Into the Fall

Twilight ran about the room frantically. “Spike!” she yelled, using her magic to move everything aside to aid in her search. “Where is all the ink? I can’t be sure that everything is safe if I don’t check everything off the list and I can’t do that without ink!”

Spike sighed and looked up from his work. Twilight had him going through every piece of paper in the whole library filing the edges of each page so that nopony could get a paper cut; so far, he’d gotten twelve. “You put it away, remember? You said you didn’t want to risk it spilling on important documents.”

“That’s right!” Twilight yelled as she ran out of the library.

Spike looked after her for a moment. He looked at the small stack of books he’d filed down. Then he looked around at the hundreds of books still sitting on the shelves. “Forget this,” he said angrily, throwing the book he was holding into the air. He fell over backwards and fell asleep almost instantly.

“Oh Rarity,” he mumbled in his sleep, “you’re so soft.” He rolled over and pulled his legs in towards his chest and curled his tail around the rest of his body.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Twilight tore through the streets mumbling to herself. “Okay, first step: get to Applejack’s house; second step: get the ink; third step: make the lists; fourth step-” she was cut off as she rounded a corner and collided with a small, furry barrier. “What in the- Fluttershy?” Twilight picked herself up off of the ground and looked at what she’d run into. The small yellow pegasus was now sprawled on the ground; her mane and coat were thick with dust.

“H-hey Twilight,” Fluttershy said as she rubbed her head; a small lump was already forming.

“Oh, I’m so sorry Fluttershy! I was distracted and I wasn’t watching where I was going. Are you all right?” Twilight helped the mare off of the ground and forced the dust off of the two of them with a quick burst of magic.

Fluttershy sniffed a little. “Yeah, I’m… I’m alright.”

“Oh, did I hurt you? Why are you crying?” Twilight began looking her friend over for injuries.

Fluttershy pulled her hoof out of Twilight’s grasp. “I’m fine,” she said, wiping a few tears from her face, “I promise it wasn’t you.” Twilight looked as though she was going to insist on pushing the issue, so Fluttershy cut her off. “I’m fine, really. Don’t worry about it.”

“O-okay Fluttershy, if you say so. I’m really sorry.” Twilight turned away and quickly began picking up speed once more. Fluttershy called something to her retreating friend, but the unicorn’s mind was already too enveloped with unmade lists and charts to pay attention.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Twilight arrived at Sweet Apple Acres very out of breath. ‘I need to exercise more than my brain,’ she thought as she flopped onto the ground panting. Applejack was a short distance away bucking apples and noticed her friend. “Hey there Twailaight,” she yelled, “Ah’ll be over in a second, jes’ lemme finish up these red galas.” Twilight nodded and went back to listening to her heart pound loudly from her recent exertion.

A few minutes later Applejack walked over. “Hey there Twi, what can ah do ya for?”

“I just… need… to get… some ink,” Twilight gasped, still finding it hard to breath.

“Well why’d ya come here? We don’t have much in the way of writing on the farm, just a few things fer keepin track of the harvest and such.”

“Oh, well I-“ Twilight began.

Pinkie’s head shot out of a nearby bush causing Twilight and Applejack to scream in surprise and jump away. “She put alllll the ink in your cellar.”

“What in tarna- Pinkie, don’t do that.” Applejack scowled at the pink pony. “Ya darn near gave me a heart attack… and what’s this about there bein’ a cellar full of ink?”

“She wanted to make sure nothing important got ruined in case some of it spilled,” Pinkie explained, pulling her head back into the bush.

“I’m gonna ignore that bit about nothing important,” Applejack said, turning to Twilight, “Couldn’t ya’ve at least told me you were gonna do that? I kinda need that space for all these apples.”

“I’m sorry AJ,” Twilight said, blushing a little, “I didn’t think I needed to bother you for something small like that.”

Applejack rubbed a hoof on her forehead, sighing, “It’s fine, jes… tell me next time, would ya?”

