“What do you mean the corruption isn’t really gone?!” Starlight Glimmer demanded.

Non stared at her blankly before replying with a shrug. “What do you think I mean?”

“Well, I don’t know! I guess I was just hoping not to hear that this nightmare we’ve all had to endure is going to be at risk of happening all over again!” the unicorn shouted, throwing her hands into the air.

“Starlight, please!” Twilight Sparkle interjected, glaring sternly at her. “It’s not like he’s trying to let it happen!”

Starlight Glimmer only grumbled to that, slumping forward and leaning on the counter of the map.

They were arrayed around the central table of the map room in the Castle of Friendship. Non sat across from the two ponies, perched on a shadowy construct of dark energy, in part because he didn’t feel it was his place to occupy any of the thrones, and also because they were all too small for him anyway. The hooded agents had come through the castle earlier and repaired the damage to the wall, as well as the damage in Spike’s room, both the architectural sundering and the flooding of fluids. The holographic projection of the map had been activated, and with some of Non’s magical input parts of the world had been lit up with a purple miasma. In the time they had been sitting here, they had watched the purple slowly recede, in some places disappearing entirely, but pockets of it still remained scattered across the country.

“Though I have always done my best to be thorough, I unfortunately cannot guarantee that there will be no trace of the corruption left by the time I am finished,” the white serpent said while leaning forward and tracing his fingers over the surface of the map. “It is an ethereal substance, if it isn’t presented with anything to latch onto then it will simply go dormant and wait for a suitable vessel. As long as there are creatures experiencing emotional duress, there is always a chance for it to reemerge.”

“Not like we’re ever at any shortage of that,” Starlight Glimmer muttered.

“Is there really nothing that can be done about it?” Twilight Sparkle asked warily.

“Nothing short of going over the whole planet with a fine comb.” Non grimaced and sighed. “Even with the number of agents I have at my command, it’s simply infeasible to spend so much time on a single world. The corruption is affecting planets all across the multiverse. Even as we speak, I have task forces responding to six other incidents, and the groups that are operating without my involvement are at significantly greater risk.”

Twilight Sparkle grimaced in turn. It was hard for her just to imagine how the recovery efforts were being coordinated across Equus. It boggled her mind to envision what it must be like on an interplanetary scale.

“In the event of a resurgence, we simply have to send a new team to cover for the damage. They are usually smaller in scale, but it’s still of the utmost importance to nip those in the bud before they get out of hand.” Then he offered them a smile. “In the case of this world, though, I believe that it’s going to be in good hands with you and your friends.”

The alicorn smiled back before turning to Starlight Glimmer. The unicorn was less sure, having not had the benefit of experiencing clarity during the corruption in the way the others had, but the corners of her lips faintly perked upward.

“And on that note, I suppose it’s time that I took my leave,” Non then announced, bobbing as he stood up, “my presence is needed elsewhere. I’ll be in touch if anything urgent comes up.”

“Hey, Non.” He stopped mid-turn at the sound of Twilight Sparkle calling out to him. She looked at him warmly and sympathetically. “Don’t be afraid to just come by if you feel like it. That’s what friends do.”

Non stared back at her, silent for several seconds, perhaps confused or uncertain, but his dark eyes twinkled. “Sure,” he finally said, “I’d love to.”

The air rippled around him, and he was gone.

“Buck.” Starlight Glimmer promptly groaned in exasperation while leaning back in her chair. “This has been such a mess.”

Twilight Sparkle might have been tempted to say the same thing, albeit without the swearing. She saw now on the cutie map that Ponyville was completely clear of the corruption’s influence, but at its peak it had affected approximately a third of its population. Canterlot had been at more than half, with the castle having been completely overtaken, before Non arrived to stem the tide. There were so many ponies who were in need of assistance.

On that thought, she looked toward the other mare and asked, “Are you really sure you don’t want to talk about anything?”

Starlight Glimmer glanced back at her before she closed her eyes and sighed. “What could I tell you that I haven’t already, Twilight? I ran a cutie mark-hating cult in a remote village, I tried several times to temporally destroy Equestria over a petty grudge, I felt like my best friend had abandoned me. All these things and more eat me up on a daily basis.” She folded her arms over her front (over another shirt identical to the one she had been wearing earlier—Trixie had a lot of unsold merchandise, it turned out). “I thought everything I was doing here was going to help me improve from that…”

“Luna said something like that,” Twilight Sparkle mused in turn, “I suppose it’s not enough for a pony to start doing good things again. They really need to confront their past selves.” It suddenly occurred to her how many creatures she was acquainted with who had been antagonistic forces in her life beforehand. She wasn’t looking forward to having to talk to Trixie about any of this. At least Discord had seemingly been completely unaffected by the corruption.

“I know I’d certainly have some choice words to say to my past self,” the unicorn remarked bitterly.

“Perhaps you could have some words to say to your old neighbors at Our Town?” she ventured with a gentle, hopeful smile. “It’s been a while since you last went to visit there. I’m sure there are plenty of ponies there who would like to hear from you again.” She was conscious that the projection of Our Town on the map was currently very purple; it would likely be beneficial for far more ponies than just the mare sitting next to her. “And you could always…speak to Sunburst?”

Starlight Glimmer blushed faintly at the mention of Sunburst. She had yet to relate much to Twilight Sparkle about what had happened after she last saw her, only that she had managed to teleport all the way to the Crystal Empire, something even she couldn’t have done with such ease—it seemed that the corruption was capable of boosting one’s magical capacity if it was for the sake of “convenience.” Non had returned with her in tow after he went to coordinate the relief efforts in the north, a process which was still ongoing. The Crystal Empire had seen almost total corruption, no doubt in the lingering wake of King Sombra’s tyranny and the centuries in which the crystal ponies had been displaced in time. Twilight Sparkle tightened inwardly at the thought of her brother and Princess Cadence, knowing all the pain that they had personally had to endure.

