Leaves- An Anthology

Chapters

Leaf 02- Vestige of Ashes
Leaf 03- Neverdawn
Leaf 04- Does Maud Dream of Rock and Stone?
Leaf 05- Mystika
Leaf 06- Moonstuck
Leaf 07- Holiday
Leaf 08- A House of Cards
Leaf 01- The Black Cat's Shadow

Leaf 02- Vestige of Ashes

Author's Note

In the haste of trying to discover what’s beyond the stars, an unknown force took advantage of ponykind’s natural curiosity. Now, Equestria is a remnant of what it used to be. Yet, there are those who take it upon themselves to fight back against the roots of corruption that plagues their home.

A loose idea for a crossover story based on the game Remnant- From the Ashes. You don't need to know much, but the way that the world was set up and the lore behind it gave me a couple ideas for what could be done if a crossover were attempted.

For those who don't know a thing about Remnant, here's an introduction:

Tags:
[Princess Luna][Dark][Crossover][Alternate Universe]

Leaf 02- Vestige of Ashes

When you think of a story where a world falls to ruin, what would you assume that the cause would be?

There are many stories in the vast expanse of the multiverse when the peace of Equestria was shattered prematurely. Some outcomes were because Nightmare Moon was triumphant over her sister or because of a successful invasion from a changeling, while others were because chaos, destruction and the fires of industry ravaged the fields and made them unrecognizable.

Yet, the story that we’re about to speak about is far worse. For Equestria fell to ruin before any such things could happen. The lands uprooted and those who couldn’t were twisted and changed. Many equestrians lost their lives and very few of the survivors either stayed together or resorted to cutthroat savagery for survival.

Now, you might be thinking… How could something so tragic happen to a place that’s supposed to be so peaceful? Equestria is a realm of magic and friendship. Was this an attack from another nation? Was there a war?

None of those things happened. In fact, what we’re describing to you are the results of a wound that Equestria inflicted upon itself. Where one pony’s curiosity was driven by the pursuit of trying to understand something beyond their comprehension.

To try and learn about worlds outside of their own, only to unleash a threat that puts all worlds in danger.

To set the stage a bit per se, let’s move to the year of 960 CE (Celestial Era). While on standard perimeter patrol through the Everfree forest, a group of guards make a discovery in a ruined castle that once belonged to the Royal Sisters.

The discovery in question was, to put it bluntly, a rock. Like, a literal rock. But the stonework was colored red, floating in the air and grafted with glyphs and runes of unknown origin. When scholars were brought in to examine it for themselves, they quickly realized that the runes didn’t originate from any known historical text on magic or language.

By all accounts, this thing was alien. Mysterious. Unknown. A floating anomaly that defied all rational thought. There were theories as to what it was, of course. Still, at the time, nothing was quite concrete and any attempts to try and make sense of the rock lacked any sufficient proof as to what it could be.

It was a rock that pretty much defied all logic and reason.

Then, one day, the pony that was in charge of researching this rock did what some would call a gamble.

Normally, if dealing with magical anomalies, the protocol was to put a perimeter around it and watch it. Keep it under observation and record any notable changes. No one was to get too close or interact with it in any shape or form.

However, this researcher instead did the opposite. And this is where the seeds of curiosity were planted.

From a single touch, the head researcher learned many things from a mysterious benefactor on the other side. One such thing included the ability to decipher the runes on the rock and understand more of what it actually was.

With this newfound knowledge in hand, months of research was completed in the span of two weeks. By that time, he and his team learned that the rock was actually a powerful object known as a World Stone. In addition, with the runes that were deciphered, they also discovered what exactly could the World Stone do.

Theoretically, this stone could allow them to attempt something that even the most well known magical scholars were unable to do. Travel to other worlds.

In order for this to work though, something was required. A catalyst that was to form a connection with the World Stone and what was beyond it. However, the requirements for such a catalyst were something very specific. No ordinary thing could suffice when they were on the verge of such a magical breakthrough.

The catalysts had to be living beings, who were able to connect their consciousness to the World Stone. It was with that discovery that the dreamer project began.

The research on the World Stone grew and other similar stones were found in other areas across Equestria. The Equestrian Military set up different facilities called ‘Forts’ to contain the stones as well as any knowledge of what was going on from the public. However, the more candidates that they brought in and the longer they continued to research it, the more problems that arose.

As it turned out, trying to connect a consciousness into the far unknown had dangerous repercussions. Not just in the methods the researchers did, but in the loss of life as well. Incidents within the forts, creatures going insane, and casualty counts were far too common. Many who worked there had numerous concerns and some even wanted to have the project shut down.

Yet, the researcher that initally made the discovery (who was now the head researcher) did not budge. In their eyes, they saw this as a chance to collectively help the species of Equestria grow.

If they were to succeed, they would not have to worry about sickness, conflict or suffering. They didn’t even question if their path was specifically ‘the right one’. They believed that since they were the only creature that was able to read the runes and understand the instructions that were embedded, they were on the right path. They just needed more time.

In reality though, every decision they made and everything they were doing to see this through was driving them to the brink of madness. So much so that they were blind to the final tragedy that sealed Equestria’s fate.

Remember the benefactor we mentioned before? Well, they are of an invasive plague-like force called The Root. An invasive species hellbound on wiping out any signs of life. With the help of the head researcher and their experiments, the dreamers were used as a gate to invade Equestria.

In a matter of days, the Equestria that we all knew fell in the year 968 CE.

Cities burned and many were slaughtered as the invasive roots of this force took hold in everything and every corner of not just Equestria. Some of the Forts where the Root first emerged fell within days. Towns and kingdoms that have lasted centuries fell within mere weeks.

There was no harmony… no magic… and no amount of friendship that could prepare any creature for this.

And now, only a remnant of life remained.

But that didn’t mean that all hope was lost.

For you see, unknown to even the dreamers, there was somepony that watched over them. A dreamwalker who saw what was happening to her home and refused to see it slowly wither like this from her place on the moon.

So, she descended into what remained.

It is important to note that many have tried to fight back against the Root before. Self proclaimed heroes who ventured on a journey to sever the Root’s connection from Equestria.

All have failed. They have either died or worse fates beyond death have happened to them.

However, the dreamwalker knows that she has to try. Her sister would not give up on her subjects or their neighbors. So, she shouldn’t either. For so long, she had watched the dreamers suffer under what they were forced to go through, helpless and not being able to do anything.

Now it was time. For she was Luna, dreamwalker, sister of Celestia, Princess of the Night and a vestige of hope.

And it will be through her power and determination that the remnant of Equestria that remained will rise from the ashes and break the Root. By any means necessary.

Leaf 03- Neverdawn

It doesn’t occur to anypony, or any creature around the world, that this will be the last time that they’ll ever be able to see the majestic warmth of the sun.

And to be completely honest, who would? There’s a lot of things happening today in the nation of Eponis. Moreso in the capital city.

Today’s the beginning of a major holiday to welcome the start of summer. There’s a giant festival, children playing in the streets, sales going on in the market quarters. All the things that you would expect would happen with the celebration of a national holiday around the corner. And outside of the usual sunrise and sunset that occurs, celestial bodies don’t really do anything too dramatic.

As the hours pass, what we see right now is completely unrelated to what’s going to happen and who would blame them? Many of them are preoccupied by numerous things going on all at once. There’s magic shows, dancing, and some ponies are passing out free samples of drinks outside local taverns. Hell, some of the guards are even getting off their shifts early to join the festivities.

When the sun eventually sets and everypony goes to bed, every creature thinks that the next day will only get better as they drift off to sleep and to dreams.

Unfortunately, when all their eyes opened again, they found themselves in a living nightmare that had no end.

For it while their eyes were shut that everything around the world changed in a matter of moments. The sun was gone, leaving a haunting orange gloom in the sky. The monarchy that ruled over the kingdom crumbled and a new order was established. A regime built on fear quickly began to seize control of everything like the shadows and monsters that spread across the world.

And at the center of it all was a triumphant sister. Argent. Once known as the Princess of the night, the jealousy and hatred for her sister had finally boiled over and in the end, she stood victorious. Now, with the princess of the sun banished into exile, Eponis was rightfully hers. Though, ‘princess’ did little to justify what she was now.

She was now a queen. One of great and terrible power. One who would be either loved by her subjects… or feared by them. A cruel reflection of her former self.

A millennium had passed since that day and with it, the whole world was changed and reshaped anew.

Eponis itself, which was once a place filled with harmony and life, was now a land of fear and despair. Much of the world's inhabitants were forced into seclusion to hide from the monsters that freely roamed across the countryside. Other towns and cities were annexed into the growing empire that was the Fear Regime.

As for the neighboring kingdoms, they were ‘convinced’ to keep positive ties with them. With the alternative being that everything they have burned to the ground and expunged from the weave of history by the Royal Legions that served Argent.

Ironically enough, remember that holiday that we talked about before? Well, that is still happening. Except it’s under a different name and different purpose.

It was originally called the Summer Sun Celebration to celebrate the coming of summer. Now, it’s called the Coronatio Noctis to commemorate when the Queen of Fear first rose to power and the origins of the Regime. Many of its citizens aren’t so lively during time, and the only ones that are rather joyful happen to be those who were invited to attend the gala at the Castle of Fear.

Of course, not every creature was celebrating tonight. In fact, for one such creature, they were panicking right now.

“By Argent’s glorious mane, why now of all times!?”

Right now, numerous members of the VIII Umbral Legion were hurrying to get a situation under control. Several others in the same legion are scrambling to put out the fires that were consuming it. Some were tending to calm civilians who were watching this unfold and others were asking questions to potential witnesses. All while this one pony who spoke was losing his collective shit right now.

He’s rather important and not having the best of days, or eves as they call it here.

As this important pony was trying to obtain some sense of calm amidst what was happening, a deep resounding voice was heard and approached him, “What seems to be the matter, Consul?”

Immediately, the earth pony with the same title turned over to a figure that had just arrived on the scene. A heavily armored thestral that was colored in a metallic cobalt sheen from top to bottom with a long blade across their back. Their pauldrons appeared to resemble the heads of Manticores, with a helmet that took on the form of a basilisk, “L-Legatus! I was informed that you wouldn’t be arriving until tomorrow eve-”

Let’s make this very clear. Things are not going well for this guy at all.

The position of Consul is basically like that of a mayor or governor in a particular town or city. And this poor fellow had only been here on the job for a few days after the previous guy had retired. Not only had he been struggling to keep things running efficiently, but on the third night of his stay, one of the production buildings close to the legions barracks, where they were standing at right now, had combusted and caught fire.

Yet, despite all of his anxiety just spewing at the mouth, the thestral just calmly raised a hand and had him stop. “Tell me what happened.”

“I-it all happened so fast, L-legatus. I was coming back to my office after meeting with Censor Lilia about current affairs in Dodge Central. B-but before we could even open the door, we heard a long bang and then we… saw this,” he frantically tried to say, “T-the Architectus wasn’t sure if t-this was a malfunction or-. Oh dear stars, w-why does this keep happening?”

“Ease yourself, Consul,” the metallic figure said, “You’re letting your emotions cloud your thinking. There’s another force at work here.”

Before the Consul could even ask, the Legatus moved down to the sidewalk that was in front of the building that was still somewhat ablaze and in the process of the fires being extinguished. From a compartment on their waist, they pulled out a pouch of what looked like crystalline dust and sprinkled it gently onto the pavement.

It looks a lot like the driveway salt that’s used to melt ice. And much like ice, whatever was on the pavement here before melted away to reveal what was behind.

Two words, glowing in a warm golden hue of defiance.

Happy Neverdawn.

“Tch. Figures,” the armored Legatus said, before looking toward the earth pony that was still somewhat shaken by all this, “Consul, do you happen to know what this means?”

“N-no, I’ve never seen this before-”

“It’s a mockery of the holiday dedicated to the rightful ruler of the Regime and her subjects. And it is also a calling card,” they firmly told him, before saying a sentence that sent a shiver down the earth pony’s spine. “Rebels lurk within your town, Consul.”

“T-that’s impossible!” the Consul said, “The last Consul before me insisted that there’s n-no such signs of rebellion here! T-that the town was safe-”

“And clearly, they overlooked something. Do not fret, I will take it from here.”

Immediately, the Legatus walked past the Consul, unintentionally knocking them to the floor as they moved towards the soldiers here. All of them standing at attention and directly saluting the leader of their legion. Each one looking ready for battle at a moment’s and awaiting further orders.

“Listen up, legionaries! It has come to our attention that this town has traitors to the queen in our midst! Search every corner and leave no stone unturned!! Do everything in your power to bring them to justice, for I want this town secured!! This is a direct order and any refusal will lead to you being charged with treason to the crown and executed on sight!!! Do I make myself clear!?”

Unknown to the Legatus, the poor Consul and the armies under their command, the perpetrators for the blaze were already long gone. In fact, most of what we told you was to explain what exactly they were running from.

For you see, everything that’s happening now; the flames, the burned down building and the calling card? That’s just a distraction. There are no rebels in that town, but by getting the legion stationed there to think that there was, it gave one pony a chance to slip out of town without being seen and disappear into the night.

That pony just so happened to be a courier of sorts. Yet, he was less of a messenger and more of a smuggler. In fact, the business the stallion worked for specialized in more 'off the book' methods of getting deliveries made. After all, the greater the risk, the greater the payout.

Even if they damned a whole entire town to the wrath of a royal legion, the job came first.

As the courier continued this route though, questions started to form in his head. His boss told him of a package that needed to be picked up and dropped off at a particular place. However, he wasn’t told what was in the box or what it was for. Just that the client was somepony interested in old era antiques. Items from before Argent’s rise to power.

Items that, by royal decree, would be considered contraband.

The longer he kept going, the more troubles he had to face. Legion patrols out on the old roads were one factor, but the murky forests contained all manner or wild creatures. Those that specialized with tearing apart careless souls that wandered too far into the woods limb by limb and spitting out their bones.

Personally, he did not want to run the risk of injury to himself or damaging the package he was supposed to deliver. Though, the job required him to deliver it in a timely manner.

A difficult task, but not impossible by any means. After all, this wasn’t his first time doing a job like this.

As he continued forth though, he couldn’t help but pause. As he came over a hill, the sight of a broken wooden post. Not exactly that much of a common sight if you were traveling through the Eponisian countryside. Everywhere you look, there was also something and some particular place that had fallen into a sense of decay.

But this one was different. For it was one that his boss had told him to look out for on this delivery. A dried out wooden sign that was broken into six different pieces that were scattered across the ground. Once he had reassembled it, the size looked like the image of a tree and had three words on it that did not settle right with him.

‘Welcome to Ponyville’

Now, let’s take a moment to explain why those three words would send a shiver down the spine of any creature who read them.

Ponyville was once one of many different towns and settlements in Eponis and had existed for generations. Yet, when Argent seized power and the eternal night reigned over the sky, the residents of the town were the only ones who stood openly in defiance against the queen’s rise to power.