Pinkie popped out of the top of a nearby tree, “Yeah Twilight, you should always ask before you use someone else’s stuff. Unless it’s an emergency, like this one time at band camp I-”

Twilight’s face turned pale. “Not that story Pinkie!” she yelled. The purple unicorn quickly put a hoof over her mouth. She put it down and continued talking quieter. “I mean, um, what are you doing in that tree Pinkie, shouldn’t you be getting things ready in case of an emergency?” Pinkie had pulled herself back into the tree as Twilight spoke. A nearby rock suddenly lifted itself up and Pinkie crawled out shaking what appeared to be cereal out of her mane.

“I am,” she said, a hurt expression on her face, “I’m making sure there are plenty of hiding places in case of a hide-and-seek emergency. Speaking of which-” Pinkie dashed behind a nearby fence post. The two mares waited for her to pass it so they could find out what she was talking about, but as she continued moving behind the slim wooden pole, nothing emerged from the other side.

Applejack walked over and looked behind the post. “Anything?” Twilight asked.

“What do you think?” the farm-mare said turning to face her friend. “Ah swear ah will never understand that girl.”

Twilight fidgeted, Pinkie’s absence allowed her to remember the point of her coming to the farm. “So,” she said, “about that ink?”

Applejack sighed. “Go get it.” As Twilight began to trot towards the entrance to the cellar she called after her, “and ah mean ALL of it! I need to put the golden delicious there!”

Twilight walked down the stairs into the cellar. Immediately her nose was filled with its rich earthy smell, the aroma of the ground mixed with the apples stored there to produce one of the sweetest smells she knew of. ‘I have to put stuff here more often,’ Twilight thought as she breathed deeply, ‘this is better than Rarity’s scented candles.’ She continued walking to the back of the cellar, here the massive shelves had been carefully emptied of apples and row upon row of ink wells filled the space. Each one was carefully labeled as to where it had come from and what is was made out of. Each container had also been wrapped in a protective layer of bubble wrap to help prevent any breakages. Twilight scanned carefully before finding the one she wanted. It was marked “Ponyville Schoolhouse/ water based.” Twilight grabbed up the bottle with her magic, careful not to tilt it in the slightest. A pile of foam had been left in the corner in case of a situation like this. Twilight carefully wrapped the jar in a double layer of foam then, shrugging, added a third. “You can never be too careful,” she said to herself.

Twilight made her way carefully out of the cellar. She placed the ink on her back and used her magic to conjure up a set of flashing warning signs that circled her to ensure no one accidently ran into her. The sound of Applejack bucking trees could be heard from not too far away. Each thud of her hooves on the trees made Twilight wince as she thought of all the possible dangers of kicking things out of trees. “Note to self,” she said, “get Applejack a new job.”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sparks flew within the hidden workshop as Tempus continued his work. “But if I put that here and make an adjustment to the hyperstasis coils here…. Yes!” The gray pony removed his welding mask, his electric-blue mane mane catching slightly as he tugged it free of the straps. “Now if only I could find a new power source for the neutron accelerator, I might be able to work around the overall mechanical inefficiencies.” A low thud sounded within the machinery before him. He groaned and beat at the freshly welded metal. “ARGH! I just fixed that stupid thermo-expansion harmonizer!” As his hoof collided with the metal again, something else could be heard bouncing off of the inside of the teardrop-shaped object. Tempus Finem slid his mask back on and sighed, “One step forward, twelve steps back.”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Twilight walked home. The ink was still carefully balanced on her back with magic while conjured warning signs kept a constant vigil around her.  She turned her head from side to side, watching for any unwanted collisions. All around her, ponies were busy hammering things together, repairing breaks or building fail-safes. Buildings were either repaired or torn down; food was being stockpiled and many were carefully watching it to prevent any would-be pranksters from getting to it.

‘I’m glad everyone is taking my advice to heart,’ thought Twilight as she saw several foals rushing around making sure there was nothing in the road that anypony could trip over. She saw a pebble that they had missed and nonchalantly kicked it aside as she walked past.