“Yeah…sure, I guess it couldn’t hurt,” Starlight Glimmer admitted wearily, offering a wan smile in return when Twilight Sparkle reached over and gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Although…you know…”

“Huh?” The alicorn perked up, eager to welcome anything her friend thought pertinent to tell her.

Starlight Glimmer gave a weak chuckle before she continued. “I’ve been wondering for a while if Sunburst was ever going to nut up and rut me. I never thought I would be the one doing the rutting.”

“Starlight!” Twilight Sparkle gave her a weak shove, but despite her own blush and accompanying mortification she couldn’t keep from breaking out into laughter along with the unicorn. At this point, she had seen enough that the mere topic of sex had become desensitized to her. Perhaps all of Equestria was going to have to adjust to that very soon.

= = = = =

“All done,” the hooded figure announced, standing aside so that Big McIntosh could inspect their work. Their voice was muffled and androgynous, making it difficult to discern their gender. It didn’t help matters that, after the past night, he couldn’t be sure whether the prominent bulging shape over the agent’s groin was meant to be a cock and balls or a distended vulva.

The stallion stepped forward and looked at the wall which had been torn open not even a minute earlier. One mightn’t have thought that there had ever even been any damage in the first place. He had been expecting that he would have to do the repairs himself, but he wasn’t going to turn down the assistance, especially since it had also entailed repairing the bed and dresser that had been crushed as well. All the same, this was an Apple house, so that meant there were standards that had to be upheld when it came to craftsmanship, and there was only one way to be sure that it was up to snuff.

Big McIntosh banged his fist on the wall. The wood rattled but held steady. “Eeyup,” he declared plainly.

The hooded figure bowed to him, and then they vanished.

He looked around the bedroom, feeling satisfied that it had been returned to its original state, and with it some semblance of the normalcy which he and his family had known before this. Even the smell of medicine had returned, and all the little knick-knacks and photographs had been returned to their proper places.

Then he turned and walked out, heading to check on the pony who had caused the damage in the first place.

He could hear her chatter echoing through the house before he even left the room.

“—still a whole three acres o’ trees that need harvestin’! How do you young-uns expect to get it all done by yourselves at this rate?! You need more hands ‘round here, dagnabbit!”

Big McIntosh came into the kitchen and found Granny Smith ranting and raving at Apple Bloom, who seemed to be doing her best to tune out the noise while she worked on stirring a bowl of batter.

“Big Mac!” The elderly mare immediately turned her attention to him upon becoming aware of his presence, and he found a walking cane being prodded at his chest. “You tell this dang whippersnapper that she needs to get the cotton outta her ears and listen to me!”

“Listen to what?” he asked, though he had a guess at what the answer was going to be.

“Granny thinks it woulda been better if the shady snake guys had let her stay all big ‘n stuff,” Apple Bloom interjected without looking away from her work.

“Don’t gimme that look!” Granny Smith snapped at Big McIntosh when he turned back to her with an eyebrow raised. “You can’t tell me you don’t need somepony else pullin’ their weight ‘round the farm!”

“Granny, you couldn’t even fit inside the house,” he replied flatly.

“I coulda built my own dang house!” she shouted, banging her cane on the table. “I’d get everythin’ done all by my lonesome, thank you very much! Then I’d invite all the girls over and we’d play gin rummy before dancin’ on the poles all night!”

Big McIntosh felt a need to open a barrel of cider just so he could have something to be in the middle of drinking and then spit out in response to that. And then he’d have to down the rest of the barrel to forget the image that had been conjured in his mind.

But Granny Smith quickly deflated even without the need for any further input from him. She settled into her seat, putting the cane back down on the floor, hunching forward and staring down at the table. Her jaw was clenched tightly, but the weariness in her expression was plain to see, etched across lines and wrinkles. “I jus’ wanted to lend a hand…” she muttered under her breath.

“Granny, I know it made you feel better, but…it just wasn’t worth what it was doin’ to your head,” he said consolingly while slowly reaching for her hand, but she pulled away from him.

“Ha! You make it sound like my head was doin’ all that great to begin with!” she shot back, and she had her lips twisted into a wry smirk. “I was thinkin’ clearer than I have in a dog’s age!”

There came a disapproving whine from Winona under the table.

“Lemme tell you somethin’, Big Mac.” She jabbed her finger toward him now. “I knew exactly what I was doin’ all that time, an’ I was jus’ fine with it! Why I’d do it all over again if I could!”

Big McIntosh stared back at her with a thin frown. He wanted to believe her, but he had a hard time being sure considering his own experience. The time that he had been corrupted was a dreamlike haze in his memory, a blur of sex and flesh. He knew that he had wanted to go on a sex spree, he knew that he liked being a virile and powerful stallion, he knew that it had felt good, but it seemed difficult to be sure of how true that all was when there hadn’t been any degree of lucidity throughout the whole affair.

“I mean…” There was a sizzling and crackling as Apple Bloom poured dollops of the batter into a frying pan, and then she turned toward them. She had her arms crossed behind her back, her ears drooping. “Is it…really so bad if that nasty stuff was makin’ ‘em happy?”

“Apple Bloom, weren’t you scared outta your wits the whole time?” Big McIntosh asked her sternly, “How can you think this was a good idea?”