Their efforts were rewarded when she personally visited the town with her legions, only to unleash her wrath upon them and raze it to the ground. To this day, only the ruins now remain and many see the once happy village as nothing more than a ghost town watched over by monsters.

To make matters even worse for this stallion, he soon began to realize that based on what little information he had from the client and his employer, this was where he needed to deliver the package he was given. “Oh, what the hay did I get myself into?”

The courier reached for something that was holstered on his waist. A weapon that resembles a repeating crossbow that can be held in one hand. Whatever it was that lurked here in this place, he was not taking any chances. With a weapon in one hand and the package in another, he slowly began to make his descent into the ruined village. His head was on a swivel and checking every corner as he searched for some sign of activity.

There had to be something here. Somepony who could take this off his hands or perhaps explain what in Tartarus he was delivering.

Suddenly, fog started to roll in. A deep fog that made it difficult to see and made the courier feel rather on edge as he moved into what looked like a ruined tree… house. Yeah, it’s weird. It’s creepy. The whole town is being creepy right now and he did not like this at all.

Something was out there. Something that knew he was here. But what-?

Wait, was that the sound of magic-?

“Don’t… move.”

The threat had him slowly turn around for a brief moment to try and see who was speaking to him. However, all that he saw was a cyan colored blast of magic that forced him and whatever he was carrying to drop to the ground. Crossbow, personal belongings, the package.

And it wasn’t like it slowly fell to the floor. It just dropped and stuck there like there was a gravitational pull in the room.

“I told you not to move.” the voice spoke again. Slowly, it circled around the courier to face him, before bending down onto their knees. Among the items on the ground, one thing stood out to them. That the figure on the ground… had wings. Mostly hidden by their particular garments, but still somewhat visible now that they were face down on the ground.

“Are you Prism?”

“W-wha-?”

The other pony in the room was slightly annoyed by the daft answer, “Are… you… Prism? Prism Spectrum-?”

“Wha-? No!” The courier immediately retorted, pulling back his hood to show his face, “By the stars, no!! S-she’s my-”

While the answer did clarify things, it did little to calm anything down. In fact, it made things a bit more difficult and the voice that was talking to him started to sound more aggressive. “Then why are you here? Who I work for was expecting her, not some underling-”

“And I wasn’t expecting to do a late night run in her place,” the stallion retorted, slowly trying to get back up on his hooves without making whoever this pony was even more aggressive, “All she told me was that the Archfiend in Thunderhead was watching her every move. So, she wanted me to deliver this for her instead. She didn’t tell me what I was transporting, why or to whom. Just that it had to get here.”

The mentioning of ‘Archfiend’ had the mare in front of him tense up, and for good reason. For an Archfiend was a demonic creature with frightening power at their disposal. Frightening to the point that any talk of fighting such a monster would be seen as suicide. To make matters worse, the Archfiends were under the direct command of Queen Argent herself.

If one of them suspected that something foul was ahoof, there was no telling what sort of destruction would be left in the wake of an archfiend’s wrath.

“Were you followed?”

“No! Just who-”

Before he could even finish, the courier could see a faint golden glimmer on the figure in front of him. It was something that looked sort of like a brooch pin, but it was used to keep their cloak together to obscure who they were. Yet, the symbol could be recognized almost immediately.

It was a horseshoe, with a burning torch behind it and the flames resembling the curved edges of a star. An icon of the one group who still tried to resist the tyranny of the Queen of Fear.

“Y-you’re a hoof of light-?”

Immediately, he was silenced as a magical clasp covered his mouth. Silencing any attempt he made to speak. The same cyan colored glow from before as the figure bent down and picked up the weapon he dropped on the ground.

Different thoughts were now starting to bounce around in his head. Were they going to kill him? Torture him? Leave him for any nearby monsters to find?

“If you want to live, then listen up. Because I’m only going to say this once.”

With a flick of their wrist, the courier was thrown onto the floor. Before they could get up, a circular sigil of magic began to glow at the base of their hooves. The fur on their body felt as if it was burning up inside as the crossbow that belonged to him was still aimed at his head.

“I have some questions that I want for you to answer. What I will do with you afterwards will depend on how you answer them. So, don’t try anything stupid and you might live. Otherwise,” A click was heard as the string on the crossbow was pulled back and the bolt locked into place, aimed directly at his head, “It’s going to get really messy. Understood?”

Well, it wasn’t like he really had a choice to begin with. He could try to run, but there was no telling what sort of spell was churning under his hooves. That and they had his crossbow pointed directly at his face.

The only real choice he had was to play along and hope his answers were enough.

“First question. Who are you?”

A simple one to answer. At least, it should be.

“Lofty. Lofty Winds.”

“Who do you work for?” The figure asked. Their tone remains the same.

“Spectral Delivery Services,” he said. He then slowly reached for something that happened to have spilled on the floor, before sliding it over to the figure, “My work badge, if you don’t believe me.”

The figure looked to the ground and lifted the item in question with a levitation spell, taking only a few seconds to look it over, before tossing it back on the ground. “You’re a long way from home. So, what the buck are you doing all the way out here running an errand for your boss?”

He slowly nods, before looking at her, “She didn’t tell me much. Just that the Archfiend was watching her and that-”

A shot flew past his head, hitting the boards behind it as the sigil shimmered a bit. “I don’t believe you. You work for one of the most influential ponies in the whole entire regime. How the buck do you not know about-”

Lofty, feeling the pressure, took a risk, “You think I’m lying? I spent most of my night going as fast as I could, not knowing where in Tartarus I was going or what the buck I was carrying. To make matters even worse, an entire town is now suffering the wrath of a paranoid legion Legatus and his soldiers because they think that your friends are there. That town’s blood is on my hands to get this here, so don’t you dare talk to me about that. All I knew was that I had to get whatever the buck this is to wherever the buck it needed to go by any means necessary.”

Silence fell upon the room. The sigil did not hum or react to anything he said as he just sat there on the ground. The pegasus waited hesitantly, thinking that those words would lead to retaliation or worse. He waited… and waited… and waited.

“What’s in the box?”

Wait. Was this… happening? He expected pain or death, but instead… this?

“Well, what’s in the box?”

The pegasus shook his head, “I can’t tell you. Even if I wanted to, I can’t. Besides, you’re not the client.”

Much to his surprise, the figure that stood in front of Lofty lowered the crossbow and set it on the floor. “While that may be true,” they replied, before going into their jacket and pulling out what looked like… papers? “I’m something else.”

The moment that the papers reached Lofty, his heart skipped a few beats. This wasn’t any ordinary piece of paper. It was an order form. One from the company he worked for! Even his boss's signature was on it!

“W-wait a minute… are you-?”

“Like how your boss sent you to bring the package, I was asked to collect it,” the figure said, the sigil on the floor vanishing with a snap of a finger. “However, the Hooves of Light don’t want to take any chances. So, I was asked to pick this up for the client, as you said.”

Slowly, the cyan glow from earlier covered the package that was on the floor and pulled it towards them. But not after a leather sack was placed on the ground and pushed towards him. “Your payment for your troubles… Have a Happy Neverdawn, Mr. Winds.”

Before Lofty could even speak up or say anything, the figure had disappeared from sight. His eyes shifted to the bag to bring it closer to him… and to open it to see the coins inside.

But that’s not where this story ends. For you see, there’s another part at play here. Lofty doesn’t know it, but from merely touching what was left behind, he left himself vulnerable to a powerful spell that was on it. Like a trap that was waiting for somepony to trigger it.

A contingency to make sure that whatever happened is never spoken about. I have to admit, it’s pretty clever.

The trap in question is what we call a M.E.A. spell. Memory Erasure & Alteration. In a matter of moments, Lofty will forget everything from tonight. The town he left to burn, the choices he had to make and everything from meeting this figure. All he will remember was that he had to deliver something, he made the delivery and got the payment for it. Everything else will get cut away like snippets of film.

M.E.A spells in this case are rather simple. If the caster wished, they could rewrite the memories of anyone freely.

But before we go further down that rabbit hole, let’s see that figure one more time. For they had found their way back to where the others were. The pony that met Lofty? Well, she’s a unicorn. One with a purple mane and lavender colored fur, with eyes that matched the same color as the cyan strip of color in her mane. They held the box in their hands as they eagerly returned back to her workshop, greeting friends in their little home hidden from the rest of the world.

By the way, there’s one thing we should clear up.

Really? What’s that?

Oh, is it about the leader thing?

Yeah, the part about this pony being sent out by their leader? Well, it’s bullshit.

Absolute bullshit.

Despite the amount of propaganda and fear of who the ponies see as ‘anarchists’, the Hooves of Light are nothing more than just… a community. A bunch of ponies who either spoke out against the queen or wanted to know the truth about what really caused the sun to disappear.

There was nopony here that was specifically a leader. However, with the grip of the Regime choking out their livelihoods every day, there came a point where they were going to need one if they wanted to survive.

And that is where the package comes into play. For inside was a crown and several gems that faintly glowed with magical power. Artifacts from an age before the endless night that belonged to a princess whose heart and love for her subjects was as bright as the sun that no longer hung in the sky.

With what she needed in hand and a goal in mind, the unicorn named Comet began her preparations, for time was not on her side.

Author's Note

In a realm twisted by shadows and ruled by fear, how far would somepony go to ensure their survival?

This one is a bit of a special one, for it's a small taste of a setting/story project that I've been working on with my friend Grey Ghost. It's a take on an AU from one of the settings in the tabletop game, Tails of Equestria... but combined with elements from role-playing games, with the main inspiration being Final Fantasy.

The story set in this world is still being worked on, but this was an attempt to not only practice with the storytelling, but giving a taste as to what to expect. This world is one where shadows and fear lurk around every corner... and hope can come from the smallest of places.

In fact, the character in this are... well, a reflection of known faces in the Equestria we know. Yet, who exactly those faces those are... is for you to try and figure out.

Tags: [Crossover][Alternate Universe][Anthro]

Leaf 04- Does Maud Dream of Rock and Stone?

When it comes to illustrating things in a narrative way, nothing is more difficult than trying to describe the settings of a dream.

Now, this is in no way related to our last discussion on it. Dreams are not necessarily a bad thing. Depending on who it is, what’s on their mind and how much imagination courses through them, anything can happen.

Furthermore, much like every creature you might happen to meet on your journey, no two dreams are ever the same. Even if you’re related to another person by family or some other factors, the dreams that you have are always going to be different. Some are admittedly better than others, but being able to dream in itself is a wonderful experience.

Of course, out of all the creatures in Equestria, there is one particular exception.

Her name is Maud Pie, and compared to her sisters, her dreams are mostly the same each night. While her sisters thought of more complex, colorful and even sugary scenarios in their sleep, her dreams were more simple. Down to earth, some might call it. Hehe, get it?

However, there was one dream she had that was different from the others that she had on previous nights. All this, and yet she dreamed of the same thing she dreamed almost every other night.

Rock and Stone.

When Maud closed her eyes for the night and started to drift off into sleep, the first thing she felt was that she was going down.

Not like falling, let’s make that very clear. What she was feeling was more like if you were going straight down through the ground. Whatever this was, it was rapidly digging its way through numerous layers of rock and earth. And it was going deeper than the farthest depths of caves that she would explore on her own.

When the earth pony tried to move, she realized that she couldn’t. Something was holding her down in place. To make matters even more strange, something was on her back. It felt like saddlebags, but a bit heavier than what she would carry on her own. Her hooves were on a small platform, though it was shaking like the rest of this enclosed space she was in.

Suddenly, and abruptly, everything stopped. Something slides to the side, letting light into the little chamber. Maud raises a hoof to shield her eyes for a brief moment, just as the platform starts to move towards it. If there was a sense of curiosity in her, then Maud wasn’t exactly showing it.

Then, something echoed in her brain. Not like thoughts, but more like… instructions. Something she felt like she had to follow.

Follow the Team. Carry the Payload. Bring them home.

As Maud began to process these instructions, she was let out of where she was being held and lowered into a place that was very unfamiliar to her. Compared to what she was used to seeing in the caves of Equestria, this… was vastly different. The colors down here, compared to what she was familiar with, were a lot more vibrant instead of dark and murky.

Once Maud was on solid ground, she looked to see what looked like an orange cylindrical cage. Some figures were coming out of it, short and bipedal in nature, covered in contraptions and armor. What she could recognize was that each one of them had pickaxes. Maybe these folks were miners?

For a moment, it looked as if each one of these mini-miners were listening to something as the case rose back up through the earth, leaving a deep hole where it once was. What they were listening to was something Maud couldn’t quite hear because of all the noise, but the rest of them can.

That also includes us, if that wasn’t already obvious.

Simply put, these miners have someone that’s… a handler of sorts. Their job is to survey the team, watch their progress, provide equipment when necessary and also warn them of threats. Thing is, the team doesn't really think too highly of them.

On the subject of what they want the team to do, it was relatively straightforward. There was something here that the company that the team worked for wanted… and was probably better not to ask why.

It’s eggs. Alien Eggs to be more precise.

Told you it was better not to ask why.

Regardless of what the job required, Maud could tell that this team wasn’t exactly the kind of people to question things. For as quickly as they arrived, the four of them immediately started to get to work. With strange tools in… what was it they were called?

I think the minotaurs and centaurs called them ‘hands’. Along with that one mint pony, but she’s not relevant to this story.

Right. With strange tools in hand, they started to work. Maud herself was wandering around, watching the four of them as they worked. Their pickaxes break different colored ores off of the walls as they collect them into retractable buckets.

Another important thing to note is that no matter who she looked at, it seemed that each one of these had a different role to play. The one that was dressed in yellow was able to use two churning cones of metal they held to quickly dig through loose dirt. Another one that was blue had something that helped illuminate the darker portions of deeper tunnels. We could go on, but you probably already have an idea of what we’re talking about.

If she were confused, Maud wasn’t showing it. If anything, she was… pretty much following along. Her sister Pinkie and the rest of her friends get themselves involved in weird and confusing things all the time. How was this any different?

Besides, the caves here are very nice to look at-

BZZT

“Molly!! Over here!”

Suddenly, almost as if Maud was no longer in control of her body, she found herself moving. One of the miners had planted some kind of… magnetic pull. Because no matter how much she tried to resist or push back, Maud cannot help but move towards it. Why exactly she was moving there was unclear still.

When she reached the pole, things started to get a little bit more confusing. The miners each took a turn to empty their canisters into the bags that she was carrying. Mounds of gold, minerals, ores and… flowers began to flood each one of the saddlebags. Wait, why would there be flowers this far underground-?

Yet, despite all the minerals they were offloading, everything felt weightless. Nothing seemed to be dragging her down at all and she could easily move everything without any problems. If this were any other pony, they would have some serious questions about all this.

Of course, Maud was not like any other pony. Where other equestrians might have questions, she just took things in stride.

Then, the cave they were in started to shake. The other miners in the room looked up to the ceiling to see that the one dressed in blue was up there next to a… fleshy growth?

It’s a nest, actually.

Right. The point being that the blue one flew upwards somehow, dug through the growth and took something from that nest. And the moment they did, something else did not like it at all.

