to notice her at all.

Starlight also tried to flee, but her bum leg dragged, and she was swiftly restrained to the ground.

Chrysalis strode toward Buck. Her sharp, slitted eyes had to stare down her nose to make eye contact. She began to speak, but Greg jumped in front of Buck, taking as much of a defensive stance as he could muster.

“Stand aside.” Chrysalis hissed.

“No!” Greg said.

“What did you say?”

“No! Buck! Friend!” Greg barked.

“I see.” Chrysalis said with frigid calmness. She lifted a claw, and for a moment, Buck feared she would reach down and break Gregor’s neck, but instead, she snapped her fingers, and a few drones dogpiled Greg, dragging him away.

“Greg! What are you going to do to him!?” Buck said.

“It seems to have undergone some change. I take it that was your doing?” Chrysalis said.

“Let him go! Greg didn’t do anything wrong! Let him go!” Buck said.

“Do you really think you’re in any position to make demands?” Chrysalis sneered. Her tone had all the matronly force of an advancing steamroller.

“Yes.” Buck said, and his eyes blazed with red and pink flame.

A long pause ensued.

Adagio and Starlight watched as Buck stared up at the merciless Queen of the Changelings without so much as a quiver or blink. Where was the conscientious coward Starlight Glimmer had criticized? Where was the hapless fool that Adagio had seduced? Here was the blazing lighthouse Adagio truly feared, but his golden beam was fixed on the enemy.

“Fine.” Chrysalis said. “Greg, as you call it, will not be harmed.”

The drones pulling Greg away handled him a bit gentler but still held him in place.

“Okay, cool. Can you let my friends go?”

“No. They came here as invaders, but I will happily treat them as guests in exchange for your company.” Chrysalis said diplomatically.

“What?” Buck said.

Chrysalis then graciously curtsied at Buck with practiced poise.

“Purple Prose, I would like to formally invite you to a dinner date, complete with a bevy of refreshments, and a show.”

“...Hhhwhat?” Buck said.

“My people are in peril, and I desire your cooperation. I’d like to enjoy your company for the evening, so we can discuss a possible alliance. We have much to gain from each other, I assure you.” Chrysalis said with a sharp smile.

Buck looked at his restrained allies, then at his shoes, then back at Chrysalis. A tumbleweed rolled across the field of his mind.

“Well damn, if all this was about a date, you oughta know that my rates are-”

“Hah! I’m surprised by your boldness! I thought you would tremble in terror upon meeting me a third time.” Chrysalis said.

“A third? But we’ve only met once, and you were Adagio for the part where I was conscious.”
Chrysalis smiled and transformed into Ms. Harshwhinny, save for her professional scowl, which was more of a lecherous leer.

“Does this form ring a bell?” Chrysalis said.

“Oh. Oh, shit. You were that client? Holy shit, did you guys know?” Buck said, turning to Starlight and Adagio. Starlight shrugged with bewliderment, whereas Adagio didn’t meet his eye.

“...I thought you would be embarrassed if you knew.” Adagio murmured.

“For fuck’s sake! Nobody tells me anything around here!” Buck huffed. “Alright, alright, you’re giving me the willies, can you go back to your real form? That was your real form, right?”

“Well, of course it is. You’ve seen it before; don’t you remember?” Chrysalis said, flipping back. She seemed amused by Buck’s confusion.

“No, no, I definitely would’a remembered all of this.” Buck said.

“Really? You were quite frightened. You went entirely catatonic!” Chrysalis prodded.

“No, that can’t…I would’ve remembered seeing…wait. Hold on. Hold on, wait a second.”
Buck started putting pieces together in his mind. He felt a sudden pain at his temple, which he’d mistaken for a migraine before, as he turned to look at Starlight Glimmer. She wouldn’t look in his eyes.

“Son of a bitch. What did you do? What did you take outta my head, Starlight!?” Buck said, flaring red.

“You…you were traumatized! You we’re freaking out; you were starting to awaken, so we-” Starlight started.

“Who the fuck is we!?” Buck half-shouted.

“I needed to make a cover for the gap in your memory, so I…I asked Ditzy Doo to help me.” Starlight said.

“What a marvelous betrayal! They must truly be terrified of your power! Isn’t it hard to find good allies these days?” Chrysalis tittered derisively.

Buck stood there, seething. His hands flexing, his jaw clenched, fury rolling off his shoulders.