“W-well…yeah, I know!” she asserted, narrowing her eyes even as her cheeks flushed, “B-but that was jus’ ‘cause we didn’t know what was happenin’! I’m jus’ sayin’…now that we know, I…I guess I see how some ponies would like it.” Her gaze shifted subtly toward Granny Smith. “Like…like Applejack!”

The stallion’s expression hardened further. “Apple Bloom.”

“What?!” she cried, “Wasn’t it what she always—”

A door slammed upstairs and hooves started clopping across the floor. Everything stopped in the kitchen while the steps came tromping down the stairs, up until the moment when Applejack emerged in the doorway. She’d put on casual clothes, seeing as there wasn’t exactly a lot of time left in the day to do all the chores she’d allotted herself with. Her hat was in its proper place atop her head. “Hey y’all,” she announced, putting on a smile.

Big McIntosh was not especially convinced.

Winona didn’t need much more than that, scampering out from the table and eagerly running circles around her owner’s legs.

“Sis!” Apple Bloom turned to her other sibling for reassurance. “Tell ‘em how much you wanted to have foals!”

“Apple Bloom.” But that only meant that it was now her turn to fix a souring glare upon the young mare. “Shouldn’t you be keepin’ an eye on those flapjacks?”

She blinked. “Wh-wha—Ah, no!” She whirled around and got to flipping the pancakes on the frying pan before they put out any more smoke.

“I’m gonna go out for a walk,” Applejack then said while her sister was distracted, already turning to leave. “I won’t be long.”

“You better not, don’t wanna miss Apple Bloom’s world-famous charcakes!” Granny Smith said with a guffaw.

But Big McIntosh got up from his chair, both to escape the bickering before it started up and to follow after Applejack. Even at a leisurely pace, she had already put considerable distance between them, out the door, Winona trotting at her heels. They walked in the crisp air, the chill of night starting to settle over the countryside again, so much of the day already gone in such a short span of time. They passed the barrels and barrels of apples that Granny Smith had managed to gather while she was under the effects of the corruption.

“You don’t need to come with me,” Applejack said plainly once the stallion had caught up to her.

He didn’t say anything. He was ready to turn back, but he stayed alongside her when she made no further request for him to leave. Big McIntosh wasn’t known for being a pony of many words, but there was value in that, in being somepony who could simply stand and listen. They walked for a while in silence, the only sound around them being the rustling of leaves and the occasional yip from Winona.

And then abruptly her voice came out: “They weren’t real.”

He looked toward her, perplexed. “What?”

“The foals.” Applejack slowed, and Winona came up close to her, whimpering quietly. “They…they weren’t real. It wasn’t a real pregnancy. It jus’…felt like it was. That Non feller, he said it was a…a simulation, whatever that means.” She traced circles around her stomach with her palm. “When he came to take that junk outta me, I…I got so wound up ‘cause I didn’t know what had happened. I was empty again, I couldn’t feel ‘em anymore. I got violent, Mac. I guess that’s…maternal instinct, ain’t it?”

She was hobbling now, her whole body tense, musculature showing through the surface of her clothes. Big McIntosh rested a hand on her shoulder, and they both stopped. In the gloaming light, he saw the glimmering in her eyes, not quite ready to issue forth. “I’m sorry, Sis,” he eventually murmured to her, the only thing he could think to say, the summation of the flurry of conflicting thoughts swirling in his mind.

And after another span of quiet, she managed to give a weak smile as she turned back toward him. “At least I got to feel it at all, right?” she replied. “That’s more than I could have hoped for before.”

Big McIntosh nodded slowly. “Eeyup.”

They started walking again, through the trees. A part of him was expecting when Applejack eventually took a turn off from the beaten path and led the way across the grass. They approached an old lot that was home to a number of worn stones, memorials jutting up from the earth. The final resting place of all those of the Apple family who had lived in Ponyville.

It was something of an automatic process for them at this point. They came to a stop at two of the headstones. Big McIntosh came forward to brush a few stray leaves off the tops. Winona laid down with her head in her paws and went still. Applejack took her hat off and held it over her chest. Now the tears were allowed to spill.

“Hey…Ma, Pa,” she said. “I…I got somethin’ to tell you ‘bout.”

= = = = =

Mayor Mare had reinitiated the processes of cogent thought not even an hour ago and she was already tired of it.

Perhaps she had hoped that there would at least be a lull in activity immediately after those serpents in their hoods and robes swept through Ponyville, repairing the damage that had been done. She couldn’t have been more wrong. The distraught civilians came back almost immediately, renewed in their outrage over the indecency that had been forced upon them, now with the addition of those who were mistrusting of their mysterious saviors. Their ringleader had briefly been present to assist in quelling the outrage, but he had left her by herself before long, left her to fend for herself.

Then there was the letter from the former princess Celestia which was laid upon her desk. Even with her spectacles on she was having a hard time reading it. She took them off and rubbed at her eyes, pinched the bridge of her muzzle, brushed aside her grey-once-more mane, anything to distract her. Her head hurt.

She was zoning out.

(stop)

Calm flushed through her system. Despite the intent, it was almost more like an electric shock. She breathed heavily. Her eyes darted to the band on her wrist, the smooth onyx material with a pulsating purple gem embedded in it. A necessity, they had told her, because she was high priority. She was deemed to be at high risk of relapsing, and it was important for somepony in a position of power to retain their full faculties. This was the third time it had happened. Or…was it the fourth?

The gem was starting to flash brighter.

“Right,” she said aloud, “time for a break.”

The motions to stand and shuffle out of the office behind came all too easily, eager to put it behind her. “I’m going out,” Mayor Mare announced dully to the empty suites of the town hall offices. Nopony else had reported in for the day. She couldn’t blame any of them given the circumstances, but that didn’t make it any less frustrating. At least it made her less self-conscious about still opting to wear casual clothes.