Immediately, the rest of the team stopped what they were doing. The blue one quickly returned back to the others and stuffed the egg in the saddlebags, just as one of the others (dressed in red) began to pull out a device and start building something. The other two readied something in their hands, about the size of her sister Pinkie’s party cannon but not the same appearance as they huddled together and braced themselves.

It only took a moment to realize what was happening as numerous creatures began to burrow their way out of the walls. Their attention fixed on the team as they moved in. A swarm was on collision course.

One that they chose to fight.

“FOR KARL!!!”

If Maud were in any other position right now, she would try to help them. Yet, it looked like these miners seemed fine with it. Like, they had dealt with this before and that it was somehow part of the job. Which is honestly concerning-

-To some, probably? But for them, it’s all in a day's work.

Maud though hasn’t seen anything like this before. Everything here is all new to her. Normally, if somepony like her sister Pinkie were in trouble, she’d jump into the fray and help. However, because of… well everything, she was rather limited in what she could do. In fact, the only thing she could do at this moment was just move around.

And even though she didn’t want to, there were times where just moving ended up getting in the way of the team.

“Oi! Did R&D mess with Molly’s programming again?!”

“How should I know?! I don’t have bolts for brains!”

“Is now really the right time to be asking about that-?” the red one asked the green and blue miner, before feeling flames flicker around his shoulder, “Oi, that’s me you’re setting on fire, arsewipe!”

“Ain’t my fault the bastards are trying to kill us now! Less talking, more squashing!!”

That was something all of them quickly agreed on. Even did some sort of hearty salute, if Maud understood it correctly. Despite their bickering to one another, the onslaught of creatures was diminishing. For now, at least.

Still, it seemed that getting ambushed by murderous bugs all the way down in the unknown was part of the job. You know, hazardous work environment and all that. Nothing that Maud was not already familiar with. I mean, her family lives on a rock farm. Rocks and Stones are basically her craft and trade.

Minus the bugs.

Definitely minus the bugs.

For the next few moments, what she saw basically was a mixture of a few different tasks as the team descended deeper into the caves. Mostly, it consisted of collecting materials and dealing with any nasty pests that tried to be a nuisance. Though, there were… other oddities that happened. Many of them being by the team and some weird… customs, I think? A ritual?

More like they wanted to annoy the handler that was monitoring their progress. And, fellas, it’s working.

“WE’RE RICH!!!”

The Earth Pony watched them continue this chant for about… a few minutes. Probably more. From what it looked like, it was one part excitement, one part intentional annoyance. But, after they were done, they put the ore in the saddlebags and went back to work.

Finding the other eggs went along pretty easily and without issue. Though, once the team found another three, something new flashed in Maud’s mind.

Payload quota met. Objectives Complete. Prepare for recall at team’s convenience.

Maud only seemed to know a couple of these things. The first and second part sounded as if these miners found exactly what they were looking for. However, the last part confused her. She thought that there would be more to explore down here and other things to discover.

So, why do they have to leave?

“Oi, everyone? Is there anything else that needs doing, or should we call it in?”

“Can’t say I noticed anything else. No Kursite grinder, nothing with Ebonite. Thank Karl there isn’t a Korok Tyrant or a bloody OMEN down here.”

“Really? Damn. I can’t shake the fact that we’re bloody missing something though,” the one in red remarked, before looking at something they held in their hand, “What about rival tech? Any data cells we bring back would look good on our performance review.”

“If any of those were here, we’d already have bloody drones on us.” The yellow miner remarked, just as Maud moved over towards them and stood nearby. “Besides, I for one don’t want to wait around for any more creeps to rear their ugly heads.”

“Okay then,” One of the other miners remarked, before they walked over towards where Maud was, “I’ll call it in. But call in a resupply first. We’ll need all the ammo we can get if we want to get the hell out of here.”

The other miners nodded, before dropping something onto the ground as it locked in place. In a matter of seconds, a yellow holographic projection was seen. For Maud, she felt one of the saddlebags she was carrying felt not as heavy as it was originally, before she heard something new.

Nitra amount withdrawn. Resupply en-route to the called location. To avoid accidents, please stand back.

Mere seconds after this entered her mind, a canister that was similar to the giant orange cage they arrived in tore through the ground above and landed in the spot. Compartments on it began to open up as something else began to extend from them.

The sight of it had Maud puzzled. Not by what the contraption was, but more as to what exactly was it giving this team. The miners looked relieved to have it come in, but she couldn’t quite tell what they were receiving.

Best guess, it’s probably pretty damn important considering that they had to ‘pay’ for it in the minerals that they mined.

Though, there was also another question… Why was one of them coming over to her? Were they inspecting the bags or…?

No, in fact. For some reason, they were petting her on the head. Well, less like a petting motion and more like a touch. Like if you put a couple fingers to someone’s forehead. Yet, that itself had something new come up.

Drop Pod en-route. Calculating optimal path. Starting countdown.

Seconds later, Maud felt a very strong sensation. Similar to what she felt, but much stronger. Like if she was being pulled by a giant magnet, the earth pony trotted towards it. Not only that, but her vision was beginning to darken and tire.

Why was it now that during the most critical moments that it was the proper time to wake?

To make matters a bit worse, more of the self-same creatures from before dug up through the ground and chased. Not small ones, but bigger and nastier beasties.

Only one word can describe what was going on in the minds of the miners… as well as Maud as everything began to fade to black like the dark caves around her.

“RUN!!!”

Author's Note

One evening, Maud finds herself in the center of a peculiar dream. Underground in a giant luminescent cave, walking along with tiny two legged creatures that keep ordering her around. Who are these figures… and why do they keep calling her ‘Molly’?

A loose crossover idea based on Deep Rock Galactic. This one involving Maud as the M.U.L.E... otherwise known as Molly.

Had several different ideas for this one, but decided to go this route in the long run. Thought that Maud was the best choice out of all the members of the Pie family for it and I've been having too much fun with DRG in the last few months.

Rock and Stone, brother. I'll see you on Hoxxes
-Frost

Additional Tags: [Maud Pie][Crossover][Deep Rock Galactic][Violence (Against Glyphids)]

Leaf 05- Mystika

When you think of magic, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind?

Some would be lost in the wonder and beauty of such power. Others would be more mathematical, trying to make sense of something that can defy logic and meaning. A few would try to harness it for themselves. You know how the typical stories go.

Yet, for a particular plane of existence, there is a common denominator. No matter how it surfaces or what happens, it’s always because someone or something from the other side enters the world and their appearance alone causes a ripple effect. In some cases, it’s an artifact. In others, it’s a problem that an egotistical Gandalf-like figure doesn’t have the patience to deal with.

Most of the time though, it’s the latter.

This is the normal song and dance for the EQG. A plane that’s parallel to the Equestria we know, but a lot more like life on Earth. People going about their lives with barely anything out of the ordinary happening. The main difference though is that magic only surfaces when something from the other side is thrown in and causes a mess of things.

Plenty of messes, more like.

However, much to the surprise of all we know, there is one outlier. A world in the EQG not touched by Equestria, but still has magic all the same. Magic that has always been there, but hidden away from mortal eyes. The populace is oblivious to it and it is hidden from many, yet there is magic in Canterlot City.

And, as we’re about to find out, all of this exists right underneath your feet.

It is a chilly December evening in the city. Snow slowly falls as the moon glows brightly in the distant sky. People who’ve just gotten off work have pulled into their driveways to hurry inside and warm themselves up by the fire. Together with friends and family, staying warm as the cold snow continued to fill the streets. It’s not that far away from Christmas, and many homes were decorated in time for the holiday season.

However, what we are focused on is not any of these particular houses or the individuals inside them. No, the person we’re focused on is in a completely different place.

On the outskirts of the city, there is a place called ‘The Drip’. And before you come to any other assumptions, let’s get this out of the way. It’s a coffee shop.

A coffee shop that’s almost near closing. Except, there’s one patron inside that’s not aware of this. A young lavender skin girl in her teens, with purple eyes, hair and a heavy jacket. There’s a spark of magenta on both her coat and a stripe of it on her hairline. She is drinking… uh, something. Can’t tell if it’s cocoa or coffee or chai tea-

You do realize that Chai and Tea are the same thing, right?

The point being, she has a drink in one hand and her phone in the other. Staring off at pictures of her and… someone else. A boyfriend? A family member? Who could say? From what we’re seeing, it’s a bit of a blur.

Though, she’s been paying more attention to this than the person trying to get her attention. “Excuse me, Twilight?”

She slowly looks away from her phone to the individual in question. A tall man who looked to be reaching his fifties. Had work clothes, gray hairs and an apron to match as they stood behind the counter. The teenager had known this man for some time, but anytime she saw him, they were always polite and welcoming.

“Yes, Mocha?” she asked, putting her phone away to turn to him. Both hands on her drink as the faint warmth is a welcome feeling to her fingers, “Sorry, my head’s been all over the place.”

“Had a rough day?”

The young girl, who we now know as Twilight, could only give a nod. There were a lot of things that she could say right around now. A lot of things that she wanted to say. But courage to say such things was something that she couldn’t find right now.

“Is it something you want to talk about?”

Another nonverbal response followed. Instead, it was a side to side shake of the head. While Mocha was a family friend, the girl was not comfortable with talking about such… personal subjects. And even if she did, Twilight doubted that he would believe it.

“Well, I’m sorry Twilight. As much as I like our conversations, I have to close up for the night,” he warned, pulling out a key and walking towards the front door. By this point, Twilight had already got her things and prepared to go back into the cold weather again. But not without hearing a few parting words, “Have a good evening. Stay safe, alright?”

“Thank you,” was the only thing she could say as the door to The Drip was closed and locked behind her. She started walking down the streets back to her home, the wind picking up as some of the snow was getting under her glasses and almost into her eyes.

Like every other walk that she had done before, Twilight knew the route back to her home like it was on the back of her hand. However, something about her walk home this time was… different.

Every once in a while, it looked like the people and objects that were around her were… distorting. Like a mirage, but in a cold metropolitan town instead of a desert. Brief flashes of different things were seen in short glimpses. Something was there one moment and gone the next.

To Twilight though, she saw this as all the more reason to get home as quickly as she could. There was no point in trying to think of a logical explanation for what she was seeing at the moment. It was getting late after all, and unlike some people she knew, the night life of the city was not exactly something she really cared for.

It took roughly half an hour or so to get home, but once Twilight reached the door, a friendly sight greeted her as she stepped inside and closed the door behind her. It wasn’t a person, but instead a dear companion and friend. A young puppy with purple fur that immediately rushed over and rubbed their head affectionately against her leg as she lowered herself to the ground to pet him.

“Hi there, Spike,” she said, “Did you miss me?”

The puppy, who we now know as Spike, barked happily. He followed alongside her as Twilight started to make herself comfortable, sit on the couch and turned on the TV. The interior of her home is as simple as simple could possibly be. Aside from the decorated christmas tree by the fireplace, there weren't really too many things that would stand out if you were visiting.

Then again, aside from the mail lady and her neighbors, Twilight herself doesn’t really get too many visitors. Not even during the holidays. Her parents were visiting family out on the east coast. Anybody she knew from school were probably doing their own thing for the holidays. And her brother…

Is this the right time to bring this up? You sure we’re not doing it too fast?

Well, it’s probably a better time to say it now rather than leave the readers in suspense.

Her brother, Shining Armor, isn’t here. In fact, Twilight (and by extension everyone else) doesn’t know where he is. This is the first holiday season she’s spending without him and considering how close they were, it’s painful.

Shining was a proud member of the Canterlot City Police Department. He did everything he could to protect those in need. Yet, two days after last Christmas… he just vanished. No one knows what happened to him, not even his partner on the force or his colleagues. There were widespread searches all over town and even though they found his patrol car, they never found him anywhere.

What made things even more painful was that the little puppy that was right now curled up in Twilight’s lap was the last Christmas gift that he gave her before he disappeared.

Since that day though, Twilight had changed a lot from who she was before. Even though she was still on top of her academics, she isolated herself from any social interactions with her classmates. In fact, she did not talk much with anyone outside of her family and Mocha on occasion.

Now, she was just sitting here. Watching TV, resting with her dog as the snow continued to fall outside. As time passed, her eyes started to close. Drifting off to sleep.

Yet, as she slept, Twilight couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very off. She could hear something faint, as if it was… a voice? But something akin to radio static was interfering, making it impossible to understand.

Then, there was a beep… and another… and another. And several more.

.-- .- -.- . / ..- .--. -.-.--

It puzzled her at first. She had heard something like this before, but where? The answer was on the tip of her tongue, yet blocked by some code-?

Code! Yes, that’s it!

Wait, she figured it out? We didn’t even build any suspense!

Not quite, but she’s on the right track. Despite her extensive knowledge on such things like computers and science, Twilight is only familiar with one particular set of code like this. Though, instead of it being taught in a computer or coding class, it was talked about in her history course. Where soldiers used Morse Code to send important messages.

The moment she makes that connection, part of the beeps stop and instead are replaced with letters. She could hear a voice that sounded like a young boy trying to speak to her. Yet, it was hard to figure out what the child was trying to tell him.

It felt like playing a game of Wheel of Fortune, but in the vast emptiness of wherever she was. Each letter being a distant audible sound that only came into focus with enough concentration.

With each moment that passed, a new syllable formed and the static became much clearer-

Wake up!

Immediately, Twilight’s eyes opened. The girl shot up from the couch, looking around to see that she was still in her home. Right in the place where she fell asleep. TV was still on, showing some late night comedy show or something. The only difference was that Spike was on the cushion next to her face and he looked to be shimmering a bit-

Wait a second.

“Twilight, please wake up!”

She blinked, startled by this and immediately got up from where she was. Her eyes went wide as she stared at the puppy. “S-Spike? D-did you just… talk?”

As soon as he heard that, the pupils in Spike’s eyes shrank. Shock soon followed afterwards along with a tinge of panic and a slight bit of relief as the gears in the little dog’s brain began to turn. Though, it seemed like he wanted to be certain, “W-wait. You can… hear me?”

Twilight was speechless at this, but the expression on her face was all that the dog needed to see. But before he could say anything, his focus was interrupted when heavy winds began to rattle the windows along the side of the house. The dog’s expression rapidly changed from one of joy to one of concern and panic.

“We need to leave, now.”

“W-what?” the teenager said, puzzled by his words as panic started to creep in, “Why-? W-what’s going on? What’s happening!? Why are you talking?!!”

“Twilight, please. Calm down,” the dog rushed over, putting its paws on Twilight’s shoulder as he did his best to try and get the teenager to not freak out. Something that, in her position, was very hard not to do.

And who would blame her? Her perspective of how the world worked shattered the moment that she realized her puppy could speak. “W-what are you?”

That was a short, but loaded question. Yet, it was one that Spike actually had an answer for. “I’m what’s called a familiar. I was magically created by your brother so you didn’t have to be scared of being alone.”