Starlight’s mind was even more strained. She had spent hours in a cave with this man, fighting by his side, scraping and bickering with him, and finally letting him in on her story. She had left him to face his worst nightmare, and he had come out on top. He had spent the last several months containing the greatest threat to Canterlot and the world, and he had done it while under massive strain and stress.

And what had she done? She had reached into his head and moved things around in an attempt to pacify him. She had manipulated him. Lied to him. Used him. Put him in harm’s way, and all because of the potential magic within him.

Starlight Glimmer had spent so much time trying to prevent the kind of disaster her father had caused, but here she was, manipulating an innocent person for her own gain. Was she really that different?

“I’m sorry.” Starlight said.

Adagio glared at Queen Chrysalis, then looked at Buck tenderly, and there was a silent bit of communication.

While Chrysalis laughed at Starlight, Buck tilted his head at her while looking at Adagio. Equal parts fury and curiosity fought on his face. He looked like he might cry. Adagio’s eyes widened but then filled with a silent determination. She mouthed out the words: “Adapt or Die”.

Buck remembered the fight with Smolder and how Adagio had swallowed her pride to rise to the occasion.

He took a deep breath, then, with great effort, he smirked.

“Well, my sense of trust is in shambles.” Buck sighed. “You’re going to have a hard time warming me up for this date, lady.”

“Funny you should mention that. I know that my true form is a bit unsightly to some, so I’ve made a bit of special preparation for your sake.” Chrysalis said.

“Is it a hot appetizer?” Buck said.

“Something like that.” Chrysalis chuckled.

In the wake of a green flash, the changeling Queen’s colors reversed. Her pitch-black skin changed to a pale green; her matted tresses turned ginger auburn, shining like silk. She was petite now, too, about a head shorter than Buck. Her eyes remained the same sharp emerald color, but her curves bloomed drastically. Buck couldn’t be completely sure, but he thought he recognized the shapes: Adagio’s wide hips stretching the dress and Ditzy’s incredible rack straining against the black corset.

Critically, she kept the crown of curling antennae at the top of her head.

Buck could feel steam rising out of his own head.

“So. What do you say, Purple Prose? Will you spend the evening with me?”

“...Phew. It’s Chrysalis, right? That’s a beautiful name.”

“That’s Queen Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings.”

“Can I call you Chryssi?”

“No.”

“Well, Queen Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings, since my friends have betrayed me, and Adagio is, you know, Adagio, I’ve decided to accept. You can wine and dine me, and I’ll hear you out.”

“I just knew you’d see reason.” Chrysalis said. She grinned down at Adagio and Starlight as she offered her arm to Buck.

“What I can see is you lookin’ fine as fuck in that dress. Is all of that for me?” Buck said.

“Ah! You…flattery will get you nowhere with me!” Chrysalis spluttered, a green blush splashing across her face, then blinked in surprise as Buck slipped an arm around her waist.

“You wanna make a bet on that, chere?”

“...bring them to the dining room!” Chrysalis said.

Starlight and Adagio were dragged to their feet, bound at the wrists, and without a fight, they made for the stairs.

Starlight’s eyes were down as they followed Buck and Chrysalis up the stairs, but she snapped to attention as Adagio elbowed her in the ribs.

A string of letters stretched across Buck’s back, written in red, flashing like a neon sign. The drones either didn’t care or couldn’t read them, but Adagio and Starlight got the message loud and clear.

“Trust Me.”

Author's Note

Whew, that was a hell of a gap, wasn't it? The next chapter shouldn't take four entire months, but I'm doing a novel for NaNoWriMo, so it might be a bit before y'all hear from me again. This year of my life has been a hell of an emotional roller coaster, but it has leveled out into some truly positive changes.
Sometimes, life is just good, and it's best to go ahead and roll with it.

It took me a long time to decide the title for this one. So many songs about facing your demons are depressing and morose, and that wasn't the intent of this chapter. This is a confrontation, not a pity party.
I love the idea of facing your shadow self, and I love the concept of the Mean 6, so I decided to leverage it here. Mirror matches are rad, and facing your trauma head-on is a goliath challenge that we all have to take some time.

Dr. Sunshine is Dead feels like a boss battle that Will Wood is fighting against himself. The music video has what I can only describe as schizophrenic Undertale vibes. It's a manic meditation on the struggle for identity. My interpretation is that it is Will Wood reckoning with the fact that he has changed from the person he was known to be. "I will be my sunshine, I will be my moon at night." are among the last bars sung in the song, essentially the singer deciding that every version of who you are is the real one; past, present and future.