She wrenched the front door open, and there was somepony standing on the other side.

Ditzy Doo stood there, frozen in place for several seconds. She had one hand raised up, poised to knock on the door, while the other was clutching a stack of letters. Her golden eyes stared at Mayor Mare for a scant couple of seconds before they began to list, drifting apart from each other. Then she gave a proclamation of “Special delivery!” while holding out the letters. Anypony who knew Ditzy Doo, though, would be able to discern how there was just slightly less energy and enthusiasm in her tone than usual. And in a close-knit town like Ponyville, everypony knew the local mailpony.

“Ditzy, you know you don’t have to push yourself at a time like this,” she said with the gentle sternness of a concerned parent.

The grey pegasus wilted slightly, posture and ears and wings sagging, and she looked down at the letters in her hand. “I guess, but…the mail’s gotta go where the mail’s gotta go, don’t it?”

Mayor Mare looked her over, eyes scanning quickly. Amidst the browns of her uniform, she took notice of the onyx band around the mare’s wrist.

“Miss Doo.” She spoke warmly and put on a smile, a gesture that came surprisingly naturally to her. “Why don’t you come for a walk with me?”

Ditzy Doo blinked confusedly at her again. “But…but the mail—”

Mayor Mare took the letters that had been offered to her and threw them over her shoulder without a glance at what was printed on them, leaving them to flutter to the floor. “Leave your bag here,” she instructed, “you can come back to pick it up when we’re done.”

The other mare still seemed unsure, hesitating with her hands clutching at the bag slung over her shoulder, but she ultimately did as she was told, and the two of them stepped down from the entrance of town hall.

The streets of Ponyville were largely deserted, activity closer to that which one would expect during the dead of night. It wouldn’t be surprising if there were a number of ponies who were catching up on their sleep after being awoken by the commotion in the wee hours of the morning. Far more, though, Mayor Mare imagined, were simply not in the right headspace for socialization yet. Those who had had their lives upset by the chaos of the night before needed time to calm themselves. Those who had been twisted by the corruption needed time to look inside themselves. How much time any of them would need was uncertain.

There were no businesses open aside from Sugarcube Corner, owing to the perpetual energy reserves of a certain pink baker. There were occasional glimpses of movement in windows but there were no ponies out on the streets. The most activity came from those otherworldly serpents, cloaked forms almost gliding along the ground like ghosts. Ponies watched them from their windows but would almost always snap the blinds or curtains shut if they suspected that they were being seen. Mayor Mare frowned at this behavior; it was unavoidable to some extent, but she would have hoped that more ponies would be grateful for what they had done for them, no matter how strange they were. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same, she had to suppose. Her diplomatic side hoped that Non and his people would be staying long enough to establish a presence in Equestria, not just for what they offered in terms of fighting the influence of the corruption but for establishing relations between species, between worlds. Funny that that side of her was only showing its face now that she was out of the office.

It was only after several long quiet minutes in which she was conscious of Ditzy Doo’s constant anxious fidgeting that she took notice of something that particularly stood out.

“Octavia?” she called out in surprise, “Octavia Melody?”

But the mare showed little sign of response. She was sitting upon a park bench listlessly, all by herself, swaddled in a bulky jacket. While they approached, it seemed as if she might have been asleep, but her eyes were merely half-lidded. Her breathing looked shallow. It was only as they were nearly upon her and Mayor Mare was on the verge of speaking again that they caught her attention, weakly turning toward them. Her expression immediately betrayed a deep emotional exhaustion. “O-oh,” she mumbled, barely audible, “greetings, Mayor, and Ditzy.”

Mayor Mare cut to the chase immediately. “What’s wrong?” she asked, sitting down beside the younger mare. Ditzy Doo continued to fidget in place before taking up the far end of the bench as well.

Octavia tried to shrink away, but she lacked the strength to stand, leaving her only able to press into the corner provided by the bench’s back and arm rest. “I…it’s…” she stammered, but the syllables were almost involuntary, spilling out from her. She was clearly unwilling to actually commit to saying anything.

“Miss Melody.” Mayor Mare’s sternness rose to the forefront again. Her countenance was rigid and imposing despite sitting on a bench instead of behind her desk and wearing an old Luna Theater shirt instead of a dress suit. “I believe that the past hours have taught us that we all need to be more open about what’s hurting us.” And then she turned to glance pointedly in the other direction, at Ditzy Doo, who slumped guiltily in turn.

It would be several long seconds more before Octavia responded. She clutched at herself and she shivered in spite of the bulky clothes she wore. Her eyes clenched shut, but the gate of her eyelids wasn’t enough to hold back the trickle of tears. “I was so ready for it to be over,” she whispered, scarcely audible, a squeal escaping her.

Feeling that this might necessitate a different method of attack, Mayor Mare went for a different question. “Why aren’t you at your home?”

This time she immediately blurted out, “Vinyl’s angry at me.”

Now they were getting somewhere, and that somewhere was more questions. “She’s angry?” the mayor asked, one eyebrow raised. “Vinyl Scratch was among those affected by the corruption, was she not?” After a slight nod of confirmation, she continued. “What reason could she possibly have for that?”

“She…sh-she…” Octavia’s breath came in gasps and choked sobs. She pulled her legs up in front of herself and ultimately had to cover her face with her hands. “She th-thought I should ha-have…b-b-been there for her.”

“So you left her when she transformed.” Mayor Mare hummed thoughtfully. She had her hand resting on top of the bench’s back rest, close to but not touching Octavia. She knew that a number of families and friends had been separated when one among their group was twisted by the corruption. “Why was that?”