Immediately, Twilight’s heart skipped a beat. “M-magic-? No, no no. T-that can’t be right. Magic’s-”

“-real,” Spike interrupted, “Twilight, I don’t know how to tell this to you, but magic is real. You’re in the Mystika… and right now, we need to run before what’s knocking at the front door gets in-”

Just as he said that, the rigid cold air began to creep around the room, snuffing out the embers that were in the fireplace. The sound of crumpling wood started to echo along the floor, forcing Spike to lead Twilight away from the living room and farther into the house. It was footsteps, but there was an eerie white glow coming from where they just were.

For a brief glimpse, she saw what it was… and it horrified her. It looked human, but the body was made of a spectral cold color. Anywhere its head moved, anything in sight started to freeze.

“W-what’s that-?”

Oh, Spike knew exactly what it was. And the thought of it sent a shiver down his spine. “We’re going. Now.”

“Wha-”

With a powerful tug, Spike yanked her away farther down the hall. As she looked, Twilight could see the eyes of the familiar darting around the room. He was… looking around?

Not with the intent that was in his eyes. He was searching for something. What that something happened to be? Well, that’s for us to know and-

“Come on, come on… Where is it?” Spike murmured, putting his nose to the ground and sniffing what was around him. Despite being under pressure, the familiar put his nose to work, rushing towards a solid wall on the far end of the kitchen. The moment he had something, Spike immediately whispered to Twilight, “Over here.”

The girl just stared blankly at what Spike was looking at. There was… nothing here but a blank wall. No doors, windows and certainly not a place to hide from whatever that… thing that was breaking into the house was supposed to be.

“Spike, what are you doing?”

“Just trust me. Shining had a plan in case something like this happened,” The familiar whispered, before placing a paw on the door. A few words were spoken after that Twilight could not understand. Yet, the longer she stood there, she felt a cold chill creep down her neck.

That thing was getting closer. The windows were fogging up. Any trace of heat that was once in this home had been sucked out like a vacuum. They couldn’t stand here. This thing would kill them-

“Come on!”

The wall that was once there split open as Spike and Twilight tumbled down a stairwell that wasn’t previously there before. As quickly as they fell, the wall closed up.

The moment she got up and saw what was down here, Twilight was speechless. The room looked like if you fit something akin to the Batcave in a basement. Only instead of a bunch of fancy tech and numerous bat suits, you would find various different mystical items and contraptions. Several different pieces of parchment with weird shapes written on it were plastered on the walls, faintly glowing in the presence of the two of them.

“S-spike? Where… are we?”

“This is Shining’s Sanctum,” Spike told him, “Anything involving Magic or the Mystika he kept in here for safe keeping.”

He continued to say a few other things… but instead, Twilight’s attention was on something else. For one of the books that happened to be on a workbench in the back of the room was a small journal with a shield on the cover. This was the first time seeing it and yet, it felt vaguely familiar to her. Like if you found something buried under a bunch of things you have laying around in an attic and realized that it was yours.

Or, in this case, a basement.

Curious, she undid the band that kept it together and opened it. However, when she looked at the words that were printed on the page, Twilight gasped. Whatever she thought was going to be there… turned out to be far from what actually was printed on the page

For, the first thing she found was a message… from her brother.

Twilight… If you find this, then something awful has happened and I can’t be there to protect you. I know that you may have a lot of questions, but I want you to take a moment and read what I have to say.

For the last two years, I’ve learned much about our home that I don’t even think scratches the surface. There is a place that’s parallel to ours called the Mystika. Here, everything that we thought would be just something out of a fairy tale is real and magic exists. The thing is, much of it is hidden from us… it’s complicated. Trust me.

My job, as a police officer, is to serve and protect the people of Canterlot City. When I learned about the Mystika, I was asked by the head of the Canterlot Occult Society to make sure that I apply my responsibilities here too. However, if I am gone, that means that whatever monsters I helped lock away could and possibly will come for you.

To that extension, with the help of a dear friend, we created Spike so that he could be a guardian for you. Someone to watch over you in the instance that I can’t be there for you. With him, head to the statue in front of Canterlot High. There will be someone waiting for you that will welcome you with open arms and explain more to you that I can’t.

I know this may seem scary, but I have faith that you will do the right thing.

Love you,

Shining Armor

As she finished reading, Twilight… had no idea what to say.

I mean, in her position, who would? With everything that she learned about her brother and what he had been doing all these years, anyone would start to wonder what the hell is happening. Not to mention, the glowing ghost thing that’s wandering around her house and looking for her.

“Twilight?”

She stopped, putting the journal into a jacket pocket. The puppy familiar was looking back at her, worry and concern present on his face. He wasn’t sure how Twilight was taking all of this, and who would blame him? So many things had started to unravel within the last few minutes. Her view on how she believed the world functioned had cracked wide open.

However, their current situation did not leave any room to contemplate anything.

So instead, the teenager had to set aside any questions she had and focus on what was going on right now. For unless they dealt with what was on their doorstep, they were practically stuck here.

“Spike, w-what was that… thing we saw?”

The puppy’s ears perked up, before he looked over to the bench that the journal was found on as he pointed at a thick covered book on the shelf. “Can you get that down? I think it would be easier to show you rather than me just explaining.”

Without even questioning it, Twilight did what he asked. Books were a specialty of hers, so this was a promising start. Pages were rapidly turning faster than Twilight could see as Spike was… skimming through?

More like scanning. His eyes can process things faster than the average human. And given how time is not on their side, the faster they went through this, the better-

“Right there.”

Immediately, Spike placed a paw on the page as the book’s pages stopped moving. When Twilight looked at the page, the image was enough to send a chill down her spine. It looked exactly like the creature they briefly saw, but if the person on the front cover of John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’ was given form. It walked like a person, but had no face. Just a cold icy glow where its head should be and it wore old & tattered clothes.

Things even got more disturbing once the familiar started to read what was on the page, “Frostbitten Shambler. Said to be the embodiment of those who died from extreme cold, but whose spirit still resides in the living realm. Shamblers are created as the embodiment of winter’s wrath, but who or what’s behind their creation is largely unknown.”

That would definitely explain the cold chill… and layers of frost being everywhere. That still doesn’t explain why it was at her doorstep?

Who cares about why? The one thing that should be concerning is how exactly are they going to deal with it?

“Spike, w-what should we do?” Twilight asked, “H-how can we get rid of it?”

“That’s… tough to figure out I’m afraid,” the puppy groaned, “Normally, the go-to solution would be to fight it… However, even though you’ve woken up in the Mystika, I’m not sure if you have magic or anything.”

As he spoke, Twilight just started to glance around the room. This was Shining’s little secret base. Surely her brother had some weapons or something stored down here. Yet, the harder she looked, the more that she realized that this was more of a panic shelter than an armory.

And even though some of the books down here were rather big, she doubted that using it as a weapon would do her much good.

It was at that particular moment that both of them realized that their small safe haven wasn’t entirely safe. A loud thud against the brick wall at the top of the stairs, followed by the crackling of ice from the top step as it made its way down the makeshift stairwell.

Even with the magic that was in this tiny room, it did little to slow the advance of what was coming for them.

To make matters worse, even though Spike was trying to say something, Twilight could not hear him. In fact, she can’t hear anything right now. Despite her seeing what’s happening, the whole world had gone silent around her.

“W-what can I do?”

She looked back at the journal, remembering the words from her brothers. Thoughts began to linger in her head as they bounced in the walls of her mind.

We can’t fight this thing! We need to escape!!

Escape? How!? Nevermind that, where would we even go?!

Shining left instructions for us! We can go to Canterlot High! He said that somebody would be waiting for us if we go there!

Can we even trust them though? Shining had been hiding this from us for so long. What else is there that he didn’t tell us!?

So many different thoughts, doubts and ideas were flooding her mind at once. So much that something started to change in the room. More specifically, she was starting to change. Vibrant violet light was radiating from her whole body, glowing brighter with each passing second.

Of course, this sudden and rapid change had Spike gravely concerned. One moment, Twilight was okay. The next, she was beginning to panic and now was glowing brighter than the christmas tree that was in the living room. To make matters worse, he could feel magic coming from her.

Things were quickly starting to get out of hand. And unfortunately, it was about to get much worse.

“T-twilight-?”

The second that left his lips, a heavy impact was felt on the wall above as chunks of brick and mortar started to crumble its way down the frozen steps. The Shambler looked down, its non-existent face making their blood run cold as it moved closer to them. Twilight, not even noticing or caring about what was happening with her, immediately grabbed hold of Spike tightly and closed her eyes.

She expected her life to end right there and then…

… Unfortunately, her magic had other plans in mind.

The violet light from her body began to expand and warp everything in the room, before wrapping around her and the familiar. In the blink of an eye, the two of them felt their bodies and everything they had pulled away from their home… leaving behind a blistering blast of light that tore through the figure that was hunting them, turning their frozen body into dust that scattered on the winter winds.

When both of them opened their eyes again, Twilight and Spike could feel the chill touch of snow on their faces as she rose to her feet. It was immediately clear that both of them were no longer in their home. But not so much as to where they arrived.

“S-spike? W-what happened?”

“I-I don’t know,” the familiar stuttered, before looking back at her, “I-I never experienced anything like that before. H-how did you do that?”

Twilight herself was unsure how to answer that. All she did was think about getting as far away as possible from what was coming for them. Now, they were out in the cold and… wait, where actually were they?

Oh, that part. Well, bits and pieces of Shining’s words to her may have been caught up in that flare up of magic just now. Specifically, the part where they head to Canterlot High.

As it so happened, the spell that went off had them arrive directly in front of the statue.

Before she could even give a proper answer, or the lack of one, the sound of a voice caught their attention. “Oh, good evening.”

Immediately, Spike hopped to his feet. He knew this voice all too well and was relieved to hear it. “Celestia! Oh, thank goodness.”

The woman, who Spike called Celestia, looked to be somewhere between her late thirties. Perhaps early forties if we had to get specific. She had long teal hair with shades of cyan and light magenta mixed in. Her pants were a mid shade of violet and the winter coat she wore was a vibrant shade of yellow. Not like Curious George yellow hat man colors, but close to that.

“You know this lady, Spike?”

The moment that Twilight said that, Celestia’s gaze shifted from the familiar to her. Not with a look of seriousness, but… familiarity. “You’re… Shining’s sister. Twilight Sparkle?”

“H-how-? W-who are you?”

Instead of answering, she walked over to the back side of the statue at the front of the school. In a swift motion, the backside of the statue opened up into a sprawling staircase that descended downwards, before going off at different angles and spiraling around like an MC Esher painting.

As the woman turned back around, she only had one response for Twilight.

“My name is Celestia, head of the Canterlot Occult Society. And I believe we have much to talk about.”

Author's Note

Canterlot City is known for many things. Many people come from all around the world for different reasons. Yet, there is another side to the restless city that most people cannot see. And yet, it exists right underneath their feet.

I had this idea surface after a friend I know on Discord introduced me to a DND campaign by Dimension 20 called 'The Unsleeping City'. In that campaign, it focuses on a magical version of New York City that's hidden from everyone else in the world, yet lives and breathes right underneath your feet.

So, I thought that trying to do an EQG take on such a story would be rather interesting to do.

As for Twilight in this, she would have motivations to try and find answers to the many different questions that are now being raised after learning about the existence of the Mystika and its denizens. More importantly, what happened to her brother?

Also, since she's a Wild Magic Sorcerer, things can get very unpredictable.

Tags: [Alternate Universe][Equestria Girls][Sci-Twi][Spike][Celestia]

I might revisit the idea later and expand it to other EQG characters, depending on how people like this one. So, let me know what you think

Leaf 06- Moonstuck

If you woke up to find yourself on the surface of the moon, how would you react?

Obviously, for most creatures, many questions would suddenly flood your mind. Why am I here? What did I do? How in the world am I breathing up here? Am I going to die?

However, at this moment, there is only one creature here that we’re focusing on. A new arrival, so to speak. When she woke to find herself here, it wasn’t questions that lingered, but pain and regret. She was the victim of circumstance, letting her emotions cloud her judgment and darkness take hold of her. In the end, when the darkness was forced out of her by somepony close to her, she was exiled here.

To Luna, even though there were times where she and her sister would disagree, she never wanted for this to happen… and yet, it did.

But something about this was unfamiliar to the one the storybooks call the Mare in the Moon. Despite being the Princess of the Night, this moon was not the same as the one that she could move with her own magic.

In fact, this isn’t Luna’s moon. It’s not even a moon at all.

It’s a prison. A prison for a powerful entity beyond her comprehension and the comprehension of all the mortal souls in the world below it. But such things aren’t exactly important for the time being.

What is important is that she's not alone. There are others here, some of which she hasn't realized and would prefer to not deal with like it's creeping under her fur. And it's too late to try and hide from them.

Whatever else is here has already noticed her. Because it's rare for this moon to have visitors.

As the princess trotted across the surface of the moon, Luna was trying to make sense of the things she was seeing. Floating rocks and stones orbited in an asteroid belt around the surface, creatures that she hadn’t seen before drifted along the floor and strange buildings that were not of Equestrian make had been placed here. All while the world below and everything on it looked very small.

It was a sight that was beyond understanding, and yet, it still intrigued her.

Though, what caught her attention the most was the giant gaping crater in the dead center of it. Surrounded by six different pillars on its sides, each one humming with a strange and unfamiliar form of power that she could feel.

As she tried to process everything in front of her, there was only one question that crossed her mind. Luna could tell that this was a moon, but from everything she was seeing, the alicorn was beginning to realize that this wasn’t Equestria’s moon.

It couldn’t be. All the nights that she spent looking through the telescope in her room, the moon was supposed to be barren and empty. Nothing like this should be here if it was.

And so, she voiced the question into the vast emptiness that's probably the same question on all of our minds, “W-where am I?”

Unbeknownst to her, someone was actually there to answer.

Well, aren’t you a strange one? Unfamiliar, yet curious all the same.

The moment Luna turned around, she found herself staring at a spectral looking figure that was much taller than her. They were clad in ghostly white robes with a mask that covered their face and a hood covered over their head. At first glance, such a figure would seem very intimidating to a confused pony such as her.

As the pony tried to register this, she realized that the figure was speaking. Not sure if it was her or not, she looked around for a moment, before pointing a hoof to herself, “A-are you talking to me?”

Why, of course, little one. It is rather rare to receive visitors here on Mare Lamentorum.

Mare Lamentorum? Was that the moon’s name? Back in Equestria, the moon did not have such names. It was just ‘the moon’ and nothing else.

Still, none of that mattered. The only thing that she cared about was the identity of this stranger that just, for all she knew, appeared behind her. “W-who are you?”

At first, it was silent. But it didn’t last long as it moved its arm upwards. I’m afraid I don’t quite have a name to share with you, little one. I am just simply referred to by the title of my station, The Watcher.

The Watcher? The Watcher of what exactly? The moon? The gaping hole? Something in the hole?

The answer for such a question is something that Luna lacks… and is probably not going to have the answer for. In fact, outside of what we said in the beginning, it’s probably a few thousand years too early before anyone here learns about it.