“Oh no, Gummi! Are you okay?” Twilight stopped and looked. Pinkie stood just off the side of the road with her toothless alligator lying on the ground before her. A small pebble lay near his head and his eyes were closed. “Gummi! Wake up!”

Twilight’s eyes shot open as she realized that was where she’d kicked the pebble to. “Pinkie,” she cried, rushing over to her colorful friend, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to!” Gummi’s eyes opened slowly, one at a time. He looked up at Pinkie and opened his mouth. “Wait, what?” Twilight looked back and forth between the two, her mouth open wide. “But I- and he- you-”

“Use your big girl words Twilight,” Pinkie smiled as she tossed the small reptile a treat. “I was just training Gummi in case of a pet show emergency. I guess you scared him when you kicked the rock so he did the first thing he could think of: play dead. No need to be so dramatic about it.” She smiled as she rubbed her pet’s head vigorously. “Actually,” the pink mare said, placing a hoof on her chin, “I wasn’t sure if he was gonna get that trick until this happened. Thanks! We’ll have to throw a Gummi-learned-a-new-trick party later!”

“Well… er… glad I could help?” Twilight was unsure how to respond. She scuffed her hooves against the ground for a moment as she spoke. When she looked back up, Pinkie was gone, though Gummi still remained. He stared at the purple unicorn. His purple eyes were wide and unblinking.

Twilight leaned in. “Are you sure you didn’t hurt your head?” Twilight wondered aloud, “granted it would be hard to tell the difference from how you usually a-AAACT!” As she spoke the small lizard leapt into the air and began gumming on the hoof that had been reaching towards him. Twilight waved her hoof frantically. “Eew-eew-eew-eew-eeeeeew! Get him off! It feels so weird!!!” Several ponies had looked over to see what all the noise was for. They quickly looked away, several muttering something about the ‘purple weirdo who kept making them do things’. Gummi blinked his eyes, one closing several seconds after the other. He suddenly opened his mouth as Twilight continued waving her hoof through the air. He slipped off of the purple hoof and sped through the air. Twilight only had a second to register that he was headed towards the Sugarcube Corner before he was out of sight.

Twilight continued walking home, her head somewhat lower than it had been that morning. Twice now she had hurt either a friend or a friend’s pet, and it wasn’t even dinnertime yet! “I just hope it’s all worth it in the end,” Twilight said, her thoughts on Gummi and Fluttershy as she watched the town rush around to prevent any possible disasters. “I’d hate for some accident to somehow slip around our preparations.” Twilight continued walking to the library, her head down as she spoke to herself.

Ponies began rushing past the distracted mare, several were yelling about dogs. Twilight ignored them and continued on her way. “I wonder what was wrong with Fluttershy earlier,” she said quietly, “she usually doesn’t cry that quickly when somepony knocks her over. Maybe I should go check on her.” Twilight levitated the cushioned jar of ink off of her back and set it in a nearby flowerpot to keep anypony from hitting it. As she turned away, she noticed that she could see a sliver of the dark liquid near the top of the jar. Small ripples spread through the surface creating small ebon waves. “What in the-”

A loud roar exploded through the air. Heavy panting could be heard as the ground began to shake violently. Twilight looked up and saw a massive black shape bounding across the landscape. It ran through every obstacle in its path, toppling building after building and leaving shadowy tracks in the ground. As the beast neared, Twilight realized that it was topped by three massive heads.

Twilight shrieked and turned to run. Where do you think you’re going?  A voice spoke in her head. She froze, shaking in terror at the massive shadowy creature bearing down on her, but she knew better than to leave if the voice stopped her.

‘I’m running for my life! That’s Cerberus, the guardian of Tartarus! He was created to imprison beings that could destroy me with a thought! There’s no way I can beat him!’

The voice sighed softly. Twilight Sparkle, have you not faced off against both Nightmare Moon AND Discord? Twilight nodded, the giant dog was mere blocks away- she only had seconds to react at this point. And what about the dragon, you didn’t have too many problems there did you?

‘Well, no but you told me what to do! You’ve always told me what to do in situations like this. Ever since you told me how to hatch Spike.’