“Why do you think?!” Bitter anger lashed out from within the melancholy as Octavia snapped back, but that force was short-lived. “I g-got woken up in the middle of the night by my girlfr-friend making a mess in the living room because sh-she had a…a giant p-p-penis! Who in their right mind would stay while that was happening?!” Tears were running free and hot over her cheeks.

At first, all Mayor Mare could do was stare back with the neutral expression that she had practiced for years as a politician. There was definitely some irony now that she had taken a walk to get away from work and work had found its way back to her. This was far more personal than the usual reams of paperwork, though. This was something that she could directly see the impact of. “Well, Miss Melody,” she said, “unfortunately, I can’t claim to know exactly why it is that Miss Scratch feels that way, and the only way for you to learn is to go straight to the source.” Only then did she bring the palm down on her shoulder. “But…if you need more time to ruminate on this subject, it would do you better not to do so in such a self-destructive manner.”

Octavia didn’t stop crying, but she stilled just slightly. “I j-just wanted everything to be n-n-normal ag-gain,” she muttered.

“I’m afraid none of us are really going to be normal again…not for a long time.” She tried not to be conscious of the onyx band around her wrist with its steady pulsations of magical resonance. “But we still have to try our best.”

The grey mare let herself loosen just a little more, even if her gaze remained downcast.

Then Ditzy Doo abruptly declared, as if she had been holding it in for the past several minutes, “Dinky was sad.”

Mayor Mare turned toward her, brow furrowed slightly, a silent beckoning for her to continue.

The pegasus clasped her hands in her lap and looked down. “Being a mailpony keeps me real busy,” she murmured, weariness seeping into her voice. “I don’t get to come home too often. Dinky…she’s been upset I’m not with her a lot. But then, last night…there was more than enough of me going around to do my assignments and be with her. We were…we had a good time.” She smiled only briefly, radiating a warm sincerity, but that faded just as quickly, a long sigh heaving from her. “But now we gotta go back to normal.”

The old pony couldn’t stop the sensation of her heart sinking, and it was fairly low to begin with. It was fortunate, though, that she had two hands, so she could also place one on Ditzy Doo’s shoulder as well. “Well you should’ve told me that sooner so I could’ve given you official leave of absence for the day,” she said with a wry smirk.

She looked up, astonished, as if the idea was completely foreign to her. “M-M-Mayer, you can’t…b-but…but the mail!”

“The mail can wait,” she asserted, “and anypony who’s bothered by that can take it up with me. Besides, if I am not mistaken, I believe you and I still have a walk we need to complete.” She shifted forward, starting to stand, but then she turned back to Octavia, giving her a gentle shake. “Why don’t you come with us, Miss Melody? You can stay with me at town hall after we’re done.”

Octavia looked back at her with similar confusion. Now it seemed as if she wanted to speak but nothing came out, so instead she simply nodded.

They all stood, and Mayor Mare looked over the others. Ditzy Doo bore a smile that was only a fraction of her usual good-natured self, but it was a true smile. Octavia unfurled into a posture that was tall and steady even though her expression remained morose and she kept her arms wrapped around herself. They were all going to have to take small steps, but they were steps nonetheless.

There was still some cheer she could bring into the world.

= = = = =

Rarity came to a stop as she rounded the corner, unable to repress the tremble that ran along her spine.

She was used to seeing a crowd gathered around Sugarcube Corner, given how it was one of the most popular locales in Ponyville and frequently home to wild parties. Those tended to be crowds of ponies, though, not crowds of strange otherworldly creatures garbed in suspiciously concealing and extremely tacky robes. A drove of some dozen of them was loitering around the building, and as the unicorn watched she saw another one emerge from the building’s entrance, stooping down to fit their stature through the opening and back up. They didn’t seem to be doing any of their usual business, though, no quarantining ponies or repairing damaged structures or making puddles of milky excess vanish into thin air. They were simply…standing there, speaking with each other, in the way any normal creature would.

She pursed her lips, nostrils flaring as she took in a long breath and then exhaled. “Keep it together,” she muttered under her breath. She kept her posture straight while she walked forward, toting along the suitcases she held in both hands. It was taxing to carry them, but she felt some solace in knowing that they were at least heavy blunt objects.

The hooded agents didn’t seem to take notice of her approach, keeping their attention divided amongst themselves. As she came close, it occurred to her what exactly was happening. Many of them had removed part of their masks so they could have freedom to consume the pastries from the bakery. She saw their cream-colored scales, short snouts, and mouths full of gnashing carnivorous teeth, some girded by plump, glossy lips. She tried not to focus on the way they tore through the crispy dough and pushed through the doorway.

To her dismay, there were more of the covered creatures inside the bakery, and she found the exact reason for them being there. A banner hung from the ceiling with the words “Welcome to Ponyville! Thanks for helping us not be bimbos!” hastily scribbled across it in purple ink. And standing there at the counter was Pinkie Pie, of course, passing out cupcakes and donuts and whatever else she seemed to have whipped up on short notice, with a smile on her face all the while. Some things never changed, she had to suppose.

“Oh, hi Rarity!”

And then all attention in the store was promptly shifted onto Rarity as the pink mare turned in her direction and waved. She felt the inscrutable gazes of the agents as they too regarded her, with little in the way of visible reaction. Maybe that was what was most disconcerting, simply not being able to read anything about their intentions. Perhaps they were aware that this was an awkward moment and didn’t wish to say anything about it, but there was no way to be sure without seeing their faces.