Do you have a name, little one?

The Watcher’s question, while well intended, was initially met with silence and hesitation. Being here was one thing, but the simplest of questions asked by a stranger left her at a loss for words. Still, it didn’t stop her from trying at least.

“L-Luna. My name is Luna.”

She wanted to say more to this stranger. Ask about this place or who they were. Yet, before she could, an odd presence approached her. It was unknown, and yet it felt warm and friendly.

For as Luna turned to her left, she couldn’t help but notice a dog approaching her. Not just any dog though. It was a canine whose fur was golden and shining with each step. It eyed her with curiosity, before approaching closer.

It sniffed her for a bit, before rubbing its head against her foreleg.

My, this is a surprise. Hello there, Argos.

“Argos?” she asked, her puzzled expression from before replaced with that of curiosity as the alicorn looked back to The Watcher, “Is he your pet?”

Not quite. He’s a familiar, left in my care by a close… colleague of mine, you might say. The Watcher replies, looking down at the dog as it circled around Luna. Normally, he keeps to himself. But it seems he’s taken a liking to you.

It’s a bit of a strange feeling, for sure. One moment, you find yourself on a moon that isn’t even your own. Next, you’re talking to a giant ghost figure and comforted by a glowing doggo. If you do ask though, Argos is best boy, hands down.

Despite the comfort though, that was when a different sort of question was asked by The Watcher. Pardon my abruptness, but I must ask. Where are you from, Ms. Luna?

“I’m… from a place called Equestria.”

Huh, curious. Is that the name of another star?

“A-another star? What do you mean by-”

At that moment, a flash of pain erupted in Luna’s head. Her mind began to ache as she felt something crawling in the back of her mind. A creeping sensation that wouldn’t let go and was starting to surface in her thoughts.

They’re hiding something from you. Keeping it to themselves.

Now of course, the moment this started happening, she tried to push it back. But her own fear in that moment made such a thought impossible. She thought that nightmare was gone. Severed off from her the moment that Celestia struck her with the power of the Elements of Harmony.

Yet, against all odds, it was somehow still here. Lingering in the dark corners of her mind.

Did you really think your sister could get rid of me so easily? I’m a part of you and she would never dream of harming you-

Miss Luna, are you okay?

The words from The Watcher were enough to have the presence dissipate and her focus shift back to present company. Yet, the feelings of dread and realization left her at a loss for words.

“I-I’m fine. Just a momentary lapse, that’s all.”

A momentary lapse? Are you sure that’s all? Because for a moment, there was a sudden and abrupt spike in your aether.

Now, Luna doesn’t quite know what this meant. To her, she thinks this ‘aether’ is just simply magic and nothing more to it.

But, there’s a lot more to it than just ‘simply magic’. Aether represents life in all things in this world. A very delicate balance between the elemental forces that make up the planet named Etheirys. Or what many called Eorzea

However, since that balance is very delicate, there could be drastic consequences if said balance was tilted in any particular way. There are reflections of a sort akin to this one that were either drowned in light or swallowed in darkness because of such things.

It is also worth noting that The Watcher can see the aether of living creatures. So bearing witness to such a drastic change in such a short amount of time would leave anyone in their position rightfully worried.

The moon being a prison for that entity we mentioned at the beginning also doesn’t quite help with this either. Just throwing that out there.

“W-what’s Aether?”

If you could see The Watcher’s eyes, then you would’ve seen them blink in surprise. For almost every living being in this star and on the moon knew about aether to a particular degree. Some more than others.

However, for a creature like Luna here to have a high concentration of volatile aether and know nothing about it? That could spell disaster if left unchecked.

But it did not seem that she had any ill intentions. If anything, she just looked very confused. Perhaps what she needed was guidance.

Tell me, Miss Luna. Do you have any knowledge of the arcane arts?

She tilted her head, a little puzzled by that, “Do you mean magic? I-if so, then yes, I do have some knowledge of magic. Is it similar to this ‘Aether’ you mentioned?”

At this point, The Watcher started to turn around and walk back towards the giant observatory behind them. Motioning for Luna to follow, it started to provide an answer in greater detail. Aether is not just simply Magicks, I’m afraid. It is a phenomenon that represents magic as well as life, for it is in almost every living soul on the star. Some creatures can even harness their aether to perform magics of various kinds.

As it continued, the pair entered through the gigantically tall doors of The Watcher’s observatory. Numerous crystals of various colors lined the walls heading upwards with a giant chair and globe shaped contraption in the center. Upon approaching it, The Watcher simply moved a hand before the instrument began to glow and move.

Aether is also represented not just in those that live on the Star, but the star itself. However, not everything is so simple.

That puzzled the princess. If anything, what The Watcher was telling sounded almost one for one with what Equestria was like. How could this be any different-

It is a delicate balancing act between numerous elements. If the flow of aether in Etheirys is to be disrupted, the ramifications of such an event would bring untold destruction to the star. And it is not the first time that it has happened either.

Any sense of curiosity that Luna had… now started to morph into a sense of fear. “H-how many-?”

Too many.

As it was speaking, the globe projected several images in succession. Each one more disturbing than the last. A raging tempest, a storm of lightning that sent the people underground, fires that burned away lush greenery and life, an earthquake that brought low an empire on the verge of conquest, an age of endless frost that froze the seas, a flood that ended a war amongst magi, and lastly, the descent of a red moon and the horrifying creature that was caged within its shell.

Seven times that the star had faced hardship on the brink of a calamity and almost fell to ruin.

Aether is both a source of creation and also destruction. Which is why when I saw your aether, it was different in comparison. Now that I answered your question though, I’d like for you to answer one of mine.

That was something Luna sort of expected, but wasn’t quite entirely prepared for. For most of this conversation, she had been just listening to The Watcher as it answered her questions and helped her get an understanding of where the hell she was. Now, the tables have turned and this time, she was providing answers to this… entity. But what was it going to ask?

It’s going to loop back around to something she said earlier. I just know it.

You mentioned the name of where you’re from and it sounds like the name of another star. Yet, it is extremely rare for such visitors to come here. So, can you share with me how you found yourself here on Mare Lamentorum.

Much like before, there is another flux and the other voice speaks. Yes, why don’t you tell them. Give them a better understanding of us.

Unlike before, Luna has a better grip on this and isn’t taken aback as much. But, as much as she hates to admit it, the nightmarish voice that is somehow a part of her has a point. Maybe by telling her story, The Watcher could help her find her way back.

Back to Equestria. To her star. Her home.

Trying to steel herself, she lets in a deep breath… exhales… and starts to share her story. One that all of us that are reading this are all too familiar.

What we know as the story of the Mare in the Moon.

Author's Note

We all know the classic tale of the mare on the moon. Though, the original story never specified which moon Luna was sent to. So, imagine her surprise when she finds herself on the lunar surface of a moon that doesn’t belong to Equestria… and catching the attention of its caretakers.

A crossover prompt based on one of the major locations in Final Fantasy XIV. Specifically, the Endwalker expansion. This one was difficult to come up with for a few reasons, outside of what could be considered spoiler territory for those who haven't played or haven't gotten that far in the game.

The initial idea was to have Luna be on the moon and meet some of its more cheerful caretakers. However, due to inconsistencies with lore, I thought a more serious approach was necessary. So, this idea is centered around Luna trying to come to grips with her being on a completely separate moon, trying to come to terms with what's on said moon and dealing with a pest that hasn't quite been 'fixed' when Celestia hit her with the Elements of Harmony.

So, with that in mind, here are the tags

[Alternate Universe][Crossover][Final Fantasy][Luna][Nightmare Moon]

As a bonus, for context, The Watcher looks like this in size compared to a normal person:

(Credits to the artist known amaurot moyu shimin. I found their piece on Google Images while finding proper references for The Watcher)

Leaf 07- Holiday

Author's Note

Needing a change of scenery, a certain draconequus decides that it would be best to have a small vacation to himself. However, where he happens to go, chaos still follows him… even unintentionally.

For this one, I wanted to try a couple of things. First, pay homage to what started this little collection of stories. And second, I wanted to do something involving Discord since he would probably be aware of the Archivist's existence and interact with them all the same.

Of course, there's a lot of things happening in Midst... and if you want the full story, then you should tune in for yourself.

[Crossover][Dark][Horror (Trust me, it's there for a reason)][Discord]

Leaf 07- Holiday

When it comes to sharing stories, there always appears to be a certain level of ‘expectations’ that go along with each tale that we tell.

Each time a new chapter is posted, it keeps anyone that reads it guessing. Wondering things such as ‘who the characters might be’ or ‘what is the story about this time’? Kind of like with every best selling author whenever they decide to publish a new book or series.

Sound familiar?

To cut to the chase on one of those questions, let’s bring ourselves into focus on a particularly noticeable individual. Many in Equestria would recognize who he is immediately, whether it be by titles or by his appearance alone. His long body being the host to a variety of different limbs and pieces as if they were plucked off various animals and forming a chaotic amalgamation that is commonly called a draconequus.

This is Discord… and unlike many of the characters in the other stories we’ve shared, he knows we’re talking about him. He knows every remark we make, every description we give and so on. In fact, he’s pretty much the only one that knows we exist as well as what our purpose is.

If that purpose was, as he would call it, ‘Loki, Sheogorath and Tzeentch trying to share a story’.

The only reason why he isn’t trying to interrupt us right now to say hello or provide his own commentary is because his mind is focused on something else entirely. You see, over the last few months, he had been busy trying to make sure that a certain young princess was able to succeed her mentors. Now that the last trio of villains had been encased in stone, and he had been awarded as an honorary hero to Equestria, he now felt it was the time to do something he had not done in years.

A proper vacation.

And no, despite popular belief, he told us the trip that he went with two princesses did not count.

I mean, that was hardly a trip at all. Not to mention I was feeling blue. Quite literally as a matter of fact.

Oh right. I almost forgot. He could talk to us. That’s a thing he could do.

Oh, you wound me. Though, don’t let that stop the three of you from spinning this grand tale of yours. Just imagine that I’m not even here.

You know, we can save the questions for later. His bags are packed and he is ready to go. He even leaves a note for Fluttershy in the cottage for where his whereabouts are going to be for the next couple of days. He also has a passport apparently, which doesn’t seem like that much of a big deal, but it makes you wonder who was brave enough in the first place to get his picture taken?

He also has a rather inconceivably long list. A list of what is something that even we don’t know… and is probably not going to share.

Now why would I? It would just make things more boring if you knew everything I was up to, wouldn’t you think? Though, if it does help settle your mind at ease, there is one particular place I want to visit first.

Oh, that’s… a first. We don’t usually get asked to come along to such things.

What place did you have in mind?

Well, there was a place in the author’s description of your little anthology that sounded intriguing. So, I thought I would take a quick peak there first before going anywhere.

Wait… you don’t mean-?

Well, of course, he says, snapping a talon and opening up a dimensional tear. Bags under one arm and list in the other.

We’re going to check out this Midst place.

In the far reaches of the tree we tend to, the place where Discord is going for his little siesta is not too well known by the average reader. So, per our role as the Archivists, we will do our best to describe this place for you. Because much like our chaotic friend, there is a lot here that doesn’t make sense… and trying to make sense would lack any fun.

This islet of Midst is a place that’s floating in what could best be described as right in the middle between a bed of light… and a sea of nightmare fuel. The locals call these forces The Un and The Fold, and from what we know, it sort of is responsible for multiple things.

You know, things like Day and Night. Light and Darkness… Tearrors. Oh, we didn’t mention that part, did we?

I believe you were getting to that point, but don’t let me distract you.

Fold Tearrors are abnormal circumstances that happen on Midst and, if you happen to be an unlucky person who happened to witness or survive one, abnormal effects can happen. One day, you may wake up to find that your mouth is upside down or that you can float for some reason.

Of course, it rarely goes like that. Most of the time, the effects of Tearrors can end up being way worse than simply that. But going into detail would kind of derail this story. After all, it’s supposed to be a vacation. No dramatic left turns into survival horror here.

At least, for the meantime.

What was that-?

Nope! Nothing to see here. Just… carry on.

Considering what we just told you, it’s no wonder that our friendly neighborhood draconequus decided to come here. Midst, and by that extension the town of Stationary Hill, bears a lot of similarities to that of the town of Ponyville in a few different ways. Perhaps almost too similar, in some regard.

I mean, if you take into account all the people here and how strange occurrences just so often happen every other week, it kind of fits?

Let’s be clear on one thing, unlike Equestria, this town is pretty much the nucleus of all strange things here. This is the only town for miles outside of the ports for the different ships and vessels come in rarely. Yet, unlike other places, people don’t really care that much about what’s going on around them.

And it’s for that reason that Discord is confidently sitting on a beach chair with a tall glass of chocolate milk, high up above the town and looking down on its residents. He doesn’t even go to the effort of putting on a disguise either.

I mean, would anyone even go looking around up here? I haven’t even seen any-

The exact moment that our confident chaotic friend says that, a giant golden ship breaks into Midst’s upper atmosphere. There isn’t really much to describe it, for it looks like a giant flying triangle, but the fact that it just suddenly arrived was enough for everyone in town to stop what they’re doing.

Seriously? I thought they’d be used to this kind of thing. This whole place is practically a space western.

Oh, they’re used to ships coming in and out. But most of the time, they’re either trading vessels or passenger ships. And neither of them looked like this.

You mean looking like an intergalactic version of one of Celestia’s chariots?

Well, the symbolism is there. It’s just not what you might think. It's something that only a few people really know about here and less people from this town are a part of.

… That’s rather vague. Are you sure there’s nothing else you can tell me?

We could, but we also know how you get bored rather easily when somepony goes into a lengthy explanation on subjects. Remember when Celestia made you sit through a lecture on how the Equestrian Tax System works?

Ugh, fine. Keep your secrets then. The draconequus said, rolling his eyes at us before downing the rest of his glass of milk. Though, perhaps because he was unamused by what we just said to him, he decided to take matters into his own paws, so to speak.

In a snap, the drink glass began to morph and change into a different shape. A tricorn hat suddenly appears on his head as what could be only described as a rough looking spyglass takes form in his claw as he begins to peek through it. Angling the spyglass towards the ship that landed.

From what he, and by extension we could see, several soldiers started to make their way out of the ship and line up in orderly fashion. Many of them wore dark clad armor with a mark in the middle that was of the same shape of the ship they emerged from. A bunch of them were carrying cases with them, possibly to store equipment and the like.

Out of everyone here, two figures immediately stood out from the rest. The first was a man with glistening golden armor, a jagged crystalline shoulder pad on one side and just from a single look, you can tell that he emits self confidence. He stands proudly, has a smile on his face and acts very humble around those he meets.

The guy next to him, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. Despite trying to be somewhat of a mirror image to the first guy, he looks like he has a lot of issues going on inside his head that haven’t quite been fully straightened out yet. He has a similar getup in his appearance, but the gold had been replaced with blues and silvers. He also carries what could only be described as a rather decorative crystalline mace.

