The meeting room in the town square was silent, the large number of ponies along with the singular anxious looking abyssinian all unsure of what to say. It had been about a day since Revan, now revealed to be a human, had been abducted by this mysterious Majesty. Not only that, but according to Luna, who had arrived a few hours ago, the town of Dodge City had been visited by a previously unknown alicorn and a human. The former had used powerful magic to turn the entire population of adult ponies into a reptilian race that Luna, who had made the report, had not seen before. Physically, the transformed ponies were fine, but they were unable to speak, instead making roaring and whimpering noises. Also, it seemed as if they now were required to eat meat, something that revolted the transformed ponies initially, but when a few of the reptilians in town nearly died from sudden malnutrition, they were forced to eat the meat they were provided.

In the day since Revan had been abducted, several new ponies made their way into town, including Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, a gray earth pony mare named Marble Pie who was Pinkie Pie’s younger sister, and a green pegasus stallion named Zephyr Breeze who Fluttershy identified as her younger brother. They were part of the group in the room, which consisted of the former Elements of Harmony, Tobias, Sunset Shimer, Princess Celestia, and now Princess Luna, who had just given the report about the attack on Dodge City, even providing a visual of the attack.

No one spoke for a good long while, as they were trying to digest what to say. Finally, though, Sunset spoke up. “What were you doing in Dodge City?”

Luna bristled at the younger pony’s tone, but a sharp look from Celestia calmed the lunar Princess. “A report from one of my guards came about an incident that was never reported to the capital.”

“The attack on Revan,” Tobias stated.

Luna nodded somberly. “It would seem that way. There were ponies in town who weren’t converted, specifically the foals there, and they told of a monster that their parents chased out of town some years ago. A few saw this ‘monster’ and when I showed them what I just showed you, they positively identified the human you just saw as the ‘monster’.”

“Why didn’t the town report this the moment they learned about Jason Wright’s death?” Celestia asked.

“Anypony who would know have been turned into those creatures,” Luna said, “because I did ask some foals, but they were unable to give an answer.”

“They were probably still in shock from losing their parents,” Zephyr commented somberly.

“Correct, Mr. Breeze,” Luna said.

Celestia felt a harsh glare on her, but by this point she’d begun to grow used to Sunset’s withering gazes. She cut off Sunset’s inevitable tirade by turning to her with a stalwart expression. “I was never made aware of this incident,” she said more harshly than she meant to.

Sunset flinched at this, but her glare diminished and she looked around the table. “If this Majesty is as old as Revan says, she must have met the humans who saved ponykind all those years ago.” She refocused her glare onto Twilight. “Failure.”

“Sunset Shimmer,” Celestia snapped, “this is not a productive use of our time. If you have the mental capacity to call us out on our failures, you have the capacity to think of a way to combat this Majesty.”

As Sunset glared back at her, but went silent in apparent thought, another voice spoke up. “That might not be possible,” Tobias said, “because she can apparently see anywhere she wants.”

“That’s why my sister and I have placed anti-scrying spells around this place, and why we’ll be doing the same thing for any meetings going forward,” Celestia said. “What we’ve discussed here can’t be discussed anywhere. Not even to anypony you are close to.”

“Um, Princess, why are you asking for our help now?” Rainbow Dash asked, raising a hoof with a confused look on her face. “We’re not the Elements anymore.”

“Even if you’re not Elements anymore,” Celestia began, “being one leaves a mark on your soul. It did so with my sister and I, and it will with you. There may be something that you can do, but first we must determine where Revan has been taken.”

“Is that really his name?” Applejack asked suddenly, turning to Tobias.

“Is that really important right now?” Tobias asked with a hint of defensiveness.

“No, it isn’t,” Celestia interjected before the earth pony mare could respond, “but what is important is that she has taken him for some reason. Her plans are a mystery to us, and so we need as much information on her as we can find. I have already sent my best researchers to certain areas of Canterlot’s library to find more information on her.”

“Okay, so why us? Why gather us again?” Rainbow repeated. “I mean, I’m a waitress now, Princess,” Rainbow continued with a hint of self-loathing in her voice. “I’m out of practice when it comes to flying or fighting anything.”