And you think I would leave you now? No my dear, I’m afraid I’m here to stay. Now shut up and think. What is Cerberus?

‘A massive, pony eating monster that is completely immune to any magical attack whatsoever.’ Twilight felt as though someone had hit her across the face, though the feeling began just under her skin.

I said think.

Twilight strained her mind to remember everything she’d ever remembered about the massive guard dog. ‘He’s approximately thirty-two hooves tall though he weighs little, being a construct of the shadows. He ages extremely slowly and eats the flesh of the exiles when they die.’

What was the last bit? Right before what he eats.

Twilight’s eyes opened wide as she realized the implications of what she’d just said. ‘He ages incredibly slowly, so even though he may seem fully-grown on the outside, he still could be…’ She received no response from the mysterious voice. She knew then that she’d found her answer. “Pinkie Pie!” she yelled, knowing full well that the party mare always seemed to be right behind whoever called her as soon as they called.

“Yes?” a voice giggled in her ear, causing her to jump forward. “Hey Twi, you see that doggie over there? You think he wants a treat?” Pinkie Pie grinned as she pulled a massively oversized dog treat from her mane.

“Pinkie,” Twilight said, relief crossing her face, “do you know where I can get a ball?”

“Sure thing Twilight,” Pinkie said, setting the treat back in her mane. She reached a hoof behind Twilight’s ear and pulled out a large pink ball that squeaked when she squeezed it. Pinkie gave a false gasp, “How did this get back there? I wonder what else is there…” The pink mare made as if to pull something else out from behind the purple unicorn’s ear, but she knocked the hoof away.

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Quit it.” She levitated the ball out of Pinkie’s grip with her magic. “I just need the ball for a second for a distraction.” Twilight began running down the road with the ball held far above her. She paused for a second, “Where did you get this ball anyways Pinkie?”

“Oh, they’re all over town in case of a ball emergency, see?” Pinkie jammed a hoof through a nearby wall and pulled out a small green bouncy ball. The circular hole in the wall seemed to fade away as soon as her hoof was out. Twilight shook her head and continued down the street. She waved the ball in front of the rampaging canine’s face before running away with it held just in front of the three massive noses.

“I’ll be back later Pinkie!” she called back, “please let Spike know and don’t let anyone spill my ink!”

Twilight quickly vanished from sight. Cerberus trailed close behind, his tail wagging as he chased the new distraction.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Twilight closed the thick wooden door behind her. She was exhausted and covered in dirt and grime from the road, her hooves were chipped in several places and she had several large scratches from where she’d fallen into a ditch along the way, but she was pleased. “Spike!” she yelled, “I did it! I stopped the disaster from happening!” She began bouncing around the room, a huge grin on her face.

“Really,” Spike said, “that’s great!” Twilight bounced over and swept him along, grabbing his claws with her forehooves. She laughed and spun him around. “Uh-oh Twilight,” the small dragon said, “I don’t think that was such a good-” his stomach lurched and he burped loudly, a scroll shooting out with the flames. The scroll shot straight at Twilight’s face.

“Ow!” she yelled, rubbing her face. She immediately pulled her hoof away as it only made the cut sting more. Twilight saw a glint of purple out of the corner of her eyes. “Oh no!”

“Oh it’s okay Twilight, it’s just a lost dog poster. I guess someone ought to tell the Princess that we found him, huh?” Spike scanned the scroll again. His green eyes widened at the sight of the small print at the bottom. ‘One-thousand bit reward?!?’ he thought, Spike drooled at the thought of how much ice cream it would buy, ‘I’ll just keep this to myself.’ He placed the scroll in the secret pocket in his skin.

“No Spike, it’s not that! Look!” the purple unicorn pointed a hoof at her face.

“Yeah I know, I told you that you should ask Rarity about some beauty tips, remem- OW” Spike rubbed his arm where Twilight had just hit him.

“No Spike, this cut is in the exact same place as the scar on Future-Twilight! This means that that wasn’t the disaster, we still haven’t done anything.” She began pacing the floor rapidly. “That means that whatever is going to happen will be worse than the guardian of Tartarus tearing through town!”