“Um…yes, hello,” she replied, putting on a nervous smile while trying to keep her focus upon the other pony. She walked forward, past and around the tall, bulky figures that were crammed into the bakery. To their credit, they had the courtesy to give her as much space as they could, shuffling out of her way. “May I speak with you, darling?” she asked furtively once she came up to the counter.

“Sure, Rarity!” Pinkie Pie turned to face her and waited expectantly.

“…I mean in private,” Rarity clarified.

“Oh! Okay!” she responded, laughing good-naturedly. “Gimme a minute here guys ‘n gals ‘n in-betweens!” she then said to the robed figures before reaching to the side and lifting the panel that kept the front and rear of the counter separate from each other. Rarity easily could have done this herself, but at this point her manners were among the few things she had left. Together they walked into the back of the building, the kitchen, where the smells of pastries were even more intense. Gummy was perched on one of the counters, possibly guarding a tray of brownies, possibly just staring off into space, but there was no sign of the Cakes; Rarity had to suppose they were probably recuperating in private after Mrs. Cake’s experience of being a living pregnant cupcake. “So! What d’you need to talk about, Rarity?” Pinkie Pie asked, and then, looking downward, “Does it have something to do with the suitcases?”

“Ah, yes indeed, dear,” Rarity replied, clearing her throat. She held the containers in front of herself, making their presence undeniably plain. “I was hoping it would not be too imposing to ask if I could stay the night.”

Pinkie Pie gasped excitedly, eyes going wide. “A sleepover?! Gosh, I’d love that!” She snapped forward and had the unicorn in a crushing hug before she could have the chance to get in any further input. “Oh, we can tell each other stories and order pizza and gossip about stallions and all those things from that dumb old book Twilight had!”

(Elsewhere, Twilight Sparkle suddenly sneezed violently and dropped the pile of scrolls she’d been holding.)

“Oh, but why’d you come over here? It’s gotta be urgent if you already got your stuff all packed up.” And then there was another gasp, this time one of shock and alarm. “The boutique didn’t melt into cum like Dashie’s place, did it?!”

It was difficult for Rarity to go white with terror when her fur was already white, but a pony as prone to theatrics as her could find a way. “Please, darling, don’t even joke about that!” She wrested herself free from the mare’s grip and brushed at her front, smoothing out her blouse. “As much as I wish things could simply go back to being normal, I went back to the boutique and found that it was still full of living ponnequins! I demanded that those hooded goons do something about it, but they said that they have some regulation about not tampering with emergent sentients!” She scoffed exasperatedly and threw up her hands. “What does that even mean?!”

“Aw, what’s the matter with them, Rarity?” Pinkie Pie asked with an uncharacteristic frown. “Don’t you know they just want to help you?”

Rarity turned to stare at her. “How can you possibly say that for sure?!”

“Because I’ve met every one of them, duh!” The earth pony literally bounced back to excitement, bobbing on her hooves. “I know Francis and Brutus and Laverne and Cassian and Quintus and Penelope! Don’t you remember the parties I threw for every single one of them?”

“Pinkie…” She tilted her head and looked at her uncertainly, just a little worried. “You know those memories aren’t real, right?”

And Pinkie Pie answered in the way that only she could. “So?”

Rarity rubbed at her temples, both out of frustration and owing to the actual headache that was starting to build at the mention of this topic. Even with the corruption having been removed from her, she could still dimly feel the impression that it had left upon her, and now her real memories were having to fight with those that had been implanted within her. She could remember the very same parties Pinkie Pie held at the boutiques, the cakes which she had made for the ponnequins even though they had no mouths with which to eat them. She could remember designing dresses for ponies that were of utterly preposterous proportions, something which would have required rolls upon rolls of fabric were she not able to produce her own silk. And indeed she could remember the silk, and the big spider ass and legs, and all the breasts, and she remembered being perfectly content with that, not having a single problem with walking or squeezing herself through openings.

“You’re thinking about the bimbo-you, huh?” Pinkie Pie suddenly asked, interrupting her thoughts.

“The what?”

“The bimbo-you! The you who lived through all those memories!”

Rarity grimaced but nodded.

And Pinkie Pie deflated, just slightly. She remained smiling, blue eyes vibrant, but her ears and mane drooped a little. “I know it’s weird,” she said quietly, “but I guess I’m kinda used to it. I already had an old life I had to put behind me.” She sighed, and she sagged a little more. “At least in those memories, I was good at rock farming.”

“Oh, Pinkie…” Rarity sidled next to her, giving her a hug of her own, far gentler. “No matter who you are, you’re always good at being Pinkie, and that’s what matters the most.”

The pink mare sniffled once, and she asked, hopeful, “Even when I had penises?”

The idea should have prompted her to shriek, aghast, but instead the unicorn simply sighed and rolled her eyes, smirking in amusement. “Yes, darling, even when you had penises.”

Pinkie Pie chuckled quietly before leaning in to return the hug, nuzzling gently against Rarity’s cheek. “And you’re good at being a friend, Rarity.”

She laughed in turn. “I’ll have you know, dear, I’m not merely a good friend, I’m a fabulous friend.” And then they both laughed, but, beneath her bluster, her heart was blooming in delight.

= = = = =

“So, as you can see,” Discord said plainly while balancing a platter that was piled high with an assortment of random objects, including an agitated Angel, “I simply had far too much on my plate for me to go to Canterlot to check on you.”

“Uh-huh,” Rainbow Dash grumbled, chin resting on her palm, having zoned out about a minute into the draconequus’s rambling explanation.

“It’s fine, Discord,” Fluttershy chimed in, removing the need for the other mare to get involved. She was on the other side of the cottage, busying herself with making dinner. “Thank you for cleaning things up around here while we were gone, at least, I really appreciate it.”