“We ain’t exactly qualified tah do anythin’ useful,” Applejack said, “just like when yah tricked us into becomin’ the Elements in the first place.” She looked bitter at that.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Celestia saw Sunset stifle a smirk. Ignoring it, she stood tall. “I mention this because combined, you may be able to use the remnants of the Elements inside you to pinpoint Revan’s location. I gave him a candle that works similarly to how Spike’s fire breath works. Unfortunately, it’s likely that Majesty has taken it from him, but I believe there may be a way to find it.”

“What if Majesty destroyed it?” Sunset suggested. “Or tossed it to the other side of Equestria?”

“If she did the either, she wouldn’t be able to hide the magical blast signal either would create,” Celestia explained.

“What if she had somebody take it far away manually?” Sunset countered.

“If that was done, the candle emits a magical signature can be tracked,” Celestia admitted, “but not by me.”

“If not by you, then whom?” Tobias asked, looking incredulous.

Celestia took a deep breath. “If enhanced by what little connection you six still have with the Elements, it can be tracked by the one who’s magic breath I based it off of.”

Twilight’s eyes widened in realization. “Spike…” she whispered.

Celestia nodded. “Prince Spike can track the magical signature with his own abilities,” she explained, “and I hope that we can all ask for his help in tracking him, or at least track where the candle might be.”

“How would that be helpful?” Tobias asked.

To Celestia’s surprise, it was Sunset who answered. “Teleportation magic has its limits,” she explained, “because the range is not infinite. Even Celestia can only teleport a short distance, maybe a few miles at least.”

Celestia nodded. “Correct.”

“We shouldn’t put credence in that belief, sister,” Luna said. “This alicorn is much more powerful than anypony, or anycreature, I’ve ever faced. I felt her aura, and it was enormous. The shield she placed around Dodge City was impenetrable, and I put everything behind shattering it.”

“Still, there’s no harm in trying,” Celestia said. “I would have tried to track him because his lack of a magic signature is unique, but I can’t detect it anywhere in my range. I’m hoping that if we find that, then perhaps I or somepony else here can track Revan’s location. I seriously doubt that he would be far away from Majesty.”

“Majesty does seem to be protective of him,” Luna agreed. “She even said we as ponies owe our existence to humans.”

That seemed to affect the mood in the room. All six former Elements of Harmony lowered their heads. Celestia herself even felt a hint of shame rising, and for the first time since she’d quickly formed that magical candle to give to Revan, she wondered if she’d done the right thing by the human or had simply done something to ease her own feelings on the matter. Shaking her head, she put these feelings aside for a later time, but she promised that she’d focus on them later.

“So, now we know for sure that we owe our existence to the humans, huh?” Sunset asked, before turning to Celestia with a cocked head, a false curious expression on her face. “I wonder why it was, then, that one of their species lies dead and the other is now held captive by an enemy of Equestria?”

“Our sister has only ever done what she deemed best for our little ponies,” Luna said, swiftly coming to her defense, which Celestia felt appreciation for.

“And that includes sending Jason down to Ponyville with only enough money for a single night in an inn and nothing else?” Sunset asked, which further shattered Celestia’s spirit. “Where’s the harmony in that? Where was the letter of introduction to the former Princess of Friendship?” Twilight lowered her head even further. “Where were the extra supplies, like clothes? Humans need clothes to survive, unlike us ponies.” Rarity now lowered her head. “Where was the welcome that he obviously was hoping for?” Pinkie lowered her head. “No hospitality at all, hmm. Why do we continue to intentionally forget out past or push it to the side in the vain hope that it won’t happen again?”

Something further inside Celestia snapped, and she whirled on Sunset angrily now. “What do you want to hear, huh?! I'm not perfect?? Well, you’re hearing it now! I’m so far from perfect that it’s not funny!!! I’ve made some deadly mistakes, and in Jason’s case it caused his death! His blood is on my hooves, and I don’t want another human’s death on my conscience!” She slammed her hoof on the table, cracking it with the force. “I have constant nightmares about him hanging lifelessly from that apple tree!” This made Applejack flinch before she, too, lowered his head.