So, this guy’s like a sidekick?

More or less. Officially, he’s the right hand man of the golden guy that’s his mentor. He’s eager to prove himself, but there’s a lot more going on under the surface.

Mainly, it’s desperation. Midst gives him an opportunity to try and prove himself. Take his teacher’s advice to heart. Yet, the only question is how exactly is he going to do that.

Intriguing. You know, normally I would ignore somepony that’s down on their luck, but I like this guy’s chances. Maybe we give him a bit of a confidence boost? But I can’t do it when people are listening. So have a page break on us!

By the time that the company had disembarked at the docks, many thoughts were going through the mind of one Phineas Thatch. As the Adsecla of the Trust and the right hand of the Consector Jonas Spahr, he knew that the eyes of the Trust were on him. He knew that with each word he said and each action he took, he represented not only the organization that took him in and raised him to be where he is today, but also those who he worked alongside for many years.

Which is why, some of the words from Jonas on the way here, still were a bit unsettling to hear from him directly.

‘Well, this IS that time, Phineas. This is your opportunity, and this is your last opportunity. Unfortunately, I have to serve you a warning.’

To hear that his performance and everything he had been doing to be recognized for his deeds wasn’t enough was one thing. But to hear it from the man who was the one who helped him get to where he is now felt like getting punched in the gut.

Despite all his years of service to the Trust and his many assignments under Spahr’s wing, hearing that it still wasn’t enough to not only break even, but be recognized for his deeds was a bitter pill to swallow.

Though, as he finally had the chance to take in Midst and its surroundings, a new thought started to wash over him. The assignment that the Trust was here for was one thing… but if he really wanted to prove himself and go the extra mile, he should be proactive. He should make sure that if anyone in the Trust, especially a notary, needed something, that he should get right on it and see it through.

For the Trust rewards those who do good deeds and valorous acts. And maybe this assignment will help him become truly Valorous in the eyes of the Trust.

I think that would be enough.

Really? For you? I would think that with being a spirit of chaos, you would put on more of a spectacle.

Sometimes the subtle approach is enough. Besides, sometimes the people who have confidence issues just need a little push if you know what I mean.

A fair point. Though, whether or not that’s a good or bad thing remains to be seen.

In any case, we should see what else is going on around town. Better to leave those guys alone rather than follow them everywhere.

Aw, come on now. I like this spot. Unless you got something else that may be more entertaining, I would prefer to keep sightseeing.

Funny you mention that, because word on the street is that there is a special show taking place at the supper club here tonight. For a momentous, once in a lifetime occasion in fact.

Almost as if right on cue with what we’re telling him, a piece of paper flies up on the wind and lands not that far from our chaotic friend. At first glance, he thinks that it’s an advertisement for a mom and pop shop in Stationary Hill or some recruitment flier.

Actually, it’s neither of those things. Despite some wear and tear, the paper looks rather neat and the ink on it is freshly printed. The words on the page and its message are simple to make out, but cordial in appearance.

To summarize its message, the Black Candle Cabaret is holding a rather special show to celebrate its ninth anniversary and you are invited.

Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to visit. Might need to get a fancier pair of clothes, but it probably beats just sitting and waiting for things to happen anyways.

Well, you don’t really have to wait around for much longer. The Fold’s about to come in.

Wait, wha-?

Remember earlier how we mentioned that the Un and the Fold are like Day and Night? Well, we mean that in a literal sense. Even though Midst has a moon, night and day work much differently than on Equestria. There is nothing to raise or lower here. It doesn’t come slowly, but washes over everything as easily as someone pulling a curtain. And it’s by no means slow.

Time to get a move on, friend. Unless you want to find out what sort of things call the Fold their home.

… Well, aren’t you three just a clever bunch. Alright, fine, I'll play along.

At this hour, the Black Candle Cabaret is ready for its biggest show of the year.

A lot of work has gone into preparing the celebration happening tonight. The tables are set, the food and drinks at the bar are ready, the guests are starting to arrive just as the Fold is coming in. Everyone backstage is going through any final adjustments. Everything has been double and even triple checked to be ready for tonight.

Some of the guests immediately go to find an open seat in the auditorium. Others head straight for the bar first to get a drink before sitting down. One guy tries to get up the stairs to head to one of the offices on the second level, before immediately coming back down a bit disappointed.

It seemed like he wanted to talk about something important, but came by at the wrong time with everything else going on today.

As for our friend, Discord was able to cleverly hide himself among the crowd that was coming inside. Changing his form to look like a human was a rather simple task, along with repurposing an outfit previously used at the Grand Galloping Gala. Some size adjustments were needed, considering the change in form, but it wasn’t anything that made him uncomfortable, per se.

Unlike the other patrons here tonight, he wasn’t able to find an open table to sit at just for himself. Sure, there were some open seats around, but he didn’t want to just show up and sit at any table. He didn’t really even know anyone else here.

So, like with any social event, the next best step is to sit at the bar and attempt small talk with the bartender. Still had some time to kill before the show starts anyways. And the bartender is a rather friendly guy. Looks to be about his fifties or so, has some facial hair to him and is rather humble. What was his name again?

It’s Sherman. It’s sewn right there on the apron he’s wearing.

Oh right, how did I not notice that?

“Here you go sir,” Sherman says, placing a delicate martini glass on the counter for our friend. The drink itself is a dark violet in color, with a small orange on a toothpick that’s floating in the center of the drink. It looks like a downscaled version of the very islet we’re on. Only that what’s supposed to be the Fold is more flavorful than what it actually is.

The moment it touches Discord’s lips, the immediate taste is… well, it’s hard to explain. It’s like a martini, but some of the flavor that’s in it is nearly impossible to describe. It’s citrus-sy, there’s berries, there is a hint of… lavender I think? Or is it grape? There’s so many things happening that it’s difficult to narrow it down to specifics.

Not like he really cares. Besides, strange things that don’t truly make sense are Discord’s forte. A drink with a strange taste is no different.

“Well, that is a rather impressive beverage,” he compliments Sherman, messing with the little orange floating in the glass, “I’m curious, what was the name of this drink? I haven’t had something this… tantalizing in a long time.”

“That’s a Midst-tini. Not quite what I would call it, but Saskia thought it was clever.”

“Saskia? Is she a colleague?”

That had the bartender raise an eyebrow as he started to clean another glass behind the counter. “She’s my boss. Have you not been to the Cabaret before, sir?”

“I’m sort of visiting from out of town,” Discord replied. Even though we know that it’s a flat out lie, the way he says it with enough confidence can convince you of pretty much anything. “Heard the locals say that this was the best place to get a drink and relax a bit.”

“Well, they’re not wrong there,” Sherman shrugged, before his gaze drifted past him and to the stage at the back of the auditorium, “Speaking of which, there she is right now.”

As our friend turns around, he sees a gorgeous looking woman in a remarkably beautiful ruby dress approach a microphone on stage. One of two microphones as she stands there and the crowd starts to go silent. They’re waiting patiently for something. Maybe she is preparing to say a few words?

Turns out, she was also waiting. For no less than a few minutes after she arrived on stage did a second person come up to the microphone that was adjacent to her. And he’s… very difficult to describe.

This person’s body is, based on first looks, very abnormal. Their skin looks akin to that of a marble white statue that Discord would find in Celestia’s own garden and light doesn’t really seem to really behave well with him. His eyes are an opalescent ivory and you cannot see any pupils. His fingers are long and spidery looking.

Okay, I just felt a shiver down my spine from looking at him. Does that happen often?

Before we could even answer that, Saskia brings herself to the microphone and begins to speak. “Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with great enthusiasm tonight that we are celebrating the ninth anniversary of the Black Candle Cabaret.”

She then pauses slightly and looks to the man next to her, “And also, it is the fourth year since Mister Weepe joined me as co-owner. The Black Candle would not be where it is today without his partnership.”

A round of applause echoes through the auditorium to both of them. From just scanning the room though, Discord could get a feeling that the people in the room were more familiar with Saskia than the man next to her. They don’t have any idea of what he’s like. You don’t really see him giving speeches in front of crowds like this.

And when he does, it’s less polite and more to the point.

“Hey everybody. Thanks for comin’ out tonight. Yeah, uh, it’s quite exciting to have this many years to our name,” he says in a raspy voice, pausing slightly to gather his thoughts on what to say for a brief moment, “Um… it’s been a pleasure working here with Ms. Del Norma for as long as I have. I’m really excited to see how the place has shaped up.”

Weepe then chuckles a bit as he turns his head a bit to Saskia, “But you don’t want to hear me talking. You’re here to have a good time and listen to some music. So! Alright, enough of you have been talking and Saskia finally pulled my leg enough and I’m going to do this damn thing, so, yeah.”

“I told you that I was going to work on him.” she chuckles, getting a small laugh from a few patrons here and there.

Both of them continued to talk for a short bit, saying things back and forth to one another before they started to sing for the crowd. A band comes out from backstage to provide instruments and music while the two owners of the cabaret were singing.

It’s not quite a perfect symphony, but it’s a unique one. Saskia’s voice is melodic and beautiful, while Weepe’s is darker and carries a bit of weight with it. It’s probably because of the tone of what they’re singing about, but we’ll leave that to interpretation.

This continues for a bit longer, but not too long as the song eventually comes to an end. There is a grand applause, a bow from both of the performers and a transition to some of the other performers that were waiting backstage.

Now, you would expect that at this point, the hosts of this event would stick around and do some social chit chat. However, as Discord finishes his drink, he's quick to notice that this ‘Weepe’ fellow makes a beeline for the stairs to the second floor of the building. He does acknowledge the few people that he passes by politely, but looks to be very much in a hurry.

Something is on his mind that needs to be dealt with immediately.

No sooner afterwards does another person get up out of his seat, grab what looks like a hefty folder of paperwork and bring it with them upstairs to follow him.

This, while seeming inconsequential, has caught Discord’s attention and also made him intrigued. He’s paying attention more to this than the show on stage and trying to devise some kind of way to reach up there.

As he looks down to his empty glass, that’s when an idea forms in his head to push him in the direction of where the two other gentlemen went. “Sherman, was it? Do you happen to know where the restrooms are?”

The bartender looks up, his eyes looking past him and to some of the doors in the back adjacent to the stage. “Well, normally, they’re next to the stage, but they look occupied at the moment,” he frowns, before heaving a sigh, “The second floor is normally reserved for staff, but if you’re desperate-”

Discord doesn’t need to hear anymore by this point as he rushes up the stairs, playing the act a little bit along the way. He doesn’t see Weepe or the folder guy on his way up, but he does see a light emitting from the bottom of one of the office doors in this dimly lit hallway. And there are only two office doors with what looks like nameplates aside them.

Quiet as a mouse in Canterlot Castle, he quietly snaps a finger as one of his eyes slides out of its socket. Hiding it behind a planter at the stairs just in case someone or something else comes up as he silently approaches the door. With each step, he starts to hear words echo from the other side.

The initial exchange between the two men left a lot to be desired. But as their conversation continues, the man that we saw on the stairway with the folder, says some things that start to make things interesting by showing his true colors behind closed doors.

This man, who is referred to simply as ‘Concord’, thought that tonight was the ideal night to blackmail Mister Weepe. He has all the evidence he needs to run this cabaret into the ground and make his life a living hell.

The problem though… is that Weepe doesn’t really give a shit about all of this. From the other side of the door, it sounds like none of these 'dramatic' reveals are really important to him. He even says that the evidence that this guy is presenting and his accusations are directed towards the wrong person. That, if this guy really wanted to talk about this, Saskia was the one to speak to and not him.

Boy, I don’t know any of what they’re talking about, but this looks tense.

And it’s about to get even worse. Discord, as a friend, you probably might want to leave unless you want to get traumatized.

I can’t even see what’s over there. Besides, it’s getting to the good part. Why would-?

From the other side of the door, a loud crack of glass echoes throughout the office as the light from under the door immediately goes out. From the corner of the only eye on him, the disguised draconequus can see the slivers of Fold around him react ravenously and quickly slip under the door like piranha going upstream.

There are very few things that scare our friend here. However, what transpires within the next few moments is the most gruesome and horrifying thing to listen to from the outside. Multiple things are happening at once in rapid succession that it’s difficult to narrow it down unless you’re in the room where this is happening.

A brief sound of movement from the other side, followed by the sparking noises of a broken lightbulb can be faintly heard. Sounds of melting substances, whether it be cloth or otherwise, as something large hits the floor and starts to crumble.

There is very little sounds of any struggle, but there is the ringing echo of agony as the sound of flesh and bone being twisted and torn in ways inhumanly possible rings in Discord’s ears. The sound of withering bones cracking under pressure can be heard as whatever was gagged on the floor is having its own body tear itself open and unmake itself.

Like it's own body was mutilating and killing itself.

By the time that the sounds had gone silent and the warm glow of light came from under the door again, our friend had heard enough and did not want to stick around for whoever was on the other side to open up and see him.

He’s not even listening to us. Whatever sense of curiosity he had before was immediately replaced with fear. Without a second thought, he puts his eye back where it was and heads down. Passing by a pair of dogs on the way down, thanking Sherman… and then proceeding to leave into the fold covered town of Stationary Hill and get out of dodge.

All the while, a long paper list is being burned away. Becoming nothing more than ashes flying on the wind.

It’s unfortunate, really. We wanted our friend to have a good time in a place that’s just as strange as he is. Except he forgot something very important.

Back home, the harmony of Equestria and those who live there make it to where Discord and his magic are a bit more controlled. However, out here on Midst, there is no such equivalent to this. Here, even if our friend has the best of intentions, chaos remains unchecked… and the effects of this power work both ways.

It can influence one person to have a confidence boost they never knew they had or, in the case of what just happened mere seconds ago, make someone try to push their luck a little too far.

While he did not stick around for too long, the effects of his power linger here like the presence of the Fold itself. For how long, we can’t really say. We aren’t even sure how long this will last.

But we all know that this is just the beginning of something that can’t be stopped.

Utterly

Doomed

Midst.

Leaf 08- A House of Cards

For this particular branch, it’s not quite as simple as you might think it would be.

Everything about this Equestria is basically how you think it would go. From start to finish, the story is pretty much the same. You know the song and dance. The twists, turns, surprises and friends made along the way.

But in order to see what’s really going on, we’re going to need for you to look a little deeper. Behind the curtain, between the lines… under the surface.

You think you can do that? We can give you a moment or so to decide… but since you’re already here, you might as well have made up your mind already.

Just let it be known… We did warn you.

Under the surface of this Equestria, it is seen as a playground by the few and the powerful. Where opulence and power collide with brutality and authority. Professionals in their line of work shape the world that every creature here knows about through the shadows.

But instead of telling you, why don’t we show it through their eyes instead? The world that these professionals see.

Are you ready… because there’s no going back now.

No matter if you are a local or just visiting, there are many visitors going through the cloudy streets of Las Pegasus. Even more so with the amount of people going in and out of the various buildings and entertainment venues. But almost all of them fail in comparison to the Ponet Fantastique.