Spike grabbed the unicorn by her shoulders and looked in her eyes. “Twilight,” he said, “calm down. You remember what happened last time you freaked out.”

Twilight furrowed her brow and said thoughtfully, “Celestia’s feathers never did go back to being white… though Rarity was happy getting hired to dye them every week.”

“That’s right, now I advise that we all go to bed and sleep in tomorrow so that nopony does anything they’ll regret.” Spike began inching towards the bedroom.

“I don’t know Spike,” Twilight said, “there’s still so much we have to do though.”

“What’s that Twilight? I couldn’t hear you, my bed was calling me.” He placed a claw over his mouth and tried to make his voice higher, “Spike, oh Spike. Come here Spike, it’s bed time!” He continued speaking normally, “see Twi, we gotta go to bed now, the bed said so.”

Twilight shook her head. “I’ll be up in a minute Spike, just let me finish setting things up for tomorrow.” Spike shrugged and went up the stairs to the bedroom, a few moments later loud snoring could be heard coming from the partially closed door. Twilight sighed, “Why do things always have to be so difficult?” she asked out loud, “it’s like someone intentionally makes all of this crazy stuff happen here just for fun. If I didn’t know better, I’d think Discord has been out this whole time.”

“Who?” a questioning voice called from the window. Twilight turned to see Owlowiscious pushing the window open with a talon. Twilight glanced at a nearby clock and saw that it was his usual time to go hunting.

“Discord, the manifestation of chaos,” she said, thinking he had asked her a question.

The owl looked at her for a second before returning, “Who?”

“He’s trapped as a statue in the Canterlot Gardens. He escaped from his prison some time ago and we all worked together to put him back.” Twilight was about to add something when her secondary assistant asked once more.

“Who?”

She shook her head and said, “It was before you got here.”

“Who?”

Twilight slammed a hoof into her face, letting it slowly run down as she tried to regain her composure. “Never mind… just… go on.” The owl nodded and flew out the window. Twilight groaned, “I have to start remembering that that’s all he says.”

The purple unicorn looked around at the library. Books were piled everywhere, surrounded by small piles of dust that spike had shaved off of the edges of the pages while she was gone. A bright aura surrounded her horn and the piles of dust disappeared. She nodded and turned to a nearby writing desk. A jar of ink covered in bubble wrap and foam sat on it next to a pile of quills and a scroll.

“I wonder who brought the ink in,” Twilight said thoughtfully, “oh well, hopefully some list making will help me gather my thoughts a little more and figure out what could be going on.” She looked at the blank stationary in front of her. “Okay, step one: fix up all the buildings in town; check. Step two: stockpile food and water. Applejack looked like she’d gotten a lot of the apples already and the water tower is full so, check. Step three, look for more possible outside disasters; sub-note A: Cerberus- check, sub-note B…” Twilight chewed on the quill she was using. “Well, it seemed like something was already wrong with Fluttershy this morning; maybe she saw something.” A fresh twinge of guilt ran through the purple unicorn as she remembered knocking the small pegasus over several hours before. “Maybe I should go see how she’s doing, just to be sure.” She added another bullet to the list and wrote ‘visit Fluttershy’.

“That sounds like a great idea Twilight,” Pinkie said, looking down to read what the lavender mare had written, “Fluttershy did seem pretty sad today.”

Twilight jumped away from the desk as she screamed in shock. “Pinkie,” she gasped for breath, “why do you keep doing that!?!?”

“Doing what?” Pinkie asked as she climbed down from the shelf of the bookcase she’d been laying on, “You’re the one who keeps screaming and running into stuff.”

“But you keep jumping out of… and then you… never mind.” Twilight rolled up her short list and placed it in a nearby basket marked ‘To Do’. “Are you still looking for hiding places? I thought you finished that earlier.”

“Hiding places? No, hide and seek is easy to plan for,” Pinkie said as she pulled out a list of hiding places complete with color pictures, “the real trick is getting enough marshmallows.”