Celestia wasn’t done, though. She felt all that she had buried come screaming to the surface. “I constantly have nightmares or visions about Jason’s abuse in Ponyville while I sat by and did nothing because I both forgot about him and because I trusted my little ponies to be better than they were!” Every former member of the Elements flinched now before those who hadn’t before now lowered their heads in shame. “I constantly see his pale, bloated face in my dreams, begging me to answer why? Why had I sent him into a den of lions?!”

“Sister…” Luna said, eyes bulging with shock.

Celestia still wasn’t finished. “I have other failings on my conscience, too! Tirek! Sombra! Chrysalis! Even Discord before his reformation! I can’t do anything for Jason now save to remember him and honor him!”

“You really think that’s what he would have wanted to be?” Sunset asked, and to Celestia’s surprise, there wasn’t any anger in her tone, just genuine curiosity and a question. For a brief moment, Celestia imagined that she saw the little filly in the small classroom where Celestia would tutor her. The tone of her question was similar to the one she had when she’d thought long and hard about how to phrase a question in the right way. Sunset continued. “I don’t know much about how a human thinks, but if I were him, I’d just want something quiet. He committed suicide to escape the pain and suffering he endured. I don’t think he’d enjoy being used like this.”

Celestia almost stepped back. Sunset had been so matter-of-fact about it, no anger or any kind of accusation behind it. She was just stating facts. Facts as she saw them, anyway. Celestia sat down, looking down at the table and beginning to wonder if she’d made the right decision in memorializing Jason’s day of death. Or whether she should have done anything differently. Her wings fell, and her tail did as well. She lowered her head farther, and stamped her hoof on the ground in frustration. Her entire regal persona had been broken, and once more, it had been Sunset who had done it.

Marble Pie then spoke up. She looked at Sunset. “Is this what I should expect from myself when I’m as old as you? As a fellow empath, I’m ashamed to share the same abilities as a coldhearted mare as you.” Her tone was cool and collected, but her eyes burned with a fierce determination. Also, her mane and tail were now full of waves while not losing its natural style.

Sunset returned Marble’s gaze with one of her own, one of pure rage now. Sunset’s mane was starting to bristle and move like it was in a wind of its own, and the temperature in the room was rising. “You don’t know me,” she said through clenched teeth.

“I know you’re a scared little filly eagerly seeking somepony’s approval and now that they aren’t giving it to you, you’re acting out,” Marble replied sharply.

Sunset stood tall and menacingly as she slowly stalked over to Marble, who didn’t move. “Don’t talk like you know what tartarus I’ve been through,” she snarled, pointing a hoof at Marble.

“You’re right, I don’t know what you’ve been through,” Marble said, “and there are points in your argument that are valid. However, this is neither the time or the place to deliberately attempt to use your empath abilities to further break everyone in here.”

Sunset flinched, a look of shock on her face. Shock which was quickly replaced by anger. She stood and raised her horn, vanishing in a twinkle of golden light. Celestia watched her go, shaking her head. She couldn’t leave Sunset alone in this moment, so she turned to Luna, who gave her a nod. Celestia raised her own horn and quickly teleported to the general vicinity where Sunset was. Celestia found herself standing on a sandy beach looking west at the ocean. Sunset was standing on the beach, looking over the surf. Celestia could see how tense and angry she was. Steeling herself, because she knew that this was a conversation years in the making, she approached her former student.

As she approached, Sunset sat on the sand, not saying a word. Celestia joined her, enjoying the feel of the salty breeze on her fur. She had not been to the ocean in a long time, and this brought back many happy memories for her. Princess Platinum and her husband Centurion Hurricane used to bring them along with her own foals to the beach that would eventually become the shores of Manehattan. Sometimes Chancellor Puddinghead would take them to where he lived which would eventually become Baltimare. There were even times when her and Luna’s magic teacher would take them to beaches for outdoor lessons.