There are many guests here, whether it be in the gaming halls, the buffets or the entertainment rooms. But for the moment, we are only going to focus on one.

It’s that earth pony walking towards the front desk. Dressed in a nice suit, tailor made with a black coat and red tie. Their silver-ish mane stands out amidst the dark gray color of their fur. Their gaze is almost stone-like as she talks to one of the receptionists at the front desk.

“O-oh, hello. Welcome to the Ponet Fantastique! How can I help you?”

“I’m here to check into my room.” She says, not missing a beat and not changing her expression.

“O-oh sure. What’s the name of the reservation?”

“Cecilia Bloom.”

The receptionist, quick on her hooves, combs through the list of reservations on the desk terminal in front of her. It doesn’t take her long to find a match as everything is quickly finalized and she prepares a room key for this… Cecilia. “O-okay, here you go. You’re in room 6 on the 47th floor. If you have any questions, feel free to come see us or call the front desk from your room. We hope you enjoy your stay.”

This mare seems nervous… but then again, who wouldn’t when the pony you're checking in doesn’t even change the expression on their face. You can’t tell if they’re happy, sad or even relieved.

But Cecilia takes the key, thanks the ponies up front, and goes straight to the elevator with her bags in tow. Nothing suspicious about that. She just goes about her business like anyone else would.

As she goes to the elevator, the door opens up as a different pony makes their way through. A stallion with an egregious looking suit and tie comes out, acting like they own the place as they push past Cecilia and make their way to the entrance. As the earth pony goes into the elevator, she watches this figure go around the bottom floor, as if inspecting how everything is going on.

Everypony else has… mixed reactions. The guests are taken aback, but in a more ‘oh my god, it’s a celebrity’ kind of way. The staff members, not so much.

Most of them freeze up upon seeing him. Whoever they are, they radiate this sort of ‘Big Shot’ energy.

Still, the elevator trip up is mostly uneventful… and it doesn’t take long for her to find her room and get settled in. As she places her bag on the bed, she pulls out something that looks like a small circular chip. As she sets it on the table, a glow begins to form as from it, a projection is shown. This one of another mare, a unicorn wearing a casual Sanguine dress, cream colored fur and chestnut brown mane and tail. Cutie mark obscured by the dress.

“I checked into the hotel. In my room now.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that you have arrived on site smoothly,” the mare in the projection replied, “But let me be the first to say welcome to Las Pegasus. You might already know a thing or two about the location, but not quite exactly why you’re here.”

“It’s part of the contract, is it not? The client wouldn’t have us here unless it’s for a reason.”

“How very astute. Well, I guess there’s no need for pleasantries,” the mare replies, just before the image of a familiar pony is projected from the chip.

Remember the rude stallion that bumped into Cecilia on the way into the elevator? Well, it’s him.

“Your target is Mister Gladmane, celebrity personality, owner of Ponet Fantastique and a self proclaimed friendship connoisseur. Though, let me assure you that’s the sort of persona that he wants the public to perceive of him.”

“I passed by him earlier in the lobby,” Cecilia says, “The guests seemed excited to see him, but the workers looked terrified.”

“That fits with the information the client provided, unfortunately. His charm provides a suitable cover for all the nasty things he does when nopony’s looking. Creating a hostile culture to prevent his employees from changing careers, turn-key business practices that had led to previous business partners filing for bankruptcy, other practices that are seen as downright predatory and silenced allegations of assault among his staff.”

If you think this guy was bad enough already, well he’s a scumbag here.

The living personification of what happens when you are immune to the consequences of your actions.

But Cecilia remains unphased. If anything, right now, she’s razor focused. “Who’s the client?”

“Our client is a member of a law firm that is representing multiple victims of Gladmane’s actions. Since it would be near suicide to try to challenge him in the court system while he’s alive, they’ve contracted us with his elimination,” the mare on the other end replied in a calm fashion, “We already provided a cover story for why you are here under your usual alias. Ms. Cecilia Bloom, just received a promotion from her workplace and is here to celebrate for the night. As such, you might need to play it by ear and find what you need on site in order to complete the mission.”

Well, that explains a couple things. Doesn’t seem like she’ll be staying here for long though.

“Is there anything else I should be warned of? You know that after Baltimare, we don’t like sudden surprises.”

Wait, Baltimare? What happened there-?

We don’t talk about Baltimare.

But-

We don’t… talk about Baltimare.

… Okay then.

Ignoring that exchange from my fellow archivists, there was some silence in the room. Cecilia felt that she needed to repeat the question, but before being able to do so, the unicorn spoke again, “There is one possible issue. Hotel records indicate that among the guest list, two members of the Elements of Harmony are staying here at the Ponet Fantastique as VIP’s. We are still trying to narrow down who, but caution is advised. Though, it may be possible that those two can lead you to your target if you play your cards right. Provided that you are able to identify them on sight.”

I wonder how long she was waiting to say that one.

Probably quite a bit.

“If the client has any extra information, I will be sure to send it to you via the usual method. But I’m sure you have it all under control. Best of luck.”

And with that, the projection fades and the chip is collected. Attached like a button to the upper part of the coat near the left ear.

Now, some of you might already be having a few questions. Like, who is this mare? Who was she talking to? What is this about contracts and targets?

Well, the thing is, if you really peeled back the layers a bit, that puts you in danger. But if it isn’t already obvious, Cecilia is not here for a vacation.

She has a job to do… and the only way the job can be complete is if the target dies.

So, for the time being, let’s observe and watch how this plays out. After all, it's always more entertaining that way.

Now that the mare is free to do what she pleases and knows her assignment, the first thing that comes to her mind is to explore the hotel. Go back downstairs to see where she is allowed, where she isn’t and listen in on what the people say.

After all, the best leads are the ones that you sometimes hear from word of mouth.

As are the best stories. Trust us, we know that from experience.

Though, there is one thing that Cecilia has to keep in the back of her mind. Certain manners of how to eliminate her target may be hampered if you happen to have an Element of Harmony in the vicinity. It’s already common knowledge that they aren’t like any ordinary creature you pass by on the street, but they are something else entirely.

One of them is even a princess and was Celestia’s protégé.

So, whether or not she would have to factor them into how she went about this assignment was going to be a coin flip. Either she finds out more and it’s useful, or she’ll find another opportunity and jump on that instead.

Some things included small details on the VIP’s visiting the hotel, events happening across the casino, stuff at the gambling halls, that sort of thing. And many more options about how to approach eliminating the target.

Some options she found were subtle. Others the exact opposite. But over time, one thing started to become clear.

The two other VIP’s here… the Elements of Harmony that Willow mentioned before. It seemed like the two of them were starting to catch on to how Gladmane ran things here.

But this gave her an idea. A wonderful… awful idea. All she would have to do was pull a few strings and wait.

To say things were not going well for Mister Gladmane was a bit of understatement.

And who would blame him. Earlier today, he was caught off guard by the sight of none other than two of the elements of harmony showing up at the doorstep to his hotel, saying they were here to solve a ‘friendship problem’. Which, by itself, shouldn’t have been any cause for alarm. But the moment that he learned that the two of them found the pair of brothers that he ‘hired’ no less than a week ago, things started to slowly get a bit more nerve-wracking.

Could these two possibly connect the dots? Would they start to piece together what he actually did for a living? How he treats everypony that works for him?

There’s a lot going through his head and at this point, he thinks that the writing is probably on the wall.

Well, to be fair, it is. Though, he doesn’t realize that yet.

He’s been all over the Ponet Fantastique today and this is just a momentary reprieve back in his office. So many ponies to talk too, many questions to answer, many discussions to be had. All so that his operation would keep going smoothly. It wasn’t easy trying to keep his operation afloat, but it took a lot of hard work to get it to where it is now.

“Finally. I can barely catch a moment to myself.” He said, looking around his office. Portraits of himself, marble statues, the world’s biggest bit. Little oddities here and there that made him feel safe in this space. Where he felt in power and in control.

But strangely, something felt off. It was like that feeling you would have if someone had changed the temperature on the thermostat. It might have been small, but it was very noticeable.

And now that it was on his mind, he can’t think of anything else other than that. For the one thing that he was thinking about now was very important to how he ran things at his establishment.

For every business, bookkeeping and managing business documentation was important to running the thing. However, to Gladmane, it was something that he would keep hidden and not let anypony see. Because the things that would be inside would expose him as the opposite of the kind of pony that he tries to portray himself to be.

And it is within that moment that he realizes that the safe in the wall where he kept said books, behind one of his portraits, was not closed all the way. In fact, it was empty.

Immediately, questions began to bounce around in his head. Why was it open? Did he not lock it all the way? Could somepony have broken into his office? If so, then who?

Clearly, it was not one of the caterers from downstairs. Maybe an employee? But nopony would know about the frame unless-

It was as these questions bounced in his head that the doors to his office opened… and a pair of guests that he welcomed personally a few hours ago entered the room. “Mister Gladmane, ya have some explainin’ to do.”

“Out of curiosity, what exactly led to you taking this approach?”

The question was an honest one, Bloom had to admit. But she was busy assembling an extra tool that was hidden in a case from a dumpster. A small hoof-held crossbow, custom made and compact, easy to conceal. The bolts are sharp enough to shred through flesh and bone.

“He looked like somepony who wasn’t really comfortable with the Elements poking around. So, the easiest play was to ‘assist’ with that.”

“I understand that, but sneaking into his office, just to open a safe and take what’s inside… only to leave it as convenient evidence for those Elements to pick up on? I knew you disabled security, but from my perspective… What exactly is your play here?”

Oh, she would say what it was… but perhaps it would be easier if we told you.

Helping the Elements expose his misdeeds and all that? Well, it’s a lure. If the target stayed within the Ponet Fantastique, Gladmane would feel invincible and have the metaphorical deck stacked against anypony trying to ‘expose’ him.

However, if he was somehow ousted out, then nothing inside the hotel could protect him from who or what was waiting for him out here. And the best way to do that was to have the Elements of Harmony that were there act like the heroes that Equestria knows them for. Many ponies wouldn’t even end up remembering who would get on their bad side.

And by the time she was done, no one would even care about what happened after the fact.

All it required was a bit of patience and preparation. But mostly patience.

A lot of patience.

Patience deluxe, if such a thing existed.

All she had was time on her side. It did not matter how long it would take, as long as the plan somehow worked. It might have been odd, but it wasn’t like anything she handled before.

This mare’s a downright professional. A smooth operator. Unfazed by any challenges presented to her.

Almost as if right on cue, what she was waiting for happened. Storming out the front doors of the resort, a rather messy looking stallion who looked like the exact opposite of the pony she saw upon arriving in the lobby. Clothes were a mess, panicked breathing, chased out of the resort that he saw as his own little fortress.

And also hid in the same alley that was nearby her. Convenient.

“H-how did they find that? T-that was supposed to be secure! How did they-” his breathing was erratic, “N-No matter. This isn’t the first time that I had to start from rock bottom! I’ll just start over! Build everything back up… and take back what they took from me-!”

Before he could even finish rambling, the mare that waited for him took the shot. A single bolt, through the head as the body of her target fell forwards. With the cloudwalking spell that was cast on him leaving the second he drew his final breath, the corpse plummeted through the clouds of Las Pegasus, hurling towards the surface and ensuring that nothing would remain.

“Excellent work. The money’s been wired to your account. Now then-” ‘Willow’ said, before an audible chip interrupted her as Bloom concealed the weapon in her coat and started to walk away, “Hang on a minute… Our work might not be done quite yet, I’m afraid.”

“How so?”

“A handler of ours just reported in requesting assistance. From the sounds of it, they were running an intelligence operation on a potential target in a club on the opposite end of the strip, but they lost contact with their field agent a few hours ago. If their operation is compromised, then it falls to us to find them and perhaps finish their mission. Of course, the handler in question is going to compensate us, in case that serves as motivation.”

The mare, straightening her clothes, looked at the opposite end of the strip and started to make her way there. “Give me the details.”

Now, from our perspective, we know that Cecilia Bloom is just a cover. But right now, hearing her actual name may raise more questions, “Very well, 74. I’ll send the information your way now.”

We told you that in the beginning that once you see what truly lies under the surface, there’s no going back, right? Well… now you know why.

For in this World of Harmony, there is a World of Assassination just hidden away under the surface. And those who know about it know just how dangerous it is. How easy you can get away with the most awful of things… and how easy you can make yourself a target.

Now that you know the truth, you must know that you cannot go back. Try everything you can to forget what you learned, but it will be of no avail.

Because in this world, one misstep can put in the crosshairs of one of the most lethal adversaries in the world.

And they never miss their mark.

Author's Note

So, what to explain for this.

The idea for this one was a crossover based on the Hitman series. The idea being that it reflects the aesthetic of the World of Assassination trilogy but add a CYOA element where the readers choose how the protagonist, Agent 74, carries out the assassinations of each of the targets that she was assigned. There was a lot of depth put into the world and its characters, but I never really got around to publishing it.

This mission excerpt in particular is based on how the events of Viva La Pegasus turned out in this story and how Gladmane never was seen again.

This originally started as a project around the time COVID hit around March 2020 and I wanted to give it a go. But anxiety got the better of me, I ended up putting the project on hold and now here we are.

Agent 74 herself is based on this picture by ColonelWalther on Deviantart.

Have a good day
-Frost

Leaf 01- The Black Cat's Shadow

Author's Note

An unfortunate soul on the run for being something he did not choose to be thinks that he found a safe haven. Little did he know about what waited for him inside, or what he would be roped into.

Based on an idea from a friend for if there was a continuation of a one shot he wrote for halloween a few years back.

Main Tags for this one:
[King Sombra][Mane Six][Non-Anthro][Displaced]

Since this story has three narrators, this chapter and future ones will have different color to represent who's speaking. It's just a way to clarify things since the story moves like it's a building conversation.

Leaf 01- The Black Cat's Shadow

In this particular story, the end is actually the beginning. For you see, in this tale, one unfortunate soul that reached the end prematurely was given a second chance. A new body for their soul, and a new world for them to live in.

Though, like all things in life, there was a catch with this particular figure. First and foremost, many of the inhabitants and concepts that keep the world together were foreign to them or didn't exist. Second, the new body wasn't like the one he had before and learning how to use it was beyond difficult.

You would think that with this, it could all be solved by just asking around for help. Unfortunately, that's where the last catch comes into play. Every creature was either scared of them or saw them as a villain that needed to be destroyed or captured immediately.

I mean, to be fair, he didn't quite know that his newfound body once belonged to the most diabolical bastard to ever live. Or that they hid away an entire kingdom, enslaved its people and at one point, declared war on the main governing body in the country he just woke up in days ago.

Such things like this don’t exactly come with a Fine Print or Terms and Conditions.

Of course, he tried to say otherwise... but when the entire populace thinks that you’re an insane megalomaniac and any words you say are deceitful, it gets rather difficult.

‘Difficult’ is putting it lightly. More like beyond impossible.

Sidenote though, did we ever get his name? Like, his actual name? Not the name of what or who he is now? It feels incomplete to leave someone this important as ‘Nameless’.