“Why thank you, dearest Fluttershy,” he replied, batting his eyelashes and clasping his hands together, leaving the platter to freeze in a state of freefall, “always glad to know that someone notices what I do around here.”

The damage to the cottage had already been repaired by the time one of Non’s agents came by, along with the two mares. The chaotic creature had been waiting for them, waving celebratory banners for Fluttershy. Then he had leered at Rainbow Dash when he noticed her presence, a feeling that had been mutual. The blue pegasus would usually try her best to tolerate Discord, but she hadn’t exactly been in the best mood to begin with after learning that her house had melted completely while she was away. All of her belongings had been swimming in a soup that it pained her to realize was comprised largely of her own fluids, nothing left of the cloud structure. She had been assured, after her initial screaming fit, that it could be repaired, but it would be a more strenuous task than the majority of the restoration efforts and would take time to complete.

So that left her here, in the cottage, Discord’s ramblings doing nothing to ease her headache.

“It is good to see that you were okay through all of this, Discord,” Fluttershy said, beaming, “so many ponies had their lives turned upside-down last night, I’m glad at least a few didn’t have anything to worry about.”

“Oh but of course, why would I have anything to worry about?” he replied with a scoff. “Purple Smart said some mumbo-jumbo about the evil goo attaching to people with regrets, didn’t she? I don’t have any of those lying around, no sir.”

Fluttershy chuckled and shook her head. Rainbow Dash groaned on the couch.

“Unfortunately, I can’t rightly claim that I was exactly without worry all that time, though,” he then said, just a tad more seriously, stroking his beard. “I did have a certain yellow pegasus to be concerned with, after all, and a cure that apparently needed finding. I had to do a little unsavory poking around with test subjects, and you can only imagine my mounting dismay at the discovery that there was seemingly nothing I could do about it! I was getting distraught!”

In the midst of the thoughts of phallic objects and torrential floods, two brain cells rubbed together in Rainbow Dash’s head. One could almost hear the lightbulb going off as she shifted. “Wait…” She looked crossly toward Discord. “What do you mean ‘test subjects’?”

And only then did a flash of genuine worry cross his features. “Uh…nothing,” he replied with a forced smile, like a foal with their hand caught in the cookie jar.

“Discord…?” Fluttershy turned her gaze upon the draconequus, a powerful weapon that was no longer impeded by lips eclipsing her face. There was concern in her voice, but it was accompanied by a stern edge. She wasn’t afraid to admonish him when he did something he shouldn’t.

And Discord laughed nervously while beads of sweat trickled over his brow. “Ah, Fluttershy, it’s…fine, nothing bad happened, and it’s not like…they were creatures anyone would miss, so—”

“Discord!” Rainbow Dash bolted up from the couch.

“Oh, would you look at the thyme!” He pointed to the side, and, without thinking about it, both ponies looked in that direction, toward a planter pot on the counter full of sprigs of thyme. When they looked back, they found Discord slipping through the cottage door and waving back. “So sorry, simply must be going, ta-ta!”

“Hey, come back here!” The blue mare started across the floor, spanning most of the distance in a scant few strides, but the draconequus was already gone.

“Rainbow.” Fluttershy’s voice stopped her in her tracks. The other pegasus stood stiffly in the kitchen area, and she closed her eyes and sighed exasperatedly. “It’s fine. I’ll try to talk to him about it later.”

“I don’t know how you put up with him, Fluttershy,” she muttered tiredly.

Fluttershy shrugged her shoulders and offered a gentle smile. “You have to admit, we wouldn’t have been able to get to Canterlot without his help, and then we wouldn’t be here. We wouldn’t be normal again.” But Rainbow Dash caught the way her tone dropped away at the end there, a hint of melancholy slipping in.

“Did you…really want to stay that way, Fluttershy?” she asked quietly, trying to offer as much assurance as she could.

The mare was quiet for a while. One of her fingers twisted at a lock of her long pink hair while the other hand was held at her front, pressing through the thin layer of cloth that made up her clothes. Then she shrugged her shoulders and smiled weakly. “Maybe not exactly like that, but…something like it. It felt…good.”

Rainbow Dash wished that she could say something similar. She certainly couldn’t deny the sensations of pleasure that had wracked through her. The removal of the corruption, however, had resulted in her memories being scrambled up with those of the terrible talking penis that she had done everything in her power to keep quiet and ignore. The overpowering yearning to rut and cum and fill was threatening to push aside everything else, even as a mere memory. She thought she could still feel the spasms of arousal in her loins even though the appendage was no longer there.

“I think at least it…it might have made some things a little easier.” Rainbow Dash emerged from her thoughts to find Fluttershy walking out from behind the counter, past her and into the den. She came to sit upon the couch, hands folded over her lap. She was hunched forward, with her hair and wings forming a sort of shell around her. So, Rainbow Dash sat back down as well, sidling next to her, not sure how much contact might be preferable at the moment.

She anxiously wet her lips and asked, “Is it anything I can help you—”

“You’ve already done so much to help me, Rainbow.” Fluttershy’s hand found its way over to hers. “You in particular, out of all of them. You…you helped me figure out what I wanted to do with my life. You stood up for me.” She turned, teal eyes shimmering, and they looked at each other. Her posture was tense. “I…I really…”

Instead of finishing her sentence, she leaned in and gave the mare a kiss. Rainbow Dash was frozen, utterly shocked. It came as a surprise, but even more surprising was when the moment ended and she felt a pang of lament in her heart, disappointed that it hadn’t continued. The imprints of lust had been completely washed away by confusion.