The two sat there for a number of minutes, not saying anything. Celestia knew that Sunset was practically ready to burst, and she didn’t want to set her off further. Not at first. As they sat there, however, Celestia slowly began to realize that perhaps this was what Sunset needed: a chance to vent at her. So, she bit the arrowhead and plunged forward. After casting an anti-scrying spell, she looked down at Sunset. “Sunset Shimmer, please tell me what’s on your mind.”

Sunset didn’t respond right away. After a bit, however, she shook her head. “You really want to know?” she asked without even looking at her former teacher.

“I do,” Celestia replied.

Sunset stood sharply, walked over in front of Celestia, and glared at her. Her eyes were ablaze with fury, and her mane and tail once again started moving in a similar manner to Celestia’s own. “You threw me out like I was nothing!” she began, her voice trembling in rage. “You kept on pushing me to do something I never wanted to do, and the moment I tried to make you proud, you threw me aside and replaced me with that flank kisser!”

Celestia wanted to say something, but held herself back, wanting Sunset to keep going. Which she did. “You held me at hoof’s length away from you, always telling me I could do better! All I wanted was for you to say ‘Good job’, but nooo! Nothing I did was EVER good enough for you, was it?! Sometimes, I wish you had just left me to die in that alley!”

Celestia couldn’t remain silent about that. “I couldn’t just do that-”

“You did it with Jason!” Sunset interrupted her. “Your neglect might as well have been the leading cause of his death!”

Celestia flinched at that, and sighed. “Yes, I did, and yes you’re right.” Celestia could only guess why Sunset was so fixated on Jason, mostly because Sunset wasn’t in the country during Jason’s remaining three years there.

“I thought the world of you,” Sunset said, glaring at her with angry tears now. “I thought you knew harmony…I thought…” She turned away, sniffing.

Celestia was on the brink of tears now as well as she sat next to Sunset. “Like I said earlier, I’m nowhere near perfect,” she said, “and I know I did you wrong by what I said and did to you. I shouldn’t have kicked you out. I realized that the next morning, but by then it was way too late. You were gone before I could apologize and rescind my orders. I had no idea you saw me as distant. I’m sorry I gave you that impression, Sunset. I loved-no, I still love you dearly, and I’m so sorry I never showed it.”

Once more there was silence between both mares. Celestia resisted every urge within her to pull Sunset into a tight embrace, knowing that her wayward former student wouldn’t appreciate it in her current state. Instead, she decided to continue. “I know what I’m about to say won’t ever make up for any of the time lost between us, but I am very proud of you and of the mare you have become.”

Sunset snapped her head up, a look of incredulity on her face. “How can you say that? I’ve been nothing but insulting to you!”

Celestia nodded in agreement. “Yes, but do you know how many ponies I’ve known throughout my life who have always agreed with me in my presence and then attempted to act against me based off their own
beliefs? Even Twilight would alter her actions if it meant pleasing me.” She chuckled a bit. “It is quite refreshing to know a mare who will, as the saying goes, call me out on my horseshit.”

Sunset’s eyes widened in surprise at that, then she snickered, even neighing a bit. “Never expected you would be the type to swear,” she said between laughter.

Celestia tittered a bit, putting a hoof to her mouth. “I have been tempted to use such language many times, but my view on it is that using such language frequently makes it lose its seriousness, and I prefer to make my words count. In this case, it seems fitting.” Her smile faded and she looked down at Sunset once more. “I offer no excuse for my actions this many years ago. I acted rashly and foolishly, and lost a great student. One of my greatest.”

“And yet, you replaced me,” Sunset said, her own smile fading to be replaced with a bitter scowl.

Celestia shook her head. “I was always hopeful you would return or I would hear news of you. I did send messengers after you to try and relay my wish to apologize to you in pony, but you were rather…elusive. You were always a master of masking your magical presence. I never even knew you were back in Equestria until Discord told me.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Why would that creature care?” she asked.

“I’m unsure myself,” Celestia admitted, “but I’m glad he did. I’ve missed you so much. A day hardly goes by when I don’t think about you. And yes, before you say anything, even that isn’t an excuse for what I did with you or even with Jason before his death.”