Other storytellers can get away with it, but us? No no no. We have much higher standards than that.

I think we heard it once. Simon? Santiago? Sebastian? Steven? Little tricky, but I believe it started with an S. We’ll find a way to circle back around to it, but right now, everypony is calling him Sombra. You know, because of the body?

Anyways, where were we? Ah right, he was moving. To where, it was unclear. But ever since finding himself in this predicament, every day for ‘S’ has been a rotating cycle of eat, sleep, run for your life, repeat. He could barely get a moment to breathe before hearing his pursuers cry out about ‘friendship and harmony’ around every corner.

Right now, much to his surprise, he was in a city. One that was rather reminiscent of a place he visited a couple times before his current… Let's call it a developing situation. The specifics aren’t quite too important, but what is is that the city is massive and busy this late in the evening. Think downtown Time Square during rush hour traffic if that helps.

And it was raining, let’s not forget that.

You would think with the target that was painted on his back that ‘S’ wouldn’t want to go through here. But, that was what he was doing. Because this was the only time he had to test something that had been on his mind.

His eyes glanced to the left and right, noticing a mare that held a parasol in a magical grip. As he took in a breath, he let go of himself and sunk into the ground. A moving puddle of a shadow that slipped underneath one figure, before hopping to the next one and the one under that.

Barely any creature noticed or really paid attention. More prominent things were on their minds. Getting home to the family, what’s on the menu for dinner, what time is the Broadhay show they booked tickets for starting at?

You heard us right. Broadhay. Different worlds, different rules and naming conventions. You get used to it.

At one point, ‘S’ finally reaches the other side and is about to slip further into an empty alley. But then, a voice speaks up. A rather familiar one that didn’t exactly mean anything good for them. “What do ya mean ya haven’t seen anypony like them around here?”

Around the corner, there were two figures talking to a unicorn dressed in a police uniform and a raincoat. First one had a… gamboge body with a blonde mane and tail, an image of apples on the rear posterior and a rather noticeable hat that could be seen for miles. The other was a cream yellow pegasus with butterflies on the flank (and probably in their stomach too) with a light pink mane.

Both of them also had umbrella’s with them. Because… well, the rain.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you,” the officer says, “But if anypony had noticed them, we would’ve gotten a call about it. Besides, this isn’t my field of expertise.”

“A-aren’t you an o-officer though?” the pegasus, who seems like quite the shy sort, asks next.

“I’m a traffic officer,” He politely corrects the shy one, “My job is with the carriages that come through here and such. You know, ensuring regulations, issuing citations. That kind of thing. If it's trying to find somepony, and in your case somepony that may be dangerous, it would probably be better to go to the Station House and talk to the chief-”

By that point, ‘S’ no longer needed to hear anything else. If he stook around too long, the two of them would catch onto him and then, the cycle would repeat all over again. The more distance he could put between him and the crazy mares trying to capture him, the better.

Of course, hiding in shadows was only going to work for so long before they caught a whiff of where he might be. For if there was anything that his pursuers were, it was tenacious. He needed a place to stay. A place to lay low and hide his head.

As luck would have it though, after passing through a few more alleys and side streets, luck just happened to be in his favor. In his sights, there was a building that was much different from the glossy and glamorous structures of downtown Neigh York.

It was showing its age, but the foundation looked sturdy enough. Though, ‘S’ didn’t quite care about looks.

Any place would do as long as he could catch his breath and finally be able to sleep without a zealous princess and her friends breathing down his neck.

Now, let’s pause for a moment. There are a couple things to note as this plays out. Mainly, ‘S’ assumes that there is nothing in this building. Which in itself is a rather risky choice, but we’ll get right back to that.

Another thing to be pointed out is that compared to the rest of the city, this particular area was ungodly quiet. Like, outside of the rain hitting the pavement and rolling off the buildings, you don’t hear anything else. It’s as quiet as a graveyard out here, which probably contributes to ‘S’s decision making in this frozen moment.

Unpause. ‘S’ approaches the door. Actually, ‘approach’ wouldn’t accurately summarize what’s happening. Remember that shadow trick from before? Well, it’s happening again.

Oh boy.

So, instead of going through the door like a normal creature, he just slips under it. Into a presumably abandoned building. Which wasn’t really abandoned at all, as it turns out.

In fact, he found himself in an antique looking bar that looked like a frozen moment in time. For simplicity’s sake, it looks like that one bar straight out of the roaring twenties. Like, peak classy prohibition era if you get what I mean.

It has nice chairs set up with sort of matching tables, a barely functioning jukebox in the corner, numerous different colored bottles of different shapes along the back counter. A sign was being held up by the bar listing… rules, it seems.

Though, ‘S’ did not exactly have a lot of time to stare in awe at what he stumbled on. For someone else had noticed him. That being the bartender and owner of this establishment.

A bipedal cat… figure.

Of course, this world has Abyssinians, but this cat is different. It has… wings for some reason and its physique looks unnatural. It didn’t have paws, but instead had long stretchy claws. Its body had marks of different playing card symbols on the tips of the wings and other places. The only clothes it was wearing were a small top hat and a red bow-tie.

What was most notable about them was their attitude. Especially when seeing ‘S’ for the first time, and immediately looking at them with an annoyed and rather disgusted expression. “Oh, bloody fucking brilliant… royalty.”

Now, any sane person would probably question how this cat was talking. Though, instead, ‘S’s first response was more of an immediate retort, “I ain't that pompous jerkwad!! I just so happen to look like the bastard!” The remark was then followed by him planting a hoof on his face, “God, I hate this place…”

The bartender rolls his eyes, cleaning a glass that he was holding to with a free rag. “It's not towards you, personally. You wouldn't believe the amount of royalty dickheads that would try to get my bar evicted just for ‘being an eyesore’ or getting a pinch of dirt on their clothes.”

The cat sets the glass down, eyeing over him and letting out a groan. “Unlike them, you look like shit…”

Then, in a surprising move, he motions it over to him, “Care for a drink?”

The question was unexpected. Yet, it was the first sign of any sort of hospitality he was given ever since arriving here. Perhaps this was fate’s weird way of saying things would get better?

Probably not. ‘S’ wasn’t really the superstitious type to begin with. If anything, he probably thought that finding this place was just him somehow being lucky.

“What do you have?”

“That depends on you and your tastes. Though, I would think that you would prefer something more straightforward and to the point?”

Again, he was right. I mean, after running from the harmony bearers for several days, he’d have anything as long as he had the chance to get some peace and quiet.

“Do you have any Scotch?”

Oh, he likes whiskey? Would’ve thought that he would ask for something like Cider.

That was actually going to be his second choice. But luckily, it seemed the bar cat actually had it. Even put some rocks on it to keep it cold as he slid it over to him.

Though, with the drink came a question. One that some could deem as ‘unexpected’. “So, do you have a name? You were losing your damn mind earlier about how you look like a bastard, but who are you really?”

As soon as that question was asked, an answer was provided. “My name is Samuel.”

Damn it, I knew the name started with an S. Why couldn’t I think of that one?

That’s not relevant. At least we have a proper name to call him now.

Samuel takes a slow sip from the drink, trying to savor a taste he thought was forgotten. After a moment or so, he stopped and looked at the cat. “What about you? What’s your name?”

“Does it really matter? My story’s rather boring anyways,” he shrugged. Though, after a moment or so of Samuel staring at him, the cat caved, “Once a bartender, lost a bet and had to wear this stupid hat,” he motions a claw to the little top hat that was wedged between his ears, “Now, I’m some… cat demon thing and still a bartender.”

“I asked for a name.”

“And I barely remember it, given how god damn long it's been,” he swears, moving his claws to a dish towel to clean another glass. “I go by Husk now, since that’s… pretty much what I am. A husk of what I used to be. Now I’m just a grumpy cat thing who owns a bar.”

Given everything that Samuel had to go through for the last few days, that sounded like a complete understatement. Like, Husk here would stand out more than he did. So, how exactly did he keep what he assumed was a rather low profile?

Maybe his overall grumpiness kind of just shooed away any visitors? Husk does kind of give off the kind of presence of an old man shouting at kids to get the hell off his lawn. Damn whippersnappers.

Still, it didn’t seem like Samuel really paid any mind. Slowly, he savored each sip of his drink while occasionally asking a couple of questions here and there. Now that he didn’t have to run off and find a place to hunker down, he felt a bit more at ease. He didn’t have to be constantly looking over his shoulder to see if anypony was following him and that was a relief.

Now, Husk did try to ask a couple of questions to him. You know, as a way to converse with his one and only customer at this hour? I mean, it was either that or trying to get the broken jukebox to work and there was no way that was happening.

But Samuel… wasn’t so keen on answering. I mean, after what he had been through both before he came here and during the endless chase moments after arriving, who would be open to sharing about it? Husk was a bartender, not a therapist.

Unfortunately, before he had the chance to ask for another one, he noticed Husk move from his stool and look to the window, “Aw shit.”

“Huh?”

“We’re about to have unwanted company and you probably don’t want to be seen by them,” Husk grit his teeth, before he pulled back a rectangular rug that was behind the bar. Under that was a hatch that led into what may be considered a basement, “Get in.”

Samuel immediately did what he was told, but not before downing what was left of his drink first. The moment he was inside, Husk immediately slammed the cellar hatch closed and hastily covered it up again. From down in the basement, Samuel’s eyes drifted around the room. Barrels and kegs of different beers and ciders were down here, along with bottled wines, spirits, and whiskey.

There were also other crates that didn’t look to have anything to do with Alcohol either. Curiosity tempted him to look… but then, voices from upstairs soon caught his attention.

“Excuse m-me, Mr. Cat… D-do you know where the owner is?”

Uh oh. It’s the shy cream pony from earlier. The one with the butterflies.

“Yes, I am the owner,” Husk corrected her, “Always have been.”

“O-oh, I’m sorry,” she apologized, “Y-you see, I-”

“Before you start, could you explain why the pink one that I previously BANNED from my establishment is trying to find a way to peek through my window?”

Oh, by the endless void, the party one’s here. Even she’s outside the bounds of what we can determine in this story.

“W-wait, Pinkie’s… not allowed? Why?”

Oh, Husk knew exactly why. You see, remember that sign we mentioned earlier? The one that we said had the rules listed? Well, our grouchy bartender has eight specific rules that any customer of his establishment is supposed to follow, with no exceptions. Fail to do so and you will get thrown out to the curb.

Some rules are rather straightforward. No discrimination, you break it- you pay for it, him having the right to refuse service to anyone. Just standard procedure.

But there was one rule that was specifically put in place that the pink party pony outside named Pinkie Pie saw as a crime, other than sugar free cookies. That being ‘The Nine Lives Tavern is NOT a party venue, no matter how many times you ask or what the occasion is’.

From Pinkie’s point of view, she would’ve thought that the rule was targeted specifically at her. But for Husk, she wasn’t the only one who had asked. Just the final straw on the matter.

“Just be grateful that unlike your other friends, I can at least tolerate you. Now, what do you want?”

Samuel listened as he heard the all too familiar story being repeated again and again. How he was a ‘villain’ that escaped them, who would hurt ponies and that they needed to find him before causing anymore trouble. Which sounds reasonable if you’re any other pony talking about it, but bullshit to him.

He had never even been given the chance to say his piece at all. Nobody wanted to listen. In fact, the only one who ever listened to him was the cat at the bar right now.

Speaking of said cat, they interrupted the pegasus mid speech with a drawn out groan, “Look, if you think that some creature like that snuck in here, you are looking in the wrong place. I’ve just been minding my own damn business for the last twenty minutes and was just about to get some sleep, only for you to come knocking at my door. Barely any creature visits me unless they’re either here for a drink or trying to get me evicted and you’re not either of them.”

“W-well, w-would you-”

“For all I know, this creature you’re talking about must be afraid because you scared them shitless. I mean, for how dangerous you make them sound, they never really seemed to put up a fight. They probably ran out of town, if I have to take a guess.”

Funny enough, that was something that Fluttershy didn’t really want to admit, but the mare knew was right to an extent. Yet, such a subject would lead to quarrels among her and her friends for certain.

The sound of hooves against the floor was heard afterwards along with the locking of a door as Samuel could only let out a sigh of relief. Yet, despite him avoiding danger, there was another problem that chose to rear its ugly head.

It was the hangover from his drink… and the loss of consciousness that followed afterwards.

When Samuel’s eyes opened again, the cold concrete floor was the first thing to greet him. His vision was blurry as well as his memory of mostly everything after a certain point. Wasn’t sure if it was the scotch or it was the first time since ending up in this world that he could properly sleep.

Probably both, from the looks of things.

Before he could even get up or say anything, a voice was heard. “Oh good, you’re awake.”

Parts of his vision began to center and realign at that point. About several feet in front of him, there was a chair with its back facing towards him. As it swiveled around, the same feline figure from the night before just so happened to be sitting there… patiently. His gaze was like that of a predator waiting for their next meal.

“There was something I was meaning to discuss with you before you fell face first into the floor the other night,” he said, emotions stoic as he lowered his head, “That being your payment.”

And here comes a complication. You see… despite being in the body of a diabolical bastard king, Samuel here did not have any form of currency on him. He had been more focused on running from the ‘Elements of Harmony’ for the past few weeks to even think about it.

“You see, I don’t allow those who come to my establishment to just walk out whenever they please. If they want anything from here, they need to pay for it, no exceptions,” the cat moved closer, “I’m someone who prefers to not have lingering… unpaid… debts.”

Weakly, Samuel stood up and tried to speak. Though, his sluggish demeanor at the moment did not quite help him in any regard, “I-I don’t… have-”

“I’m not taking your money, for you clearly don’t have any,” the bartender corrected him, straightening his small hat, “Instead, I wish to make you an offer. One that I am only saying once, so you better listen carefully.”

Husk patiently waited a bit for the umbrum to be somewhat coherent before going further into detail. But once he did, Samuel listened to every word he said clearly.

Now, we won’t be going deep into this. So, for all those reading or listening. So, let’s summarize it in the simplest of terms.

Basically, instead of bits, Husk wanted his services. If he wasn’t going to pay in money, he would clear his debt by working for him. The cat needed extra helping hands aside from his ‘partners’ to help run the bar, so if Samuel was able to prove that he could do this, then any debts that he owed would be wiped clean and he would keep the self proclaimed ‘Harmony Police’ off his back.

Of course, Samuel could just easily walk away. But as Husk was explaining his choices to him, the cat made it abundantly clear that if he did, worse things would come after him and the cycle of running away would just start all over again.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place. The worst predicament, but what choice did he really have?

“If you need some time to think this over, then go ahead and-”

Luckily, Husk didn’t even need to finish what he was going to say in order to get the answer he wanted to hear, “I’ll do it.”

A wide grin was seen on the cat’s face as their wings stretched out a bit. “Then welcome to the Nine Lives Tavern, kiddo. Get yourself cleaned up first. Once you’re ready. then I’ll show you the ropes.”