“The why were you hiding on my shelf?” Twilight asked, somewhat irritated after the day she’d had.

“Oh, I sneak into your house for fun sometimes- it’s kind of a hobby.” Pinkie ignored the horrified look on Twilight’s face as she continued. “And just so you know, Spike sometimes takes weird pictures of you when you’re asleep.”

“But-” Twilight began but Pinkie cut her off.

“Oh no! I forgot the gorilla suit!” Pinkie rushed towards a nearby cupboard. She opened the door and climbed inside, slamming it shut.

“Pinkie wait, what are you talking about? What’s a gorilla and why do you need its suit?” Twilight pulled the cupboard back open, but it was completely empty. Twilight looked around, unsure of what to do. “I think I might just go to bed now after all.” She paused as she began climbing the stairs to the bedroom and looked around. A magical glow briefly filled the library before massive padlocks appeared on every possible entrance. “Just in case,” the gifted unicorn said as she climbed the stairs. She suppressed a yawn and opened the bedroom door. Spike lay curled in his bed; a small Rarity doll was cushioned between his claws. Twilight shook her head and climbed into her bed, ready for even a short escape from the day’s excitement.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The sunlight shone through the window and splashed across the sleeping unicorn’s face.  He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He yawned and looked around. “Wow,” he chuckled to himself, “I haven't slept that well since-" His eyes lighted on the nearby alarm clock and saw that it had stopped working at some point in the night. “AZZAZEL!” he swore, throwing the clock on the floor, “I should have started hours ago!”  He rushed through the house until he reached the wall panel that disguised his workshop. His hoof traced a complicated pattern over the wall which then slid back revealing a thick steel door.

The door was covered in intricate tracings and writings in several languages. In the center, three hoof-shaped holes had been drilled. He placed his hoof beneath the central one and pressed inwards. The hole slowly pushed out as a new one was formed below it. Tempus then placed his other hoof on the right side of the right hole. Another new print was formed as the trapped dummy switch was covered. When he removed his hooves, the door slid open revealing the path to his laboratory. With a quick glance around, he descended into the smoking depths to continue his work.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Twilight stood outside the door to Fluttershy’s cabin. The butter yellow pegasus hadn’t been seen since the morning before which wouldn’t have alarmed anypony, except she had made an appointment with Rarity at the spa for that afternoon. It wasn’t like the shy pony to break an appointment, especially without telling anypony first.

“Fluttershy,” Twilight yelled, knocking a hoof against the door, “I know you’re home. Tell me what’s wrong, why were you so upset yesterday?” A light scuffling came from an upstairs window and the small white head of Angel Bunny popped out. He scowled at the purple unicorn and tried shooing her away with his paws. His eyes widened in surprise as the air around him began glowing. He shot out of the window and fell straight down, stopping inches from Twilight’s face.

“Is she home?” Twilight asked. She was irate from wasting her time the day before only to learn that she’d accomplished nothing and she wasn’t about to waste time taking orders from a spoiled rabbit.

Angel saw the dark glint in her eyes and decided to cooperate. He nodded vigorously and mimed crying. Then he pointed at a section of the forest on the horizon then at Twilight. He scowled again and remained silent.

Twilight sighed, this was getting her nowhere. “Just… let me in to see her.” Angel made a face as though he was about to refuse. Twilight had just set him on the ground and she noticed he was looking at a nearby hole as if gauging the distance. She caught him in her magic once again and put him in front of the door. “Now,” she said, stepping towards him as she spoke.

The rabbit sighed and thumped a foot against the door in a familiar sounding pattern. The door opened and Fluttershy’s blue-green eyes peeked out from behind her pink made. She grabbed Angel and pulled him inside, already closing the door. Twilight shoved her hoof in the way and pushed it back open.

“Hey Fluttershy,” she said, trying to sound friendly, “can I come in?” Without waiting for an answer she walked inside, allowing the struggling pegasus to finally close the door. Fluttershy had continued pushing and was now carried forward as the door was released. She crashed headfirst into the wooden frame and sat up rubbing her head.