Sunset let loose a breath, then looked back over at the surf that was lazily crashing against the sandy beach. After a bit, she spoke, and it sounded like she was forcing the words out. “That day…I know I…acted rashly, just wanting to impress you…and when you cast me out, all I could think about was revenge. I hated you for years, but one lesson I’ve learned in my travels is that love’s opposite isn’t hatred, but indifference. I…this is hard for me to say, but…I never hated you. I was, and still am, angry at you for what happened with me and Jason.”

Curiosity burned within Celestia, so she asked the question. “Aside from the obvious, why are you upset with me over my lack of actions concerning Jason?”

Sunset took in a deep breath. “When I heard the story, I could empathize with his situation. He and I were similar in some ways. Sent away from Canterlot with hardly anything to survive on, hardly thought about during the years, and have seen the lowest that ponies can become, only for me I’ve seen it outside of Equestrian borders.” She snorted in derision. “You wouldn’t believe some of the insane cults out there.” Looking back up at Celestia, she continued. “Then, when Jason killed himself, you used his death to teach a lesson to ponies, a lesson they should never have had to learn because they should have already known it. Harmony shouldn’t be limited to the pony races, but should be shared with others, and not just through Equestria. I don’t know what possessed Twilight to ignore Jason and his abuse, but I’ve learned more about humans in my travels. They aren’t so dissimilar from us. There are good ones, like Megan, Daniel, and Molly Williams, but there are also evil humans like the witch mother Hydia and her daughters who unleashed a manifestation of the Smooze onto Ponyland and nearly succeeded in destroying Dream Valley and Dream Castle. I don’t know where we ponies got this idea that we are the superior race of Harmony, but that, as you would say, is horseshit. We are no better than other races, and now some evil pony who is clearly extremely powerful is punishing those she believes have broken Harmony. It’s very likely she will come to Maretime Bay or even Zephyr Heights to enact some of her brand of justice.”

Celestia nodded. “Which is why my sister and I are here today, to stop her.”

“Celestia, Revan was scared of her,” Sunset reminded her, “and he
doesn’t strike me as the type to be scared of much. Then again, I haven’t known
him long, but if he was afraid of Majesty and not of you, and if he was begging
Luna for help, then she isn’t to be trifled with.”

Celestia nodded once more. “That is why I will be asking you to go to the Crystal Empire with the others and find Revan so you can return him to us, and reunite him with his strange mask. Majesty took it from him for some unknown reason, so it must be dangerous for Revan to have.”

“Me??” Sunset looked at Celestia wide eyed. “Why me?!”

“In case Majesty defeats my sister and I, you are one of the most powerful and experienced ponies around,” Celestia said. “You clearly have more battle experience, or should I say more recent experience.”

“You’re expecting too much from me, again,” Sunset growled under her breath. “I may be good, but Majesty can teleport a magicless human, something I can’t do and I’m pretty sure you can’t do.”

Celestia shook her head. “She didn’t teleport him in the traditional sense,” she said. “She seemed to create a portal and make it pass through him in Dodge City. I doubt she could traditionally teleport him away.”

“That just proves that she’s smart,” Sunset said disparagingly.

“She is smart, yes,” Celestia said, “but intelligence and power doesn’t make one wise. She is as much a pony as you or me. Eventually, she’ll make a mistake, and when she does, we must be prepared to make a move on her to capitalize on it and rescue Revan.”

The two sat in silence for a bit more. Finally, Sunset looked back at Celestia. “I still am angry at you, and can’t really forgive what you did to me, but I do promise to reign myself in for the sake of saving Revan and trying to stop Majesty. I make no promises on being able to succeed in either, though. And I also make no promises in staying to patch things up here.”

“Victory is never assured,” Celestia said as she stood. “Still, I’m glad that you have decided to help.”

“He’s a member of Shadow Dawn,” Sunset said as the two stood and began heading back to town, “and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that we never leave anyone behind. No one.”

Majesty watched as the fuzzy image of the meeting cleared up once the anti-scrying spells the royal sisters had cast were lifted. How they had learned about her ability to see everywhere was a puzzle to be sorted out later, she knew. She stood before her mirror, then looked back at one of her golden horseshoes. She smiled at the ancient artifacts made of mystical starlight. Raising the back right horseshoe, she activated the needed magic, then let it be channeled through her horn. Turning, she focused on the mind of the least likely creature to have any magical defenses to their mind: the friend of her human royal guest.