“Fluttershy…” she muttered, breathing shallowly, “what’re you telling me?”

The yellow pegasus shrank away again. “I…I don’t really know,” she replied shakily. “I just…whenever I’m with you or any of the girls I…my heart feels all…funny…” She held her hands over her chest now. “I’ve wanted to t-tell you all for so long, but…”

Rainbow Dash’s fingers clasped around her hand. “I guess Twilight already knows, right?”

She nodded.

“Well, we can figure out how you can tell the others together. But, for now…”

Rainbow Dash then prodded at Fluttershy’s jaw, turning her face, pointing her into another kiss. This was not a brief one; she made sure to hold it, as if their lips were keeping them glued together. The yellow mare tilted to the side and fell over, and then they were on top of each other, locked in passion. They separated and stared into each other’s quavering eyes, chests rising and falling in fitful rhythms. “See?” Rainbow Dash asked with a smirk, “Doesn’t that—”

Fluttershy pulled her back under, and this time it was so forceful that she nearly collapsed. Their muzzles pressed together forcefully, and Rainbow Dash’s surprise didn’t last long before base instincts took hold of her and she reciprocated the kiss with her own fervor, her wings flapping at the air. They writhed at each other on the couch, gradually discarding their clothes article by article until skin pressed on skin.

And as the world melted into noise around them, Rainbow Dash reflected on how she didn’t need more than this. She didn’t need to burn herself out trying to impress everypony. She could still stand to do plenty of impressing, sure, like by showing Fluttershy all the things she could do with her tongue. What really mattered wasn’t the heights she could strive for, but the heights she could help others reach.

In the background, Angel squeaked angrily, still stuck in midair.

= = = = =

“Are you looking for this?”

Spike looked up from the blankets he had been sifting through to see Twilight Sparkle standing by the bedroom door, a thin smirk of barely concealed amusement on her face. In one hand she was holding the tattered old issue of Power Pornies.

“…Yes,” he admitted with a blush.

“Would’ve been awkward if we’d gotten sucked into this instead of the real comic that one time, huh?” she remarked with a chuckle as she crossed the room and handed the thin booklet to him.

“Maybe it would’ve made us more ready for the corruption, at least,” Spike said, smirking. He looked at the lewd depictions of the Power Ponies on the cover, their questionable anatomy covered in skimpy approximations of their costumes and tangled up in ropes made of fire. This was like wading in the foals’ pool after having already been thrown off of a high dive into the deep end. He then put the comic down on his desk. “I don’t think I really need it that much anymore, though.”

Twilight Sparkle tilted her head at him, curious. “Why’s that?”

Spike walked toward the mirror, stood again where he had last night, before this all began. He was fully clothed now, but he could still so clearly grasp at the image of his self. The alicorn came up to stand beside him, siblings side by side, pony and dragon. His frills quavered, but they didn’t quite droop. “I think I understand now, Twilight,” he finally said.

She looked to his reflection in the mirror and she slowly reached to take his hand in her own. “Do you know what you feel about…yourself?” she asked.

“I…think so,” he replied. “I’m not a pony…but I don’t really feel like a dragon either. And…that’s fine.” He brought their arms forward, extended their fingers. His hands were slightly larger, and the digits tipped with claws, but he knew that they were far slenderer than a dragon’s would normally be, closer to the way hers were built. “I’ve been around you and other mares for so long…that feels like what’s normal to me.”

Twilight Sparkle gave him a weak smile. “…Do you still feel like you’d prefer to be…you know, big?”

Now his countenance wilted a little. He looked down at himself. He wasn’t entirely certain how much he relished the ability to see his own feet as opposed to whatever masses of scaly bulk might have been in the way before. “It felt good,” he said plainly, “even if it was a bit…much.” Then he cupped his hands over his chest, feeling the pectorals beneath his shirt. “I liked having boobs.”

She laughed quietly. “Boobs are pretty nice, I have to admit.” Then she glanced back over her shoulder and down. “I kinda wouldn’t mind having a bigger butt,” she muttered.

“Of course you would, just think about how practical it would be,” Spike chortled at her, “all you’d have to do is lean back and you’d have a place to sit.”

“Exactly! I’d have an easy place to read anywhere I go!”

They both laughed at the thought of how ridiculous each of their bodies could be. It seemed absurd, and perhaps should have been to any other pony or dragon before the past day they had experienced. And yet, neither could especially bring themselves to think that it would be a bad idea. They had already had their eyes opened to the possibilities of what they could be doing with their lives. Now the doors were wide open for them to choose what they desired.

Author's Note

The curtains begin to draw closed.

Sticking the landing here was extremely important. I wanted to show that all of these characters have come out from this experience with something new that they learned about themselves, but I didn't want to make it seem like they're just all better, because that's not how these things work, people don't just turn around on a dime from things that have troubled them from years. Or from bimbo monster apocalypses.

There may be some unusual choices in which characters get to be the PoV, I think I was trying to give more spotlight to some of the characters who didn't get as much before this.

The scene with the Apple family was mostly set in stone going into this but I wasn't quite as sure what I'd be doing for all of the others.

The scene with Mayor Mare et al was actually only written within the past week and was mostly driven by me being unable to reconcile Octavia vanishing from the plot. I had originally considered including her in the Apple family scene or in a scene which might have included Twilight and Rarity, but neither of those really clicked with me.

Even though it had the side effect of adding another two thousand words to what would have been a relatively short chapter before so that it wouldn't be too much of a strain to drop both this and the epilogue on the reader in the same day. Oops.

Somewhat uncertain about the final scene being noticeably shorter than any of the others but ultimately I didn't think it needed to be any longer.

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