“Oh, hey there Twilight,” she said, “how’s it going?” Her eyes were red and puffy and the pillows on the nearby sofa looked rather damp.

“Fluttershy,” Twilight said, looking at the yellow pegasus, “please, just tell me why you were upset earlier. I know it’s more than just a bad day, you haven’t hid in your house like this since those foals were teasing you… well, that and Nightmare Night, but that’s normal for you.”

“I-It’s nothing Twilight, really.” The shy mare had climbed back to her hooves and was careful to keep her mane covering her face. “I just was a little scared, that’s all. I mean, I get scared all the time. It’s not like it’s anything new.” A large smile covered her face as she finished.

‘Too large,’ Twilight thought. “Well then, if it’s nothing new, I’m sure it won’t be too much of a bother to tell me then, right?”

“Oh, well um… you see…”

“Fluttershy,” the purple unicorn said, stepping up to her friend. She was beginning to grow irritated. It wouldn’t be long before she was late for making preparations; she’d already written down that she would make sure Fluttershy was okay and Celestia help the pony that tried to stop her- even if it was Fluttershy. “Tell me. Now.”

Fluttershy’s eyes hardened and took on a familiar steely glint. “You push me, I crush you,” she said under her breath in a somewhat deeper tone than usual. She shoved the purple unicorn away and moved to follow her, hooves raised, ready to strike. As Twilight struck the floor she cried out, startling the pegasus. “Wha- what did I- oh Twilight I’m so sorry!” Fluttershy rushed to her friend and helped her up. “Please forgive me Twilight, I didn’t mean to. Ever since Iron Will whenever somepony starts pushing things I just-”

“Fluttershy,” Twilight cut the frantic pony off, “it’s fine. Just tell me what has you so upset.”

“It’s no big deal, really, just somepony who scared me a bit.”

“Then why won’t you tell me?” Twilight lifted an eyebrow as her question went unanswered.

“Well... because I… I didn’t… I just… he seemed like a really, really mean pony. He made me think of how Gilda acted when she was in town. But then I thought that maybe he was just grumpy or something, so I didn’t say anything.”

“Wait, who was it? From what I can remember, everypony in town was working on preparations, even Pinkie… at least, I think that’s what she’s doing.” Twilight paused for a moment, distracted by her friend’s sudden comings and goings the day before. She shook her head violently and resumed speaking. “Anyways, who was it that would have had a chance to scare you? The entire town is busy.”

“Well, yesterday I was going around and making sure everypony knew what was going on. I thought I was done but Angel came and told me about a house on the edge of the Everfree Forest where somepony had been living for a long time. He never comes into town and no one ever goes out there or anything. I went to make sure he would be okay and… well… he yelled… a lot.” Twilight was about to speak when Fluttershy continued, “anyways, I’m sure it’s nothing. He was probably just grumpy. He did look like I woke him up.”

“Could you tell me how to get there? He could prove very valuable in keeping away whatever it is happened to future Twilight. It’s worth going to see, I’m sure.”

“Angel can take you,” Fluttershy said as the small bunny walked past the room. He was carrying a large carrot, a smug grin on his face as he hopped towards a small burrow near the corner of the room. His ears twitched and he looked around hopefully when he heard his name. After hearing that he was to accompany Twilight however, he dropped the carrot and shot towards the hole.

“Oh no you don’t,” Twilight said as he jumped into the small tunnel. Inches from safety, a thick cloud of energy grabbed him and pulled him back into the open. “You’re coming with me.”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A small, rundown looking cabin stood out against the darkness of the bordering forest. Thick shutters covered the windows, but looked as though it had been decades since they’d last been opened. Small pieces were missing and lights shone through thick cracks. The cabin itself matched the shutters in terms of upkeep. It was constructed from thick logs. The green-grey of moss had spread to cover much of it; what remained exposed showed signs of having been chewed on by insects. The roof was done with simple thatch and looked the only part that had ever received any care. The long grass was tightly woven together and showed no signs of weathering or age- it looked almost brand new.