Closing her eyes, she concentrated. As the ancient Argyte magic flowed through her long before its inevitable destruction, the abyssinian’s thoughts became clear. However, his thoughts were incredibly hard to search through and rather unusual. They didn’t make sense at all, which frustrated the alicorn. So, she chose instead to focus on another, this time the green pegasus stallion. Fortunately, his thoughts were much easier to read. She sifted through the more recent memories and eventually came to the memories of the past meeting. When she had organized and understood what was happening, she opened her eyes and lowered her back right hoof. She stepped past the mirror, looking into the darkness behind her. “My friend,” she called into the darkness before her, “I have need of your help.”

Two glowing purple eyes appeared from the darkness, and the deep, resonating voice of her friend spoke. “What can I do, your majesty?” he asked.

“It appears that Phase Mimic will now be in play,” she explained.

The pair of eyes rose up as their owners stood. The sound of the ancient castle’s foundations creaked beneath her oldest companion’s claws. “I understand,” the voice said.

Majesty gave the ancient creature a saddened expression. “I am sorry that it has come to this,” she said.

The eyes blinked, then her companion shook his head. “You are all that remains of my past,” the voice said, “and would have died if it hadn’t been for you. I owe you.”

Majesty gave the ancient creature shadowed in darkness a warm smile. “Then prepare yourself. This will not be too pleasant.”

”I am prepared,” the voice replied.

Majesty lifted her horn, which began to brighten as the magic spell she had in her arsenal was charged up. Focusing everything she had into this spell, her horn blazed with light, enveloping the creature before her. Finally, the spell was complete, and Majesty lowered her horn. She was tired now, but knew that she had succeeded. Taking a breath, she looked into the darkness. “I hope that did not harm you.”

“Not at all,” a younger sounding voice said from the shadows as a pair of footsteps approached.

The pair of purple eyes now glowed an emerald green, and as the figure stepped into the light of the throne room, Majesty smiled. It was like going back in time somewhat, although her companion’s scales were now purple instead of the bright pink they had once been, and his wings were smaller. Majesty reached up and put a gentle hoof on her companion’s shoulder. “Oh, Spyke,” she said with a reminiscent tone, “it’s good to see you like this again.”

Spyke looked down at himself, then stretched. “It feels strange to be in this body again after so long,” he said in the voice of the other, “but I agree. It feels…nostalgic.”

Majesty chuckled with mirth, then gently lead her companion away from the darkness where he mostly resided in his old age, “Are you ready for the task ahead?” she asked for confirmation.

Spyke nodded. “I am prepared,” he repeated.

She turned to the mirror, which woke once more. The mists cleared, now to reveal a regal looking bedroom with a sleeping dragon under its covers. “How fortuitous,” she said with a chuckle, “I was afraid that we would need to wait until night time. Here we go.” With that, she lifted her horn once more. “Swap, swap, off you pop,” Majesty chanted before her spell was cast. The sleeping dragon in the bed vanished, and the dragon next to her also vanished, appearing in the room. He raised his fist and put it on his chest before he began his mission.

Majesty lowered her horn and the view of the brightly lit bedroom vanished. She walked over and sat on her throne to rest for a few moments. A smirk appeared on her face as she said, “I hope my guest is enjoying his new roommate.”

Gregory was slowly sipping on the water bottle that Majesty had returned to him when she noticed that he wasn’t drinking anything locally. She had assured him that she hadn’t poisoned the water or food, but he had no reason to suspect she hadn’t placed some sort of drug in those foods or drinks to make him more compliant or something, so she had given him his water bottle, which was metal, back. The water bottle was, thankfully, full, and the water helped parch his thirst. Of course, this was only a brief respite. He doubted he would be able to hold out for long, and he was not going to drink his own urine to survive. No, soon he would be forced to accept food and water from his captor.

He held a book in his lap as he was sitting near his fireplace, which had a warm fire in it. The book was written in a bit more fanciful lettering, similar to Edwardian Script font, but it was legible. It was titled Pony Legends and History. He knew the title from a G1 series of episodes called The Golden Horseshoes, and he was currently reading said story. Just like in the G1 episodes, the four horseshoes were made in the land of Argyte of mystical starlight. Each one possessed magical powers, such as the ability to create special clouds on which she and others could hover, the ability to create a great amount of light, the ability to show the future, and the ability to read the minds of others. The special unicorn who had originally owned them was, as he guessed, Majesty herself.

Something disturbing that he learned during his reading of this story was that Argyte was a former home of ponies far to the east of Ponyland which was besieged by demons in its final days. Argyte was destroyed by many various kinds of demons, and Majesty had apparently been the last remaining member of the Argyte royal family to survive the fighting. Majesty herself, barely a teenager at the time, took up mantle of leadership when the rest of her family were killed by the demons, and in a last ditch effort to escape the oncoming demons, who had killed thousands of ponies. Using her immense magical power, which was supplemented by the power of the long lost Crown of Argyte, she created a magical whirlwind that took every remaining pony from that land away. In the chaos that followed, Majesty saved her ponies, but had lost her horseshoes.

He put the book down, trying to think about how Majesty could have gotten her hooves on them again, especially if Mimic had needed them to be revived. Majesty must have still been around during the time of those events, so he figured that it was Majesty who needed the help of Megan and her pony friends. That left the question of how long the time was between the events of each episode of the G1 show. If they could even be considered canon as they were aired, considering the events of Rescue at Midnight Castle had Majesty with them in real life.

In truth, Gregory had nothing else to do but to think about the events of the past and how they related to the present. Like how Majesty had earned her wings as an alicorn if she was as evil as Opaline. There must have been some good in her at some point, which made even more sense considering that she was acting in a manner that in her mind was just. A small part of Gregory could see her point of view. From what he had heard about Equestria, the ponies who lived there were a proud race, basking in their blessings and quite powerful thanks to their unique connections to the world’s magic. They did base their society on the Tenets of Harmony, but that only seemed to apply to the three main races of ponies. For other races, it was a hit or miss. Even the chiropteran ponies were seen as outcasts by the three main races. And the reaction of ponies to humans in this day and age was certainly telling.

He guessed that in a way, Majesty still loved the ponies and was acting as a more disciplinarian, but even so, he couldn’t just ignore the fact that she seemed to be playing the part of Old Testament Yahweh with the extreme measures. She explained after coming back that she’d left the foals alone as they were, in her opinion, innocent of their parents’ crimes, but had Luna not been there, it may have turned out disastrous for the foals, especially any newborns. Part of him hoped that Majesty wasn’t that cruel and had known that Luna was there, but he couldn’t rule it out, either.

As Gregory was about to go back to reading the story, trying to put those miserable thoughts aside, he heard the telltale sign of a magical teleportation coming from nearby. Assuming it was another attempt by Majesty to give him something to eat, he looked over at the table, only to see that it remained undisturbed. Frowning, he stood, high on alert now as he scoured the room to see what was added or subtracted.

When he saw the new addition, his heartbeat went into overdrive, but he steadied himself quickly as he slowly approached his bed. Underneath the covers, a brand new lump had appeared. And it was snoring heavily. He couldn’t see what or who it could be, but it was too small to be Majesty. He seriously doubted that she might attempt to make him go to bed with one of the nox ponies as Majesty’s servants were called, so the situation was completely flabbergasting to him. And in this world, anything unknown could hurt or kill him.

Hesitantly, he approached the snoring form, noting that whoever or whatever was underneath sounded young, and was possibly bipedal judging from the outline. Reaching towards the head of the bed, he grabbed the sheets covering the figure, then slowly began pulling the covers down.

The first thing he saw was a green horn, which put him even more on alert, but then he saw a few more horns and a purple head. Then he saw some green ears on the side of said head, and he stumbled backwards, eyes wide. Spike?!

Author's Note

So, in order to distinguish between both Spikes, you probably have noticed how the spelling has been changed. The older Spike will now be spelled as Spyke. I've made the necessary revisions in previous chapters.