Twilight approached the door, Angel hanging back near the fallen wooden fence that circled a small area around the decrepit cabin. The purple mare moved to knock on the door, but a loud crashing noise from within startled her. She moved back quickly and found herself already charging a teleportation spell in case of any threats. She immediately calmed herself. “Easy Twilight,” she said, “I’m sure it was nothing.” For a second, a ridiculous thought entered her mind.  Spike had been experimenting with the joke section of the library and had found some riddles. One of his favorites had confused the unicorn to the extent that she stayed up for a week trying to find an answer.

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‘Hey Twilight!’ the purple dragon yelled as he waddled across the library with a book clutched in his claws.

‘What Spike?’ she returned, ‘I’m a little busy at the moment.’ Several smoking beakers sat on the table before her and she carefully wrote down each reaction caused by mixing them.

‘It will only take a second,’ he said, his tone dropping down into a small whine.

Twilight groaned. ‘Fine, what is it?’ A burst of magic froze her table in place. The intricate spirals of smoke and steam that billowed from her current project grew still, locked in their twisting attempts to climb through the air.

‘If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?’

Twilight didn’t even pause to think. ‘Of course it does, the sound is created by the collision, not any act on the part of the observer.’ She turned back to her work and was about to release the spell she’d cast on it. ‘But then, a sound is the observer registering vibrations, so in that sense, no it doesn’t make a sound. But it still would create the vibrations, right?’ The studious mare fell into silence for a moment before continuing. ‘But then, as Schrödinger showed with his research, it both would and wouldn’t.’ It was hours before she even registered anything that happened around her.

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Twilight pulled herself from the reverie brought on by the crashing noise. In an un-Twilight-like burst of frustration, she’d decided that since she wasn’t put in danger by the lonely falling tree, it didn’t matter if it fell or not.

The crashing noise repeated within the cabin and Twilight only had a moment to wonder how anything big enough to produce that loud of a crash could fit in the dwelling with enough room to fall before a flash of light shot through a nearby break in the shutters. She leaned in and peered through the small gap. The inside of the cabin looked very different from the outside. It was lined with a thick, plush carpet and the walls were paneled with polished, stained wood. The main room was empty of furniture except for a small bookshelf and a chair. A short hallway led off to the side revealing two doors. One stood open and revealed an unmade bed with a slightly dented clock lying on the floor next to it.

The flash revealed itself to be the lights inside reflecting off of a metal panel that took up part of one wall in the main room. Three hoofprints had been carved into it- around them were intricate symbols and lines that Twilight could only guess at the purpose of. The metal slid open and a gray pony walked out, his electric-blue mane stuck up in bunches as though he’d been pulling at in his frustration. The panel slid closed behind him and another panel covered it, melding perfectly with the wall. Twilight watched as the pony trudged wearily towards the partially revealed bedroom and lay down, though it was still early in the afternoon.

Twilight knew that something very odd had to be happening here, but she had no idea what it could be. “I’m sure it’s nothing, but I should check all the same.” She considered knocking on the door, but knew from Rainbow Dash that waking up a tired pony was never a good idea for anybody. “I’ll just leave a note then.” She conjured a thick piece of cream coloured parchment and a quill and began scribbling a message on it. When she finished, the note rolled itself up and disappeared with a small pop. It reappeared on the floor in front of the secret wall panel. “He’s sure to find it there,” Twilight mused as she walked away. Angel trailed after, upset that he had been forgotten.

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Once again, this is based off of MLP FiM (owned by Hasbro) and ‘September’ (the Living Tombstone)

Special thanks to Saph34 for editing.

For those of you who don’t know, Azazel is from “Do you hear the voices? Of Samuel!” by ‘Timefather64’ (FimFiction and fanfiction) It’s a very entertaining read.

Don’t forget about Dunder Shux Studios. Possibly the greatest collection of artists ever since… idk, corndogs? A group that I’m proud to be a part of (the studios not corndogs… though corndogs are delicious.)

Stay classy my bronies.